Real Madrid's Squad Now

So after the most extravagant transfer campaign which no other club comes even close to, what else do Real Madrid need?

They have the best goalkeeper in the world and sufficient backup as well.

The central defense is now surprisingly looking strong. With Albiol and Pepe as starters, Metzelder and Garay as backups and Ramos capable of doing the role in emergencies, this is less of a concern now.

The right back role belongs to Sergio Ramos whose inconsistency has never allowed him to really justify his huge potential. Is Real really going for Maicon? I don't think so since they have other important areas to concentrate on. Cover is provided by Miguel Torres who is also cover for left back position and veteran Michel Salgado who doesn't have the legs any more but has been a true Madridista at heart for ever.

The left back role does need reinforcement. Heinze is a joke in the world of defense. Marcelo is not bad but is perhaps best as backup. Miguel Torres is another option for the same. Royston Drenthe is also there but he is mainly an attacking player and is almost sure to either be sold or go out on loan. As for the main left back, a signing is definitely needed. It's strange that Madrid seem to be going for Arbeloa who is predominantly a right back. Instead they should take a look at Inter's Maxwell amongst others.

Then comes the interesting question of defensive midfield. It all depends on what formation Real play. It seems more likely that they will go for 4-2-3-1 rather than 4-4-2. This is because if the latter is adopted then Kaka gets pushed deeper inside and there is only one defensive midfielder which could be very risky for what looks like a very attacking team. So if they play 4-2-3-1 which seems likely then they need two defensive midfielders. In this situation at least one of the defensive midfielders must be a deep lying play maker as well to ensure a smooth flow to the team's game. Lass for all his defensive qualities isn't much of a passer. Mahamadou Diarra is mainly just a destroyer. As for Gago, he is certainly more of a possession player than these two but he is found to be out of his depth in important matches and there are question marks as to whether he is good enough to play in Real Madrid's first team. That's why the club are quite justifiably chasing the unquestionable Xabi Alonso. Unfortunately Liverpool are in no mood to sell and they are trying to price him out of the market by putting a price of E50m on his head. So this could become an area of concern for Real.

Now let's look at all the attacking positions which is where most of the interest lies. Kaka is unquestionably the trequartista. Who will be his direct replacement? Perhaps if one of Sneijder or Van Der Vaart don't leave, they will play this role. Otherwise it will have to go to the veteran Guti.

The right wing is quite clearly for Cristiano Ronaldo. There probably isn't any direct replacement which is not surprising because most teams don't keep a large number of predominantly flank players in their squad. So any attacking midfielder will take his place in the team in his absence.

The much more interesting question is about the left flank. Will they persist with Arjen Robben? Current media reports seem to indicate otherwise. It seems like Ribery is the main target even though it's doubtful that they will spend another E70m on him. The other main alternative being considered is David Silva. However one does need to ask the question as to why Robben is being treated so badly. In terms of ability he is quite possibly the best pure winger in the world. Is it mainly due to his frequent injuries? Another suggestion is that his game doesn't contribute enough to the team. I believe that a good coach should be able to address that. Another reason could be that since Robben was Calderon's number one star signing, Perez wants to replace him with one of his own for political reasons.

Finally we come to the position of central striker. Real Madrid currently have 6 strikers in their first team squad. This is too much even for a team which plays with 2 strikers. The possibility of Real playing with just one striker next season looks very high based on the reasons given above. And this position will have to go to the recently signed Benzema. I would say Real Madrid have erred here. If they had just spent a little more money and got David Villa, they would have had much more assured returns. Also it's a bit harsh on Gonzalo Higuain who was possibly Real's best player last season. Is Benzema definitely better than Higuain? Perhaps is would be more fair to give them both an equal chance and see who can prove to be better. Higuain could also be used for one of the flanks at times even though it's not his natural position. When Real do play with two strikers, Benzema and Higuain may not be the ideal combination. The third choice striker would have to be the veteran Raul who will for the first time ever stop being a first team player. Real will probably not keep more than 4 strikers and so while Negredo is almost sure to leave at least on loan, one of Huntelaar or Van Nistelrooy would also be leaving. Since Benzema and Higuain are both very young, it may be a better idea to retain a veteran like Nistelrooy. Of course this would be harsh on Huntelaar since he was never given enough opportunities but perhaps he will get his due at his next club.

On the whole the big question mark remains over Pellegrini. Without doubt his achievements so far have been more than laudable. Yet he has never managed a big club before. To manage such a big team, handle huge egos ( none bigger than C. Ronaldo ), get so many new players to combine effectively into a team and deliver instant results is some challenge. Almost anyone would rate his chances of succeeding and lasting in his job for long as less than 50%.