# Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid Postgame Reaction

An episode of [The Real Deal: A Real Madrid Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1807821669), 14 Dec 2025, 50 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/103607aa8/podcast/play/112633672/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-14%2F414383261-44100-2-ce3e6a6db2bac.mp3

Sid and Jarod react to Xabi Alonso's men winning at Alaves. Vinicius, Jude, Mbappe, Rodrygo, Valdepenas' debut and more.

## Transcript

[0:01] The music is hitting hard today, Sid, because Real Madrid just
[0:04] beat Alavis away from home. 21. This is the real deal Real
[0:09] Madrid podcast with me, Gerard Hector joined by Sid Ramsundar.
[0:12] Sid I mean, not a performance that we're going to be seeing in
[0:15] the in the archives of Real Madrid elite play, but three
[0:21] points and we'll get into it. Yeah, I mean, to echo this
[0:26] comment here, labored win, but we'll take it.
[0:28] And I was just worried if we didn't get the result, that
[0:31] might have been the end of Alonso's time at Real Madrid,
[0:34] which for various reasons we didn't want.
[0:36] And at one one I was scared. But Vinny scored that goal and.
[0:41] It was Rodrigo. I mean, Vinny, Vinny, Vinny.
[0:44] You know, Vinny created it. But yeah, yeah.
[0:46] Yeah, and Rodrigo scores that goal.
[0:47] So it was strange. Just a really bad performance
[0:51] honestly, all things considered. But some things that got better
[0:55] and some things that stayed the same that you almost wonder if
[0:59] the president is involved in team selection.
[1:01] You almost get that vibe some games and yeah, yeah, let's get
[1:04] into it. So starting with the line up we
[1:09] we start our new Castilla guy Val de Penas at left wing back.
[1:13] Not to be confused with Val de Bebas.
[1:16] Yes. So it's a three at the back to
[1:19] start the game. Valdepenas left wing back, 2 of
[1:23] many dropping in between the defenders, Fede Valverde at
[1:27] right back. And interestingly, it was a
[1:30] Guler Bellingham double pivot with Rodrigo on the right, Vinny
[1:35] on the left and Bapi kind of in his free withdrawn kind of false
[1:38] striker role. What?
[1:40] What'd you see at the start there?
[1:41] Anything interesting? I mean, I'll just wager this
[1:44] Jude. I thought like just the story of
[1:46] the game from minute 1 was that Bellingham was the player like
[1:52] stepping up in midfield and I thought he played his best game
[1:56] in a double pivot of his whole, like his whole rheometer career.
[2:01] I thought that it was Bellingham's best game.
[2:03] And it's ironic because it follows Benzema's comments,
[2:05] which we can talk about, like where Benzema, before the game,
[2:08] if you weren't familiar, came out and said Bellingham is the
[2:12] playmaker, not the striker, Vinicius is the left winger, not
[2:15] a six, and Bapa is the scorer, not the playmaker.
[2:17] And if there's one guy who took that to heart today, it felt
[2:20] like Jude did, honestly. Yeah, so much to unpack there.
[2:24] Even though he did not score, Jude Bellingham to me was the
[2:27] MVP of this match. I thought he played outstanding
[2:31] football. This should put to rest all
[2:34] those people who don't think Jude Bellingham's midfielder.
[2:36] I mean, I don't know what to tell you.
[2:37] Like if you if you watch that game and don't think he's a
[2:40] midfielder, OK, as far as his best game as a Real Madrid
[2:44] player, I think his best game as a Real Madrid player in this
[2:47] role that he was asked to play, right?
[2:50] I think he's had excellent games really in that first season
[2:53] where he won the where he won the double, the Champions League
[2:55] in the league title, right, where he played outstanding
[2:57] football. But he's asked to do something
[2:59] different, right? He's asked to be a false 9,
[3:00] right? And, and, and and score goals
[3:03] and finish for us. So a very different performance.
[3:06] I take not issue. But this idea that oh, Benzema
[3:09] said it. So that's why it happened.
[3:10] Like I don't, I don't think that's what it was.
[3:12] I think Javi Alonso was like, all right, I think it's best for
[3:18] us if you are here in this role as an 8, especially if 2 of many
[3:24] is going to be dropping into the center back, right slot, one
[3:27] working #3 at the back. That means we have nobody
[3:29] connecting from our defense right up to our attacking line.
[3:33] And look, I love art of Guler. I think you do as well.
[3:38] But I just think that we've now seen a large enough sample size
[3:42] to know that. And some of it too said, I think
[3:44] is that he's also not only, I think he's also out of form a
[3:47] bit too when he's starting to second guess himself and
[3:49] hesitating. And look, we always talk about
[3:51] growth not being linear on this team.
[3:53] And Arda, I think as any young player is in that dip now that a
[3:56] lot of young players have like it's just, he's just dipping
[3:58] right now on his point confidence, which is affecting
[4:00] him on the pitch, right? All addition to all things we
[4:03] talked about, which is he's not physical.
[4:05] He can't turn out of pressure. Like all the things that we've
[4:07] we've mentioned a million times. But Jude can do that, right?
[4:10] Jude in that role, like when he played a Dortmund, right?
[4:13] Which is why he was signed here in the 1st place.
[4:15] It was just a Carlo wanted Harry Kane didn't get him and was
[4:18] like, well, fuck it, you got to score goals because I got nobody
[4:20] to replace Benzema, right? This is Jude Can.
[4:23] This is the thing about Jude Sid.
[4:25] He's so talented and so versatile.
[4:27] He gets penalized for that talent and versatility.
[4:29] I need you to play false 9, all right, I can do that.
[4:32] I need you to play 8 and double. All right, I can do that like he
[4:35] can do I need to play 10? OK, I can do that.
[4:37] Like he can do a lot of different things and when you
[4:40] get constantly being pulled and prodded in different directions,
[4:44] sometimes it looks erratic, right?
[4:45] But I think it's because he's so skilled and he was fantastic
[4:49] today. I think our our I didn't check
[4:51] Sova score, but probably our highest rated rated player in
[4:53] the match today. Winning duels, linking up play
[4:58] that obviously the assist to him.
[5:00] Bobby. What a perfectly weighted pass.
[5:01] And then if Bobby just does what he does, cuts inside on his
[5:04] right foot and just goalie had no chance.
[5:07] You know what? Maybe a little bit unlucky Sid
[5:08] to not possibly score that goal late or even have 1/3 a second
[5:13] assist on a third goal. Yeah, no, it was a complete
[5:16] game. Like he could have had the end
[5:18] product and he still controlled the game.
[5:20] I wasn't sure that he had the level of patience we saw today.
[5:23] Like 'cause you, it's just such a different role from what he
[5:26] had in 2024. Like you have to, you got to be
[5:29] the guy setting Jude up in 2024, which is like completely
[5:32] different from being Jude and but.
[5:34] Remember, that's what he was doing at Dortmund though.
[5:36] That was his role at Dortmund. He was doing a lot more and it's
[5:39] just he was also doing it at a faster pace at Dortmund is my
[5:43] understanding. So to finally come and do it at
[5:45] a Spanish pace like this was phenomenal.
[5:48] And the contrast with Arda was great.
[5:50] Was was ridiculous. Arda like now he's at the point
[5:54] where if he turns and completes a pass, I'm like shocked.
[5:57] I'm like wow cuz no. But see, this wasn't happening
[6:00] in the beginning of the season, though, right?
[6:01] We weren't seeing this. I, I think teams figured out
[6:03] Arda, Honestly, I'm, I'm just looking at the angles they're
[6:06] giving him. They're like, we know what you
[6:07] want. You want to face inside, right
[6:09] and play the pass every time. We know that's what you want to
[6:12] do. We're going to pretend we're
[6:13] giving it to you every time and and then take it away.
[6:16] And the few times he gets away with it, it still feels like
[6:19] like they almost like hedge their bets knowing that's the
[6:21] only thing he can do so he never gets.
[6:24] Over So this is what all great players do, right Sid?
[6:27] When your preferred outlet is scouted and known and they take
[6:32] it away from you, your ceiling as a player, how good you get is
[6:37] your ability to develop a counter to that right?
[6:40] He's 20 years old, 2021, whatever.
[6:43] He's 20. I am not out here to be like the
[6:46] book is closed on him. This is who he is.
[6:47] The rest of his career. He has so much more trajectory
[6:50] and room to improve and grow. The question is, will he?
[6:54] I don't have a crystal ball, so I don't know. 2 Will he have the
[6:59] time and is this the right environment for those things to
[7:03] happen? Again, I don't know the answer
[7:05] to that question. Yeah, I I highly doubt that this
[7:08] is the environment for him. A lot of people are wondering
[7:11] like at the half time they were asking what happened to the Real
[7:14] Madrid of August of September. There that was a team with no
[7:17] Jude that was passing side to side until Arda found a through
[7:20] ball. Now teams know that's coming
[7:22] like so we can't pass anymore. And what people need to realize
[7:26] is Arda was slowly coming deeper just because teams were testing
[7:29] our build up more and more. And it's just at the point where
[7:33] he has like Alonzo's still playing him because he feels
[7:36] like he has no choice. I think the interesting thing is
[7:38] like why is Alonzo choosing to die on the Guler hill?
[7:42] Like does he really think we have no passing?
[7:44] Because I feel like in the first half man, like almost any other
[7:48] pivot combo outside him would have been fine.
[7:50] I just feel like. Is he just doing it now because
[7:52] Coma Vinga's hurt and when Coma Vinga's back he's going to go
[7:54] Coma Vinga, chew many, double pivot and push Jude up to 10?
[7:58] Yeah, or well, I think the way Jude's playing and well,
[8:01] Truvanny is moving into the back three now.
[8:02] Fenry's best at right wing back. So I think the way I think Jude
[8:06] sat here, I mean, that was one of the best performances by any
[8:09] pivot from our whole team this season.
[8:11] Like he finally just looked at it as like, my job is not to
[8:14] like speed play up. He finally just slowed play down
[8:18] and I I thought that was great. He's not going anywhere.
[8:21] Like he he can turn out of angles.
[8:23] That was like the closest thing to a moderate experience we've
[8:26] gotten from Bellingham. Like when people saw him as the
[8:29] moderate replacement who could kind of play deeper, this is
[8:31] what they wanted. Phenomenal stuff.
[8:35] You know, I, I, I never doubted he had it in this game.
[8:38] He had this in his bag, Said My issue was that what is he being
[8:42] asked to do, right? This is the first time he was
[8:45] asked specifically to do this, right?
[8:48] It's very clear in the setup. I need you to do this.
[8:51] Is that going to remain? I have no idea.
[8:52] It could be completely different the next time we're on the
[8:54] pitch, right? And I think that's one of the
[8:56] challenges of this club. The injuries are presenting that
[8:59] right, which is forcing Chabi to makeshift and pull guys here.
[9:02] I got to pull you here, move somebody else over here.
[9:05] And so if we want Jude to be this mod Rich or to be this deep
[9:09] lying playmaker, well, he has to get consistent run at that.
[9:13] It can't be OK today you're deep lying playmaker.
[9:15] Then four days from now, shit, somebody's injured.
[9:17] I need you to move out to the left side and be more of a
[9:19] central, you know what I'm saying?
[9:21] Like it, it can't be this. And the problem is because
[9:24] again, said he's so talented, guess what?
[9:27] He's going to be the one that job is like, but you can do
[9:29] everything. You're the one I have to twist
[9:30] and move and move somewhere else.
[9:32] And So what that's going to do is, for lack of a better term,
[9:35] stunt his development as what you want him to be.
[9:38] That static, deep line, not static until not moving.
[9:41] But that is his preferred primary position, which is deep
[9:43] line playmaker. I don't know how long he's going
[9:45] to be able to stay in that one role all season.
[9:47] I highly doubt it to be honest. So that's interesting because I
[9:51] saw just seeing Gonzalo come on and the others come on, I wonder
[9:54] if Jaby kind of realized like like this game.
[9:57] What's interesting is even with Jude doing all the passing, we
[10:00] actually struggled. Like looking at the expected
[10:02] goals here, I mean, first half up till the goal, we're doing
[10:06] OK, We get a chance. After the goal, we start really
[10:10] sagging off them, kind of giving up the ball.
[10:13] And I just feel like that was despite Jude playing well, so
[10:18] the very floor of your team, there's no control like even
[10:21] when like even with Jude playing well and the back 3 was actively
[10:25] creating space for our players. I do want to add that too.
[10:28] I thought it Valdepenas Fede were released into space A lot
[10:33] or were pinning players in a way where somebody was open just
[10:37] because the other team didn't want to press man to man our
[10:39] whole back five and like just leave themselves exposed.
[10:42] So I I feel like there's so much more work to be done on the team
[10:47] from a passing standpoint. Like this is kind of shocking.
[10:51] Jude plays his best midfield game and Index G is 1.6.
[10:55] I love this to .9 US and we're struggling to control the game.
[10:59] Like, I think that's the story of the game for me.
[11:01] Honestly Sid, we are still a poor team in possession.
[11:05] Like poor, piss poor. Like we can't.
[11:08] It's like every time someone gets the ball at their feet.
[11:11] With the exception of Jude needs to have 10 seconds to think, OK,
[11:15] where am I going to go with the ball now?
[11:18] This is not you don't have that kind of time.
[11:19] Like that's not what this is. You have to be quick with your
[11:23] decisions and your and your movement.
[11:25] Once you release it, get into a spot where you can receive it
[11:28] again, right? And which is it's sideways,
[11:31] sideways, sideways with no clear idea.
[11:33] And something we've talked about a bunch did.
[11:37] No one on this team makes runs for the team.
[11:44] They make runs with the expectation of I'm going to get
[11:46] it myself so I can score. Yeah.
[11:49] So that I think that actually wasn't as much of an issue today
[11:53] that I think honestly. I thought it was in the first
[11:55] half, so we had possession was first 20 minutes like.
[12:00] I think with Killian for example, Killian is never going
[12:03] to make the run to pass. I think we have to accept that
[12:05] just cuz he with him, it's a trade off where he shoots so
[12:08] much, he's not going to make the run to pass in.
[12:10] In other cases, Jude didn't make it the run as much, which I
[12:13] thought was nice. Like he he made it when it was
[12:15] needed and that kind of left space.
[12:17] But you know, Vinny wasn't great.
[12:19] We'll, we'll have to get into that.
[12:21] Outside of the goal he created, yeah.
[12:23] Yeah. And I I think honestly, like
[12:25] what happens is Vinny isn't the best passer, but he also takes
[12:29] it the most personally when Mbappe doesn't find him.
[12:31] On top of that, and in my opinion, I think the body
[12:35] language sometimes when Mbappe doesn't find him, it's just a
[12:38] little negative. I thought even in the first
[12:40] half, and I'm not, I don't mean to nitpick it, but it's just
[12:42] something I noticed. I'm just like, you're mad.
[12:44] You're like, oh man, like I need to get my bone door, bro, what
[12:46] are you doing? Like that's.
[12:47] I mean, he's he's struggling, right?
[12:50] Rodrigo's struggling. A lot of these guys are
[12:52] struggling. And we talked about this last
[12:55] show. Is that ambition's a good thing?
[12:57] But when ambition bleeds into agenda, it causes problems.
[13:00] And that's right. We're we're straddling that very
[13:02] awkward line, particularly with Vinicius, right?
[13:05] And I don't know when and how that all shifts.
[13:11] Look, he seemed to have a little bit more of a bounce to his
[13:14] step, like when he was able to create that go.
[13:17] And by the way, look, I got to give him his props, right?
[13:19] The controlled header, right? And the pace to go around to get
[13:22] it and the outside of the boot pass to Rodrigo, right, who ran
[13:25] into the box. That was that was good stuff.
[13:28] But he was playing one of his worst games up till then.
[13:31] Like he was, he was not, not as bad as not as bad as the City
[13:34] game, but because that was, that was brutal.
[13:36] City was brutal. Well, I I would disagree
[13:39] actually, honestly because City, he actually creates danger with
[13:42] his runs. Today he's not even doing that.
[13:44] That's why I go off expected goals.
[13:46] Like at least with City, if you replay that, some of the
[13:49] dangerous situations he's in, if he finishes better, he's better.
[13:52] Today he's blowing the one-on-one.
[13:54] He's not breaking the duels and Bape is the one who's getting
[13:56] the shots off and on top of that, like up to that goal, I
[14:01] thought that was one of his worser games.
[14:03] The one thing I'll say is some of the decoy runs are back.
[14:05] Even the the goal that Mbappe scored, Vinny's just making this
[14:09] run to the left. Vinny thought he could have been
[14:12] found on that goal and on another chance later because he
[14:15] was pretty wide open. He wasn't found.
[14:17] But I do feel like the agenda has gone away.
[14:20] I do want to start there. Like when we look at the
[14:22] comments, I think there's been a reflection.
[14:25] I. Hope so.
[14:26] On some level the agenda has gone down, but I think with each
[14:29] player it's different. Like Jude accepted what he had
[14:32] to do and Jude is like the the role model here.
[14:34] I think there's levels to this. I agree with that.
[14:37] So Jude is a role model where he's accepted what he needs to
[14:40] do and he embodies it fully. Killian, I think he accepts he's
[14:44] a scorer fully. Honestly, I think he accepts it
[14:47] too because a lot of the times he shoots and doesn't pass.
[14:50] Ronaldo did the same thing. Ronaldo didn't care if he were
[14:53] open like like he would only square it if it was really
[14:55] obvious. But a lot of times he Ronaldo
[14:57] would go for it himself. And I think Killian just knows
[15:01] that's his job. But today Vinnie, I feel like
[15:05] still wants to kind of play in that interchanging role within
[15:07] Bape. I think he's asked Florentino to
[15:10] tell Alonzo to give it to him is my suspicion.
[15:13] That account Pepe Alvarez claimed that today the one that
[15:15] supposedly like that a lot of people around Real Madrid who
[15:18] cover the team follow sometimes retweeted.
[15:21] I don't know why, but he was suggesting that the lineup was
[15:26] kind of forced by Vinnie. And I say this because I don't
[15:29] know if Vinny's playing in that moment, he scores the winner if
[15:32] there's no pressure from the president because that's like,
[15:35] he's played such a bad game to that point.
[15:38] And that's where the whole game, I feel like, is overshadowed
[15:41] tactically by what's going on off the pitch a little.
[15:43] It's like, what? Whose choice is it about how
[15:47] long Vinny's playing? And then the coach's tactics are
[15:50] then dictated entirely by like, the constraints of like, who he
[15:52] has to play. And then you don't know what
[15:55] you're watching anymore. Like, that's what I felt like.
[15:57] I'm like when the second-half, when they made it 1-1, I'm like,
[16:00] we didn't initiate anything. We're not pressing them, but
[16:02] we're not benching Vinnie either.
[16:04] Even when it becomes 11. This is what they asked for.
[16:06] And I thought that was a little worrying, Gerard.
[16:09] I feel like there was no way Vinnie could come off the pitch.
[16:11] And this has been the case since the Classico.
[16:13] Oh yeah. Listen, my podcast partner and
[16:16] and true David Thorpe says this all the time.
[16:18] Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
[16:20] If the culture at the club is 1, where a player can circumvent
[16:26] the manager and go talk to the president about his playing
[16:29] time, and then the president then tells a manager you got to
[16:34] play this player X amount of minutes when he wants to,
[16:37] whatever the case may be. And again, we don't know for
[16:39] sure, but we're speculating. Let's think that that's what it
[16:41] is. Who gives a shit what Chubby's
[16:43] tactics are? They don't matter if that's the
[16:46] culture, right? Because ultimately, right.
[16:49] What you are saying is, is that player X on a hierarchy chart is
[16:55] above the manager. So if he can go to the president
[16:59] and get his time played the way he wants to, if Chubby says OK,
[17:03] I need you to do XY and Z, well, what is Vinny's message in his
[17:06] brain telling him if I don't want to do it, I don't have to,
[17:10] right? Because I can go to the
[17:12] president and he's got to play me anyway.
[17:14] So this is a cultural problem at the club, right?
[17:19] Where if you want Chavi Alonzo to be your manager in the future
[17:24] and build a sustainable long term thing where he's here for a
[17:28] long time, you've got a system in place, you've got sustained
[17:31] success. You can't have a situation where
[17:34] players can go around him to the president to get their way
[17:37] because then that what again, what what that is saying to them
[17:39] is he has no authority. I can do whatever I want.
[17:43] So who cares what whatever tactics he's telling them,
[17:46] they're not going to do it because they have an ally who
[17:49] runs the whole ship who can say, don't worry about that.
[17:51] You can I'll, I'll handle it. So unless that part changes,
[17:56] we're going to be where we are. Yeah.
[18:00] And so when you put it together, the concern for me is like how
[18:04] much Florentino is trying to deflect from the fact that we
[18:06] have no playmakers by get letting Vinny play and start and
[18:09] put pressure on Alonzo. That's what I feel like the
[18:11] whole thing is. It's like Florentino's like, OK,
[18:14] like all things considered, like sacking Alonzo is probably less
[18:18] financially damaging than like burning bridges with you.
[18:21] I still want to resell you. You might be thinking those
[18:23] things. And then on top of that, he's,
[18:27] you know, like doesn't want the heat on him because he's the
[18:30] reason we don't have any play making on this team.
[18:31] We don't have a super Mendi, which we thought naively that we
[18:34] could get past. But we were being optimistic
[18:37] here. We were being optimistic fans,
[18:39] but at club level they they weren't, they were also doing
[18:42] the same thing, which was the problem.
[18:43] Like you can't do that as a club.
[18:44] You got, you got to imagine the worst case scenario and we
[18:47] didn't do that. So.
[18:49] We have no passing against Olivez in December.
[18:51] Like it's ridiculous we we can't pass the ball against Olivez in
[18:54] December. This is the thing, right?
[18:57] It's I always say it's multiple factors, right?
[19:00] Players underperforming at their level, right Coaching new coach
[19:04] not communicating his ideas clear to the player board and
[19:07] culture president not empowering the manager to do his job.
[19:12] And also the part that we consistently allow the board to
[19:16] skate by on. Is there piss poor construction
[19:20] of this roster? Literally if you're giving out
[19:22] grades, this is an F minus. Like it sucks you.
[19:27] I also on that note, Gonzalo, that everyone wants to play, you
[19:31] saw why he doesn't play that pass he made in the game.
[19:33] Do you know why he doesn't play now?
[19:36] I saw it. I was like oh man, look, I'm not
[19:39] saying it was like a second grader pass, but damn bro, like
[19:45] a a elite professional player. I feel like what's in nine out
[19:48] of 10 times makes that pass. Well, that's the thing.
[19:52] And Gonzalo is essentially a limited player outside the box.
[19:55] So we're criticizing Alonzo for not playing him, but it's like,
[19:59] OK, Perez didn't give him a new Hosalu replacement.
[20:02] Perez didn't give Carlo a Hosalu replacement.
[20:04] So we don't have someone to cross it to.
[20:07] And so you're left to die with the dynamics of your egoistic
[20:10] attackers who kind of want to do what they want to do and.
[20:13] That was the story of the second after ODD because people were
[20:15] like, make changes. I'm like, who's the midfielder
[20:17] who's slowing the game down? Who's the striker who doesn't do
[20:20] what Gonzalo just did, which shows you why he doesn't play
[20:24] like he doesn't exist. There is no striker who's a vet
[20:27] presence, who makes the reads needed, who doesn't do something
[20:30] really dumb if when he has on the ball.
[20:31] Gonzalo can do that and do you. Think it's something happening
[20:34] in trading because the Gonzalo with the Club World Cup.
[20:38] No, I think I just I just don't think the Club World Cup is an
[20:42] environment that should be taken seriously.
[20:43] I think everyone watching that tournament, yeah, I'm just like,
[20:47] listen, man, like these guys are half fit.
[20:48] Like Chelsea walked over PSG and then sold their team like from
[20:52] like sold some of the players who helped them do that.
[20:54] Like like it's just a fake tournament.
[20:57] And I think honestly, where I get mad is people who looked at
[21:00] it as a positive who are like, what happened all that now?
[21:02] And I'm like, no, we tried telling you it was a preseason
[21:05] and not you, but just in general, like the Club World
[21:07] Cup, even if if something good happened there, it's happening
[21:10] in a state where not everyone is competing physically on the same
[21:13] plane. So it's just not going to
[21:15] translate as cleanly to anything that happened after.
[21:18] And I, I would, I would argue lastly, like, you know, just
[21:21] logically speaking, if if he was so good and he played in the
[21:25] Club World Cup, like I just feel like like if he was good, he
[21:28] would play. But clearly something happened
[21:30] where Alonzo realized in trading like, hey, this guy is not going
[21:33] to be a hey flow like this guy at some point, just like Arda.
[21:36] I think what happened with Arda is eventually going to happen to
[21:39] Gonzalo Garcia where the scouting report comes out.
[21:42] Well, what happens is the more minutes you play, your
[21:45] deficiencies get exposed, right? That's just the reality of how
[21:48] it goes. Right?
[21:48] Like in any sport, no matter what it is the first time
[21:51] around, it's like, oh, no one knows.
[21:53] There's not much of a book on you.
[21:54] Oh, my God, looks so great. OK, well, now we got the book.
[21:56] So what? To your point, I know what your
[21:58] preferred tendency or tendencies are.
[22:01] I'm going to take them away now. Now what do you have?
[22:03] Oh, I got nothing. All right, again, can you
[22:05] develop something again? I'm not going to close the door
[22:07] on either of the either of those guys.
[22:09] But to your point said, maybe this environment, a club that's
[22:12] trying to win matches and compete for the biggest trophies
[22:15] ain't the environment for you to figure it out on the fly, right,
[22:17] Because we're losing matches as a result.
[22:21] Now, there's also injury issues we have to deal with, right?
[22:23] Which look, every team does. But it seems like for whatever
[22:25] reason, my God, look, we're constantly dealing with
[22:28] injuries. Now, to be fair, a lot of these
[22:31] injuries to me said are predictable, right?
[22:33] Like, because these are players who have already been injured
[22:36] before and seriously injured before, right?
[22:40] Militao, Carvajal, Mendi, right? Like it's just that's all.
[22:44] Like these are all players who are constantly injured like.
[22:47] Squad planning coming into the season was definitely short on a
[22:49] center back 100%. 1000%. That was predictable and
[22:53] expecting Middletown Carvajal to keep it up.
[22:56] That's why it was a miracle that we won 14.
[22:57] Militao Carvajal like coming out, putting out big efforts.
[23:00] It's like this isn't lasting 50 games.
[23:02] But that's where valid pain. Us coming out of nowhere was a
[23:06] blessing. I just want to say I think this
[23:09] back fight continues. If he can put out performances
[23:12] like that and Jude and Fete are going to Jude Fete him were all
[23:17] pretty solid, I thought at what they had to do, which is kind of
[23:21] advance the ball right past the first phase of defense and then
[23:24] keep things solid. Don't let don't let the the wide
[23:28] situations turn into dangerous spots.
[23:31] Shield the wings defensively. And I thought Val, the penis did
[23:35] a great job on the left just doing all that like.
[23:38] Like just yeah, yeah, I I thought for a Casilla kid in an
[23:44] away match in his first senior, like I I thought he cooted
[23:46] himself well outside of the chance that gave up the goal,
[23:51] right, Because that was. That wasn't him in my opinion.
[23:54] That wasn't him in my opinion. That was.
[23:55] So interestingly, I think Rudiger has now become the worst
[23:58] defender on the team because. Listen, Rudiger is.
[24:04] I, I watched that clip a few times and I was just trying to
[24:06] figure out if I'm a coach, who am I assigning blame to or
[24:09] credit to? Who am I talking to in the film
[24:11] room after the game? And I can't help but feel
[24:14] Rudiger just doesn't have to like play him on site.
[24:16] Like I watched it a billion times.
[24:18] Valdepenas's jump is perfect. If Rudiger just doesn't like
[24:22] kind of like sag off with him and behind him, that's offside.
[24:25] And I'm going to have to blame that on Rudiger just because
[24:29] like, like you're like a millisecond of not doing
[24:32] something from making the right choice, which means you're it's
[24:35] your mistake. Like Val the Panas, even if he
[24:37] recovers, you're playing him on side and then they're gonna get
[24:41] their attack off. And that's why I have to say
[24:43] it's Rudiger's fault. And Rudiger also just slow in
[24:46] possession now, making mistakes that he wasn't before.
[24:50] And he's not like a young body like Ascensio.
[24:52] It's looking, it's looking bad. It's looking bad for him.
[24:54] Well, this is again to your point about the lack of center
[24:57] backs, right? Like, and by the way, it was
[24:59] good to see Dean Houston and Frank MSN Tuano get some minutes
[25:02] and get back on the pitch. Rudiger was not supposed to be
[25:10] relied on so heavily, right? It's it's all this domino
[25:12] cascading effect. Because remember when he came
[25:14] back after the injury the first time that this season we were
[25:18] like, oh, Ruger's looking pretty good actually, right?
[25:21] Again, the goal in that moment was to have him and Militale
[25:26] fresh enough that you can rest both of them, enough so that
[25:30] neither one of them is overplaying.
[25:31] That didn't happen, right? So you had to over extend
[25:34] Militale. He gets hurt, and now because of
[25:37] all the other situations we have, the red cards, this car
[25:39] and that one injuries, Rudiger's got to play more than we want
[25:42] him to play. All of his in issues are being
[25:45] shown, right? Like neither of these two we
[25:48] want them playing 30 full 90s. No, like that's that's that's
[25:52] not that's not ideal. And if you don't have a center
[25:54] back besides Howson who can play 30 full 90s, you got a problem
[25:59] right. You have a major problem we're.
[26:01] Cooked and like and and also the issue with Gonzalo is I just
[26:05] wanted to bring that up back because that's why Mbappe is
[26:08] playing every minute because Vinny's not showing up.
[26:10] Gonzalo, you don't know if he can't show up.
[26:12] Jude has to play deeper. I'm glad Rodrigo got his goal,
[26:15] but like at the end of the day, Rodrigo is not going to be the
[26:18] protagonist. He's going to be a role player
[26:20] on on a team that wins a lot. So we're we're really low on
[26:24] options. And that's why I think like this
[26:26] game kind of shows why our season's over.
[26:28] Gerard like. Yo, you were right.
[26:30] Last week or last episode? Like what do people like, I
[26:34] don't see a scenario where we can go minute zero to 45 of a
[26:37] game. Like just we can't pick 30
[26:39] minutes of a game and say, hey, we're passing it for these 30 at
[26:42] least before we could do that and be like, hey, like we're not
[26:44] going to defend properly. Cortois save us.
[26:47] But when crew starts passing, we'll we'll track together,
[26:49] we'll play, play hard, we'll catch him off guard.
[26:51] Now we track together and play hard.
[26:53] Then we we screw up because we can't turn and play through the
[26:56] pressure. And I think also we weren't
[26:59] supposed to be this reliance on him.
[27:00] Boppe as well. I will say like the fact that
[27:02] he's hurt and playing should tell you how far the attackers
[27:05] around him have fallen off like and he looks good shooting like
[27:08] Vinnie. This is an indictment on you on
[27:10] his on Vinnie's physical level, like Vinny is not winning one on
[27:13] ones and Vinny is healthy and he can't win one on ones and well.
[27:17] I, I will. I don't know how true this is,
[27:19] but one of the reports came out where Vinny has told people in
[27:22] the locker room and whoever that he's not physically right.
[27:26] See this is where it all turns to like a question of.
[27:30] I I don't know what's true or not or what you know, what have
[27:33] you. Well, either way, it's an
[27:34] indictment of either Vinnie or the club.
[27:36] The fact that, as we've discussed, like it, it always
[27:39] starts from the top of an organization like leadership.
[27:42] Leadership makes the shots. Everyone is a reflection of what
[27:44] the top leader wants. And on some level, Florentino's
[27:48] either at letting an injured guy call his own shots on playing
[27:52] minute zero to 90, or he's not like telling the injured guy to
[27:56] stop leaking all this stuff to defend himself.
[27:58] I don't know what's going on there.
[28:00] But yeah, I I don't know the. Culture, Sid.
[28:02] It's the culture. We talked about it.
[28:03] It starts at the top. We love Florentino for so many
[28:06] things, but this part of the business we don't like, this is
[28:10] not good. Definitely not.
[28:12] And I definitely, I don't know if I said this the last episode,
[28:16] not sure how clearly we said it, but just to say it now,
[28:19] definitely get the vibe that he succeeded enough where he needs
[28:22] to like close out his legacy at Real Madrid.
[28:24] And it feels like maybe his focus has shifted to like,
[28:29] changing the legislation around, like in the outside investors
[28:33] and like, maybe making sure that the club has like, a good
[28:37] foundation to move forward. But I do feel like he's
[28:40] neglected some of the sporting aspect of things.
[28:42] And the way the reports have come out suggests that he
[28:45] himself doesn't back the coach. Like he kind of messes around
[28:48] with the coaches, their trust. It's the same reports that
[28:51] Zidane was pissed off at when he left, when he said in a farewell
[28:54] letter that somethings go beyond football.
[28:57] Like it's about humanity and trust to build something.
[28:59] And they didn't give me that. I don't think Alonso has that
[29:02] trust. Just from the lineup decisions
[29:04] he's making. I think he's been told, hey, if
[29:06] you die on a hill, you die on this hill.
[29:08] Maybe he's been told we won't sack you if you lose this way.
[29:11] Like we'll tell you when you're allowed to do this.
[29:13] I don't know. I don't know.
[29:15] It, it, it look, it is obvious where Florentino's priorities
[29:20] are and have been right? How much press and PR we've seen
[29:26] about how awesome it was the NFL came to the Burnabout and how
[29:30] much they loved it. And they're going to have more
[29:32] games back there. And like, and I'm not saying
[29:34] that that's not important because obviously that is money
[29:37] coming into the club, right? Because we let them use a
[29:40] stadium that gets to be used for the sporting side.
[29:43] But so much of the focus has been on again, maintaining the
[29:48] brand, this global idea and all these things that from a from a
[29:52] business perspective, which again, are important, but I
[29:56] don't see the same level of importance placed on the
[29:59] sporting side outside of shit. We need a big Galactico because
[30:04] that feeds our commercial side, right?
[30:06] Jersey sales, this, that and the third, let's get Player X as
[30:09] soon as they're available, right?
[30:10] Like and again said, you and I are talking about we want a club
[30:16] in a squad that is consistent, that is long term successful,
[30:20] right? And you and I think both agree
[30:22] on the fact that the way football is now with the amount
[30:24] of talent around Europe and with the elite tactical minds and
[30:30] also clubs that are running and handling their business
[30:33] seemingly well in terms of a man, it's not about just getting
[30:37] a bunch of stars together. Let's get the right profiles
[30:39] this match. Let's get coaches that want to
[30:40] build a project the right way. This idea that you think we're
[30:43] just going to lock our way into or win 6 out of 10 Champions
[30:47] Leagues, that shit is not going to happen.
[30:49] Like are are we going to win some once or twice because we
[30:53] have a lot of talent? Sure.
[30:54] But to maintain that same level of dominance, I don't believe
[30:59] that this way and this path is the way to do that.
[31:02] Sometimes like like especially last decade signing, who's
[31:05] Modrich allowing Castamero to eventually come into the lineup
[31:08] after he sacked Benitez and wasted his time at the club
[31:11] before seeding that to sit on like at that time, I still got
[31:15] the vibe that they kind of watch football.
[31:16] Like, OK, you saw Barcelona at their best, you got a Modrich
[31:19] for us so we can kind of build, sit some cool sequences.
[31:22] But right now, I don't get that vibe fully.
[31:24] The way Vinny's being protected. It's like, have you seen Kwicha?
[31:27] Like, have you seen, have you seen Bradley Barkola?
[31:30] I want Bradley Barkola, bro. I want him right now.
[31:33] Florentino, like Barkola to Real Madrid.
[31:36] Let's start the movement, bring us Barkola.
[31:38] We're electing a new president. You know LSR is not even
[31:41] remotely going to think about letting Barkola go here, you
[31:45] know that. Yeah, and I mean, he's been like
[31:48] this for some time going back to Eden Hazard and signing like
[31:51] Hazard, Vinny and Rodrigo instead out of like one money or
[31:54] one young son or one most Salah archetype.
[31:57] Not Salah, but he's been doing that for some time.
[32:00] But like you know, we bullshitted 1 twice with limit
[32:03] with with strange profiles and no backup for Benzeman like
[32:06] winning with no backup for Benzeman 22 just really
[32:08] convinced this guy like I'll do whatever I want like.
[32:11] Yes, he has been high off his own supply for a long time, Sid,
[32:15] for a very long time. I think since the three, P since
[32:18] the three. P No club has ever done that.
[32:21] So again, how are you going to now tell him differently?
[32:24] He's like, what are you talking about?
[32:25] We have done historically what nobody's ever done, and we have
[32:29] won more than any other club's ever done, right?
[32:31] He talks like how the bands talk.
[32:33] And I'm sorry you, that can't be your mindset as the president.
[32:37] You can't be thinking that way. You got to be like, how do we
[32:40] keep improving and getting better?
[32:43] 100 percent, 100%. And hey, that's the theme today.
[32:46] We saw like a a squad complacency in terms of
[32:49] playmaking, lack of depth up front with Alonzo reluctant to
[32:53] use Garcia who comes on makes a playmaking mistake.
[32:56] We see Vinicius playing the whole game even though he played
[32:59] one of his worst games, but bizarrely scoring the winner
[33:01] which just encapsulate. We're creating the winner, yeah.
[33:04] Creating the winner, which just encapsulates what a strange club
[33:06] we are and how what we're about like well.
[33:09] I, I think that, that I said I started earlier saying we're
[33:12] still so bad in possession. You know where we're still very
[33:15] good at On the counter? Why?
[33:17] Anything unsettled or when we have space.
[33:20] Amazing, right? Because we can do that because
[33:23] Oh my God, four on three. But anything with numerical
[33:25] superiority and space, we will be fine.
[33:28] The problem is teams fucking know that they're like no
[33:31] problem. Mid block, low block, this team
[33:33] can't do shit. They're going to give the ball
[33:35] up because they can't pass. To your point, they can't string
[33:37] 10 pass sequences together and we'll crush them on the counter
[33:40] because we know we're not going to get people to run back.
[33:42] Yeah, and and the bizarrest thing was just Vinny like going
[33:45] from not looking like he can beat his man to suddenly making
[33:48] that twisted diagonal run and releasing Rodrigo out of nowhere
[33:51] because like going back at the goal, Vinny really like chest
[33:56] that and turns the direction of. The ball, he headed it, he
[33:58] headed it first and then yeah, yeah, controlled head and then
[34:01] just turned on The Jets. Like he got the got the angle,
[34:03] he got the better angle on the defender and then look that
[34:06] outside of the boot pass. Well, The thing is that the
[34:09] angle was OK. He just I don't know where it
[34:11] goes, but sometimes that acceleration that we love
[34:13] disappears. Sometimes it comes back, but
[34:15] right there it was back. But I think that's what worries
[34:18] me about Vinny. That was a hard angle.
[34:20] Jerrod. I don't I would say that like
[34:22] the way he controlled it with his head in turn, you have to
[34:24] explode at such a ridiculous level of force.
[34:27] Like you do not want to have to rely on that type of plate to
[34:29] consistently. Dominate.
[34:30] Yes, that that is the gift and the curse of Vinicius, right?
[34:36] A player, Sid, who was struggling on confidence, which
[34:39] I think we all agree Venicius is right, does not do that because
[34:43] they're not confident in themselves.
[34:45] But he pulls it out because that's the kind of player that
[34:49] he is right now. The question is again, how do
[34:54] you channel and control that not stifle it and lock it away in a
[34:57] closet, but how do you channel it so that it is best utilized
[35:01] for the goodness of the whole squad right.
[35:04] That clearly is the struggle that he and Alonzo and look you
[35:08] know a little reports are out now oh everything's fine like if
[35:12] you believe that I got a bridge to sell you OK like you don't go
[35:15] from I'm not resigning long as long as my contract's this bad
[35:17] too everything is fine like 2 weeks later right the.
[35:21] Way he looked at Embalte when Embalte shot.
[35:23] I don't think everything's fine, right?
[35:26] So. So that is still the thing that
[35:28] they they are balancing and dealing with.
[35:30] How do I do what I am good at and fit that into what it is
[35:34] that you want this squad to do. And the question is, can I
[35:38] right? Do I have the requisite ability
[35:41] to do so? I don't know.
[35:43] I don't know. And that's why I think the best
[35:46] hope for us as we wrap up here is that we get Benjamin Ramos
[35:49] come back and they talk some sense into his head before the
[35:52] end of the season and they talk to Florentino and they come
[35:55] back. They're like, hey, Flo, we need
[35:56] to replace Cruz and Modridge, you know, happily and ever.
[35:59] And then Vinny's happy by the summer.
[36:00] Vinny takes a contract we give him.
[36:02] We're all working together. We go get awesome hand.
[36:04] Maybe I don't know, like I'm just kidding.
[36:07] But you know, we, we, we need to.
[36:09] We need to get Uber Mcano. We need we need to send her back
[36:13] bad. No, so that's the thing, I, I
[36:16] wouldn't expect the season to go well.
[36:17] I'm, I'm very nervous to see how things go 'cause it's clear
[36:21] Florentino probably doesn't understand the lack of play
[36:24] making is like, I don't think he sees it as the front and center
[36:27] issue, which is very scary. Like just 'cause if you don't
[36:30] realize that, 'cause I'm telling you we can, if we had that play
[36:34] making, we could 2022 and 2024 our way to places.
[36:36] Again, we have that caliber of talent elsewhere.
[36:39] Like we will outperform other teams in the boxes because we
[36:42] have Courtois and Killian, but we need a foundation to be able
[36:45] to do that. And I think Florentino, I, I
[36:49] just don't know if the critical analysis is there.
[36:51] And, and I think because I don't see how these performances get
[36:54] better without consistent help from Cama Vinga, which frankly,
[36:58] I don't expect anymore. Like, I, I think I would be
[37:00] stupid. I think he'd be a fool to expect
[37:02] him to be healthy. Because he's always hurt, right?
[37:04] Like he came back and we were like, oh man, look at Cama
[37:06] Vinga. Like we and we got that great
[37:08] run of play from him, right? As we always do.
[37:10] And then I don't remember when it was 3 weeks ago, now three
[37:12] games ago, he gets hurt and we're like oh shit, here we go
[37:14] again. Right?
[37:16] Like. Yep, and that's why it's looking
[37:19] cooked. That's why the season's looking
[37:21] cooked. But I'm glad you didn't get
[37:22] sacked today. At least make it to January.
[37:24] Like, I feel like the further you make it into this season,
[37:27] the more Florentino's likely to begrudgingly accept the
[37:30] limitations of the squad and not do something stupid like sack
[37:33] him and leave us with no other coach on the market for a long
[37:36] time. And that's the thing, like, if
[37:38] you are an elite coach, Sid, and you understand the pressures of
[37:42] Real Madrid and you think tactically, you know, I've got
[37:45] ideas. I know how to manage.
[37:47] I also know how to manage egos, all that.
[37:50] How do you watch this situation from afar and be like, yeah,
[37:52] that's what I want, right? Like, I want to sign up for that
[37:55] where it's clear that the president tells me who I can
[37:58] play or who I who wants that? Well, that headache.
[38:01] You know what's funny? That's actually what would
[38:03] quickly have Florentino get like, like, stop all this shit
[38:06] he's doing with Vinny because Florentino wants to make
[38:09] rheometer an attractive destination.
[38:10] And if that, if someone called Florentino and tell him
[38:13] Holland's not signing, if he doesn't cut the shit out and
[38:15] back Alonso, that would have Florentino fix his game fast.
[38:18] But he doesn't believe that. Fundamentally, he doesn't.
[38:20] Believe he 1000% does not believe that.
[38:23] Look, and Flonkino's been the most successful president,
[38:27] obviously in his club's history. All the things we know, right?
[38:30] And again, it's very easy to get high off your own supply and
[38:33] believe I can do no wrong. I'm King Midas, right?
[38:36] Everything I touch turns to goal.
[38:38] But the reality is, right, Sid, we see it and we talked about it
[38:42] during the last Champions League run.
[38:43] We're like, man, this is pavement overall, the cracks we
[38:46] have on this spot. And sure enough, we saw it,
[38:48] right? You'll lose two players and it's
[38:50] like, holy hell, this team is dog shit all of a sudden.
[38:53] Yeah, like. Yeah, no, and and honestly, I
[38:55] felt this after Bilbao and that's this whole team.
[38:58] It's not a fun month to like be trying to rebrand and relax
[39:00] while following this team for sure because you just know it's
[39:02] going to be bad. People are drinking kool-aid
[39:04] everywhere thinking it's going to be good.
[39:06] And then they need like they need to be told and explained
[39:08] when things go wrong, why it was always inevitable.
[39:10] I like the suggestion from should the in the comments, by
[39:13] the way, Alex, Alex Garcia a quick 20 million in January.
[39:16] We just need someone who can play with Jude healthy in the in
[39:20] the base of midfield, who's not Fetty Valveretti, who's going to
[39:23] be playing right back, who's not true of many, who's like true of
[39:26] many's good, but he's not the block manipulator as we've
[39:28] discussed. So we need that Cama Vinga, the
[39:31] healthy Cama Vinga like replacement in the rotation and.
[39:34] The sad part is, as you know, this club never makes moves in
[39:37] January. So I mean, like, I would love
[39:41] it. I'm not holding my breath like.
[39:44] Yeah, I'm, I'm not expecting anything.
[39:45] And that's why I worry for Alonso that that's really why
[39:48] I'm worried for him, because there isn't enough.
[39:50] He's playing Arda. You can't help but feel Arda's
[39:52] playing because he's just looked into the stats and he's like,
[39:54] listen, if I remove Arda, we're literally not going to play
[39:57] football. He might be working like we, we
[39:59] might just be, he might be worried it turns into a
[40:01] different sport out there if there's no Arda at least like do
[40:03] something But but I mean. With the way Jude played today
[40:07] though, there is something to go off like.
[40:09] I think so. That's a positive, Sid.
[40:10] I think look, we both are believers in Jabulons and we
[40:14] think that if you if you want to actually have a project here and
[40:16] have it work well, you got to give them time.
[40:18] That January Super Copa, we got athletic in the semis.
[40:23] And if we win that Barcelona, what happens first of all, if
[40:28] he's even here by then. But let's say he is right.
[40:31] Those two matches to me are going to be the, the right, the
[40:34] sort of like the, the, the, the, the mark, the signpost, right?
[40:38] If we get smashed in, in, in, in the semis and don't make it or
[40:43] we get humble in the final really badly, it's just, it's
[40:46] not going to look, it's not going to look good.
[40:47] It's not going to look good for us.
[40:49] Yeah, it's going to be a top Super Cup, man.
[40:51] I don't know how we're how we're even going to make it through
[40:53] that. It's I think this season's over.
[40:55] But yeah, I just, I'm just repeating it just because I'm
[40:57] trying to be rational here. Perez is not, but we're being
[41:00] rational. That's why he's If Perez isn't
[41:02] rational, the season's over. He clearly isn't man and I I
[41:07] just don't know Sid, if he's going to your point and what we
[41:10] always say is there someone is there a faction of power within
[41:13] the within the club that can be like, yo, man, we need some
[41:16] serious self critical analysis here, and I'm sure there is.
[41:20] I'm sure there's not everybody in there is like life is great
[41:24] and we pissed perfume. Somebody in there is like the
[41:27] fuck are we doing? The question is, are there
[41:30] enough of that them and do they have enough power?
[41:33] Well, right, the answer is no. Right.
[41:35] And honestly, it's almost feels like maybe they only say things
[41:38] in a way where they don't ruffle the feathers too much so they
[41:40] can stick around. You never know.
[41:42] Well, listen, Flo, if you, if you play the Don role, then
[41:45] you're going to be scrutinized like a Don and you got to
[41:47] deliver like Don Corleone, like you got to be there.
[41:50] And you're not doing that right now.
[41:52] You know, you can't put all this stuff out.
[41:53] You haven't retained a league title, bro.
[41:54] No ones, no ones falling for this shit.
[41:56] Like, come on. And, you know, outside the club,
[41:58] they make fun of us. Like, they're like Real Madrid.
[42:02] Inside the club, though, everyone is desperate to think
[42:04] that they have their own way, their unique way of doing
[42:06] things. And like, it's just funny
[42:08] because a lot of these guys really don't take ownership or
[42:11] responsibility for the details that lead to those wins, but
[42:14] they want to be associated with the like the branding.
[42:16] And so they're like, we'll do it our way.
[42:17] It's just a. It's a.
[42:18] Narrative is a is a powerful drug, Sid.
[42:21] It is a powerful, powerful drug. And it is so easy to believe
[42:26] your own hype. So easy.
[42:29] Way too easy, especially when you win.
[42:30] And the more you win, the harder it is.
[42:32] And that's why history is full of like, you know, people rising
[42:35] and then falling. That's why it's hard to stay on
[42:37] top for a long time for that reason for sure.
[42:40] I do think the whole conversation philosophically of
[42:43] what you'd do is interesting, but it's sad that it's come to
[42:46] this where you realize maybe that combo's not being had by
[42:49] Florentino as often as you'd like, That maybe we're talking
[42:51] about it every day. But Florentino's like, ah, I
[42:54] just signed someone else or leaked to the media will put
[42:56] pressure on Chabi. I'm sure the guy will figure it
[42:58] out if we do that. That's what he's doing it it,
[43:01] that's what it seems like, right?
[43:02] And we're and it, this is his way of doing things.
[43:04] I'm just gonna sign the best players in the world and they'll
[43:07] just figure it out and we'll, we'll just win titles, you know?
[43:10] And it's like, OK, maybe. Imagine gifting.
[43:13] I love this cake eater. Imagine gifting 3 league titles
[43:16] out of five to a broke Barsa. That's literally to add.
[43:20] Broke, literally a broke Barcelona team.
[43:24] Well, two things we'll remember from tonight.
[43:27] Valdo Panos was born. And maybe Alfredo D Bellingham
[43:32] or Luca, Luca, Jude, whatever you want to call him.
[43:36] Jude. Jude Madrich.
[43:37] Well. I'm just saying he's now does
[43:40] almost everything. Like there's just a few aspects
[43:42] of like attracting the defender and playing mini threw balls in
[43:46] a way Madrich did that he won't do.
[43:48] But listen, Madrich was one of one in the way he did that.
[43:51] So I don't expect that. But the, the criticism with the
[43:54] De Stefano comp when I made it some time ago and you know,
[43:57] recently before he started playing well, I started thinking
[44:01] that was like me being in my own kool-aid was that who doesn't
[44:03] actually play the midfield and striker.
[44:05] Like as we discussed from two years ago, he was more of a
[44:07] forward who was being connected to the midfielders.
[44:11] But today was really the closest thing to like a perfect
[44:13] midfielder. Like it was ridiculous.
[44:16] And I just want to emphasize it cuz I think it's really easy to
[44:19] be like Jude Jude's first game of the season was Athletico and
[44:22] blamed this on him. But it's really, I just want to
[44:25] emphasize like, it's definitely not his fault.
[44:27] Like fine, maybe maybe the locker room conditions meant he
[44:30] shouldn't have played that game, but it's clear that like he just
[44:33] ended up being a weird fit into what was already a team that
[44:36] wasn't going to work. Like we're not going back to the
[44:38] team of Arta passing to Mbappe without Jude.
[44:41] They're we're not going to win playing that way.
[44:43] Teams know what's coming. No, you're, you're 100% right.
[44:46] Look, and I think part of the thing with Jude, like, I don't
[44:48] know, bad raps are the wrong word.
[44:50] But to your point about he's a role model and he's the leader.
[44:53] He is the guy on the pitch when things are not going well and
[44:56] his and his teammates are messing up.
[44:58] That's the one going, what the fuck are you guys doing like
[45:01] that? He's that person.
[45:02] That's the one grabbing dudes by the scruff of the neck and like,
[45:05] get your shit together. And when they don't, his natural
[45:09] default is, well, fuck it, if you're not going to do it, then
[45:13] I got I got to do it myself then, right?
[45:14] I think that's just naturally how fine I got to go connect
[45:17] down here and I got to go up top and make the passes because you
[45:20] guys can't do anything. And that sort of, and I don't
[45:22] think that's because he's some kind of hog and wants all the
[45:26] glory or limelight. I just think he's the ultimate
[45:29] competitor and wants to fucking win.
[45:31] And when he doesn't see people rise their level as he has, he's
[45:34] like, what are you doing? Yeah, there was even an
[45:37] interesting moment in the game. He made a pass and he was
[45:40] gesturing and I was like, was he mad that they're not moving the
[45:42] ball fast, that they're not making the run the way?
[45:45] Because he was doing everything right on time and he made this
[45:48] just weird gesture, like angry. And then you had Vinnie.
[45:50] Vinnie was really funny because we were putting ball pressure
[45:53] after we go up one nil and I thought some of his ball
[45:55] pressure was all good. But there were a couple moments,
[45:58] it was just one moment when he was doing the thing where like
[46:01] the ball's in front of him and he just sticks his hands out and
[46:03] points like, right, But he. Right.
[46:05] It's like, what are you pointing to?
[46:06] It's like LeBron on defense being like, yo, get back, that's
[46:09] your man, you'll go get him. The best comp is if in the NBA
[46:14] playoffs, Donovan Mitchell against Dallas.
[46:16] You remember that moment, You remember Mitchell.
[46:18] Mitchell is standing, pointing his hands, like trying to tell
[46:21] people it's like, what are you doing, bro?
[46:22] You're just standing there and pointing.
[46:27] But hey, where did credit words you?
[46:29] Vinny did do the running a bit for Killian today because
[46:31] Killian was hobbled. So Vinny would sometimes press
[46:34] from the front when Killian ended up on the left.
[46:36] If Killian was up front, then you would do the work on the
[46:38] left. It wasn't great or perfect, but
[46:40] the enthusiasm was there. But hey, listen, this guy
[46:43] clearly like pulled strings to stay out on the pitch, so I
[46:46] don't know what to say. Again, we we don't know for sure
[46:51] and I will say we, we didn't mention it.
[46:54] I have to be fair, that was for sure should have been a penalty.
[46:57] Vinny did deserve to to to earn to earn that one.
[47:01] I always say, look, there's degrees to them, whether it's a
[47:04] soft or a harsh 1 and I say that all the time.
[47:06] But I always say this too, you know, as a defender, when an
[47:09] attacking player is in the box, you know, any slight contact
[47:13] when they go to the ground by rule and by definition, that is
[47:17] a penalty, right? And if you go back and watch it,
[47:20] his leg stuck out, right? Like no attempt on the ball.
[47:23] He goes over. Now you can argue, did he go
[47:24] down too easily? All attackers do that shit.
[47:27] They know when they feel content, go down because you're
[47:29] going to get you're going to get the call.
[47:31] But he didn't. So I understand his frustration
[47:33] and his anger with not getting the call there.
[47:36] Yeah, and I agree it would have been kind of soft if they gave
[47:39] it, but you definitely could have given it because the guy's
[47:41] moving Vinnie. Vinnie's got definitely
[47:44] developed his tendencies and gotten better diving over the
[47:47] years. But yeah, there's there, it's
[47:49] it's hard. It's annoying.
[47:51] Wish he got the penalty. Yeah, he it definitely felt like
[47:53] at that moment too, he was like, see, like looking around, like
[47:56] look what they do to me, like in here, like that little bit of
[47:59] that victim stuff coming out too, Like, hey, like you're
[48:01] singling me out. And it's not ideal.
[48:05] We do get our fair share of penalties.
[48:06] One, it's not like they're not calling them all the time
[48:08] against us. I wouldn't say.
[48:10] With that being said, I am excited to see the results of
[48:13] the Negrera trial when it comes out.
[48:17] Surprising lack of coverage in public media.
[48:20] I will say like. Well, we know why that is.
[48:23] Well, I, I just find it strange like I, I don't really
[48:26] understand. I I would like to like, you
[48:29] know, if Sidlow ever comes on the show, you guys should go tag
[48:31] him like, hey, go on real deal pods explain like if you guys
[48:34] are really a mob for us, go tag these people because like I
[48:37] promise you, we won't let them get away with bullshitting into
[48:39] our faces, but. Exactly.
[48:41] I promise you that we we could ask them, but very excited to
[48:45] see the outcome of the trial. So yeah, Valda Penas, Bellingham
[48:48] Negrera, we got a few positives today.
[48:51] Negrera. And that 8 million we got back
[48:54] too. Yes, correct.
[48:55] Well, you know, you know, Flo's happy about that.
[48:58] Great. Eight more $1,000,000.
[48:59] Don't know where that money's. Going that, that and that and
[49:01] the NFL game, those are Florentino's Champions Leagues.
[49:05] That's his Balandor. Florentino got his Balandor
[49:07] already. Now he he already won his
[49:09] Balandor when the NFL game was. He's done.
[49:11] He's like I'm finished. I already got what I wanted.
[49:13] Listen everybody, thank you as always for tuning in.
[49:15] Please like the video if you haven't already.
[49:17] Right now, just hit the like button and helps to the
[49:19] algorithm share it, subscribe to the channel if you have not
[49:22] subscribed already. And if you want the audio only
[49:25] version of this, we're on Apple Spotify.
[49:27] You can listen to it later. As Sid said, tell people about
[49:29] it, tag Sid low, all these people on ESPN, something to
[49:32] come on here, talk to us. We got lots of questions and
[49:35] we're getting to this point. We won't let them sidestep with
[49:37] soft stuff. We'll ask the hard hitting
[49:38] stuff. Until next time, everybody take
[49:42] care.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.