Last night’s 4-0 destruction of a decent Schalke side (goals in the video vault on the right) confirmed what I had long suspected, that the other team in Madrid are more than worth paying attention to this season.
Betfair currently have them at 26-1 to win La Liga and 2-1 to win it with a 12 point headstart. They are also 54-1 to win the Champions League. In each of these bets I think there is value to be had.
A constant criticism of the side is that they have a good first XI and not much in the way of reserves but this is no longer the case. Here is the squad for last night’s game…
| 25 | Leo Franco | (G) |
| 15 | Johnny Heitinga | (D) |
| 21 | Luis Perea | (D) |
| 18 | Tomas Ujfalusi | (D) |
| 4 | Mariano Pernia | (D) |
| 11 | Maximiliano Rodriguez | (M) |
| 8 | Raúl García | (M) |
| 16 | Maniche | (M) |
| 20 | Simão | (M) |
| 7 | Diego Forlan | (F) |
| 10 | Sergio Leonel Aguero | (F) |
Subs:
| 1 | Gregory Coupet | (G) |
| 2 | Giourkas Seitaridis | (D) |
| 22 | Pablo Ibañez | (D) |
| 9 | Luis Garcia | (M) |
| 12 | Silva Paulo Assuncao | (M) |
| 19 | Miguel de las Cuevas | (M) |
| 14 | Florent Sinama-Pongolle | (F) |
If you judge the depth of a squad by the strength of the substitutes bench then it’s a pretty impressive list. When you also consider that they are rumoured to be in discussion with two highly-rated young Brazilian talents in Thiago Neves and (a personal favourite) Hernanes, then I don’t think there can be a doubt that they have the group of players needed to win trophies.
Sergio Aguero is second only to his fellow countryman Leo Messi as maybe the best player in the world under the age of 23 and his presence alone would turn most good sides into contenders. When you combine his potency with the goalscoring threat of Diego Forlan, whose La Liga record is very impressive then you have one of the best strike partnerships in Spain.
The wing pairing of Simao and Maxi Rodriguez is one that is also unlikely to be bettered my many teams in Europe and with these two supplying the ammunition to the previously mentioned forwards then this is not a team that is going to be short of goals. If Hernanes and Neves join to complete the attacking six then it’s frankly a daunting prospect.
They’ve also receuited an ageing but still reliable stopper in Gregory Coupet and the signing of Ajax’s captain and player of the year Johnny Heitinga is another shrewd move. Uffalusi is another experienced head with plenty of class at the back.
I don’t expect them to a league / European double but there is value in the odds and they have the players to trouble anyone in Europe on their day. Definitely a side to keep an eye out for and could be this year’s surprise package in La Liga, much like Villareal were last time out. The difference in 2008/09 is that they have a superior squad to Villareal and will be in a better position to take advantage of the big two’s slip ups. Barcelona looks very strong but are an unknown commodity under an inexperienced coach in Guardiola. Similarly Madrid won at a canter in the end last season despite almost trying to throw it away with underwhelming performances at the end of the season. With their main aim likely to be the Champions league, the time may be perfect for their local rivals to succeed them with domestic glory.
