Madrid, Aug. 10 (IANS) Real Madrid go into the new season 2026-27 with renewed confidence after two disastrous campaigns which saw the club fail to win major trophies.
Last season saw Real Madrid kick off with Xabi Alonso in the dugout, with the former player expected to bring order to the team, but far from resolving dressing room issues, problems with several players saw Alonso sacked in January and replaced by B-team coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who was unable to bring an upturn in results.
The summer saw a brief election campaign as club president Florentino Perez blamed everyone but himself for the situation, and Perez was duly returned to power with Jose Mourinho returning as coach in an attempt to instil greater discipline in the dressing room, reports Xinhua.
The club also moved quickly in the transfer market with Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Spain international full back Marc Cucurella all arriving to shore up a defense that shipped too many goals last season.
Dumfries will compete with Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back, while Cucurella will also give an attacking outlet down the left and Konate should enhance the central defense.
The club also brought in Bernardo Silva on a free transfer from Manchester City, and although the Portuguese is still short of fitness, he will offer options in an attacking midfield role or out wide.
Real Madrid have also strengthened in attack with powerful young striker Carlos Espi arriving from Levante to offer an alternative as a ‘number 9’, while the club spent an estimated 140 million euros to make 19-year-old Yan Diomande its record signing.
That gives Mourinho a host of options to work with, especially as Vinicius Jr penned a new contract, and an attack of Kylian Mbappe, Diomande and Vinicius Jr, with Espi and Brahim Diaz, will give a lot of defenses sleepless nights, while Endrick could find himself out on loan to gain extra game time and Rodrygo could be sold once he proves his fitness.
Although Real Madrid seem to have missed out on Spain captain Rodri Hernandez, who would have given control in the middle of the park, Mourinho still has the energy of Fede Valverde to complement Silva, Aurelien Tchouameni and the creativity of Arda Guler, with Eduardo Camavinga needing to impress to ensure he stays.
There will also be a lot of attention paid to Jude Bellingham, with the Englishman tasked with reproducing the form he showed at the World Cup week in week out for his club.
If we see the best of Bellingham this season, Real Madrid wouldbe hard to stop. Maybe they won’t have as much of the ball as Barcelona, but an attack packed with pace doesn’t really need long buildups to create chances, and if Mourinho gets the dressing room onside, he will have gone a long way towards lifting the title.
–IANS
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