“MM gotta learn the difference between…love and loyalty…I know Judas loved Jesus…I know Brutus loved Caesar…I know Morata loved the Santiago Bernabeu… Freddy loved MM…
Self-made, who can check me? All off DTs, Jose Juni and some recs see: MMers mumble when they speak, that’s how I know they respect me.“ — Juninho
I Still Don’t Trust You. Ivatar Still Don’t Trust You. We Still Don’t Trust You:
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 “GOAT”)
Today is Champions League Match Day as Los Blancos travel to Germany to play Bayern Munich in the semifinals. For this Jose Juninho Edition, I’ll discuss my quick (maybe long) opinions surrounding the match.
A Few Things I Want to See
Rodrygo on the Left Side. I first want to see Rodrygo Goes aka Rodrygol aka GOAT aka Mr. Champions League play on the left side of a 4231 during this away tie. Arguably, left side Rodrygo is the best version of Rodrygo (however, there is a good debate that the side actually doesn’t matter and the determining factor is whether Rodrygo is treated as THE focal point for the attack). So if Vinicius is still an incredible player as a psuedo-9 / central figure and Bellingham still produces as a 10, wouldn’t it be a net-positive to have Rodrygo on the left side? Additionally, Bayern’s RB is likely to be Kimmich. Rodrygo + Vini on the left-side would not only force Kimmich to focus on his defensive duties but they should physically cook Kimmich. I’d be surprised if Kimmich can keep up with quick passes between the two which would then leave likely Eric Dier or Upamecano on an island.
Tchouameni literally anywhere. It seems like he’ll be playing but I’d like to see Tchouameni featured as a CB / CDM. When Tchou plays, we generally win and my heart rate is normally a bit more comfortable in the defensive area. I love me some Camavinga, but i don’t love Camavinga as a single or double pivot where the defensive onus is on him. I don’t love the idea of Camavinga trying to track Harry Kane when he drops into the midfield either. I’m not entirely worried about our midfield combinations being that I believe our midfield should be superior to Bayern’s (imo their weakest area) but Tchouameni’s physicality and technique should assist us off set pieces as well as against any press.
Early Subs. We have this frustrating habit of late subs. IMO we should’ve won the City tie in the first leg, if Carlo had just made earlier subs when the midfield was obviously tired. Even in the second leg, we desperately needed earlier subs. I just want to see a sub in the 65 min when Modric / Kroos is obviously tired. If the lineup plays out the way that I hope it does, Camavinga (or Modric) off the bench in the 65 min could win the first leg. If we can maintain a level of chaos and movement similar to the City first leg, I believe we could potentially make the 2nd leg a mere formality.
Honorable Mentions: Lucas “Ice In His Veins” Goatquez. Man rather than zonal set piece marking. Mendy at LB (more on that later). Madrid Aura. BELLLINGOOOOL
Things I Don’t Want To See
Modric. Hala put down your pitchfork and your campaign lol. I don’t want to see Modric not because of Modric but more because of our other resources lol. Realistically, if Modric is playing Kroos is likely not playing and I’d rather see Kroos. I’d also rather see Camavinga but that’s a different story. IMO, Bayern doesn’t have an athletic midfield compared to ours. I’d love a combination of Fede – Jude – Cama – Tchou but I know better than to ask for something which won’t happen. I’d prefer a gegenpressing blitzkrieg of Bayern forcing Upamecano / Kimmich / Eric Dier / Kim / Goretzka into really tough decisions. Modric is still a brilliant player but physically he doesn’t move well off ball. Even against Sociedad there were moments where players just passed him by. But again this is less about Modric and more about the rest of what we have and I know playing only the youths isn’t the Carlo way so I’m not going to try too hard.
Camavinga at LB. I do not want to see Camavinga at LB. Camavinga isn’t a LB. I’d rather see him benched then at LB. Leroy Sane / Musiala will cook him. Camavinga is a fine LB when we’re facing a low block or a team without pacey wingers and is a whole bag of yikes when forced to defend against a pacey winger or anyone with true dribbling nuance. I’m one of Cama’s biggest fans but no Carlo. Please play Mendy or even Nacho.
Conservative Mentality. We’ve had a lot of discussions about our approach against City and whether a defensive / conservative mentality is worthy at Madrid and whether winning is our only prerequisite (which it is not). I’m not trying to dwell on this subject so I’ll be swift and concise. Bayern Munich shares Football Heritage but this Bayern Munich isn’t City. This Bayern Munich isn’t imo a Top 5 club in the world right now. This Bayern Munich should be respected for their history in the competition, but shouldn’t be placed on a pedestal above us. We SHOULD be able to have a draw or even win if we adopt an attack first mentality against this club. We SHOULD be able to take advantage of their injuries, their backline which makes ours look surprisingly solid, and their lack of Friendship FC (like seriously everyone seems to hate each other from the board to the players). Vamos chicos.
Honorable Mentions: Kroos + Modric. Thomas Muller. Poor refereeing. Clamoring for Musiala.
Final Thoughts
“I hate to speak about individuals. Players don’t win you trophies. Teams win trophies. Squads Win Trophies.” — Jose Mourinho
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“It’s better to be feared than loved”