At Real Madrid, the injuries never stop. That is why Varela says the club really needs a good doctor. Because there is no point in dreaming of an ideal lineup if they can barely ever play together.
The editorial opinion by Raul Varela in La Tribu has focused on one of the great problems for Real Madrid: injuries. The journalist did not hesitate to forcefully point out the club's priority for the immediate future: moving away from signings and traditional sporting decisions.
From the start of his commentary, Varela was clear and direct: "A doctor. Or a female doctor. That should be the priority at Real Madrid for next season." A reflection that, according to his analysis, sums up the true structural problem of the team in recent years, marked by the inability to maintain a stable lineup due to constant physical problems.
The journalist insisted that it makes no sense to focus on strengthening the squad if the team cannot hold up physically during the season. "It is useless to search the market for center-backs, forwards, or coaches if you then find that the back four you dreamed of has barely been able to play together in one out of every 20 matches," he said, evidencing the fragility of the sporting planning.
The situation, according to Varela, worsened after news of Kylian Mbappe's latest absence, who will not travel to Barcelona due to muscle discomfort. A new setback that again puts the focus on the white team's infirmary at a key moment of the season.
The communicator's diagnosis was especially harsh when analyzing the injury balance at Valdebebas. "The balance of injuries and physical setbacks is devastating at Valdebebas. Unsustainable," he said, adding that the accumulation of physical problems has reached alarming numbers in recent campaigns.
Varela even resorted to a metaphor to illustrate the seriousness of the matter: "The light still has not come back on in that infirmary where more than 100 folders with medical files have been archived in the last two seasons." For him, although some injuries are inevitable, the bulk respond to a structural weakness of the team on the physical plane.
In that sense, he pointed directly to the need to change the way of working with the players: "It is evident that the way of approaching the footballers must change," stressing that sporting performance cannot be separated from the squad's physical state.
The journalist also put a number to the problem, pointing to the cumulative impact of the absences: "More than three years in accumulated days with some medical absence," a statistic that, according to him, invites reflection on the sporting and economic consequences for the club.
Finally, Varela closed his analysis with a phrase that sums up his diagnosis of the white team's season: "The high press is all well and good, but what has sent this Madrid into depression is its glass health," making clear that, beyond tactics, the team's true enemy is its physical fragility.
Join The Conversation
Roundtablesports is Free to join! You can post your own thoughts, comment on articles, and start conversations with our Roundtable Writers.
Download the FREE Roundtable APP, and get even easier access to your favorite teams and news!