Real Madrid vs DC United: 3-0

Another convincing Madrid win if you just look at the scoreline, but there is so much more to the match than that and I'm here to discuss it all. I believe this is one of the best tests for Real Madrid for many reasons. It was hot. The pace of the game was great. But most of all, the match was just enjoyable, for me especially as a Madridista and being an American, seeing how the club football in my home country stacks up against one of the best teams in the world. Let's get started, shall we?

First, I want to clear things up for some people that seem to think that just because Real Madrid has Ronaldo and Kaka and a plethora of other stars, the squad should easily smash everyone 6 and 7 to nil. This is not the case. All the preseason hype is great but we have to keep things in perspective here. Real's players are the best of the best, but they are going to be playing against other professional footballers. Manchester United was a great team last year, but they didn't humiliate teams every week. Other teams will have chances. That's football. So just because Real Madrid gives up a corner on a quick break from the opposition doesn't always mean the defending on the team needs work. It means the offense on the other team did well to play some quality football. I think this was a great test for Real Madrid because they were constantly under pressure. I can totally applaud D.C. for the way they went about the match. When Real Madrid C.F. comes to town, it's intimidating. Player are a little hesitant to take on monsters like Pepe and company. Maybe the team wants to focus their strategy on defending for obvious reason. To my delight, that was not the case today! D.C. was very active and fun to watch play. They were not hesitant or shy by any means. One thing I was interested in seeing was how Madrid would cope with was high pressure from an opponent who likes to push on high and try to creative turn over in advanced positions. There were points where the team looked to react to it very nicely, stringing quick moving passes and evading danger by keeping the ball and play moving. That's the best way to beat that sort of system. Keep it simple until holes begin to breach. That wasn't always the case though. Some times, the pressure got to the team in the center of midfield and bogged down ability to hold possession, keeping the ball in Madrid's own half. It was a great test because if anyone has been tuning into the Barcelona preseason, they have been working on pressuring high up in every match. Barca is a far better side than D.C. United (with all respect to them), so you can see what los blancos are up against. Normally, this wouldn't worry me because there are times where the opposition will have spells in your own half. But when that happened, los blancos got away from the sweet and creative play we saw early in the first half and resorted to long balls over the top. I understand that we have the speed to do that. However, that's not the football we want to play. The type of game we want to play showed it's self in segments, especially in the first half. There were lots of great opportunities that came from possession spells with intricate passing. Higuain, Ronaldo, Granero, Kaka, and Sneijder all had chances in the first half. The D.C. United starting goalkeeper is my man of that match. He was wonderful with the save on Higuain's header and Granero's bullet. Brilliant display by him. Lot's of folks have doubted that all the new signings at Real Madrid would not be able to work together. Recent play has proved this to be very wrong. The quality of each individual is to account for the team's success. Players like Ronaldo know they don't have to take on the single superstar role because the faith in teammates as talented as Raul, Kaka, Benzema, Granero (this could take all day), ect. is evident. The team knows in order to be successful, they need each other.

What are all Madrid supporters talking about now? Pipita off the mark with not one but two goals! It was about time. Up until now, I was a bit worried about his preseason form but I never doubted him. This delights me. You could see how ecstatic he was to have scored on both occasions. The first goal was one for the highlight reels. He must have carried it 40 yards before slotting it past the goalkeeper. However, if you watch the goal, Robben was smart and dragged is defender right out of Higuain's path, smart. The second goal was scored on a break, and instrumental ball was played through to Robben from the "Pirate" Granero. Robben did the hard work and slid it across to an unmarked Higuain who danced past the keeper and rolled the ball into the back of the net. The third goal came from Robben himself. He deserved one after the performance he put on today. He came on as a halftime sub and really provided his own spark, as he usually does. Some believed the Dutchman to be on his way out of the club but he insists that he is staying. I'm sure glad he is after the goal he scored today. I just sat back and smiled. Pepe, with a rare, assist played a long ball in to Robben who sneaked in behind the defense from the right flank. He took three touches. One to trap, one juggle, and one looping volley chip that passed the goal line before the substitute D.C. keeper could pluck it away. Simply sublime. It's comforting to be surrounded by so much depth in the attack especially. You wouldn't even realize that Benzema and Lass were on French National Team duty (even though the FSC announcer seemed to be convinced we would be seeing them coming on. They need to step up their coverage if they are planning on doing the champions league seriously). With Lass away, Xabi Alonso was the one chosen to be the holding of the midfielders. I didn't notice him a whole lot during the match but when I began to look closer, he was doing a brilliant job of just doing a classic defensive center mid's job. He just help rotate and change the point of play. A few times Pepe ventured into the attack I peeked at the back line, and Alonso looked to be covering nicely as if he was a center back all along. He did well under the pressure of the D.C. United midfield. Many may have noticed at times we looked out numbered in midfield. That's because we played the same 4-3-3 as last match (3 midfielders) and D.C. played a 3-5-2 (5 midfielders). Drenthe's confidence rises another level in every game. You have to be impressed with his fitness and just pure athleticism. With the absence of Marcelo due to a sprained ankle, Drenthe played two 90 minute matches in 3 days after a transatlantic flight. He was as lively as ever. He worked up and down the left flank all match. You can tell the confidence is coming back to him. For example, the line drives he was hitting across the pitch to Arbeloa and the 4 or more scissors when he took on that defender in the first half. Many people thought he was going to be a flop, but has been quick to silence the hater's tongue in preseason. I know it's a little bit of a stretch but he reminds me of Roberto Carlos a little. The only thing that worried me with him today, is the majority of the D.C. attack came from long balls through in behind Drenthe or over the top of him. He just needs to keep a little better eye on that winger when the ball is on the opposite side of the pitch.

It was another positive Real Madrid result in the capital city of the United States on a summer scorcher. Shout out to my man Dave, (zidanechamp10) who survived the heat, got handshakes from majority of los blancos and got his picture taken with the engineer himself, Pellegrini. Anyone else catch the FA Community Shield today? You, the readers did pick Chelsea to win the Premiership this season in the last poll. You must know your stuff.

Viva el futbol y HALA MADRID!

Bobby