Redrawing White History

Posted on May 13, 2012 by

The magnificent 2011-2012 season is officially over with Madrid bagging its 32 Liga title. 11 days after Madrid officially won it and 10 days after Plaze de Cibeles was draped in the white of Madrid. Actually the league was over on the 21st of April when Madrid went to the Camp Nou and lethally snatched the trophy from the Catalans.

The significance of this title

This is not just any title, pundits have been raving about the performance of Barca hailing them as the best team side ever. So for Madrid to actually beat the best team ever in their own backyard and take the title back to its natural place is very significant.

If Barca is the best team on the planet, then Mou’s Madrid is from a different planet all together. Thank you Maradona for the analogy.

Goals

Madrid not only won the league, it broke the all time record of 107 goals set by Madrid’s 1989-1990 team. The record was held for 22 years only for Mourinho boys to destroy it by 14 goals. Madrid is the first team to have 3 players score 20 goals or more. Cristiano, Benzema and Pipita scored 46, 22, and 21 goals respectively.

This team mesmerized fans with an average of 3.18 goals per game totaling 121 goals.

Points

Not only Madrid broke the record for most goals in one season and won over what experts called the best team ever, they also amassed the highest point tally ever with 100 points. Madrid only lost 14 points all season. They have been in first place since week 11 and a total of 31 weeks out of the 38 weeks.

The Statistics

Mou’s team improved as a whole with all key players making a significant improvement to their individual game. Cristiano, Benzema and Pipit have all improved their point per minute statistic. The number of points is a measurement combining both goals and assists measured with respect to the number of minutes played.

Ronaldo Min Goals Assists Total Min/P
2009-10 3040 33 7 40 76.0
2010-11 4829 53 15 68 71.0
2011-12 5098 60 15 75 68.0
Benzema Min Goals Assists Total Min/P
2009-10 1785 9 4 13 137.3
2010-11 2880 26 8 34 84.7
2011-12 3561 32 14 46 77.4
Higuain Min Goals Assists Total Min/P
2009-10 3046 29 6 35 87.0
2010-11 1850 13 6 19 97.4
2011-12 2785 26 10 36 77.4

Ronaldo continues to drop his minutes per point under the Jose Mourinho era. During his first year, Ronaldo’s goal and assist contribution was once every 76 minute. This year, he dropped it to a point every 68 minutes. Benzema and Higuain both dropped they numbers to once every 77 minute. These are astonishing figures under Mourinho.

Ronaldo has been phenomenal this year. Cristiano Ronaldo scored against every single club in the 2011-12 season. That’s the first time this has happened in the history of La Liga.

Mou’s team had to play cosmic football shatting records in order to be the number one team in La Liga.

Such a season is hardly ever replicated, so we should savor every goal, moment, and emotion of it!

-AN ARMY OF WHITE EDITORIAL. © 2012

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32

Posted on May 7, 2012 by

For many 32 is just an ordinary number, if you had asked me a few weeks ago about the importance of the number 32 I would have also said that it was just another number. However, since Wednesday the 2nd of May, it is has become a very special number for all Madridistas. I think you can guess why, if you can’t, you should consider the type of Madridista you are.

After 4 years without being able to lift the league trophy into the the skies of the Spanish Capital, Iker Casillas has finally achieved one of his dreams, to win his 5th La Liga title. This was the 32nd Liga trophy for Real Madrid, that is the team that has more spanish league titles followed than any other club and 11 more than the second place team. Winning the national league championship was very important, as Madrid had to break Barça’s dominance in the league that has been going on for the past years.

We did not conform ourselves with just winning the league, when Madridistas do things, we have to do them incredibly well. We didn’t want to win the league with a couple of points as difference, we had to prove the world that we were the best team in Spain by far.  There is just one more match to go and we have already broken several records, we have scored 117 goals, which is 10 more goals than Toshack’s record of 107 in 1986. We also won the league with 7 points difference to the second team in the table, FCB. This year, our statistics have been magnificent. Real Madrid has won 31 matches, drew 4 and lost only 2. This means that if we win the match against Mallorca this Saturday, the whites will become the first team in history to have reached 100 points in La Liga.

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Real Madrid, Chelsea, or Bayern Munich…

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

Only three teams are left in the elite UEFA Champions League competition of this year’s edition. Regardless of the winner on May 19th, I believe that they should all be thankful to El Clásico defeat that Jose Mourinho’s men inflicted on Barcelona on April 21st. It’s true that Barca lost in London, but this was different.. this was in the Camp Nou and it certainly left a dent in their titanic confidence. Barcelona players and coaching staff have said many times that they are not invincible, but did they really believe it? I don’t think so! Until this most recent El Clásico.

It was clear that Barcelona had no plan B, and why should they?! Their plan A was so efficient; they won so many trophies in the last three years. But this time it did not work, Messi was crowded with disciplined defenders in both games and still managed an assist and hitting the post a few times. But he was not comfortable.. Barca’s shots on target were 5 and 10 against Real Madrid and Chelsea respectively; a gigantic decrease from their usual 15 or 20 average. So yes, I dare to say that Barca is Messi dependent. They surely have other amazing players and they will still win many games without Messi (or without him in-form), but they are not the same.

Moreover, Real Madrid and Chelsea became smarter and did not allow Barca to exploit the referees and turn the game around in Braca’s favor unfairly, which is really Barca’s plan B. UEFA was not there this time to secure Barcelona’s passage to the final like they did in 2009 and 2011. So now it’s all left to Real Madrid, Chelsea, or Bayern Munich to clinch the title and I really hope that Jose Mourinho inspires his players to play their hearts out to win this year. These players deserve it and worked hard to reach where they are now amidst all the adversity of the media and the unjust UEFA organization. It’s their time to shine; Jose’s name went down the history long before he came to the Santiago Bernabéu.. It’s the time for Ozil, Benzema, Pipita, Marcelo, Arbeloa, Khedira and all the others to show their worth…

i Hala Madrid !

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7 creates 7

Posted on April 22, 2012 by

Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down.

That’s the gesture Ronaldo used after he scored the decisive winning goal in the Camp Nou last night. But who was he talking to?

Was he talking to the millions of Madridistas worldwide who were jumping around their living rooms, bars, and even wedding receptions? Yes there was a Kuwaiti wedding that showed the game on a big screen fearing the guests might leave early to watch the game.

Or was he taunting the Camp Nou?

Most likely, he was talking to his teammates directing them to focus on the remaining 18 minutes of the game.

The timer showed 72 min and 10 seconds when number 7 widened the gap on top to 7 points with his 42 second La Liga goal and his 54th in total. The ball travelled three quarters of the field in exactly 8 seconds by the time in crossed the goal line. Di Maria ran for a couple of seconds as he sucked in 4 Barca players towards him before he passed it to Ozil. Number 10’s lethal vision scanned the field and telepathically connected with Ronaldo before his sublime pass travelled majestically for 3 seconds. Ronaldo touched it once before he tucked it in silencing the Camp Nou.

Madrid were often labeled as small team bullies by the pro-Barca camp. The footballing world assumed Madrid would flop against Barca and the difference would shrink down to 1 point after the encounter. Madrid showed they were worthy of the title. They marched east to Catalunya and snatched the three points from Barca while crushing the 98,000 cule souls in the staduim.

Broken Records

Mou’s Real Madrid just keep on shattering records. Ronaldo’s second goal was Madrid 109th goal of the 2011-2012 La Liga season and Madrid’s 160th goal in all competitions (La Liga, CdR, CL, Supercopa). They have a 110 goal difference with 4 games to go in La Liga and at least one more in the Champions League.

The German Silent Soldier Breaks the Wall

How ironic was it that a German breaks the wall of 107 after Army of White metaphorically compared it to the Berlin Wall last week?

Sami Khedira is the kind of player that goes unnoticed by the casual fan. No flare, no flash, no show, no limelight, and no ruckus. However, his presence is vital and Mourinho has made him a starter since his arrival in 2010 when he was only 23 years old. He is a true team player. He operates from behind the curtains. Sami Khedira is a soldier for the white cause.

Sami is a player that embodies the word team. The breaking of the record was a total team effort throughout the 2011-2012 season. This is why it is truly fitting that Sami Khedira was the player to break the record. He was the one who scored the 108th goal when Real Madrid went up 1-0.

Home Field Disadvanatge

Since the 5-0 loss in the Camp Nou, Madrid have performed better away from the Santiago Bernabéu when facing Barcelona. There seems to be less pressure on them to perform away from home. Their winning percentage in the Camp Nou is 50% compared to a 20% in the Santiago Bernabéu.

W T L Win %
CN 1 2 1 0.50
SB 0 2 3 0.20

In the above 9 games (CdR final is not included since it was played on a neutral site), Madrid have scored 5 goals in 5 games in the Santiago Bernabéu while scoring 7 goals in 4 games at the Camp Nou.

Flop he is not

Ronaldo has scored in his third straight game against Barcelona bring his tally to 4 in the current season and 6 overall.

-AN ARMY OF WHITE EDITORIAL. © 2012

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100 games of Mesut Özil

Posted on April 20, 2012 by

On April 17 2012, Mesut Özil played his 100th game for Real Madrid. The German international reached the century mark dressed in the all majestic white. It took him 609 days since he signed for Madrid on August 17 2010 for a mere fee of €15 million in comparison to the great Zinedine Zidane who moved to Madrid at the age of 29 with 5 times the price tag.

Following his successful performance for the German national team in the 2010 World Cup, Özil quickly became an integral part of the team. He is not only in the starting eleven, he is the number 10 figuratively and literally. Mesut is no ordinary play-maker, at the young age of 23 he moves from side to side with utmost grace and finesse. His moves without the ball are even more dangerous. He is always creating space for his teammates. His one-two touches, ball handling, and dagger like passes are exquisite. He can make the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu roar with his amazing skills. He is a wizard with the ball creating spectacular displays while treating it with great care. His on-field and off-field demeanor are also a great asset to the team and to the club’s image.

Despite playing along side the likes of Ronaldo, Benzema, and Higuaín who combined scored 107 goals in all competitions in the 2011-2012 season, Mesut has florished in Madrid. His statistical output improved from his first 5 seasons with both Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen.

Games Goals Assists Points PPG
Schalke 04 37 1 5 6 0.16
W. Bremen 106 15 43 58 0.55
R. Madrid 100 14 46 60 0.60

Özil’s per game output has improved in all catagories. His total points (goals + assists) under Real Madrid have surpassed his tally from Werder Bremen with at least 6 more games to go in the 2011-2012 season. His points per game (PPG) has also increased. To say Özil is an integral part of the offense is an understatement, he has almost half an assist per game for Real Madrid. That’s almost one assist for goal every two games.

Madridistas can cherish the thought that Özil is a great football player that is only 23 years old and therefore is still developing his talent. The world can only imagine what he could be like when he is at his peak … He’ll most likely be one of the greatest.

-AN ARMY OF WHITE EDITORIAL. © 2012

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Is anyone surprised?

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

Is anyone surprised? The Barca is camp is at it again! According to the Telegraph, Barcelona players Lionel Messi and Dani Alves involved in late-night hotel bust-up with fans.

We’ve seen it here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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First, the Berlin Wall … Now Madrid

Posted on April 15, 2012 by

On the 9th of November 1989, the Berlin Wall was demolished changing the landscape of Germany and Europe forever. Less than a year later, another wall was built. In 1990, Real Madrid, led by Welch coach John Toshack, scored an absurd 107 goals during the 1989-1990 season. Real Madrid erected yet another impressive statistic and no team was able to destroy that record. Well, no one dared until Mou’s Madrid started the 2011-2012 season.

Last night against Sporting de Gijón and in the 82nd minute Karim Benzema smashed the third goal of the night, taking the tally of the season to 107 goals and therefore equaling the record.

The Berlin wall stood for 28 years from 1961-1989, while the Madrid Wall stood for 22 years.

Army of white has been monitoring this trend for over 20 weeks now; way before any other journalist, publication or entity related to sports. Army of white has been projecting the season tally after every single game with updated figures and charts.

With 5 games to go, the Wall will be broken. The date and the opponent are yet to be determined. Could it be against Barcelona during next week’s Clasico?

-AN ARMY OF WHITE EDITORIAL. © 2012

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