alexandros
Youth Team
Swerve said:I think that the team is very unbalanced.
Ronaldo, while a great player, may be the laziest player in la liga. He never checks to the ball to get it from midfielders and he cannot (or does not) pass. So, he basically plays himself into a one man show whenever he gets the ball. You may also notice that Raul and Ronaldo work very poorly together, I don't think I can even remember them passing the ball to each other. Figo is Figo, his game is dribbling and that is what he does, so he is more or less not a big problem on offence, but could do more to go and receive the ball. Then Zidane and Beckham both have had this problem for the past two years. They are both pure passers of the ball, and while Zidane can do amazing things on the ball, he is a passer first. These two are hurt badly by the fact that not many people move to get the ball, this is why Zidane is always trying to beat 3 defenders and Beckham is always hitting 40 yard passes straight across the field instead of to Raul or Ronaldo over the top (He does however hit balls over the top to Owen, because he actually moves without the ball).
The real problem with the current Madrid team in my opinion is that midfield players lack what I could call "multifunctional roles"-Figo,as you too mentioned,is Figo,a great flank attacking midfield with great skills on the ball but in fact not so gifted in off-ball movements.Gravesen,a great tackler and very strong as DM,but when it comes to creating the game, then what? Zidane is not the man to run a lot,go back to defense,tackle and disturb opponent midfields and Beckham fights for the ball and passes well but looks quite out of position,sometimes not knowing what exactly to do.So,that's why the team looks unbalanced,as not the same players contribute to defensive,organizing and striking functions.Look at other major clubs-ManUtd and Arsenal have Keane and Vieira,who cover up the whole midfield and can literally do everything there (run,tackle,pass,organize),Milan have Pirlo etc.