From Alfredo Di Stéfano to Hugo Sánchez to Raúl González. From Ronaldo to Cristiano Ronaldo to Karim Benzema.
It appears there has all the time been a world-class scorer related to Real Madrid all through the membership’s storied soccer historical past.
It is probably not the case this season, although, as Madrid is about to start the marketing campaign and not using a high-profile striker in its squad.
Benzema, the crew’s greatest participant the previous few seasons and final 12 months’s Ballon d’Or winner, made the profitable transfer to Saudi Arabian soccer and the Spanish powerhouse has but to interchange him with somebody of the identical prominence.
With lower than per week earlier than the season kicks off, Madrid’s squad included solely 4 forwards, with just one true striker amongst them.Madrid has tried to signal Kylian Mbappé however has been unable to achieve a deal for the France star. It could have to attend till his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ends on the finish of the season to have the ability to lastly carry him to the Santiago Bernabeu.
For now, Madrid has solely signed Joselu on a mortgage from Espanyol. The 33-year-old striker blossomed late in his profession however has been a daily with Spain’s nationwide crew. The hope is that he can crew up effectively with Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, the younger Brazilian duo that final season confirmed indicators they will tackle a better position in assault.
Vinícius’ season was marked by a sequence of racist insults towards him by followers, which in the end prompted an outpouring of assist for the Brazilian from sports activities figures world wide. The insults towards Vinícius spurred authorities officers into motion to spice up the struggle towards racism.
The solely different attacking-minded participant presently obtainable for Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is 24-year-old Brahim Díaz, who returned to the squad after a three-year mortgage with AC Milan. He is listed by Madrid as one of many squad’s forwards however has usually performed as an attacking midfielder.
In addition to Benzema, Madrid has additionally misplaced forwards Eden Hazard, Marco Asensio and Mariano Díaz. Neither of them performed a lot final season however had been choices off the bench for Ancelotti.
The coach stated a couple of months again that Madrid would search for “a striker who can score goals and link up well with the others.” Harry Kane was among the many strikers reportedly on the checklist of candidates to interchange Benzema, however the Tottenham striker has been extra extensively linked with Bayern Munich.
Madrid’s protection will stay largely unchanged, anchored by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, however the midfield might be boosted by the addition of younger England midfielder Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund. He will combine up with veterans Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, who had their contracts renewed for what ought to be their last seasons with the Spanish membership. It begins with a recreation at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Madrid completed final season with three titles — the UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and Copa del Rey. But it completed second within the Spanish league, 10 factors behind champion Barcelona, and was eradicated by Manchester City within the semifinals of the Champions League.
More success this season might depend upon whether or not the membership can discover a method to maintain succeeding in assault and not using a true scorer. Or on whether or not it may lastly succeed with signing Mbappé.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
