Christian Schäfer - Der Professor

Jesus dude that was too easy

Jesus man xD Youre too good

Martial is rubbish!

Too easy mate, if you dominate like that in La Liga, youre gonna run away with it!

Here comes the Spanish monopoly!

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22/08/2023

Following Real Madrid's 9-0 demolition of FC Barcelona over the two legs of the Supercopa de España, Los Blancos manager Christian Schäfer spoke of his delight in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports correspondent Mark Griffin. Christian Schäfer claimed to have never seen a better performance than that of Real Madrid in the first leg, and he is looking to add more trophies by the end of the season.

Christian, can you describe the two legs of the Supercopa de España?

Christian Schäfer: "It was unbelievable. We thoroughly annihilated Barcelona in both legs, especially the first one, and thoroughly deserved to win the trophy. I had never seen anything like that first leg before. To score two or three goals against Barcelona is an achievement to be proud of, but to score seven goals in one game against them is beyond anybody's wildest dreams! For my money, it was the best performance by any team in history.

The second leg was a little more even. Barcelona looked to restore their pride, and they deserve credit for their efforts. They had a couple of opportunities to score, but our goalkeeper Juan Carlos Triviño was more than capable of protecting our goal. We scored the two goals in that leg to keep confidence high and the form rolling, and I could not be any prouder of the players for turning up to finish the task, even though we had a seven-goal cushion after the first leg."

The first leg was the biggest win in an El Clásico since 1943, eighty years ago. How significant is this latest triumph?

Christian Schäfer: "Beating Barcelona, whether it is by one goal or by seven, is an accomplishment to be proud of. In their current form, Barcelona certainly has one of the strongest squads in their history and would prove to be worthy opponents for any other team. So for us to steamroll them in the way we did was absolutely phenomenal and I can only hope for repeat performances later on in the season."

Would you consider the squad to be fully prepared for the upcoming season?

Christian Schäfer: "On the most part, the squad is in great shape and ready to take on the challenges of the league. We had a good pre-season and the two super cup competitions proved to be great showcase events for the players to prove their worth. We can now look towards the upcoming league season with confidence and look to repeat our performances against Barcelona and Leicester.

In terms of injuries, I am happy to say that Leonel Cardozo (DC) will be fit to face Málaga on the weekend. Unfortunately Cristiano (Ronaldo) bruised his shin in the second leg and he will only be able to train lightly until it recovers. It might take one or two days, but it might take one or two weeks. It is not a serious injury but we will have to wait and see how it recovers."

Your side open the league season at home to Málaga on Sunday. How important is this fixture?

Christian Schäfer: "We want to start the league season as well as possible to give us a good platform to build on for the remainder of the campaign, and beating Málaga would certainly set us up well. We will be looking to win, and to build our goal difference at the same time. In a competitive league, you never know how many points you will need to win the league title so the more we get now, the better chance we have of winning the league."

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Previous Update: #63 - Real Run Rampant In Supercopa de España
Next Update: #65 - Champions League Group Stage Draw

Still can't believe that score

'best ever performance', I'd have to agree with that, what a result

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31/08/2023

Christian Schäfer will return to Germany to face Bayern München as his Real Madrid side were drawn in the same group as the giants from south-Germany. The two European powerhouses will lock horns in a group which also contains Galatasaray and Anderlecht.

Group A

Group A features Real Madrid's arch-rivals FC Barcelona. The Catalan giants face tough opposition in the form of Manchester City, while FC Basel and Sparta Praha will certainly prove to be challenging teams to break down. Barcelona have won the competition six times in their history, with the most recent victory coming in 2020. Manchester City have never won the Champions League, but have appeared in three of the last five finals. Neither Basel or Sparta Praha have won the competition.

Group B

Group B is headlined by UEFA Europa League champions Leicester City. Mauricio Pochettino's side were unsuccessful when they faced Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup earlier this month, but will look to progress past the group stages. Olympique de Marseille of France, Lazio of Italy and Beşiktaş of Turkey are the other contestants in the group. Marseille won the Champions League in 1993, while no other side have in the group have.

Group C

Group C contains FC Schalke 04 of Germany, FC Porto of Portugal, AS Saint-Étiene of France and Celtic of Scotland. Porto have won the Champions League twice before, in 1987 and 2004, and Jürgen Klopp's side will be hoping to do so again. Celtic won the competition in 1967, while Schalke were runners-up in 2022 when Dynamo Dresden, under Christian Schäfer were victorious.

Group D

Group D contains Manchester United of England, Valencia of Spain, Feyenoord of Holland and FC København of Denmark. Manchester United have won the competition three times previously, with their latest triumph coming in 2008. Feyenoord are the only other previous winners in the group, having won the prestigious trophy in 1970.

Group E

Real Madrid headline Group E, and they will be up against Bayern München. The Spanish side are the current champions, having won the Champions League a total of twelve times. The German team have won it six times, with their last success coming in 2019. Galatasaray of Turkey and Anderlecht of Belgium are the other teams in the group, neither of whom have ever won it.

Group F

AS Monaco of France are the favourites of Group F, but they will have tough opposition in the form of Napoli of Italy, CSKA Moskva of Russia and Red Bull Salzburg of Austria. None of the sides have won the competition before, but Monaco did reach the final as recent as 2018.

Group G

The penultimate group, Group G, is made up of English team Arsenal, Benfica of Portugal, Zenit Sankt-Petersburg of Russia and Olympiakos of Greece. Arsenal won their maiden Champions League trophy in 2018, while Benfica were European champions in 1961 and 1962. Neither of the other teams have won the competition previously.

Group H

Group H contains English side Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain of France, Stuttgart of Germany and Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine. Chelsea have won the trophy three times, in 2012, 2017 and 2021. None of the other teams have won the competition before, but Paris Saint-Germain will certainly be looking to change that this season.

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Previous Update: #64 - Schäfer: Real's Best Ever Performance
Next Update: #66 - August 2023

You got a very competitive group

That's going to be a really interesting group mate! Bayern of course won't be easy but Galatasaray could give you a run for your money if you're not careful!

Results

It was four wins from four for Real Madrid in Christian Schäfer. Victory against Leicester City in the UEFA Super Cup on his debut was followed by two outstanding victories over Barcelona in the Supercopa de España, before Real Madrid finished off the month with a resounding victory over Málaga in the league.

vs Leicester (15/08/2023) UEFA Super Cup

Christian Schäfer's first game in charge of Real Madrid ended in victory as his side lifted the UEFA Super Cup at the expensive of Mauricio Pochettino's Leicester City side.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the star of the show, as he bagged a brace to begin his last season of football with a bang. Raphaël Varane scored Madrid's other goal, while Zach Clough scored for Leicester City.

For an in-depth match report, see here.

Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid) 9.0

vs Barcelona (18/08/2023) Supercopa de España Leg 1

In Christian Schäfer's first ever El Clásico, Real Madrid were rampant in a superb 7-0 victory which shocked the Catalan giants to the very core.

Anthony Martial stole all the headlines as he scored four excellent goals. Cristiano Ronaldo, Mateo Kovacic and James Rodríguez were the other goalscorers of the day.

For an in-depth match report, see here.

Anthony Martial (Real Madrid) 9.8

vs Barcelona (21/08/2023) Supercopa de España Leg 2

Real Madrid would have been excused for a mellow performance following a rampant first leg, but they kept pressing for the win throughout and ran out 2-0 victors.

Anthony Martial was on the scoresheet once more, while Mateo Hirving Lozano scored his first competitive goal for Real Madrid since joining for €90M in the summer.

For an in-depth match report, see here.

Alessandro Florenzi (Real Madrid) 8.7

vs Málaga (27/08/2023) Liga BBVA

Real Madrid began their league campaign with a bang, brushing Málaga aside in a comfortable 5-0 victory. Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a knock against Barcelona in the previous fixture, which he meant Hirving Lozano would take his place in the starting line-up against Málaga.

The Mexican opened the scoring in style, finding the top corner with a powerful strike. Lozano then teed up Kovacic to place an effort past the goalkeeper to double Real Madrid's advantage, before an Anthony Martial volley made it 3-0 before half-time. Kovacic scored his second of the game in style, finding the top corner from twenty-five yards out with an absolute screamer, before Cebolinha scored his first goal for the club with a powerful volley from the edge of the box.

Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid) 9.5

Player Of The Month

Mateo Kovacic is undoubtedly Real Madrid's player of the month following four fantastic performances. The Croatian midfielder adjusted well to a box-to-box midfielder role, and scored three times in an amazing month for Real Madrid. With the arrivals of Andrés Cubas and Eden LuaLua in the summer, competition for places in midfield has heated up, but Kovacic has proven his worth with an outstanding month.

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Mateo Kovacic's Season Stats:

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Appearances: 4
Goals: 3 (112 minutes per goal)
Assists: 2 (168 minutes per assist)
MotM Awards: 1

Pass Completion Ratio: 78% (152/194)
Shots On Target Ratio: 56% (5/9)
Dribbles Completed: 5 (1.34 per game)
Tackles Won: 15 (4.03 per game)

Fouls Committed: 4 (1 per game)
Fouls Against: 6 (1.5 per game)
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0

Average Rating: 8.30

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Liga BBVA

Real Madrid's 5-0 victory over Málaga saw them start the campaign in joint-first place, with Barcelona also securing a 5-0 win (over Celta de Vigo). Judging by the very first game, it looks like the league title race will be contested between Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, it is still very early days and anybody can come in to spoil the party.

Transfer Window Summary

You can find details (and player profiles) of Real Madrid's summer signings in previous updates. All-in-all, €160M was made from sales, while €214M was spent on purchases. Not a bad window, in retrospect.

September Fixtures

Real Madrid will play six games in a busy September. A trip to Valencia will kick off the month before an international window takes place. Real Madrid will then return to action against Espanyol, before hosting Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League. Trips to Sevilla and Girona follow, before Los Blancos sign off against Mallorca. Real Madrid will be expected to win each and every single game, as per usual. Nothing less is acceptable.

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Previous Update: #65 - Champions League Group Stage Draw
Next Update: #67 - Kovacic In Form Of His Life

Way too easy man

You're a monster I swear xD

If I was allowed to bet on this then I think I would back your team for the title. Just a hunch I have