My uncle arrived to the presidency of RM aiming at a complete revolution, and signed important names such as Cristiano Ronaldo (ManUtd), Kaká (Milan), Benzema (Olympique Lyon), and Xavi Alonso (Liverpool). Other, less renowned, players such as Albiol, Arbeloa, Granero, and Garay signed as well. The chosen manager was Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, who had done a rather good job in Villareal, during 2004-2009. My uncle's objective was to win again some trophies while playing attractively. The main goal of the season was to play the final of the UCL (UEFA Champions League) at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (RM home, in case you are not aware).
The season was a failure if one looks only at the final results: embarrassing performance at the Copa del Rey, a defeat full of impotence against Olympique Lyon in the UCL, and a second place in La Liga (the Spanish championship), just behind our sworn enemy. Beyond these disappointing results, in my opinion the team managed to have an idea of how to play, something that is remarkable in the light of the game shown in previous seasons. Moreover, the team did excellent at home (only one, yet crucial and painful, defeat), and some records were broken. The defense was particularly solid, even if Pepe was not available during many games. This is probably the most notable achievement of Pellegrini's team. Unfortunately, midfield and attack lines weren't that regular: although Xabi Alonso had an acceptable performance during the season, the ones supposed to make the team play (Guti, Granero, and perhaps Gago) were rather disappointing. Substitutes for Xabi Alonso (Lass and Mahamadou Diarra) were quite irregular too. The notable news in the attack is that legendary captain Raúl was officially sent to the bench during most of the season, and thus the strikers of the team were Cristiano Ronaldo and my personal favorite, Gonzalo El Pipita Higuaín. This was an awesome season for Pipita (27 goals in 35 appearances in La Liga), despite of the fact that my uncle doesn't like him very much (he prefers shy and unenthusiastic Benzema instead). Pipita scored important goals, was able to overcome the pressure of a lot of bad press against him, and yet again showed that he is the most reliable striker of the team, with a fantastic future ahead (he's just 22).
My uncle of course wasn't very happy at the end of the season with these results. In spite of his previous promises, he has recently fired Pellegrini. I liked Pellegrini a lot: apart from a questionable line-ups at the beginning of the season, you could tell he had a clear idea of how to make the team play for victory. Also, he's a gentleman: during the season he never gave a controversial press conference, always showing decency and culture. Pellegrini's plans for the team were seriously affected as soon as Robben and Sneijder left the team during the preseason (to Bayern Munich and Inter FC, respectively). This occurred even if Pellegrini publicly declared both players were essential in his plans; my uncle didn't appreciate such declarations, and claimed that their transfers were financially crucial. Robben and Sneijder's performances with their new teams (as well as RM's lack of options in the wings) would prove Pellegrini right, at the end.
Another disappointment of the season was Kaká. He had both adaptation and physical problems; a mysterious injury affected him during a large part of the season. However, in the games in which he supposedly was in good shape, he made no difference in the attack of the team. Luckily, whenever Kaká wasn't available or was playing like crap, there was Van der Vaart to play in his position. Van der Vaart did great in some games, but he also had injury problems towards the end of the season.
The last part of the season was characterized by a disgusting media campaign against Pellegrini. While at some point it was hard to believe my uncle would dare to fire him, thus contradicting the opinion of many followers, the intensity of such a campaign eventually convinced us that Pellegrini was out. What a shame. Decent and modest Pellegrini was then replaced by controversial José Mourinho, who has been very successful in Portugal, England, and more recently Italy. My uncle claimed that a change of coach was necessary in order to bring more leadership into the team.
Mourinho's teams tend to be more effective than attractive; it is unclear how he will adapt to Spanish football. He is certainly a guy who enjoys controversy; he says he does so in order to protect his players from unnecessary pressure. I am afraid that RM will be more hated now that Mourinho is leading the team. Mourinho has said that he wants 3 or 4 defensive players. While this could make some sense (given the current weaknesses in the wing positions) the reliability of the defense during this season makes me doubt about this. RM might need to get rid of good players (such as Garay or Albiol), in favor of people Mourinho knows well, such as Inter's Maicon. Perhaps it is just Mourinho trying to impose his new authority above all. Let's see how it goes.
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