Letter to Madridismo

First of all, despite what many may think (something that has never mattered to me), I am not an "officialist," but a "madridista." It is a shame that one has to start a letter like this with that caveat, almost as an excusatio non petita, almost as an apology. But it is important to say it because what I state here I would state the same with any president who had acted in the same way as Florentino has.

Anything is, therefore, debatable: do we want to change players? Do we want to change the coach? Do we want to change the president? Everything is perfectly valid, as long as it is argued from a practical and not a theoretical level. And as long as it is proposed, of course, for the good of the club and not from revenge or personal attack.

Starting from the end, of course Florentino is not untouchable. Of course he is not the owner of the club. And, for that reason, the members must demand accountability from him and, if necessary, strip him of the enormous privilege of being the president of Real Madrid. Fortunately or unfortunately, the organization of sports clubs is based on governing bodies, which must be, at least, the General Assembly, the Board of Directors, and the President. So, as long as the laws do not change, it is not so much about whether or not to keep Florentino, but about who should lead the club. It can be discussed whether Florentino is a good or a bad president, but I believe there is no doubt that he has not been the worst in our history. Therefore, any debate about Florentino's continuity must be held with the cards on the table: who is the alternative? What are their merits? What is their program? Only based on alternatives can the convenience or not of continuing with Florentino at the helm be discussed. Defending Florentino's departure without saying who the alternative is, besides being useless and childish, is dangerous. If an alternative is presented with a specific program, we can assess without any problem if it is better, the same, or worse.

Continuing with the coach, I must start by showing infinite gratitude to Álvaro Arbeloa, for various reasons. First, for accepting to take the reins of the first team mid-season. I know that being the first-team coach is a treat for anyone in any circumstance, but not everyone is willing to arrive in that circumstance. It is something that should not be taken for granted. For example, someone highly requested, and almost longed for, by many madridistas did not want to. Zidane did it in his time. Because, above many things, both Zidane and Arbeloa are madridistas, real ones. Not those who see Madrid only as a way to make a very good living. Yes, they are professionals. But in football there are still feelings that change everything, and there are people willing to risk and sacrifice future reputation to contribute when it is really needed. Every coach would want to arrive at Madrid with a clean project, with a preseason ahead and with decision-making capacity. But since this is the real world and that optimum is not always possible, not everyone accepts the second (or third) best of arriving as Álvaro has arrived this year.

But the gratitude is not only for accepting the position. It is for defending the club in all areas from the first to the last day. Since Mourinho left, he is the only professional in the club who has not looked the other way in the face of corruption and who has not said what the press wants him to say. That has had, and will have, a stratospheric personal cost for him. And it is not because he is obliged, because many other professionals have passed through the club and have preferred to remain silent in the face of the mafia, which of course has resulted in better personal treatment by the mafia and maintaining the "gentlemanly" pose, even if it was at the cost of swallowing bitter pills and ultimately harming the club.

In the sporting area, the results have not followed until the end, but the competitiveness in the Champions League, far from the national mafia, has. Arbeloa has demonstrated technical and tactical capacity to coach any team. His team eliminated Manchester City with an exercise in superiority, in both legs, worthy of Madrid's best eras. Against Bayern they competed, more in the second leg than the first, and the tie could have gone either way. A bit of accuracy and a bit of luck were missing. Without the national competitions, without the national mafia, Arbeloa's grade would have been a high B, because at Madrid an A is only achieved by lifting the Champions League. In national competitions, Real Madrid only aspires to win the competition when there is a non-appearance of the rival or when the stars align to form a squad with an absolutely differential physical/technical level. And it is very difficult to maintain group cohesion, confidence, and a good atmosphere (fundamental in football to achieve good play) when the distance from the leader widens inexorably matchday after matchday, due to decisions already made previously, and premeditatedly, in an office. I say this with Florentino as president, as I said it with Calderón and as I would say it if the president of Real Madrid were Pope Leo XIV himself. If Arbeloa gains the trust of a team (foreign, of course), he will do very well. I hope he gets it, because he deserves it.

And it seems that Arbeloa will not continue as coach. Very probably Mourinho, another "di noi," will replace him. Yes, I want Mourinho to come, just as I wanted Arbeloa to come in January. But I start from a very clear premise: Real Madrid is not going to win titles in Spain except for a Barcelona catastrophe or an impossible planetary alignment. Mourinho will arrive, signings will arrive, much excitement in the fans. But in the first League match, in those Levantes, Mallorcas, Rayos, or Osasunas, the handicap of corruption in Spain will remain; that handicap that allows winning some matches, but which, in the long run, makes it impossible for you to compete over 38. No matter how much the attitude changes and the players are a unit with Mourinho, no matter how much they are friends on and off the field, no matter how much those up front understand each other, it will be impossible to compete. And in the first match, Mourinho will bite his tongue; in the second a little less; and in the third he will be his usual self, as it should be. The press will play its role: it will tell the viewer that what they have seen with their eyes is not reality; that reality is what they say; that what yesterday was a penalty for Barcelona, today is not for Madrid, just because; that what yesterday was a red card against Lamine Yamal's rival, today is a challenge of the game and that Vinicius is wrong to complain. Unfortunately, anyone who hasn't been blind in the last 20 years knows this.

That said, yes, Madrid's duty is to try. To, in this way, arrive with the best options to the competition that does not seem corrupt, although sometimes they harm you: the Champions League. And we will return to the same thing: if in the League Madrid falls behind (which they will make sure happens), Madrid will gamble everything on the Champions League: either you win, or you fail. Because national titles serve as a balm for continental failures. And, when you have corruption in your favor, it is very easy for that balm to arrive. As easy as it is difficult for the rival. Of course, the aesthetics can be very different from this year. It will be enough if they don't fight each other for things to improve. But anyone who has been close to a locker room knows that it is easier to get along when winning than when losing.

We thus come to the players. We start from the fact that all players with a contract are club assets, so they must be used in one way or another. I don't usually buy the majority messages (hence why I am usually labeled an officialist), but I'm not going to swim against the current just for the sake of it. I believe that Madrid's attack (for me, much more than the defense) has not worked this year. It doesn't mean it's exclusively the fault of the attackers, but that the entire attacking system, from the defense to the forward line, has stalled much more than desirable in too many matches. Beyond looking for culprits, we must look for solutions.

The debate has been generated whether to sell Vinicius, Mbappé, both, or neither. I'm going to be clear: if Madrid had the chance to get rid of Mbappé without too much economic damage (basically covering what remains to be amortized of the signing bonus), they should do it. His attitude, beyond his numbers, has not been the best. On and off the field. If we add to that that the attack with him has not flowed, neither playing with two nor playing with three, few arguments remain for his continuity. Freeing up his wage bill would open a world of possibilities.

The case of Vinicius seems different to me. His offensive contribution has been less than other years, but there are several factors why I prefer his continuity: first, is that he has already demonstrated in Madrid what he is capable of: he is capable of scoring, assisting, and pressing like few others. Doing it in another club and in another context gives me nothing, but doing it in Madrid does. I give very little importance to the famous snub of complaining about being substituted: the classic says that you should always prefer players who get angry for not playing everything. It's not that I agree with that phrase, but it is true that I have seen stars of all colors grumble at a substitution, including Cristiano, Ronaldo Nazario, Messi, Mijatovic, and an endless etcetera.

In the rest of the field, I believe that, beyond the fight, Real Madrid cannot repeat a midfield with Tchouameni, Valverde, Güler, and Bellingham. Given the circumstances, I believe that Valverde's departure could be positive in the medium term, although much physical stamina and engine would be lost and would have to be replaced. Tchouameni is like Pogba in that sometimes he seems very good and sometimes very bad. And everything depends on how the team works: when Madrid seeks pressure higher up (something incompatible with Mbappé), Tchouameni multiplies and his surgical actions stand out. If Madrid retreats and lets itself be dominated, Tchouameni does not have the waist or the speed of movement to reach everything and ends up uncovering spaces that rivals exploit. The case of Bellingham remains in the air for me: in journalistic terms, I would say I would put him on the market, but I would only sell him for an offer difficult to refuse. If he stays, he is usable in a different tactical context, something that, like Vinicius, he has already demonstrated. If he doesn't stay, it doesn't seem impossible to find alternatives that deliver. I take for granted that Nico Paz will be brought back. Without Bellingham leaving, a reinforcement in midfield would be needed, I don't know if a starter, but one who could contribute in many matches. The profile would be more similar to Güler than to Tchouameni, certainly. A midfield with Tchouameni, Güler (the only good news of the season), Nico Paz, and Bellingham (or whoever replaced him), I think could improve much on the current one.

In defense, I would not renew Carvajal. Beyond playing more or playing less, it doesn't seem that his role as captain has had a great influence in the locker room. Alexander-Arnold has had a very disappointing season, in my opinion. But I think he deserves a second chance and that he can contribute much more next season. It seems evident that we cannot count on Militao and Mendy. And that we can count little on Rudiger, so it is urgent to sign and sign a lot. Huijsen, given the general context of the group, can have a barely passing grade in the final mark of the course. Carreras has gone from more to less, and his statements seem inappropriate for a Real Madrid player. The price paid conditions the options a lot. He will stay, but someone must give him a talking to. Asencio and Fran García seem like decent complements to play minutes in the league or in an emergency situation. It is urgent, therefore, to sign center-backs and a right-back. In the end, we are going to end up missing Coentrao and Carvalho.

I conclude soon: madridismo is stronger when it is united. That does not mean being united around officialism, Florentino, or Mourinho. It means not giving wings to the enemy, not minimizing the impact of the systemic corruption we live in Spain and that decisively affects our club, and not getting lost in player wars, although we may all like some more than others. We must demand the correct attitude from the players, on and off the field, as the professionals they are. Despite what many think, I don't believe the squad was so bad, although it is clear that some things have not worked as expected. The sooner it is rectified, the better.

But I end with the same thing: it is useless to do things well if corruption is maintained. It is the greatest debt in Florentino's presidency: not suffering corruption, which should never be blamed on the victim, but not having used the strength of Real Madrid to act with maximum forcefulness when it was appropriate. When one is in a position for so long, it is easy to make mistakes. And this is, in my opinion, the greatest error of the Florentino Era. I hope he regrets having tried to fix things with diplomacy and having tried to fix European football hand in hand with the most corrupt club in the history of sport. Trying to forget those past errors, if in the coming months a sanction is achieved by UEFA or FIFA, we will consider the wait worth it; otherwise, we will have failed as a club, at an institutional level and as fans, since it was also in our hands to have pressured much more.

Finally, a piece of advice to madridistas: nothing is accidental. Internal attacks dressed as self-criticism are not always what they seem. There are many people, disguised as madridistas, who move for their own interest. When things go well, they are silent; when they go bad, they appear from the shadows to contribute to destabilization, to the fan's discomfort, and to shake the tree, to see if something falls. Without stopping self-criticism, let's not buy the populist speeches of those who only love themselves.

Hala Madrid.