Mourinho never could really implement a hard working 4-2-3-1 because Ronaldo and Ozil don't track back and Xabi Alonso is a fabulously overrated player who has bouts of extreme laziness at the worst times.
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[CL] Champions League 2012/13 (101 Viewers)
- Thread starter Azzurri7
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Yeah Mourinho's madrid is a fairly unbalanced side. The players dont fit Mourinho's style all the too well. It was very evident against Dortmund, where Madrid basically played without midfield when out of possession. No supporting players, little covering of any space and little pressuring. Alonso had to play the role of ballwinner, where he also is a player who excells when in possession.
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Yeah basically. Although I dont think Alonso is overrated, but if you play him he should be used like Pirlo; helped by players who move a lot.
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Alonso is a quality player, but I think the players like Xabi Alonso and Pirlo with their mobility aren´t going to perform in Europe anymore with teams that are good at pressing or in other high-tempo games. Just look at Dortmund and Bayern and their midfielders Schweinsteiger and Gundogan, they are able to pick the ball from the defence, move across the center of the pitch and excell at vertical running and play different positions when marked and also offer much in defence. Pirlo and Xabi aren´t dynamic as those two. I feel those two are examples of how the modern deep lying playmaker should be, a hybrid of a playmaker and B2B midfielder.
Alonso is a quality player, but I think the players like Xabi Alonso and Pirlo with their mobility aren´t going to perform in Europe anymore with teams that are good at pressing or in other high-tempo games. Just look at Dortmund and Bayern and their midfielders Schweinsteiger and Gundogan, they are able to pick the ball from the defence, move across the center of the pitch and excell at vertical running and play different positions when marked and also offer much in defence. Pirlo and Xabi aren´t dynamic as those two. I feel those two are examples of how the modern deep lying playmaker should be, a hybrid of a playmaker and B2B midfielder.
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Exactly. People forget that these ball playing DMs are still playing in front of the defence after all. They are not exempt from defensive duties. And as the pace keeps increasing and the counters keep coming at friggin lightning quick speeds, I'm really starting to wonder if there is a place for these players nowadays in top level European matches.
I think they can play domestically for the most part and in some instances in Europe but IMO they are far from guaranteed starters.
I think they can play domestically for the most part and in some instances in Europe but IMO they are far from guaranteed starters.
After only ONE day 100 000 Dortmund fans have requested ticked for the final. 
That is insane.
Pretty sure this final would fill 500k seats.
That is insane. Pretty sure this final would fill 500k seats.
Dortmund expect to receive 500,000 ticket requests.
The unfortunate thing for Real Madrid is that during Mourinho's spell they largely faced the best Barcelona ever. They obviously should have done better in those years prior, but they were somewhat in transition whilst Barcelona were coming towards their peak.
You can't excuse spending that amount of money, however. Even a shitty final victory like Chelsea's must have been achievable.
You can't excuse spending that amount of money, however. Even a shitty final victory like Chelsea's must have been achievable.
Dunno.
Mourinho seemed really hacked off with the players after that game, as if he felt he'd prepared them properly and they had just failed to turn up.
Of course, that may just have been Mourinho trying to pass the buck, but that's not the impression I got.
Anyway, I don't think Mourinho has done particularly well at Real. It's still very rare that they play as a cohesive unit and little seems to have been done to address some pretty obvious flaws in their personnel (which may not entirely be Mourinho's fault) and tactics.
I would also like to hear an explanation of why the guys like Reus, Muller and Ribery (and even Robben lately) are able to play a full role in their team's play both in attack and defence, but Ronaldo is basically allowed to switch off as soon as Real don't have the ball.
Quite hard to create a properly balanced team when you have more than one player in the team who contributes almost nothing defensively. Even harder when it's a wide player, rather than a striker, who isn't doing any defensive work.
Ronaldo is a great athlete - at least comparable in that regard, if not better than the players I mentioned - so surely he could manage to track the run of the opposition fullback on a reasonably regular basis.
Teams like BVB and Bayern (and Juve, for that matter) are playing both phases of the game with all their players.
Real are choosing to significantly handicap themselves by not doing the same.
Mourinho seemed really hacked off with the players after that game, as if he felt he'd prepared them properly and they had just failed to turn up.
Of course, that may just have been Mourinho trying to pass the buck, but that's not the impression I got.
Anyway, I don't think Mourinho has done particularly well at Real. It's still very rare that they play as a cohesive unit and little seems to have been done to address some pretty obvious flaws in their personnel (which may not entirely be Mourinho's fault) and tactics.
I would also like to hear an explanation of why the guys like Reus, Muller and Ribery (and even Robben lately) are able to play a full role in their team's play both in attack and defence, but Ronaldo is basically allowed to switch off as soon as Real don't have the ball.
Quite hard to create a properly balanced team when you have more than one player in the team who contributes almost nothing defensively. Even harder when it's a wide player, rather than a striker, who isn't doing any defensive work.
Ronaldo is a great athlete - at least comparable in that regard, if not better than the players I mentioned - so surely he could manage to track the run of the opposition fullback on a reasonably regular basis.
Teams like BVB and Bayern (and Juve, for that matter) are playing both phases of the game with all their players.
Real are choosing to significantly handicap themselves by not doing the same.