Real Madrid sack youth coach after he criticised Toni Kroos and Casemiro
Real Madrid’s defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final was really painful.
Real Madrid’s defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-final was really painful.
Los Blancos held a slight advantage, having scored an away goal in a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou in the first leg.
It meant Barcelona had to score in the return meeting to have a chance of reaching the final. And they did score, not once but three times.
The Blaugrana made light work of their opponents, scoring three goals in the second half.
Luis Suarez rubbed salt in the wounds with a cheeky Panenka penalty to make it 3-0.
The result extends Real’s winless run against Barcelona to five matches in all competitions.
And, while the Madrid club have been dominant in Europe in recent years, the Blaugrana have certainly become domestic kings.
Already nine points behind Barcelona in La Liga, losing 3-0 at home to their rivals was another painful moment in what hasn’t been an easy season for the club.
There have been questions surrounding Real’s team throughout the season and Alvaro Benito, coach of Real’s Juvenil B side, has been sacked after making his feelings clear about Casemiro and Toni Kroos.
"Vinicius is a blessed irruption, has surprised us all," Benito, who also serves as a pundit for Movistar and Cadena SER, said after the defeat to Barcelona.
"The problem is that there are players like Casemiro who shouldn’t play a minute, and Kroos too."
His comments have led to his departure from the club, with Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez, who was managing the Cadete B team, stepping into his role.
Benito had done a fine job with the Juvenil B side, leading them to second in the table this season.
But Marca claim the club didn’t like his comments to Movistar and Cadena SER and have decided to relieve him of his duties.
It takes a very, very brave member of staff to criticise two first-team players and Benito has paid the price.
Yet he wasn’t alone in questioning Casemiro and Kroos’ efforts in the second leg.
Madrid blog Managing Madrid said the Brazilian’s game “did take a turn for the worse” in the second half, pointing out that he was guilty for conceding the penalty.
Meanwhile, they wrote about Kroos: "When the scoreline turned he was another one to back down, often resorting to fouling opposition players if they were too quick for him."