Real Madrid joins ‘the forgotten’ of La Liga

MADRID – Real Madrid will end the season as head of the squad of those who do not fight titles and as such, it has been left to be relegated to the Monday schedule.

Real Madrid will be nine days without activity – and without a FIFA date in between – for the first time so far this decade.

The Merengue team enjoyed two days of rest before starting their preparation for the game against Leganés that will close the 32nd day of the Spanish League on April 15. And even then, week looks too long.

The turn of Monday night, which will be abolished as of the next campaign due to the low attendance at the Primera stadiums in said time slot, as recently revealed by the president of the RFEF Luis Rubiales, is reserved for teams that do not they contest the UEFA, Champions League and Europa League competitions, and have aroused numerous protests by fans of the teams that usually run with the misfortune of being called to close the day.

Nothing illustrates the failure of the merengue season as its location at the worst possible time.

The elimination of Real Madrid in the European competition after falling by 1-4 in the round of the knockout stage against Ajax ended their streak of eight consecutive seasons reaching the semifinal, since in 2010, when the team then led by José Mourinho reached the last round before the grand final for the first time in eight years.

Since then, April had appeared marked in the Merengue calendar as the key month in their aspirations to lift a title at the end of the campaign and only twice had been left empty-handed, in 2010 and 2015.

And as an eternal contender to raise trophies, Real Madrid had not played a match in the controversial schedule, at least since the 2010-2011 season in which he had to face the Spanish football classic against Barcelona on November 29, 2010 after that the meeting was rescheduled to avoid coinciding with the regional elections in Catalonia.

Until today, Real Madrid has not spoken publicly about it.

In the environment, however, worries that it can influence the already decayed mood of Zidane players. While Real Madrid is working for a ‘distant’ date, Barcelona will have played two crucial matches in their fight for the ‘triplet’, the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Manchester United, on Wednesday, and the League match against Huesca next Saturday.

At the moment that Real Madrid jumps to the court in Butarque, Barcelona will be concentrating to receive the ‘Red Devils’ a day later.

The desolation of the calendar worries, mainly, due to the impact that it can have in the mood of the players of Zidane, who do not find motivation in the closing since according to their technician “complicated to play for nothing”. But Real Madrid can not afford to fail. While it has a healthy advantage of ten points with respect to the fourth classified, Getafe, has already 15 losses so far this season, nine of them in the league; to four of equaling his worse record, the one of the season 1984-85, when it added 19 defeats.

Carvajal is ready to play and Courtois prepares his return

Thibaut Courtois has started working on the pitch, although he has done it alone, according to the club after the session that took place behind closed doors on Tuesday.

Although the goalkeeper does not yet have a medical discharge after being diagnosed with a “tendonitis in the rectus femoris of the right leg” for which he has missed the last three games, he may be ready to visit Butarque.

For his part, Dani Carvajal has recovered from the muscle rupture in the anterior rectus of his right leg that has kept him out of the field for a month. The Merengue defender has completed the training session for the first time since he was injured in the classic against Barcelona (0-1) at the beginning of March and will initially be available to see action next Monday. It will be the first time that Dani Carvajal has played under Zidane since the coach returned to the club.

The coach has also recovered Marcos Llorente, absent in the last two games against Valencia and Eibar due to muscular problems.

On the other hand, Raphael Varane has been absent due to a flu process, while the third archer Luca Zidane was limited to performing gymnastic work.

For now, the only safe way to visit Butarque is Vinicius Júnior, who is in Rio de Janeiro where he will participate in the presentation of the Brazilian national soccer team’s uniform for the Ameria Cup that will be played next summer.

The Brazilian striker remains in recovery after suffering a ligament tear in the tibiofibular joint of his right leg in the Champions League round of 16 second leg match against Ajax in early March, and he is expected to be ready to return next April 28, when Real Madrid is measured at Rayo Vallecano.