Real Madrid: Summer Transfer Predictions

     

    

    Hello and welcome to The Red Card League. In January, an extremely boring transfer window took place. Real Madrid's new players include 16-year-old Martin Odegaard and 22-year-old Lucas Silva. Odergaard is currently playing for Real Madrid Castilla under Zinedine Zidane, and he is getting paid more money than most of the other Castilla players can even dream of. Silva, however, has already made his starting debut for Real Madrid's first team.

     

     Of course, the fact that Silva made his debut may have been influenced by the plethora of injuries plaguing Real Madrid at the moment. Had Luka Modric, James Rodriguez, or even Sami Khedira been available for the match against Schalke, perhaps Ancelotti would have made a different decision. Nevertheless, Silva's performance against Schalke was not perfect, but much better than expected. His defensive contribution was solid enough, he made good passes going forward, and he even had the confidence to attempt a shot from nearly 30 yards away. 

     

     Which further proves that, come the summer transfer window, Sami Khedira and Asier Illaramendi must leave the club. 

     The fact is, Luka Modric has already returned to training. James Rodriguez is expected to return in a few months. They add to the brilliant Isco and Toni Kroos, as well as the newly acquired Lucas Silva. This is not to mention any Castilla members that are sometimes called to the first team, such as Medran, and any players out on loan, such as Cheryshev or Casemiro. In the Real Madrid midfield, there simply isn't room for Khedira or Illaramendi.

     While Khedira used to boast superb aerial ability, as well as great defensive contribution, he is now about as useful on the pitch as a tranquilized elephant. His constant injuries may be responsible for this, but the worst part is that he seems to have no desire to improve or to help this team. While he should have been sold in January, the best option now is to let him quietly leave in the summer, when his contract ends. Until then, he hardly deserves a spot on this team, even as a substitute.

     Illaramendi certainly garners more sympathy than Khedira, but he must leave nevertheless. Illaramendi is too talented to sit on the bench, but not talented enough for a spot on the team. Ancelotti quite obviously does not trust him, and his performances, while rarely terrible, are not persuading enough to change that. He offers very little attacking prowess, leaves holes in defense, and has absolutely no effect on set pieces. 

    Of course, these two are not the only players who may want to leave Real Madrid soon. In addition to them, Coentrao and Arbeloa are still on the team only as substitutes to Carvajal and Marcelo. Iker Casillas may have elongated his future at Madrid, but it can only last for so long. 

    However, Real Madrid is not known for reasonable, sensible transfers, but rather prefers to chase after whatever player happens to be popular at the moment. So, if Florentino Perez offers €100 million, the whole Real Madrid squad, the sun, the moon, and his soul in exchange for Paul Pogba, don't be too surprised. 

Intro to the new admin

Hi guys... I'm the new admin and blogger on The Red Card League! I'm super excited to be apart of this duo. My name is Jill, and I'm a big BPL fan, more specifically, Arsenal Football Club. Today... Well today I don't really know what to write about.. Alexis or the match tomorrow? Did I also mention I'm not a major supporter of Real Madrid, but when it comes to Real vs Barca, I will be siding with Real. INSTEAD OF DEBATING ON WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT... I'll just write both! :)

Star Man of the Season: Alexis Sanchez

Well, if any Arsenal fan is going to talk, it would definitely be about Alexis Sanchez. Our new signing from over the summer, is to say the least, world class. Even though his fee was disclosed, it was reported to be around 35 million BPS, which is approximately 52 million USD. He replaced Nacho Monreal's 17, (Monreal originally had the number 17, but it was changed to 18 after Alexis arrived.) I don't think many Arsenal fans argued. 17 is a number to remember this season, considering the forward has netted 18 times in all competitions, with 9 assists in all competitions. He is altering Arsenals' style slightly, but the club hasn't taken action. What I mean by style is, is that Alexis will hog the ball instead of playing the fast passing game, the Arsenal way. Did we expect Alexis to shine? Yes. Just look at Ozil when we stole him from Real last year. ;) He performed well and now, he's back from injury. I don't happen to like Ozil, however, because of his personal life. I like him in football, but not as a person. Something I am personally upset about is...*DRUM ROLL* Ramsey. I get why he isn't in form. Injuries, and pressure. All Arsenal fans expected him to do as well as he did last season. I believe we put too much pressure on him, and he has probably cracked. Or, maybe he's just too tired from having lots of sex with his wife, Colleen, who he married in June, 2014. (He is mine, though.) However, I can't complain with Alexis' season. He has carried us to 5th place, and hopefully we can reach fourth and get Champions League qualifications, again. However, the title seems unlikely. Good job Chelsea.

Match Predictions: Arsenal v Brighton

HAHAHAHAHA. Honestly, Brighton. I think we have a 99% of beating them. Am I a bit complacent? Yes. However, Brighton will most likely put their best team forward, and well, Arsenal.... Not so much. We might put in some youth players in there, *Hopefully Chuba Akpom, I would like to see him play...* and hopefully a return of Wojciech Szczesny who has been dropped. Arsene Wenger denies the fact he was dropped for smoking, but I sincerely doubt that. Ospina has had 3 very solid performances, but our defense has also stepped up. He(Ospina) hasn't been challenged, but 3 clean sheets is not bad. I think Giroud will be up front, and Alexis will be put in. Alexis is tireless and wants to be in every, and I mean EVERY game. Of course, he doesn't mind being subbed in late game. I predict a 3-0 win to the Arsenal. 

Was my first blog post good? Leave feedback in the comments! ~Jill

Ballon D'or Reaction

 Welcome back to the Red Card League. As you all know, the annual Ballon D'or ceremony wad held recently. A whole night of footballers shaking hands and pretending to like each other while Sepp Blatter rambles nonsensically and pretends to be competent at his job. 

 So, here are some points of interest from the ceremony:

1. Messi needs a new wardrobe

   I'm sorry, but this had to be said.

 I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves here.

2. Atletico were robbed

   On a more serious note, this is ridiculous. I understand that not everyone likes Atletico's style of football,(they're a bit prone to violence and bullying), and not everyone likes Diego Simeone (he's kind of terrifying), but seriously? They won La Liga, they were seconds away from winning the UCL, they did a pretty good job in Copa Del Rey, AND THEY GET NOTHING? Harsh.

3. David Luiz…HOW???

   Somehow, David Luiz was included in the team of the year. David Luiz, the guy that was Chelsea's bench player. David Luiz, the guy that bears most of the responsibility for Brazil's 7-1 defeat. David Luiz,the guy that is more focused on running around the pitch, putting out imaginary fires than actually playing. Don't get me wrong, Luiz has his moments of brilliance, but they are too few and far in between to have gotten him this spot. My personal theory is that he was included JUST because if he came to the ceremony, he would amuse the crowd and FIFA wouldn't have to pay for entertainment. Too bad, as he didn't show up at the ceremony.

4. CR7 wins well-deserved award, then does this 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdqyh-aeCL8

Sources say this scream is somewhat of a Real Madrid tradition, which the players celebrate with the noise during training, games,etc. 

All I know is that Ancelotti was giggling, and that in itself is even more disturbing than the actual noise.

5. Stephanie  Roche

   Stephanie Roche is an amazing player who scored an amazing goal. It was probably better than the James Rodriguez volley that wound up winning the Puskas award for goal of the year. However, part of the criteria for the award was the importance of the goal. James Rodriguez scored in a World Cup knockout game. Stephanie Roche scored in the 2nd tier Irish league. I'm surprised FIFA even noticed her goal. That being said, this gives Roche some well-deserved fame and recognition, so even if she didn't win the award, she's still a winner in my eyes. This photo proves it.

Predictions for Barcelona vs Atletico

                             

Welcome back to The Red Card League. This Sunday is a good day for soccer fans. You can watch Juventus vs Napoli, where Andrea Pirlo continues to make us wonder whether or not he's actually Chuck Norris in disguise. You can also watch, among countless other matches, Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid, and that's the match I'm going to focus on today.

  Now, soccer is an unpredictable and wonderful sport, but there are some things that are quite easy to foresee. So, without further ado, I declare myself the Oracle of La Liga. Here are some of my visions for the match.

1. Luis Enrique realizes that he needs to figure out his staring lineup. In order to do this he enlists the help of David Moyes.

2. Moyes, being the absolute genius that we know him to be, will advise Luis Enrique to play Messi in goal, Neymar as a centre back,and Douglas as a striker. Luis Suarez is made head of the medical staff.

3. Messi makes it clear to everyone that he is not a happy bunny and proceeds to follow every soccer team that he can think of on Instagram.

4. Meanwhile in Atletico, Diego Simeone attempts to motivate his players by threatening to murder them. Most of the players are not very scared by this because they used to play with Diego Costa, so they're used to death threats.

5. Once the game actually starts, Messi does a very good job in goal because he's Messi, while Neymar is so confused by the centre back position that he tries to tackle himself and somehow succeeds.

6. The medical staff is called upon to help Neymar, but the medical staff has been eaten by Luis Suarez.

7. From the Atletico bench, Fernando Torres politely asks Diego Simeone to please pretty please with a cherry on top let him play. Simeone reminds Torres that he's over thirty years old.

8. Antoine Griezmann appears out of nowhere and scores twenty goals.

9. Luis Enrique begins to cry and says, between sobs, that he wants to go back to Celta Vigo.

10. The match is abandoned when Xavi breaks out into an interpretive dance about grass length.

The Curse of Coentrao

The Curse of Coentrao

   

  Fabio Coentrao is lucky in many ways. He plays for Real Madrid, as well as the Portuguese national team. His skill is valued by fans, players, and coaches all over the world.    

  However, before envying his paycheck or his car, one must look a little more closely at his time with Real Madrid. Nowadays, Coentrao  spends most of his time in the following ways:

A. Injured

B. In Marcelo's shadow

C. Being ignored by pretty much everyone, like in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA04gdwLXeI

 

  However, prior to Real Madrid's Saturday clash with Espanyol, Marcelo was rested for the game due to back discomfort. This was Coentrao's chance to get some much-needed game time and attention.

  The first half of the game went well. Coentrao looked solid in defense and provided some good passes as well, but unfortunately, Fabio Coentrao is not allowed to be happy for more than 45 minutes.

Which is why, early in the second half, this happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELCDeUVaqIY

   













  In case you are too lazy or unwilling to actually watch the video,the content of the video pretty much sums up the misfortune that constantly follows Fabio Coentrao. Even when, seemingly, he was having a good game, he ended up both administering and receiving an extremely unpleasant tackle, and got a red card for his troubles while his opponent was allowed to play on. To make matters even worse, while his teammates were protesting Coentrao's sending off, Cristiano Ronaldo was shown a yellow card.

  Thankfully for Coentrao, Espanyol were unable to take advantage of the situation and Real Madrid won the game 3-0. Due to this, as well as the incredible irrationality of Madridtistas, Fabio Coentrao has largely avoided the wrath of the fans. Inexplicably, the player most abused by Real Madrid fans was poor Gareth Bale, who can be the best player on the pitch and still get whistled at the Bernabeu.

  So, if you ever happen to meet Fabio Coentrao in person, get his autograph and then run away. You don't want to be within a 50 feet radius of his bad luck.

  And that concludes my first real post on Red Card League. Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated, so leave your opinion below!

Welcome to the Red Card League!!!

Welcome to the Red Card League, the blog where soccer fans get to laugh at the hilarious, unusual, and sometimes just plain bizzare things that happen on the soccer stage.

Now, while watching games it's common for fans to scream, curse and belittle the rival team from the moment the game kicks off and until the final whistle.

But it's also important to be able to accept the shortcomings of your team, and laugh a little at the sport that we all take far too seriously.

Or just make fun of Fernando Torres. That's always an option.

So, whether you're a mature adult or an absolutely crazy fangirl, welcome to the Red Card League.