Stalemates and Manitas: Are Madrid really that bad away from home?

Published on February 28, 2011 by Phil Kitromilides · No Comments

One would imagine that likening Jose Mourinho to Julius Caesar is a comparison that would be met with the approval of the Special One. Both great orators, leaders of men and in their own ways rampaging conquerors throughout Europe. But Caesar’s visit to the rugged north-west corner of the Iberian peninsular that is A Coruna in 62 BC was undoubtedly more successful than Mourinho’s on Saturday night. It was a match Madrid should have won. The statistics show their domination of the game was relentless with 80 percent of possession and 15 shots on goal. They were also playing against a Deportivo side which had kept just one clean sheet in their last ten top flight matches and are the league’s lowest scorers having notched just 21 goals this season (that is three less than a certain Brylcreamed Madeiran marksman has scored alone for Madrid). Yet the failure of Los Blancos to claim the three points that their dominance warranted, and upon which their title aspirations so desperately hinged, made it an unhappy hat-trick against struggling sides in the last six weeks. Since the 16th January, Madrid have visited, Almeria, Osasuna and Depor and have come away from those matches with two points.

After last week’s column extolled the virtues of Madrid’s impeccable home record, should we now this week concede that their away form is the crux of their problem and conclude that they’ll never win anything unless they improve on their travels? Perhaps that would be a little too simplistic. If statistics are like Shakira’s hips, in so much as they don’t lie, then they would point to Madrid’s away form actually being pretty solid. Away from home they are the joint second highest scorers, and also have the joint second tightest defence (its hardly necessary to say who is first in both respects). They have lost just two games away from the Santiago Bernabeu this season, the memorable mauling in Catalunia and the 1-0 defeat at Osasuna. It was the manner of the defeat rather than the result in the Camp Nou which really hurt, and losing away to Osasuna, while hugely disappointing, is not overly shameful; only one team has gone to Pamplona and won this season (yes, you know who). Couple those two away defeats then with the draws at Mallorca, Levante, Almeria, and now Deportivo and Madrid have dropped a grand total of 14 points on their travels this season. Manchester United who are clear at the top of the Premier League have dropped 19 points away from Old Trafford (plus their home record is worse than Madrid’s). The comparison with the Premier League is perhaps a useful one in attempting to contextualise the hyperbolic recrimination and questioning that comes from the Madrid based press every time Mourinho’s men fail to claim three points. As one of the most eminent English sports journalists based in Spain has put it, “a draw is now like a defeat”.

This does not mean that questions should not be asked about Madrid’s performances when they venture away from the district of Chamartin. Despite arguably being the best team in Spain on the counter-attack, breaking with a speed, skill and power that at times blows opponents away, Madrid often find it hard to overcome sides who populate the midfield and make themselves difficult to break down. One reason for this could be the form of Mesut Ozil. The young German has made an extraordinary impact since his summer move from Werder Bremen, leading Jose Mourinho to proclaim that he will be a figure head in the Madrid side for the next ten years. His intelligence and ability to link with others gives Real’s play at times a seamless fluidity. But while so convincing and effective at the Bernabeu, Ozil often “goes missing” in matches away from home finding himself a little isolated and struggling to make an impact. Another problem for Madrid is their lack of a true, out and out goal scorer. What about the immaculately coiffured aforementioned Madeiran magician I hear you cry? Well, yes its true Ronaldo does have an absurd scoring record, 24 goals in 25 matches, but they cannot simply rely on him. Benzema has done his best, and Adebayor’s recent cameos have been encouraging, but the team sorely misses the instinctive, predatory touch of the injured Gonzalo Higuain. The Argentinian scored twelve times away from home last season. Take those goals away from any side, and they would struggle (except maybe you know who). Speaking of which, perhaps at the very core of this whole subject, is the team that Madrid find themselves up against in the title race, Barcelona. Aside from the freak home defeat to Hercules, and the Herculean efforts of Arsenal, Barca have been sensational. Even when they are not at their best and missing players, they seem to win 3-0. So a very good Madrid side, with a 100 percent home record, and a pretty decent away record looks like, for the second season running, missing out on being crowned Champions, not because there is anything particularly wrong with their squad worth a quarter of a billion pounds, but because they are up against a Barcelona team that his fast becoming legendary.

If Mourinho likes the comparison to Julius Caesar, then perhaps he could heed the warning given to the Roman general before his downfall, “beware the Ides of March”. This season there is no match falling on the ancient festival day of the 15th, but five days later Madrid are away to the team who would love to beat them more than any other in world, Atletico. And while defeat there might not mean an immediate demise for General Jose, a third away loss of the season, would surely see their title hopes crumble for good.