Real Madrid Club de Fútbol - Beating the Best!

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Why Real Madrid?
I wanted to have one save with the team that I love the most. The fact that Real are my favorite team irl should help to keep this story going for quite a while. Also, I think Real Madrid have THE most incredible squad, bar none, and that it would be criminal to not win with them.
Also, there seem to be no ongoing Real Madrid stories, so I thought I would start one. And, I will continue my Dortmund save as well

Who am I?
Me. A 20 year old from India who happens to chance upon the job at his favorite club (real unimaginative, I know). I chose myself as even though I think Ancelotti is a fantastic coach (his record at Milan ), I want to see if I can do as good a job as he did with Real this season. However, I will be writing this story not only from my perspective, but from several perspectives. i.e. Me, or a fan of Real Madrid, or perhaps even a player, or an article. It will become clearer as it pans out.

Expectations
Well, its Real Madrid. Anything less than victory under any circumstances will be considered a failure
Hope you guys stick with me for this and enjoy it

P.S. If I do bad and disappoint any Madridistas, my apologies
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Part 1 - You've got Mail!

I stared at the mail in disbelief. I couldn't really believe my eyes. My favorite club had written back to me! I really had no hope of having my application for their managerial position accepted, but the fact that they had sent me a formal reply felt like some major achievement in itself.

I extended my hand to open the envelope and finally read what was in it... but a strange feeling gripped me. Rather a gamut of feelings, and I simply could not move my hand over the envelope and tear it open. I suddenly realised what I was feeling, something I never had felt before, A mix of - fear - of being rejected (even though I was totally sure that there was no chance in hell I would be accepted). And excitement - of the fact that my favorite club had just responded back to me. And curiosity - of finding out what was inside that letter. I decided to keep it back on the table.

A part of my head considered me foolish - for constructing an application to one of the biggest clubs in the world and offering them what I considered 'constructive' squad building advice. Oh how stupid have I been.

I just realised that I did not really have the courage to do this. No I did not. I was torn - a part of me wanted to open it, and a part of me wanted to wait for the 'right moment' - if it would ever arrive. I grabbed the letter again, more determined than ever, only to keep it back again. I cannot do this.... Not now....

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So (Un)Real?

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I gazed out of the aeroplane and thought back. I thought back to what a whirlwind life had been for the past one week. I had just sent in an application to Real Madrid - the most demanding and prestigious of all the damn clubs in the whole world and had been accepted. Crazy. It felt like a dream.

Maybe it was my 25 years of managing Real Madrid in Football Manager that had gotten me this far. Well, that is what I wanted to believe. Mr Perez had mentioned that it was actually my statistical approach and my 'moneyball' technique (as it had popularly come to be known) that had made him consider me. Quite honestly, the fact that a club like Real Madrid considered the moneyball technique to be such a decider definitely gave me a few chuckles. But this was it. I opened the letter again, for the billionth time possibly, to read it over again.

Wow, this was certainly like a dream come true. Now to prepare for the 10 hour grind that this flight journey will be. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't stop thinking of it. It might be possible, that me, a boy from New Delhi, India would be the manager of the biggest club in world football! I slowly took out my laptop, and fired up a little game of Football Manager. Only 10 hours to kill. No big deal.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol - Honours and Rivalries

Honours
Domestic competitions

La Liga
Winners (32): 1931–32, 1932–33, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12

Runners-up (21): 1929, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1941–42, 1944–45, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13

Copa del Rey
Winners (19): 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1917, 1934, 1936, 1946, 1947, 1961–62, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1988–89, 1992–93, 2010–11,

Runners-up (20): 1903, 1916, 1918, 1924, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1940, 1943, 1958, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1967–1968, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1989–90, 1991–92, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2012–13

Supercopa de España
Winners (9): 1988, 1989*, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2012
Runners-up (4): 1982, 1995, 2007, 2011
(* Won Copa del Rey and La Liga)

Copa Eva Duarte (Predecessor to the Supercopa de España)
Winners (1): 1947

Copa de la Liga
Winners (1): 1984–1985
Runners-up (1): 1982–1983


European competitions

European Cup/UEFA Champions League

Winners (9): 1955–56*, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02
Runners-up (3): 1961–62, 1963–64, 1980–81
(* First ever winners)

UEFA Cup
Winners (2): 1984–85, 1985–86

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
Runners-up (2): 1970–71, 1982–83

UEFA Super Cup
Winners (1): 2002
Runners-up (2): 1998, 2000


Worldwide competitions

Intercontinental Cup
Winners (3): 1960*, 1998, 2002
Runners-up (2): 1966, 2000
(* First ever winners)



Rivalries

El Clásico - against Barcelona

El Derbi madrileño - against Atlético Madrid

Basic Information and Facilities

About the Club


Santiago Bernabéu


Trophy Cabinet

The Man That Matters

25th June 2013



I paid the cab driver the money, and looked at the Bernabéu in wonder. I was half awed by the sense of occasion, and half clueless about what in the world I was supposed to do now. God, never had a place looked so stunning to me, the stadium was a glorious sight. As I recollected my thoughts, I wondered what to do next.. should I call up Mr Perez's assistant? Just as I was trying to decide, my phone rang, and I searched through my pocket for it.


I answered the phone, "Hello, this is Abhinav."

"Ah, Mr. Abhinav, this is Alfonso Rufino, Mr Florentino Perez's personal assistant. I believe we spoke on the phone earlier?" a thick Spanish accent replied from the other end.

"Oh yes yes, Mr. Rufino! I was just about to call you" I said, wondering what to say next..

"Erm, i was wondering where was I expected to come?"

"Yes I have called you regarding that only, Mr Abhinav. I will be there shortly and we will then proceed to meet Mr. Perez for the scheduled meeting." he said "Would you mind waiting a moment?"

"Not at all, Mr. Rufino." I said, trying to sound comfortable

"I will be there in a minute, Mr. Abhinav" he said, disconnecting the phone.


Things proceeded predictably from thereon, Alfonso was quite a nice person, I must say. After exchanging our usual greetings and making small talk, we proceeded to meet the man that mattered most at Real Madrid: their President, Florentino Perez.

The Meeting
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Alfonso went in first, and then after a few minutes (but what seemed like an eternity to me), called me in as well. I went inside and closed my eyes to calm myself down. Thinking of the fact that this was perhaps the biggest thing that had happened (and would happen to me) didn't really help me in calming down. As I looked inside , I was awestruck by the
office, damn, nothing like I had ever seen before. Wouldn't really expect anything less than this for the president of the biggest soccer club in the world. The people I found inside were unexpected though. There he was, 67 year old Florentino Perez, sitting there, right next to ZINEDINE ZIDANE! SHIT! I couldn't really believe myself. Oh God. Calm down Abhinav, calm down



Mr. Perez looked upto me, "Ah, Abhinav. Please have a seat!" he said, motioning towards a seat in front of him and Zidane.

"Thankyou, Mr. Perez" I said.

"Abhinav, I don't like to skirt around the topic so I will get right to the point. We are looking at appointing you, but it is a huge risk, for the club and for me, as a President because if this turns out to be a blunder, I will have to kiss my chances of reelection a goodbye.. As you might be aware, the club has spent more than £1 billion to assemble the team, in the chase for our tenth Champions League victory. That has also made us the subject of much criticism, and as my initial letter to you explained, that is one of the reasons we are interested in your services: cost efficiency. Do you believe you could apply your "moneyball" approach to this club?" he asked me, inquisitively, his eyes looking right into mine with a darting glare.

"Erm, Yeah, yeah, sure. I.. I can" I said, stuttering a bit, feeling incredibly nervous.

"Don't be nervous" Zidane chipped in, "we just want to make sure that this is the right decision"

"Yeah, I know, I am fine" I replied, gulping down some water.

"Well, I am inclined to give you a one year contract, Abhinav, to see how things work out with you in charge here" Mr. Perez said.

I tried to overcome my discomfort and concentrate on what I could achieve here, on my passion, on my love for the club.. this is a chance that will never come again Abhinav, the biggest risk is not taking one, go for it
"Well, Mr. Perez, to be frank, even though your squad is really good as of now, it could improve, and I am sure it could improve without spending so much money. I can easily apply my so called moneyball technique here. And I promise you, if I don't get you the results, I will myself walk out the door. As a fan, there is nothing more heart wrenching than seeing your beloved team fall into misery and not perform upto expectations" I replied, looking at Mr. Perez, who along with Zidane were taken aback by the sudden transformation they had seen in me..

"Okay. I like your attitude Abhinav, I like it. I am ready to give you a one year contract at £83,000 a week. Prove to me you are worth it and we will look for something bigger for you. My PA will reach you with the contract today itself in a few hours." Florentino replied.

"I will. I will" I said.


He looked at Zidane, and asked him to go outside.. what did he want to talk about to me?

As soon as Zidane left, he spoke up "It is great to have a fan in charge, Abhinav, I hope you repay my faith" he started "I am ready to give you as much money as the board can accrue, all I want from you, is to win. No matter what, win. I don't care if it's Barcelona or Bayern, just win. All I want is results. Ah, and I hope you understand that I am the man in charge and you will run by all dealings with me first before making any move. I hope that is clear. You may go now, Zidane is waiting outside"

Not really sure of what I was to infer from that, I left the office to see Zidane outside...


"Would you need any help Abhinav? It's your first time so I want to make sure I can help you as much as I can and show you the ropes" he said.

"Yeah. Can you please handle all instructions regarding our opposition on match days. And also, since I am not really someone the players would connect with, I will be looking towards you to handle our team talk. I think you can inspire them.." I said..

"Sure. I would love to. See you on the training ground tomorrow" he said.
"Oh, and 'Zizou', make sure the next time we meet you have an autograph for me" I said, with a sheepish grin on my face... Zidane simply chuckled as we walked away.


Yes! THIS WAS IT! I WOULD BE LEADING THE GALACTICOS! I couldn't believe it, pinching myself to make sure this whole thing wasn't a dream!

The First Business

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Oh what a grand spectacle it had been, the ceremony to officially introduce me to the fans at Santiago Bernabéu - who had been really cynical so far about my appointment, but were ready to support me and give me the chance to prove myself here. Meeting the players at the introduction - they looked happy to see him there, or perhaps I was too naive to believe it.

I had a tough first week at the club to be honest. I had to begin by telling myself that no matter how much I loved the team and the players, there were clearly changes required. Changes to be done, tweaks to be made, even perhaps transfers to be dealt with. Nothing is bigger than the club, Abhinav I would tell myself, and with that in mind, I along with Zidane started to work on all our targets. We went through each and everyone of them. Opening negotiations, asking for valuations. Unbelievable. And today was supposed to be the day we found out if our effort gave us any results or not...

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I was just wondering about the transfer deal, as I settled myself into my office. Just then, my phone rang..
It was Zidane. This HAD to be important, or he wouldn't have called.

"Yes, what is it Zidane?"

I answered the phone

"Abhinav, the agent just got back to me about the player. They are ready to start contract negotiations with the club" he said, speaking quicker than ever "I scheduled a meeting with them at 7PM today. I will text you the address"

I looked at the clock, 6: 34 PM. Jesus. In 26 minutes?!

"But why are we in such a hurry? The transfer deadline is far away!"

I queried, wondering why he was in such a rush.

"Because two other teams are in talks with him and their bids have been accepted as well! Somehow our transfer story leaked out to the press and this will only increase the interest in him. We have to act now"

"SHIT! Text me the address. See you there."

I said as I disconnected the phone, grabbing the keys to my new Range Rover and sprinting towards the parking lot.

We needed to get this striker. I thought to myself. This would tell everyone we mean business