Real Madrid never learn

Claude Makalele

History repeats itself – first as tragedy, then as farce.

For Madridistas, that ancient proverb is ringing painfully true.

Ten years ago, Real Madrid sold Claude Makalele to Chelsea and bought David Beckham in his stead. Beckham was an ace winger, England captain and a Page 3 celebrity – perfect for the Real Madrid template of flamboyant foreign stars. Makalele was a relatively unknown player who operated as a central defensive midfielder. Not a goalscorer and not a great passer, he had no particularly attractive stats. Chelsea wanted him badly. A glamour contest between Beckham and Makalele could have only one winner. From all angles, the sale appeared a win-win situation to Real’s blinkered bosses.

That mistake haunts Real to this day. Makalele would go on to be the greatest midfield linchpin in modern football – a player so influential that the CDM position has been rechristened ‘The Makalele Role’ in his honour. Beckham was a mediaphilic signing, but completely unnecessary for the team. With Makalele, Real won three continental trophies. He didn’t appear to have any major influence on those successes. But after he left, their Euro triumphs ended – even as Chelsea began registering title after title.

Makalele did most of his work – running around, spreading out the ball, protecting the defence – with such quiet efficiency that to the untrained eye he was virtually invisible. Beckham was anything but. It is unfair to criticize his abilities, given he was an excellent crosser, but his utility to a team packed with star forwards was questionable.

Jump to Deadline Day 2013. Alter a few names, and voilà! The more things change, the more they remain the same.

The irony is that despite an instructive history, Real, under Florentino Perez, are committing exactly the same error of judgement.

Unlike 2003, the world is fully aware of Mesut Ozil’s potential, and every club worth its salt would want him in its ranks. He was perhaps the best foreign playmaker to grace La Liga since Ronaldinho left, and the Primera Liga is all the poorer for his departure (although their loss is the EPL’s gain).

A similar analogy can be drawn between the Beckham and Gareth Bale signings. Bale scored a few excellent goals in the latter half of last season – but Real aren’t lacking talent in that regard. In addition to the now-departed Ozil, their team has a pacy playmaker in Angel di Maria and a high-scoring winger in Ronaldo. They are already the best counter-attacking team in the world. What more can Bale add to the mix?

Madrid’s bizarrely illogical cycle of sales and purchases was manifested in 2009 too, when they launched a fire sale of their Dutch contingent (Sneijder, Robben, Van der Vaart) to pay for the acquisitions of Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso. The purchases – and sales – happened against the wishes of then manager Manuel Pellegrini. Since then, Real have won a league title and one domestic Cup. It’s fair to say they wouldn’t have done much better had they stuck to their previous squad.

Real Madrid are committing a terrible mistake by selling Mesut Ozil and replacing him with a player they do not need. Someday, this mistake will come back to haunt them.

Watching the grand unveiling of Bale at the Bernabeu today, I was reminded of something. In 2003, after selling Makalele, Perez launched an unprovoked broadside against his old player. His distribution, his passing, his movement… everything was terrible, Perez alleged. Real would not miss him; Beckham was far superior.

At which point Zinedine Zidane sardonically quipped, “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?”

As always, Zizou, I have to concur.