La Liga 2014-15 season review: Real Madrid

Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale suffered a loss of form in 2015. /

Real Madrid, after winning the Champions League last season, a title which had evaded them for 12 years, were expected to go on and consolidate this season, but it was anything but that.

Achieving La Decima success was the turning point which gave the unquestionable power to Florentino Perez in the Madrid hierarchy. It is said that too much power eventually leads to downfall, and Florentino proved it once again.

He used his power to sell Di Maria, who was, arguably, the best player last season for Madrid in all competitions. He bought Kroos for a discounted price, but let Xabi Alonso leave immediately. Sources from different channels also made a note of Perez interference in the team selection, which led to unbearable injuries to Luka Modric, James Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale at a crucial time, which cost Madrid heavily. It was that kind of season where things looked so promising for a while but turned out to be just that, promising. At one point, Madrid managed to win 22 in a row, scoring 83 goals in the process, but then things turned around, and in the end it was a season to forget.

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Overall, Los Blancos earned an impressive 92 points in the league, which was 14 better than the 3rd place Athletico Madrid. However, Madrid proved to be an elephant whose real teeth were of no use in the La Liga big matches, as they only managed to win 1 out of 6 matches they played against the other top 3 in the league (Barcelona, Atletico Madrid & Valencia). Madrid was only able to pick just 4 points out of a potential 18 against the top 3 sides that proved to be the pivotal point in ending up the campaign empty-handed.

In terms of the individual performances, Madrid was right up there, but it was the team performance that was missing. Injury to Luka Modric was the knock that the Los Blancos could not handle, as his creative work was missing in the important matches in which he did not take part and Xabi Alonso’s departure was even more noticeable for the whites throughout the rough season. In his absence, Kroos who, although he enjoyed fantastic first season, could not establish himself in the middle of the park as the real leader who would dictate the game according to his own plans. Perhaps it was a little too much to ask for the World Cup winning midfielder, who did not seem to have a key to find a pass that could break the door of stubborn opponents when Los Blancos needed it most.

Madrid signed James Rodriguez and let go Di Maria, which forced Ancelotti changed the style of play. From potent counter-attacking football in the previous season, Isco, James and Kroos, led the charge as the team adopted possession-based football. It was effective for most of the season, but with all of these players playing in the lineup together, Madrid seems a little slower this season on the counter compared to that of the previous campaign, where it was Di Maria, Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema, who ran the show for the Spanish giants.

Madrid also had a problem with not being able to use the strength on the bench properly, which was due to uncalled for interference from the President (as sources suggest). Ancelotti couldn’t get the best out of Jese, Illaramendi, Khedira, Lucas Silva and Navas throughout the season, which made Madrid look much weaker of a squad than what it’s actually been.

Few players stood out this season for the whites, and few players had a season to forget. Ronaldo clinched the 3rd consecutive Golden shoe award by creating a league history after netting the ball 48 times throughout the league campaign. James & Kroos had a fantastic first season, and both of them contributed throughout the season for Madrid. Isco had another outstanding season, where he became the darling of the crowd. Carvajal, Varane, Benzima & on loan Chicharito also had more than a decent season, with some pretty impressive performance throughout the season.

Out the door: Carlo Ancelotti was sacked for a poor season at Real Madrid. /

On the other side, Casillas and Bale had a season to forget, and at least one of them seems to on his way out of the club, as reports suggest. Both players had to face whistles and boo’s from the Bernabeu faithful on more than just one occasion and have come under severe scrutiny. Bale’s performance statistically speaking are sound, but in the bigger matches and in the 2nd half of the season especially, his performance was below par to say the least. Casillas was less than impressive between the sticks and his blunders made Madrid pay heavily at crucial times.

Real Madrid has too many problems to deal with and Ancelotti has been made to pay for the trophy-less season. Rafa Benitez is being tipped as the favorite to replace him, but nothing is certain for now.

In all, this team just needs a manager who can do just a little fine tuning, have more managerial control, and have less Perez pressure to play certain players every week challenge Barcelona & the best in the Europe next season.

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