So, Cristiano Ronaldo is out up to 4 weeks (which will include 6 matches with Real Madrid) with “an ankle”.  I wish I knew what was really wrong with him, but when you’re 24 “an ankle” might just mean it hurts…who knows.  I have some thoughts…if you’re Portuguese, a Real fan, or sensitive I might really tick you off:

1)  I’m really leaning towards the idea that “an ankle” means “it hurts”.  Listen, if this guy were older, had kids, a family, he might be playing through this.  You know why?  Well, because if you’re a grown man with kids who plays sports for a living you’ll run through anyone to get paid.  I’m not saying he’s not trying (he’s clearly a great player) but how bad is it really?  He couldn’t emotionally get his team through a match against Sevilla:  how can we expect him to pull up his bootstraps? (Man U was 230-70-55 when he was there.  He had 264 appearances and we can only assume that many of the 70 losses came when he wasn’t playing.  He’s got to understand that he MUST get it together or teams he plays for can’t win.)

2)  This is the the next phase of my prediction coming true.  Real Madrid is in for a tailspin.  They won’t lose ALL 6 matches that he doesn’t play in, but I bet you they lose 4.

3)  I STILL want to see someone on Madrid’s roster step up and take time from the great Cristiano Ronaldo.  Honestly, I want some (even younger) guy to step up, play well and demand a little time.  No one is getting put in FOR Ronaldo, but you mught see someone playing alongside him who demands the ball. How does the Golden Boy handle that one?

4)  If Sevilla and Barca ever had a chance to jump on Real Madrid this is it.  You can win everything this early…but you can lose it.  What if Real Madrid lost all 6 of these matches?  Their season might well be in the can…

Real Madrid spent the summer spending their money.  REALLY spending their money.  After forking over 136 Million Euros on Ronaldo and Kaka‘ the boys in Madrid didn’t stop.  They also acquired Karim Benzema in a move that could only compete with the New York Yankees.

I’m not sure what’s going on, but I think the club is trying to live up to the moniker “Los Galacticos” a bit too literally.  Honestly, it’s early and even though Madrid is near the top of the Premier Division I’m not sure how long that will last.  All the talent in the world can’t save you if your club is massively in debt, lacking at other positions because you spent some much money on just a few players, and you are reeling from not winning it all last season.

Superstars do not a team make when the game moves slowly and only has one ball…

If this is a knee-jerk reaction…it was a bad one.  Think about it.  How long has it been since the Yankees won the World Series?  When did they run dry?  {Right about the time they started spending too much money on too many people}  Will this sort of drought begin for Madrid now that they have decided to put all their eggs in the “Kaka, Ronaldo, Benzema basket”?

Just imagine the vicious cycle:

1.  Team spends lots of money on just a few players after not winning a title the season before.

2.  Team gets off to good start (as usual) and everyone is happy.  The transfers were genius moves!

3.  Team starts to look a little less than stellar and fans get angry.  Now the transfers were a fool’s errand.

4.  Team remembers that European Soccer fans aren’t screwing around and they try to shake up the club somehow (this usually involves firing the manager, acquiring another high-priced player, or moving around some insignificant players on the club in a bold roster move that actually nets loses and not wins.)

5.  Team fails to win a championship and the fans get really honked off (remember, European Soccer fans do NOT screw around) and then team goes into bankruptcy.  [Apparently, the team is 500 million Euros in debt.])

Now you see how quickly things can go bad.  I’m not wishing this on Real Madrid, but if they don’t deliver as “Los Galacticos” then they’re up the creek without a paddle this season…  Please gentlemen, don’t let your fans down, because I don’t want to be around when it goes bad.