There’s a reason Real Madrid are back in contention for the La Liga title this season.
In fact, there are probably three reasons.
One is that the Barcelona class of 2020 is nowhere near the quality of the side it was a decade or so ago – the 2011 team was possibly the greatest I’ve ever seen – and is even a poor imitation of the team from four or five years ago.
Secondly, it’s because Atletico Madrid has consistently been forced to sell its best players and that has finally caught up with the club, despite boss Diego Simeone continuing to help Los Rojiblancos overachieve in style.
And then there is the main reason relating to Real themselves.
That is because Zinedine Zidane is back at the helm and, if ever a club and manager seemed a perfect fit, this is it.
This Real side does not possess the quality it once had and now has a number of players on the wrong side of 30.
But the Frenchman has made them more competitive again and a number of them feature in my most impressive performers in 2019-20 so far.
While his recruits from last summer have only played a bit part to this stage, he has them playing more together as a team and that is not something which has always been said about a club known as the ‘Galacticos’ because of its penchant for buying individual superstars, sometimes to the detriment of the overall team balance.
With potentially promising youngsters waiting in the wings, now could be an ideal opportunity for Real to pull the punches and sneak up on Barcelona just when the Catalonians thought they were pulling away.
The recent victory in El Clásico spoke volumes for their ability to turn on the style when it matters and they still have proven match winners in the ranks.
So, while Barcelona are favourites, a first Madrid La Liga success in three years remains a distinct possibility.
They’ve certainly been boosted by the news that Eden Hazard is close to a return and, if he finds form, could be the key figure to cap a bright end to a campaign which has been mainly ruined by injuries.
The Belgian captain, signed from Chelsea last summer, suffered a hamstring injury in mid-August upon his arrival in Madrid.
He then sustained two significant injuries – a hairline crack in the foot which saw him miss 17 games for the club before suffering a fissure of the fibula and requiring surgery.
Hazard underwent surgery in early March and was sure to miss the remainder of the campaign until the hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Since then, renovations have got underway at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for that is not where Real will play its six remaining league games which, of course, will be played behind closed doors.
Instead, the venue will be the club’s Di Stefano.
New floodlights will be erected at the Valdebebas pitch to ensure it is fully illuminated for television broadcasts, and advertising billboards are set to be installed in order to comply with sponsorship deals.
The players have also started training once a week at the Di Stefano to get used to the new turf; the idea this will help them acclimatise to the environment of their temporary new home.
On another note, if reports are to be believed, this may be an unusually quiet summer in the transfer market for Real.
The board considers the first team squad of sufficient strength and, like many clubs, have lost a lot of their sources of revenue during the enforced break, from ticket sales to museum tours.
Club bosses want to see if the losses made from this season can be salvaged by the wage cut taken being by the players and directors.
If the situation continues into next term, Los Blancos expect to lose around 150 million euros of revenue from playing behind closed doors, with ticket sales and stadium marketing non-existent.
It is this situation has led the Madrid board to plan for a summer without any new signings, with the pursuits of transfer targets being put on hold.
As I write this, I find it hard to believe that Spain’s richest club will be so quiet.
The kudos and financial benefit of being crowned La Liga champions wouldn’t half help though!
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