Former Real Madrid player, coach and sporting director, Jorge Valdano addresses his ex-club’s recent misfortunes in an interview on the Spanish radio station Onda Cero, during the programme ‘El Transistor’. He names the reasons behind Real Madrid’s struggles – they are lacking a true striker while the players who took part in this summer’s World Cup are below their best.
Diario AS quote Valdano as saying: ‘Putting the ball in the back of the net is the hardest part of the game. The number-one problem Real have is goals, because they lack a specialist and that’s not something that the coach can solve.’
He continues, blaming the club for not taking Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus seriously: ‘At Barcelona, they’re terrified about Messi being out, while at Real Madrid they took the departure of Cristiano a little bit lightly.’
Valdano: The biggest problem at Real Madrid right now is the lack of confidence. Some players are hiding. At Madrid they had a goalscoring freak who is no longer there. They lost the greatest goalscorer in Real Madrid's history.
— Faisal Caesar (@faisalyorker2) October 9, 2018
Finally, he comments on Madrid’s internationals who are visibly struggling from a sudden dip in form: ‘[Raphael] Varane and [Luka] Modric’s exertions at the World Cup look to be taking a mental toll.’