Disappointing year for Real Madrid stars
Real Madrid's league defeat against Sevilla set the seal on a miserable year in which the team failed to win a trophy despite boasting the world's most glittering array of star players.
Real Madrid's league defeat against Sevilla set the seal on a miserable year in which the team failed to win a trophy despite boasting the world's most glittering array of star players.
Whistled off the field at end of Wednesday's game by irritated supporters at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, David Beckham and Ronaldo were again made to feel that status doesn't guarantee success.
"The last game of the year was a reflection of what 2004 was for Madrid. Lost on the bench and on the field. The perfect way to sign off what has been an Annus Horribilis," Spain's leading sports daily Marca said Wednesday.
In the last 12 months, Madrid has lost 13 of its 38 Spanish league games, form which is far below what is needed to win the title.
Yet last Christmas, the team topped the standings and, with Beckham initially showing good form in his first season, had every reason to believe that it would lift the European Cup for a record 10th time.
But as Beckham began to struggle, Madrid lost the final of the Copa del Rey and then was eliminated from the Champions League by modest Monaco.
Five months later, Madrid was left without a major trophy for the first time since 1999, ending the season in dismal fashion with five consecutive defeats to finish fourth in the league.
Coach Carlos Queiroz, whose appointment the previous year was described by club president Florentino Perez as "a mistake," was immediately fired and replaced by former Madrid stalwart and national team coach Jose Antonio Camacho.
But Camacho resigned suddenly after the third round of the season, with reports suggesting he found the team's star players too hard too handle.
Under coach Mariano Garcia Remon, Madrid now languishes fifth in the league - a calamity for its demanding supporters - and while it scraped through to the Champions League second round the forthcoming match with steely Juventus hardly gives it cause for optimism.
"This year's not looking too good either. With the players we have it's difficult to explain what's happening," Beckham said Tuesday in an interview with Canal Plus.
Madrid's discomfiture has been worsened by the resurgence of FC Barcelona.
The Catalan team, which hasn't won a trophy since 1999, is runaway league leader and stands 13 points clear of Madrid after 17 games.
"It will be very difficult to catch up with Barcelona. The distance is increasing all the time," Garcia Remon said Tuesday.
Madrid's 3-0 league defeat against its archrival last month has been viewed by the Spanish media as an indication that the team was now over the hill and needs dismantling.
"The worst thing is that there are fires all over the place. Because Ronaldo is only happy if he plays, because Raul is a shadow of his former self, because Zizou (Zidane) doesn't make the difference, because Roberto Carlos feels he's being shown the door, because Beckham. Oh Beckham!" Marca said Thursday in its editorial.
Madrid has reacted this week by appointing Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi as director of soccer, a decision which appears to add to the pressure on the beleaguered Garcia Remon.