Real Madrid News
Former Real Madrid director drops brutal verdict on another trophyless season: ‘Not winning anything is a failure’
The fallout from Real Madrid’s Champions League exit continues to generate strong reactions, and former striker and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic has now delivered a strong assessment of the club’s current situation.
Starting with the quarter-final defeat against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, Mijatovic acknowledged the team’s performance but did not hide his frustration over key moments.
Reflecting on the match, he said, “Madrid played a very good game.
“It was a preview of the final, and I really liked the impression they gave—that’s the impression they should always project.
“I was angry with the referee and then also with Camavinga. UEFA referees don’t let anything slide, and you have to stay very focused,” he began.
Another trophyless season
While the performance showed glimpses of quality, the elimination has only added to a bigger concern – Real Madrid’s ongoing trophy drought.
Addressing the elephant in the room, Mijatovic made it clear that such a situation is unacceptable at a club of this magnitude:
“It’s been two trophy-less years, and that’s always very serious for Madrid. That’s why it’s the biggest club in the world. Not winning anything is a failure.
“In today’s football, you can’t always win, and we Madrid fans are spoiled. Winning six European Cups in recent years is something no one will ever do again.
“Now we have to rebuild the team to start winning again,” he said.
On Arbeloa, Mbappe and Vinicius
Attention has also turned towards the managerial situation, with Alvaro Arbeloa under scrutiny.
Mijatovic offered his view by recognising both the difficulty of the job and the effort shown so far:
“Alvaro joined us midway through the season. I liked Xabi Alonso, but he had a very difficult task.
“No one can take away his enthusiasm, his dedication, and all the energy he put into every game. We’ll see what happens.”
Perhaps the most striking part of his analysis came when discussing the squad itself.
Despite criticism aimed at stars like Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr., Mijatovic dismissed the idea that they are the root of the problem.
Instead, he pointed to a deeper issue within the team,
“Mbappe came here to score goals, and he’s doing just that. Vinicius has had good seasons and steps up in big games, though he was unlucky the other day.
“He’ll have to change his attitude, and I’ve said that many times before. They accused me of having something against the kid, but there are things I don’t like.
“That doesn’t diminish his importance to the team. Madrid lacks a leader on the field. The top scorer isn’t always the leader.
“For example, Zidane was the best for a while, but France’s leader was Deschamps. Now we need a Hierro, a Ramos, a Raúl.
“Someone who can do two or three things on the field and pull everything together.
A leader, a coach on the field. Madrid has excellent players, but I don’t see a figure who’ll say, ‘What the hell are you guys doing,” he concluded.
Source: AS
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
