Oscnar’s Intro(s):
Juninho: Aight what you lookin’ at self? You want a piece of me...?
[sips]
If I could start from scratch I wouldn’t change sh—. Same mod Juni, same thread pulpit. Same pre-modding, Same PhillyPhil plea to quit. But El Oso in the kitchen still cooking my ish. Same GFE “fight”, yea the same unrest. That mean the same hollow tips breakin up in his chest. Same bloody Blue Shirt. Same IP address. Same Kendrick Lamar album bangin in my tape deck. Homie if I could make 20–1-8 today. I’d tell Chenkopapi that Jose Juninho don’t play. I would have told Joao not to step in the Metropolitano. Told Zizou that we could survive without Cristiano. I got too many dead homies, f— a MM career. I’d give anything in the world to bring back my brother [censored]. Seem like we was jus’ watchin City yesterday. If I could bring back my homeboy Oscnar, he would say:
Oscnar: If I could start my life from scratch. If I could take away the pain off my past. If I had another chance, I would do just that. I’d give anything jus’ to go right back.
Welcome to The Daily Merengue — a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!
Shoutout to the Mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, KungFuZizou, NeRObutBlanco, Felipejack, and Juninho (the “King of Mods”).
Start From Scratch — VR?
Mbappe. So the prevalent rumor as we head into this crucial matchup is that our top goalscorer, Kylian Mbappe, may have a muscle overload or an ankle injury. It is unclear of the seriousness of this injury but rumor is that the squad list was delayed to see if Mbappe would be available for this game and whether he could be risked. I personally predict that Mbappe will play unless he literally cannot walk considering this momentous occasion as well as the hit it would be on his legacy (by some) for PSG to move to the quarterfinals without him and Madrid to fail with him. But let’s pray he can make it.
Back to Basics — VR. Considering the possibility of Mbappe being out of the lineup, it is crucial that the Brazilian duo of Vini + Rodrygo are able to quickly silence the raucous Wanda Metropolitano crowd. It is going to extremely loud. It’s going to be nervy and its going to be exciting. I’ve of course been silently vocal about Vini’s current form and fit in the squad but this would be a lovely moment to quell my objections, so Vinicius Jr. I challenge you to prove me wrong. I challenge you to lead this team. I challenge you not to allow the emotions of the game to lead you astray. I challenge you to have a career defining game. We’ll need it. Rodry just do your thing — you’re much better than Galan.
Start From Scratch — 24/25 XI
Gala XI. Of course, we’ve all seen conq’s Gala XI (which tbh I’m not opposed to) but even the most ardent Rodrygo fan understands that there is no world where Vini will ever be benched or played on the right wing. So quickly looking at a position that could potentially have a realistic change and as a quick thought teaser, is it worth attempting to have David Alaba play LB? We’d likely have to somewhat change our attacking presence as Alaba clearly doesn’t have the legs to galavant up and down the pitch but realistically LB overlaps are rarely used by Vini...it may just be worthwhile to have another defensive LB presence that can actually distribute passes or invert into the midfield when necessary. I doubt we’ll ever see this change but it’d be just an interesting twist.
Endrick. There’s absolutely zero chance in the world this happens unless like hell freezes over and Brahim is still sick with the flu...BUT would you start Endrick if Mbappe is unable to start against Atleti? The kid is still very raw but his energy could be needed and he doesn’t seem to shy away from a poorly timed tackle or a moment. I actually think he’d handle the moment well though we’d have to be ready for a mistake or two. I’m not fully against this even though I’m not sure if I actually recommend it. It’d just be an interesting take instead of completely loading up all of our available midfielders into the first 90 mins.
Courtois;
Valverde, Asencio, Rüdiger. Alaba;
Rodrygo, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Jude;
Mbappé, Viní Jr;
This is best line-up of Real Madrid if Ancelotti had better off-ball organisation & pressing worked as intended instead of jump&hope we see:
Most balanced & well-rounded.
— Loconté (@Loconteee) March 11, 2025
It’s just a shame that David Alaba has lost all his legs — because he’s a perfect solution (this season) to the LB position.
Valverde would be cleared-off some build-up duties & push higher: Alaba would stay deep in the back-three we usually see: and only God knows how much we…
— Loconté (@Loconteee) March 11, 2025
The reason PSG’s front three works while ours doesn’t is that their trio does different things, while ours does similar things.
Theirs complement, ours compete.
— Jules Winnfield, PhD. (@MLGY23) March 11, 2025
At PSG, there’s a clear understanding of roles—one drops, the other makes the run. Rotations near-perfect.
At Madrid, everyone wants to hog the ball as well as the left spaces. When they receive it, no one is making runs.
— Jules Winnfield, PhD. (@MLGY23) March 11, 2025
Start From Scratch — 25/26 Rumors?
Xabi Thought Teaser. A poor display from Xabi Alonso and the Neverkusen crew against the two ties in Bayern. As a fan of Xabi since his Sociedad U23 days, I’ll admit I’m disappointed but not yet losing hope in his abilities. Quick thought teaser...do we think another manager could have gone undefeated in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen? IMO maybe a Klopp / Nags could get this team to work but the undefeated run is pretty unprecedented. Definitely not a Pep / Carlo who imo rely on more developed and talented players to make their philosophies work.
Poll
Does Another Manager Have This Overall Success at Leverkusen?
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LB Thought Teaser. Continuing the CL review, an amazing game from PSG with specific highlights of Nuno Mendes (who I believe is still trying to figure out his PSG contract). Should Florentino try to gamble and buy Mendes for the upcoming season?
Poll
Should Flo Buy Nuno Mendes This Summer?
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TAA Teaser. TAA had a so-so game but did struggle a bit again defensively. Most rumors still point towards him being the Madrid RB. But let’s see what MM thinks at this moment.
Poll
Should RM Buy TAA This Summer?
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Unwanted Lessons:
TR_Madridsta: Teach...teach ‘em. Teach me.
Juninho: I would have told BSG, Coral raid every Tuesday and Thursday. When pigeons in your coupe you gotta watch where your birds lay. Would have told Juni to stay sober... When he “ Self Recs for Mercy”, that means the beef is over. Told ya’ll to take Josko Gvardiol back, before the British takeover. Told Coral hit reverse on that 8 recs blue quota. I would’ve changed a couple of lines when I wrote “Soldier”. So I wouldn’t have to live lookin over my shoulder. My life is like a tiki taka WC Jo’bulani in motion. Life’s been front to back, side to side. Level my six-four frame out, keep on rollin. Keep your family far away and your enemies closer. Picture this, Daily Thread comments always uptick. And you tryna be the big fish in the pond, you know how them piranhas get. You dead when that green line go flat. If you could start your life from scratch, you couldn’t change that.
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“same old me”