He’ll fit right in – he’s already got the poses down pat: Madrid has formally announced the signing of their fourth fichaje for this upcoming season, French defender Raphaël Varane. He traveled to Madrid yesterday to undergo his medical check-up, and to sign a six-year contract. At around 15h, Varane, accompanied by his father Gaston and agent, arrived in Barajas, where he was greeted by the media and by Javier García Coll, the director of player services, who accompanied him throughout the day. Varane didn’t say too much, just telling the reporters that he’s content and happy. The first stop was the Clínica Sanitas-La Moraleja, where Varane was subject to medical tests, and of course posed – it’s become a Real Madrid tradition – at the doors of the clinic and on a hospital bed, shirtless and with a (double) thumbs-up.
After that, it was on to the Bernabéu, where FP and his board were waiting. There, Varane signed a contract that will tie him to the club until 2017. After all that was done, FP accompanied him down to the museum, acting as his particular tour guide in their walk-through. And of course, Real Madrid’s site reported that “the French defender was impressed with how grand his new team is.” Varane also received a congratulatory text message from José Mourinho, who is on vacation. Varane flew back to France last night to continue his vacation. Real Madrid reportedly paid Lens around €10 million to secure the rights to Varane.
Spot the footballer…
With this signing, Madrid now has five pure central defenders: Pepe, Carvalho, Albiol, Garay and Varane; Sergio Ramos can also play in this position. This means that someone is on their way out, and the most likely candidate is Eze Garay.
By the way, Varane was all of five years old when Carvalho made his debut with Oporto.
Madrid has spent almost €176 million in 11 players for this position between FP’s first and second terms to varying degrees of success: Samuel (22), Woodgate (22), Ramos (31.3), Cannavaro (15), Heinze (12.5), Metzelder (free transfer), Pepe (30), Garay (10), Albiol (15), Carvalho (8), Varane (10). And so far, we haven’t found anyone near the level of Fernando Hierro (both in terms of playing style and fan affection), though Marca – very prematurely in my opinion – calls Varane “the new Hierro” on their cover today. FP was accused of neglecting the defense during his first term, and now it seems like he’s overdoing it, no?
September seems really far away: Hamit Altintop underwent surgery for his back yesterday in Munich, and everything went “satisfactorily” according to Madrid. He’ll be released from the hospital on Saturday, and he’s expected to be out about three months, meaning he’ll miss the pre-season, the first Liga matchdays and the Supercopa de España.
What about the adults?: Real Madrid’s site had an article speaking about all the summer camps for children that our players have organized this summer.
On June 27, Iker’s football campus for kids aged six to 16 started in Madrid (Boadilla del Monte, Móstoles, Hortaleza and Vicálvaro) and Málaga, and will move on to Navalacruz (Ávila) later on in the summer. Internationally, the campus has been and will be in Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and China, and Iker has so far traveled to those in Mexico and Chile. Iker’s been doing this since 2004, starting in Ávila and Madrid. Raúl Albiol’s summer campus is in its fourth year in Vilamarxant (Valencia), and is aimed at children between the ages of five to 14. It takes place from July 4-9.
Meanwhile, Esteban Granero and José Callejón are debuting their campuses this year. El Pirata’s is fittingly called Los Piratas, and takes place in Valle de las Cañas in his hometown of Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) for those aged six to 17. José’s is also in his hometown, Motril (Granada), and each session lasts one week for children aged six to 14. Both camps not only impart football skills, but also include a diverse range of activities and excursions. It’s also the first year for Álvaro Arbeloa and Antonio Adán’s campuses. The Campus Arbeloa for children aged six to 14 will be held in Tres Cantos (Madrid), with two sessions – July 4-15 and July 18-30. Mejorada del Campo is the site of the Campus Antonio Adán, for children aged 6-16, and the two-week camp (July 11-25) includes a visit to the Bernabéu.
My little rant about the cantera and Madrid: another article, this one from El Mundo, questioning why Madrid is looking overseas when there is plenty of talent at home. Excerpts: “Raphaël Varane arrives 48 hours after the triumph of the Spanish U-21 team in the Eurocopa, and this once again shows how little Madrid’s dedication to their cantera is. None of the U-21 champions – no starters, no substitutes – play for Madrid, and this is a “dysfunction,” the word FP used when announcing Valdano’s departure, for this club… it’s clear that there’s something lacking in the internal promotion system of the club. The problem is with the club, which lacks the institutional stability for long-term planning. Mou thinks in the present, because he lives in the present, but the club also needs people who will think about how Madrid will look in 10 years.”
I agree with this, because what kind of message are we sending to our canteranos? Is it that no matter how much they shine with Castilla or Juvenil A or RMC, the club will look elsewhere to reinforce the first team? Is it that in order to triumph, they have to do so outside of the only club most of them have ever known? Is it a message of despair, in that there is only one player that came through the ranks who has a good chance of starting for Madrid next season? All the other players who can be considered canteranos (with the exception of Adán) had to first leave in order to eventually return to Madrid’s first team, where they still don’t get much playing time.
Yes, Mou debuted 11 or so canteranos last season, but how many of them are going to get regular playing time this season? My bet is none. And despite the return of José Callejón, I’m seeing an experience for him much like the one Pedro León or Sergio Canales had last season – relegated to the bench (or the stands) and shopped out. Madrid needs to give their canteranos a chance, at least. Luis Milla, Spain’s U-21 coach and a former Madrid player, told COPE after La Rojita’s win in the Euro that “there are many footballers in the first division that come from Madrid’s cantera, but there’s a lack of continuity in terms of direction and coaching. There’s no one idea that stands the test of time.” He’s right.
One nice thing about the cantera: those who were teammates in Madrid’s cantera have gone through good and bad moments together, and one of the results is lasting friendships. Javi Balboa recently tweeted that he had lunch at the Asador Gaztelu in Madrid with his former Real Madrid B and C teammate Borja Valero and wife Rocío, which Borja re-tweeted. I love finding out that these friendships last (Javi and Borja were teammates seven years ago), despite the many changes in teams and countries.
And a gratuitous picture of Sergio Canales to end: Sergio C. tweeted this from his vacation in Marbella. I wonder if he ran into Sergio Ramos?
