BBC: Becks not good enough for Real Madrid

[El_Maestro]

Beckham not the Real thing (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/champions_league/2930719.stm)

Manchester United insist David Beckham will not be moving to Real Madrid - and on a disappointing night at the Bernabeu it is easy to see why.

The brutal truth is that Beckham falls short of the genuine world class that makes Real the natural home of the game's elite group of players.

Beckham was a disappointing onlooker as Real Madrid's masters looked a class above Sir Alex Ferguson's men in their 3-1 Champions League quarter-final first leg win.


Discuss

[Father Ted]

Ronaldo was crap last night too. Does that make him to be below United's standards?

[total_football]

Beckham has got to be one of the most over-rated athletes in the world, hands down! No all-around skills at all--a one trick pony who can score on the ocassional free kick. Otherwise: no toughness, marginal footspeed, poor dribbling and tackling skills, etc.

He is only popular to the extent of his golden locks and fashion sense. Talentwise, he is very overrated!

Who is he going to replace? FIGO? Are you kidding? Get serious!

[Liverpool_SC]

I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I don't think the article is very convincing. I mean, Figo is not getting any younger. Though he was brilliant on this night, he is not always able to raise his game and fight through the injuries - hence mediocre performances such as last year.

To be honest, I think that Beckham would be even more effective with Real Madrid than he would be with Man Utd. I dispute the claim in the article that Beckham fails when he doesn't take the game over by himself. That is simply not his role on ManU. He is at his best when he a) works very hard on defense/all-around game b) makes excellent passes and crosses and assists the team in maintaining attacking pressure c) makes good use of set piece situations to score and create goals and d) is a secondary goal scorer for the team. Another skill that makes him world-class is his first touch and ability to settle and move the ball in an instant. Beckham thinks and plays very fast and his vision is excellent. These attributes only show up when the players around him are good enough to take advantage of them. These skills would allow Beckham to slip in to the attractive attacking-possession style that Madrid plays in their box-style midfield. Beckham would also provide more cover for Salgudo (or whatever his name is), as the Madrid wingbacks are occasionally exposed due to the extra demands the Madrid system makes of them.

In the England set-up, he does play a more assertive role. At Real, you would see him adjust to a more technical style, although he is not naturally suited to the Figo role as much as Steve McManaman is. We would once and for all see how skilled he is at moving past people with the ball and making greater use of his left foot (although he does more of these things in the England setup). But even if he did not make the one-on-one plays as much as Figo makes them, he would be better on defense and his passing would result in many phenomenol goals from his teammates.

You could say that Roy Keane failed to stamp his authority on the match too. But does that mean that he is not of sufficient quality to play for Real? Too old, you say? How much older is he than Figo?

I would love to see Man Utd sell Beckham - just to see how the Man Utd fans react. It would be pretty neat.

[puddleduck]

If nothing else Becks is a good ambassador for English linguistic culture.

For example he's the sole reason this Yank knows the meaning of the phrase, "overrated ponce dandying around the edges of a match".

[Motterman]

Go slag off Beckham in your own forums. All of England were on his nob after the Greece match, and that was no mean feat after France '98.

Or do you think you are a better judge of talent than Sven and Sir Alex?

[GringoTex]

http://www.football365.com/You_Say_We_say/Football365_Opinion/story_63410.shtml

Real's touch from 1 to 11 was simple and simply magnificent, exposing how technique remains the biggest single difference between the continental mainland's finest and this island's stars. The brightest of the latter, David Beckham, looked like a debutant when Zinedine Zidane flicked the ball from foot to foot to send his opponent's head spinning.

[bc939kdl]

i wish i got to see the match sooooo BAD. anywehre showing reruns that people know of?

[Liverpool_SC]

Originally posted by Motterman
Or do you think you are a better judge of talent than Sven and Sir Alex?

That's not really the point. The thread is whether or not Vicente Del Bosque rates him - not Sven Goren Ericsson or Alex Ferguson. I don't think that many people are disputing whether or not he is good enough for England or Man Utd. Just Real Madrid.

[bc939kdl]

Where does Real Get all their money to buy these players? they are like the yankees of soccer, only they dont ALWAYS win.

[Motterman]

Originally posted by Liverpool_SC
I don't think that many people are disputing whether or not he is good enough for England or Man Utd. Just Real Madrid.

I wonder how puddleduck must rate England then...

[Liverpool_SC]

Originally posted by bc939kdl
Where does Real Get all their money to buy these players? they are like the yankees of soccer, only they dont ALWAYS win.

They don't always have money to buy players. But they still buy them anyway! Sometimes they go WAAAAAY into debt (a mere 20,000 million pesetas ($109.8 million) in May of 2000). That year they paid @ $50,000,000 for Figo and only a year later that they ponied up over $65,000,000 for Zidane, so that lets you know about their cash-flow situation.

I think that you could make a case that Real has been more dominant than the Yankees (though possibly even more worthy of being despised). They have won their league twenty-eight times. They have one the spanish cup seventeen times (they have won the cup - league double four times).

Especially when you consider that the Champions Cup/League (which they have won nine stinking times - they even own the trophy itself) is on a plane that baseball doesn't even have access to. Much less the super cup, UEFA cups (2), Intercontinental cups (3) and other honors.

[SankaCofie]

giggs on the other hand...

actually i think both giggs and beckham could cut it at Real, which reminds me, did it seem to you guys like those two weren't playing Madrid they were auditioning for them? I've NEVER seen so many backheels and so little pushes chippy play harsh tackles and general punkyness from ManU, where's the spirit guys? Even Keano was wimpy.

[MarioKempes]

This is yet another example of the media trying to create controversy where it does not exist. If you look at what the players actually said about Beckham, it doesn't match the headline at all. Yellow journalism.

[spike]

Originally posted by Liverpool_SC
They don't always have money to buy players. But they still buy them anyway! Sometimes they go WAAAAAY into debt (a mere 20,000 million pesetas ($109.8 million) in May of 2000). That year they paid @ $50,000,000 for Figo and only a year later that they ponied up over $65,000,000 for Zidane, so that lets you know about their cash-flow situation.


A few years ago, wasn't Real in financial difficulty? If I recall correctly (unlikely), they sold their practice ground to the city of Madrid for a huge sum (way over market value, apparently). Then the city built them a new one. They apparently turned a huge profit at the expense of the city taxpayers. Apparently, there are certain rules against government subsidies of clubs (FIFA?), but they got away with this one.

I'm sure someone else out there knows what really happened, and even if they don't, this is BS, so others will surely have their own version.

[SankaCofie]

Originally posted by spike

I'm sure someone else out there knows what really happened, and even if they don't, this is BS, so others will surely have their own version.

As i hear it the freemasons in the spanish goverment practically GAVE Real a few billion dollars at the behest of the illuminati inner circle.

[El_Maestro]

Originally posted by spike
A few years ago, wasn't Real in financial difficulty? If I recall correctly (unlikely), they sold their practice ground to the city of Madrid for a huge sum (way over market value, apparently). Then the city built them a new one. They apparently turned a huge profit at the expense of the city taxpayers. Apparently, there are certain rules against government subsidies of clubs (FIFA?), but they got away with this one.

I'm sure someone else out there knows what really happened, and even if they don't, this is BS, so others will surely have their own version.

Don't know what exactly happened with their practice ground, but Real Madrid has always been the team of the Spanish, and particularly Madrid establishment, from the royalty, to dictator Franco (Hitler's buddy), to current president Aznar (Bush's buddy).

The Catalan (Barcelona) press has largely made these claims, that Real is favored by the Federation and government officials.

These last few days in Barcelona they denounced that the Federation tried to push for a Camp Nou Stadium's sanction after Barca's players displayed a banner calling for peace in Iraq, which allegedly didn't sit well with Aznar (a Real's fan), who might have pressured for the sanction, so the press said.

Finally they settled for a fine.

Barca's stadium had this process pending after fans threw things to the pitch in a game against...


...Real Madrid of course.

[Motterman]

Originally posted by El_Maestro

Barca's stadium had this process pending after fans threw things to the pitch in a game against...


...Real Madrid of course.

Was that the pig-head incident?

[sch2383]

Originally posted by SankaCofie
Even Keano was wimpy.

He played like crap yesterday (like everybody else on the team), but don't call him a wimp. Ever.

[soccerfan220]

Originally posted by Father Ted
Ronaldo was crap last night too. Does that make him to be below United's standards?
Beckham was worse.