Sefa Writes: Dysfunctional Real Madrid music to rivals

“New UCL format? The reason for all these changes is to stop Real Madrid from winning the UCL every time,” Buffon gleefully said after conducting the Champions League draw alongside Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

Even the great Gigi failed to lay his hand on the prestigious trophy, thanks to the monstrous winning machine created by Florentino Perez and Real Madrid, carving a niche for themselves as the team to beat in every Champions League season.

Winning 6 of the last 10 Champions League crowns on offer is mind-boggling. You get completely thrown away if you juxtapose Real’s Champions League success to fierce rivals Barcelona’s in the last decade; since Barcelona last reached the pinnacle of European football in 2015 to secure their 5th Champions League title, Real have gone on to match Barca’s total trophy tally in the last decade.

Absolutely ridiculous! The crux of it is, there is no stopping them. The team keeps getting better and better. Toni Kroos retired after the Euros but Madrid had enough cover in his stead – at least until this point.

The stars continually align for Real Madrid. No team quite conducts business like they do, and cajoling Mbappe to run down his contract with his native club Paris Saint Germain to join them, further consolidated their supremacy.

28 days after his arrival, the football world was muttering after Mbappé scored and had his first taste of silverware in Madrid’s all-white in the Uefa Super Cup final in Poland against Atalanta.

However, since the start of the 2024-25 La Liga season, the ominous clouds that gathered in Poland to signal La Liga’s defences of the arrival of a star have dissipated.

Real Madrid have not had the blazing start as anticipated by all. Victory rinse and repeat is far from being a mere formality.

A reality check in the opening games? Are players too complacent? Not having designated roles? Everything seems chaotic on the pitch. Mini-team meetings happen way too often on the left, with Mbappe, Rodrygo and Vinicius always brainstorming in the course of games and getting in each other’s way. The result of the meetings, as seen on the pitch in games, is that the right wing is of no good and must be deserted.

Players who are supposed to be moving and picking up spaces to get defenders constantly guessing, take up each other’s positions.

Real Madrid have been below par, accumulating 5 points from 9, in their opening three games.

Or, perhaps the right-footed attacking line needs to be altered? With the preference of the starting trio (Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Mbappe) being to cut in from the left.

At least, Ancelotti tweaked things up in their last outing against Las Palmas on Thursday, with the magical left foot of Brahmin Diaz displacing Rodrygo in the starting line-up. Even with that, Brahim subconsciously joined in on the hot-market hurrah on the left.

Not often is it said but, for the first time, Ancelotti would not like where he is — and the international break couldn’t have come at a better time.

A win and two draws is a fair reflection and summary of the team till this point. Think about a youthful Barcelona team under transition, who are wracking up wins with a veteran and a schoolboy in attack. Then, you wonder, did Real Madrid pay their way into trouble? This was not the start envisaged; the script has completely gone against the grain.

Barcelona’s potential renaissance heightens the fears of Real Madrid fans, with a proven winner in Hansi flick at the helm for them, albeit running on a tight budget.

But, their limited stars have shone thus far, and Real Madrid will require theirs to sparkle as well.

Mbappe had done everything and had taken all of Ronaldo’s steps but has so far failed to replicate his killer instincts in front of goal.

The Bernabeu came out for the procession of the face of the new era of stars, chanted, and yelled, as they welcomed the biggest star of the current dispensation. “Uno, dos, tres, as echoed on July 16, has been by far the only united chorus by Real Madrid. It’s been utterly dysfunctional. Nothing seems to be working.

Individual brilliance, not working. Even the road runner Federico Valverde has hit an impasse; the congestion down the left is a frustrating sight to behold.

Teams were expected to be left in the shade by Real Madrid but rather (and you’re not reading wrongly) Los Blancos have been made to labour.

Real Madrid are grinding out results and capitalizing on moments in games. The performance across the three La Liga games has left a lot to be desired.

A worrying sight for the, somewhat, nonchalant Madridistas, who have been spoilt with success in the last decade.

Ancelotti, who worked with the famous ‘ BBC trio’ and is responsible for starting this rollover of success with La Decima in 2014, needs to dig deep.

A win against Betis at the weekend would help allay fears, after dropping four valuable points against Las Palmas and Real Mallorca.

By: Andrews Sefa Bamfo

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