Luka Modric, AC Milan and Croatia player
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Luka Modric may no longer be a Real Madrid player, but he remains one of the most respected figures for Los Blancos.
He has now dismissed concerns over the club’s difficult start to the season, insisting Jose Mourinho has a squad capable of closing the six-point gap to Barcelona.
The former Madrid midfielder knows better than most how quickly the mood can change at the Bernabeu.
Modric backs Mourinho’s Madrid
In an interview with Diario AS (h/t Madrid Zone), his message was simple: the season is far too young for anyone to consider the title race finished.
“Real Madrid struggling? It’s only the start,” Modric said.
“I see Madrid, with Mourinho, has a fantastic team ready to compete for all titles this year.”
Those words carry particular weight coming from a player who spent so many years dealing with the pressure and expectations surrounding Real Madrid.
Luka Modric of Croatia
Luka Modric remains confident about Real Madrid. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Madrid’s position is uncomfortable, particularly because Barcelona have already established a six-point advantage.
However, Modric does not believe that the gap should create panic.
“There’s no need to worry or think that everything is over because Barcelona is leading by six points,” he continued.
“This team is totally capable of closing the gap and winning the league.”
Six points cannot decide a season in October
This should be exactly the perspective inside Madrid as well.
A six-point deficit is significant, especially against a Barça side showing little sign of slowing down, but October is too early to consider it decisive.
Mourinho’s team have issues to solve. Their performances away from home have raised questions, and injuries have complicated the start of the campaign.
Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid coach
Jose Mourinho has significant work to do to get the squad back on track. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
The Portuguese tactician is also still searching for the ideal balance in several positions. None of these problems, however, are irreversible.
Madrid still have time to respond
Modric’s message is not that Madrid should ignore their shortcomings. It is that they have enough quality and enough time to correct them.
Madrid cannot rely on their reputation to erase six points. They need greater consistency and cannot afford to let Barcelona stretch the advantage much further.
However, Modric has experienced enough title races to understand that championships are not settled in the opening rounds.
Mourinho’s Madrid have work to do, but Modric knows better than to write them off. It remains to be seen how they improve after the international break.
La Liga president Javier Tebas hits out at Real Madrid once again: ‘Most rebellious team’
Javier Tebas, La Liga president
Photo by Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images For Sportel
It is no secret that Javier Tebas and Florentino Perez cannot see eye to eye, and the administrative powerhouses of Spanish football have often been involved in public disagreements.
In recent times, most of the aforementioned disagreements have come through refereeing errors – a matter Los Blancos are beginning to take very seriously.
While Tebas and Co. are critical of Real Madrid’s methods of pressurising referees via Real Madrid TV, Perez and Co. do not see it as sustainable for multiple refereeing decisions to go against them year after year.
Tebas’ explosive interview
La Liga president Javier Tebas spoke via Diario AS in a tender interview where he dived into the depths of Real Madrid’s constant complaints and labelled the club the most ‘rebellious.’
“The most rebellious team in Spain is Real Madrid because the leaders of Madrid have a way of understanding football that I do not have.
“In Europe, it is [Nasser] Al-Khelaifi,” he added.
Javier Tebas, La Liga president
Tebas hit out at Real Madrid. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images for Soccerex)
Elaborating on how La Liga is far more than just the giants in the league, Tebas defended the league’s quality over the years.
“We have built an incredible football in 20 years and we have to defend it so that it does not escape us. On this train, there are locomotives, like Madrid or Barça, but we also need the wagons.”
The football calendar is slowly growing unsustainable for players, especially in the bigger clubs in La Liga, and the coach was indirectly asked about the same when the topic of the number of teams in the league was brought up.
“LaLiga has 20 teams for I don’t know how many years. The problem is that now there are more national team competitions, there are more matches of European competitions, and club world championships.
“That is congesting the calendar and we are generating a very complicated football,” he added.
Elaborating on the dangers of the current style of footballing schedules and rewards, Tebas said,
Florentino Perez, President of Real Madrid
Real Madrid and La Liga have been at a silent war for a while now. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
“In Switzerland, the Young Boys, who participate in the Champions League, takes 35 million and the second, who do not play Champions League, takes between 5 and 10 million. That league is broken.
“If we continue like this, they will destroy national football and we will go to the Super League, which is what some deliberately seek.”
He then broke down Florentino Perez’s idea of a Super League and
“A ‘fast-forward’ Super League—the one Florentino wanted—has been halted, but a ‘slow-motion’ Super League is already underway. If we don’t take action, we’ll end up with a two-tier football system,” he added.
Tebas was then asked about the tickets for El Clasico and how they are priced exorbitantly, to which he said,
“The ticketing issue is a matter of the clubs, in which LaLiga cannot intervene.”
Finally, the president opened up the possibility of a change in the distribution of television rights.
“It’s a matter of law—the law was passed in May 2015 and already establishes how the distribution is handled. It was agreed that the difference between the highest-earning club and the lowest-earning club could not exceed 3.5.
“There are some who are advocating for a change to the Royal Decree so that they can earn even more. It’s an approach that will need to be considered; it’s time to review it. In England, they have more revenue from pay TV,” he added.