In a match marked by the rain and
cold there was a new opportunity for Luxemburgo to set an examination
for his men, who wore pulsometers underneath their shirts. The goals by
Raúl, Ronaldo, Portillo and Owen pushed a more than motivated
Trenkwalder to look for goals right up until the end. The 3,500 fans
stoically withstood the inclement weather.
In the first 45 minutes, Vanderlei Luxemburgo brought onto the playing
field his usual first eleven waiting for the arrival of Robinho. With
Zidane, Baptista, Beckham and Gravesen on the pitch, the tactical plan
could be clearly seen: a clear diamond with Zidane fixed in the
mid-point, and around him the other pieces of the Whites machinery. In
his first match wearing the white shirt, Baptista enjoyed a position in
the middle of the field. Further back than Zidane and are somewhat to
the left, the Brazilian took on his role as another defender. During
corners, the ex-Seville player converted himself into the premier Madrid
defender.
The first opportunity for the Madrid players came in the first minute
from the boots of Roberto Carlos. The winger took a foul committed on
Míchel Salgado which the goal keeper Kölbl caught without too many
difficulties. Despite their youth, the locals were eager to do battle
and to try to please the public, who filled the stadium in spite of the
cold and the rain. Shortly afterwards a precise pass from the debutant
Baptista left Raúl alone in front of the rival's goal. The Madrid player
tried for the 1-0 with a smooth shot which the goalkeeper sent to a
corner with the tips of his fingers.
The goals come
The first dangerous attack from Trenkwalder didn't come until the 22nd
minute, when Burits went forward alone from the centre. His high shot
was cleared by Casillas and a rapid a counterattack by the Whites was
finished off by a soft shot from Ronaldo. The constant shuttling up and
down on the wings by Salgado and Roberto Carlos began to manufacture
white goals, which weren't slow in coming.
With half an hour of the first half gone, Beckham gave a gift of a
central ball to Raúl which he took advantage of to perfection. With a
header, the captain put up the first goal on the scoreboard. Three
minutes later, it was the very same Raúl the the ball in the centre so
that Ronaldo, with a crossing shot from the left of the area, could mark
with his right foot the second goal for Madrid. From then until the end
of the first 45 minutes, nothing much more.
A new team
As is always the case in matches in the preseason, Luxemburgo gave the
opportunity to a completely new team in the second half. The most
significant news was that Álvaro Arbeloa occupied the post of the winger
in place of Roberto Carlos. 45 minutes in which the players who usually
are not on the starting eleven tried to demonstrate their credentials to
Luxemburgo in search of a place on the team.
Owen and Portillo brought danger to the local goal right after the game
restarted, with two opportunities (third minute and sixth minute). In
the 22nd minute the 3-0 came in a smooth shot from Portillo after a
central kick from Guti, who took responsibility for raising the bar,
putting order into the midfield. But Trenkwalder did not give up and
looked for a goal against the Whites right to the end. And it came. In
the 40th minute, Grujic headed a high central kick from the right wing
to the applause of the fans. Owen closed off the scoreboard with the
best goal of the match. A pass from Pablo García which the Englishman
picked up on the left wing and put into the corner of the goal to sign
the definitive 4-1. |
