RMISS affects this writer and many others around the world. It is a crippling disease that can lead to chest pains, nausea, hyperventilation, compulsive shouting, and various other wellness-reducing symptoms. RMISS is a highly seasonal illness, it grows in frequency in mid-February, reaching a peak in early-March, and typically runs its course no later than early April.
Its a devastating, horrible condition, and there is no known cure.
I have RMISS. I have struggled with it for 5 years, and only now am I coming to grips with this fact.
Yesterday, I had my first Real Madrid Induced Stress Syndrome outbreak of the year. This man was the catalyst:
Makoun (left) scored an absolute wonderstrike in the 47th minute for the winning goal.
Its a devastating, horrible condition, and there is no known cure.
I have RMISS. I have struggled with it for 5 years, and only now am I coming to grips with this fact.
Yesterday, I had my first Real Madrid Induced Stress Syndrome outbreak of the year. This man was the catalyst:
Makoun (left) scored an absolute wonderstrike in the 47th minute for the winning goal.
Madrid's chances in the Round of 16 took a substantial hit when they were unable to net an away goal at Lyon yesterday. They fell 1-0, leaving them in the sticky situation whereby they must score two goals at home and surrender none to win.
This disappointment, sadly, was not quite unexpected. Despite paying over $200 million in transfer fees for a return to the Galacticos method of team building, they were unable to overcome the demons of Champions League past. Madrid have failed to advance past the Round of 16 since 2004, during Galacticos I. Whether in league-winning form, as was the case in 2007 and 2008, or runner-up form, they have not been able to translate domestic strength into European power. They seem to shrivel in the limelight, causing me and other Madridistas great angst in the form of RMISS.
This particular game was disconcerting beyond its ultimate result, though. While the 1-0 result presents a hurdle to overcome in the home leg, the way that the team earned this loss was far more troubling. Kaka, Ronaldo, and Alonso - galacticos and former Champions League winners in the past - seemed to lack any sort of coherent form of attack. Alonso seemed frustrated that he could not provide the service from the defensive third to the middle third of the field while alos looking shaky in regulaing the Lyon attack. Kaka was VISIBLY frustrated with the service he was getting from the deep midfield, shouting for the ball and seeming frustrated for the majority of the game. Ronaldo looked lost at times: while he was probably giving some of his hardest effort of the season, he crippled the Madrid attack at times by attempting ball tricks that were completely inappropriate in the given situation.
But why were these otherwise clutch CL performers made to look stunningly average in yesterday's game? I think there are a few reasons. Firstly, Lyon seemed DETERMINED to not surrender an away goal. That airtight defense was a critical part of their gameplan, for they knew just like everyone watching that surrundering such a goal would deal an almost deadly blow to their chances of advancing past the Whites. Another reason for the lackluster performance could have also come from the fact that the team is still gelling togther, and being tested by a new form of play from the French side constipated their normal game flow. My most worrying reason, though, is that they collectively (6 new acquisitions started, 2 subbed, 4 total Galacticos) felt almost unbearable pressure to perform in this one game. They all know that they were brought in to replace players who could not get it done in the Champions League. To make a baseball reference, with all of these high-priced, high-profile acquisitions, Madrid started half a team of A-Rods. Until this season, A-Rod was known as a regular season performer, a post-season chump. The CL is much like the European soccer equivalent of the post season. They all individually feel a great amount of pressure, and because the nature of the game this effect can compound itself all over the field. Doing too much, forcing passes, forgetting team play all can happen when players feel that they themselves must make the difference to win the game.
Is this most recent disappointment a ringing repudiation of the Galacticos policy? Not necessarily. If Madrid can score 2 and pitch a shutout at home, which is entirely possible, this loss will have merely been a speed bump on the road to the Round of 8. Should they play well and somehow manage to not make it through, one could reasonably say that they need one more season to gel to make a good run. It will be a whole different story, though, if this assembled group cannot in several seasons time give Madrid fans a cure for RMISS. The fan base cannot stomach many more season of its pain.
This disappointment, sadly, was not quite unexpected. Despite paying over $200 million in transfer fees for a return to the Galacticos method of team building, they were unable to overcome the demons of Champions League past. Madrid have failed to advance past the Round of 16 since 2004, during Galacticos I. Whether in league-winning form, as was the case in 2007 and 2008, or runner-up form, they have not been able to translate domestic strength into European power. They seem to shrivel in the limelight, causing me and other Madridistas great angst in the form of RMISS.
This particular game was disconcerting beyond its ultimate result, though. While the 1-0 result presents a hurdle to overcome in the home leg, the way that the team earned this loss was far more troubling. Kaka, Ronaldo, and Alonso - galacticos and former Champions League winners in the past - seemed to lack any sort of coherent form of attack. Alonso seemed frustrated that he could not provide the service from the defensive third to the middle third of the field while alos looking shaky in regulaing the Lyon attack. Kaka was VISIBLY frustrated with the service he was getting from the deep midfield, shouting for the ball and seeming frustrated for the majority of the game. Ronaldo looked lost at times: while he was probably giving some of his hardest effort of the season, he crippled the Madrid attack at times by attempting ball tricks that were completely inappropriate in the given situation.
But why were these otherwise clutch CL performers made to look stunningly average in yesterday's game? I think there are a few reasons. Firstly, Lyon seemed DETERMINED to not surrender an away goal. That airtight defense was a critical part of their gameplan, for they knew just like everyone watching that surrundering such a goal would deal an almost deadly blow to their chances of advancing past the Whites. Another reason for the lackluster performance could have also come from the fact that the team is still gelling togther, and being tested by a new form of play from the French side constipated their normal game flow. My most worrying reason, though, is that they collectively (6 new acquisitions started, 2 subbed, 4 total Galacticos) felt almost unbearable pressure to perform in this one game. They all know that they were brought in to replace players who could not get it done in the Champions League. To make a baseball reference, with all of these high-priced, high-profile acquisitions, Madrid started half a team of A-Rods. Until this season, A-Rod was known as a regular season performer, a post-season chump. The CL is much like the European soccer equivalent of the post season. They all individually feel a great amount of pressure, and because the nature of the game this effect can compound itself all over the field. Doing too much, forcing passes, forgetting team play all can happen when players feel that they themselves must make the difference to win the game.
Is this most recent disappointment a ringing repudiation of the Galacticos policy? Not necessarily. If Madrid can score 2 and pitch a shutout at home, which is entirely possible, this loss will have merely been a speed bump on the road to the Round of 8. Should they play well and somehow manage to not make it through, one could reasonably say that they need one more season to gel to make a good run. It will be a whole different story, though, if this assembled group cannot in several seasons time give Madrid fans a cure for RMISS. The fan base cannot stomach many more season of its pain.
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