Fútbolita

We don’t feel very good about Madrid’s chances in tonight’s encounter against Liverpool but don’t let Sergio’s hopeless facial expression fool you into thinking it’s over!

Grandma Juande believes that his side are ready to turn the scoreline in their favour and Raul agrees.

“The possibilities and the options are there. We may have the disadvantage because we only have three days to rest while they would have had seven. But our desire is there and we can make anything happen. Besides, in these types of games, the psychological element far outweighs the physical factor,” said Ramos.

“We have a clear idea of what we have to do – score twice,” added Raul. “The other day we were hit strongly by the defeat (against Liverpool), but we know we are going to have our chances and we are not going to give up. We are capable of beating Liverpool at Anfield. Since the arrival of Juande Ramos we are more disciplined.”

Poor Javier Saviola. When he signed for Real Madrid (from arch rivals Barca), he should have prepared for the backlash both on and off the field.

Now, after a dry spell and a largely miserable season at Los Blancos, the Argentinean striker has admitted that he was close to ‘leaving the club’ in January but was prevented from doing so by the club.

Ah, typical of Real Madrid.

“I spoke to Juande about my situation. I told him the best alternative (for me) would be to play. I was very close to going, but then the decision was placed in the hands of the club,” Saviola said.

“If I don’t play here, I’d be delighted to show my football elsewhere. It is very (hard) not to be able to go onto the field and play.”

Madrid don’t exactly use their brains when purchasing players, so when they bought Huntelaar and Diarra, Saviola had probably given up the fight. We hope Madrid release him!

Grandma Juande has come out of his way to say that ‘Barça is not an obsession’ for Madrid and he’s tired of fielding questions about Barcelona all the time.

Well duh! You don’t expect the nervous fans and folks at the likes of Marca to stay quiet when you’re 12 points behind in the La Liga. Los Blancos are now in second place at 44 points.

Grandma Juande said, “Every week, I hear questions about Barcelona when I’m not looking for them. Our obligation is to win and play well. Barcelona is not an obsession.”

You don’t look for questions, Juande. They find you!

Real Madrid’s coach Grandma Juande Ramos has spoken up about Saviola and his dissatisfaction at Real Madrid. The striker complained in recent days about not getting enough ‘chances’ to play or start for Los Blancos.

He said : “It is normal for him to complain. I like ambitious players, not those who don’t care if they are (playing as) reserves. In a team like that of Real Madrid, with names of great quality, players who want to play every Sunday should join a ‘lower team’. If Saviola plays, it is difficult to say who I would have to (choose).”

Grandma Juande added : “We are focused on our work and the team knows that the rumors are normal. We do not give much importance (to them). Working at Real Madrid is a privilege. I come here knowing that I have a contract of six months and I’d like to enjoy it till the last day.”

Well at least he knows his job at Real Madrid isn’t a permanent one. That’s extremely important.

Well, it’s very rare to see Sergio Ramos score in any game since he’s hardly an attacker, but the flamenco dancer did just that last night. He canceled out Osasuna’s first goal against Real Madrid, which they eventually won 3-1 courtesy of goals from Pied Piper of Hamelin Higuain and Robben. So Real are on a high now with their fourth straight win in the La Liga.

Said your new friend (oh, come on!), Real’s president Vicente Boluda : “The team has been through a lot this week because of what happened, but it also knew how to overcome. I hope we can continue picking up wins and finish the season confidently.”

Boluda is making everyone eat that “Calderon put you in the dark, I will show you the light” bullshit. Don’t do it, guys!!

And yes, we’ve been having nightmares of that photo Boluda took with Grandma Juande posted a few days ago. They look like they’re having an illicit affair.

Wow, it seems that Real Madrid’s boardroom politics are on par with Milan’s.

That’s a photo of Vicente Boluda, Los Blancos’ new president ‘hanging out’ with Grandma Juande at the Madrid training ground in Valdebebas yesterday. This, after Calderon’s abrupt dismissal due to the ‘vote scandal’. Globo claims that Boluda’s official presentation took place after Calderon’s announcement. They work pretty quickly, we must say!

So what could Boluda be discussing with Juande?

The other Ramos at Real Madrid, Senior Sergio, was asked what he thought about his team’s chances at winning this weekend’s el clasico. But he remained wary – much like his expression in the photograph above.

“A clear victory is very good for us against Barcelona. The result gave us confidence. Matches against Barça are always special. All matches are important, but this draws more attention,” he said. Si Senor! Tell us something we don’t already know?!

About Juande, he said : “Juande was very well received by the team. He is a great coach, with great prestige and experience.”

Great Prestige? Well, that’s new. As we all know, it’s very difficult to please the madristas unless Juande manages to come off with a Nou Camp victory on Saturday.

When I was 13, Raul Gonzalez used to be my favourite striker. These days, futbolitas, watching him score is a rarity but it seems like Good ol’ Raul may be picking up from where he left off. Favouritsm, club politics and dodgy antics aside, Raul was once considered the Golden Boy of Spain, favourite of King Juan Carlos (and his wife, so we hear) and former shirt obsessed president Fiorentino Perez. In fact, there were whispers that the king himself had a say in Spain’s starting XI.

Of course, we won’t digress, but Raul netted in two goals and set up Robben’s third, to secure his team a 3-0 win over Zenit in last night’s Champions League match.

We suspect Juande Ramos had more time to look into the mirror before he put on his suit last night. “The most positive thing today is a victory. A clear and convincing victory, which motivates the team for the el clasico on Saturday. The points were not so important. I really enjoyed the performance of the players,” said Ramos.

As Marcelo will not be able to play on Saturday, Ramos has another problem on his hands. “We must find a solution (to replace the Marcelo). In the coming days, we’ll work on it.”

Do not be afraid, Futbolitas. It’s only Juande Ramos, trying to shake off the fact that the entire room’s snickering at him (the irony! my ipod is playing “Barcelona” by Giulia los Tellarini as I type this).

Asked how he felt wearing his new colours, the 54-year-old joked: “I’ve put on my tracksuit for training but, because all this has happened so quickly, I haven’t even had time to look at myself in the mirror. Of course not, Ramos. We know he was actually forced out of his home by Calderon’s dodgy men, blind-folded while he was having breakfast and tossed into the Real Madrid jet before the janitor managed to (finally!) uncover a ‘new’ tracksuit (“Ah, here’s one that .. what’s his name, er, Caro .. no I meant Capello.. or was it Camacho, didn’t wear! ¡estupendo!).

“We’ll be working on the mental side of things,” Ramos explained. “The players need to know they have to remain calm and commit themselves to what they know – which is how to play football. A Champions League game is always important, even if you know you’ve already qualified. We want to do well, we want to try to win this competition. We need a good performance and a positive result, although we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us.”

Globo reported that Ramos is also looking to establish a good working relationship with Real’s physiotherapist, Walter Di Salvo.

So Futbolitas, the headline of the day is that Bernd Schuster has been sacked as coach of Real Madrid. Well, we certainly saw it coming (some of you are even saying it’s about time!). You can only go ‘so far’ before the men in black suits come after you. We have to admit, though, that the timing’s a little bad for our Los Merengues and it’s only going to make this weekend’s el clasico showdown even more interesting.

After a series of meetings on Tuesday morning, Schuster is reported to have been replaced by former Spurs coach/joke Juande Ramos (his wikipedia page has already been updated!) Are they that desperate for a coach? Who’s going to start on Saturday under Ramos’ supervision?

Sporting director Mijatovic was reported to have been very unimpressed by the Schuster’s outburst to add to the poor performances in recent weeks and was instrumental in his sacking.

Ramón Calderón had previously wanted to retain Schuster’s services for fear of a backlash against him, but he was persuaded to make the move after Sunday’s defeat by Sevilla.

We’ll be watching closely….