As we reach the start of the futbol season for most of the world’s club teams, most passionate futbol fans have three main questions:
1. Where will Wayne Rooney and/or Luis Suarez go?
2. How much will Gareth Bale’s transfer cost?
3. Will the Germany dominance continue?
As for me, being a casual futbol fan, those questions don’t affect me too much. I started watching futbol in 2006 as the World Cup was going on between the Italians and French. Since then, I have seen the 2008 and 2012 Euros, the 2010 World Cup and many other great match-ups. I don’t have a favorite team, but I preferred to watch FC Barcelona. Why? It’s not because I’m a bandwagoner, but it’s because my favorite footballer, David Villa, went to the team in 2009. Since then, I try to watch Barcelona games once in a while. They are fun to watch mainly due to Lionel Messi. Even though Messi hasn’t excelled in the international stages, his excellence on the Barcelona team is amazing to watch. Whether it’s him scoring multiple goals in a game or coming in as a sub in the 80th minute to lead a comeback, Messi is the main man in Barcelona. However, as I watched Barcelona games, I frequently found myself saying that the game was slow and boring. Now, I’m a guy who likes fast paced sports like basketball and I realized soccer would be much slower, but even then Barcelona’s game was a perfect way to fall asleep. Even when comparing it to Spain’s international game Barcelona’s is much more boring. I can’t explain this, even though Barca has Messi and Spain doesn’t. Nonetheless, I didn’t do much about this. I kept watching Barca games, but I wasn’t happy or sad when they lost or won, I just wanted to see Villa play. It was bad luck he went down with a broken foot. Now, fast forward to August 7th, 2013. They day when I had my futbol epiphany.
I don’t recall why or how, but I started watching a soccer game. It just so happened that the International Champions Cup Final was on and it was featuring Chelsea and Real Madrid. When I watched Real Madrid play, it felt like I was re-born into the world of Futbol. It was a life-changing experience. Compared to Barca’s slow and tactical style of play, Real Madrid’s fast-paced just blew my mind. It wasn’t the first time I’ve seen Real Madrid play, but it surely felt like that. Not a knock on Chelsea, they are really good too, but Real Madrid played exactly like how I wanted to see football. Fast-paced led by one main person and anchored defensively by a legendary goalkeeper and as equally impressive squad. I know, I know I sound like a traitor, switching from Barcelona to Real Marid, but like I said, I never like Barcelona’s style of play. A while ago, I wrote a piece comparing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, respectively. Now, my opinions on Messi and Ronaldo have not changed, but I see Ronaldo in a more respectable way. Just like Kobe earned huge respect from me after he led the Lakers to his fifth ring in 2010, Ronaldo has gained a ton of attention and respect from me. Just as Messi is the main man for Barca, Ronaldo’s way change the way Real Madrid plays. As with Messi, I was dismissive of Ronaldo due to his international failures, but with club teams he is equally as amazing. I’m not saying I’m on the Real Madrid bandwagon, however I’m going to watch more of their games than Barcelona games this season. Not a knock on Barca, but their tiki-taka is very, very boring however efficient it may be. The reason Barcelona had be under hypnosis was due to Messi’s amazing skills. They hyptonize you with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi and won’t let you go, forever. You have to have an epiphanic moment to realize, “Hmm, Barcelona is amazing. But they are boring!”
Real Madrid’s squad consists of the many personalities and athletes, all of whom are vital to the success of the team. Even though Real Madrid hasn’t won many major trophies lately, they are a team not to be reckoned with. Their success started with the legendary Spanish goalkeeper, Iker Casillas. At the moment, Casillas is on of the top goalies in the world. After leading the Spanish National teams to two Euros and one World Cup in the last 5 years, Casillas has solidified his name on the hierarchy of Spain and Real Madrid. Joining Casillas in the backfield are Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos and Coentrao. Pepe is the Ron Artest of Futbol. In the middle, Real Madrid has the tandem of Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil. All three have proven that they belong in this starting XI due to their successes with the team and their national teams. And, up front they got the famous C.Ronaldo alongside Angel di Maria and Karim Benzema. After this offseason, they have added a ton of talent and will probably add a couple more. Among the defenders, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Varane, Marcelo and maybe even Carvajal take some of the starting minutes. Joining these fourteen players are Isco, Luka Modric, two amazing young talents. In addition, Real Madrid are trying to sign Tottenham’s Gareth Bale for an astounding €100 Mill. Even if the price tag is crazy, adding Bale would only enhance the team.
Courtesy of http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/gettyimages.com/international-champions-cup-2013-championship-20130808-040112-474.jpg
It may sound like I’m being a Real Madrid homer, I’m not. I’m just exciting to watch Real Madrid this season as a casual futbol fan, without any bias. Of course, I’ll still cheer for Atletico Madrid as they signed David Villa, I’m excited to see how Real Madrid does this season. Anything short of a trophies will make me question them, but it won’t make them any less exciting. Although Barcelona has had more successes lately, even with players such as an aging Puyol, divers like Busquets, Real Madrid are more fun to watch due to their exciting style of play. Of course, I’m still going to watch Lionel Messi score on any and every team. However, for the first time in my life, I’m a true casual futbol fan watching great match-ups between rival players and teams. I won’t pick favorites, but Real Madrid are already on my watch list.
Defense over Offense 
