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Fabio Coentrao won’t continue at Real Madrid, so Los Blancos need to plan in advance and look for a replacement in the market. The FIFA ban to sign new players is over now that the winter transfer window is closed, so Real Madrid can bring new players to the club in summer.

One of the trickiest positions for Los Blancos is the left back. Marcelo is a key player in this squad and he’s one of the best -perhaps the best- left backs in the world. But Los Blancos need to find a replacement, so the Brazilian can have some rest. Actually, every season Marcelo gets injured and misses some important games.

Fabio Coentrao is showing this season that he’s not able to fight for a place in the team, so Los Blancos need to find a replacement. One of the favourites was the Wolfsburg player Ricardo Rodríguez. The Swiss defender showed a great level last season when he faced Real Madrid in the Champions League but this season the team is struggling and even Draxler left the club in January.

Real Madrid will face now in the Champions League another candidate. Faouzi Ghoulam plays as a left back with Napoli and the Algerian national team. He’s only 25 years-old and negotiating a new deal with the Italian club.

The three other candidates to replace Fabio Coentrao are Spanish. Marcos Alonso grew up at Real Madrid but he had to leave and play in England. He showed his quality with Bolton, Fiorentina, Sunderland and now he’s shining with Chelsea.

Yuri Berchiche is being one of the greatest surprises in La Liga. The Real Sociedad left back is playing at a great level and helping the team in one of their best seasons ever. The young (19 years-old) Aarón Martín is the last option. He plays for Espanyol and he’s made his debut this year with success.

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Daniel Carvajal

Zinedine Zidane is recovering little by little all the players injured in these weeks and most of them should be ready to face Napoli in the 15th of February in the Champions League Last 16 Round. Pepe and James Rodríguez worked again with the group and should be ready to travel to Vigo on Sunday, whereas Luka Modric is also expected to be available.

The good news came also with Marcelo and Dani Carvajal. The Brazilian got injured against Málaga and he was diagnosed with 3 or 4 weeks of absence. However, he has shorten the times and Marcelo is already working in the pitch, so he should be fit to meet Napoli. Carvajal should be also available for the game: “If everything goes well, next Tuesday I’ll train with the team. I’m working hard to go back”, Carvajal said this week.

With the right back and left back available, Zidane will have the full defense for the clash in Champions League. Nacho, Danilo or even Lucas Vázquez had to play in the wings to cover the absence. Now with Pepe also recovered, Zizou will have to decide the best players for the defense.

The only injury concern will be Gareth Bale. The Welshman had surgery in his ankle back in November and he should be out of the pitch at least 3 months. However, the recovery is going faster than expected and he could join the group the next week. Nevertheless, the managers want to be patient with Gareth Bale, so he should miss the game against Napoli and reappear in the next fixture against Espanyol at home.

Bale’s recovery would be very important for Real Madrid, because he was the best player for Los Blancos at the start of the season. When Cristiano Ronaldo was injured, the Welshman took the responsibility and scored some important goals for the team. Now, Los Blancos are missing him, especially with Benzema’s drought and Cristiano Ronaldo’s problems. So the BBC should be back by mid February.

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The winter transfer market ended without many news for Real Madrid. The only movement was the Lucas Silva deal with Cruzeiro. The Brazilian will play on loan for the next year and a half in his former club. Most of the fans were also expecting that Mariano could leave Real Madrid, but the forward decided to stay with Los Blancos.

Actually, Mariano was the most wanted player in this transfer window in La Liga. Up to 10 teams asked for the Dominican striker, who rejected all the offers. The forward still thinks he could have a lot of option to play with Real Madrid until the end of the season and his idea is to fight for a spot in the line-up although it won’t be easy.

For this reason, Mariano has turned down up to 10 offers. Especially, the teams involved in the relegation battle in La Liga were very interested in getting Mariano on board. Sporting, Alavés, Betis or Leganés asked Real Madrid about Mariano’s situation. Leganés was also an option this summer, especially because it’s a town near Madrid so Mariano wouldn’t have relocate, but the bid was also rejected.

Some offers came also fro outside La Liga. Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt, where Jesús Vallejo is currently playing, Southampton, who finally signed Gabbiadini, or Liverpool showed some interest in Mariano.

A lot of people advised Mariano to move on loan into another club in order to have more opportunities until the end of the season. Currently, Mariano is the third striker in the squad, after Morata and Karim Benzema. The striker is enjoying very few minutes and he especially participated in Copa del Rey, but now Los Blancos are out of this competition. In La Liga he only appeared in 3 games, playing 35 minutes, whereas in the Champions League he played 5 minutes against Legia in Warsaw.

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Real Madrid have announced that Lucas Silva will go back to Brazil to play in his former club Cruzeiro. Los Blancos have made public an announcement in their website where they spread the news. Silva will be given on loan for a year and a half to the Brazilian club.

After several months of a nightmare, Lucas Silva can finally play football. The Brazilian was training with Real Madrid but he didn’t have the rights to play in La Liga, so he was apart from the rest of his team-mates. Last summer, the doctors detected a heart condition, so his transfer to Sporting Lisbon was interrupted. Since then, Lucas Silva has been monitored and taken care of, but now he’s able to play football again.

The Brazilian midfielder left Real Madrid in the summer of 2015 to play with Olympique Marseille, trained by Míchel, former Los Blancos players. His stage at Marseille wasn’t very successful and Lucas Silva only played 22 games with the French team. The year after he went back to Real Madrid with the intention to find a new team. The opportunity of going to Lisbon pop up, but the medical test blew up the chance.

Now Lucas Silva will have the opportunity to play again with his former club, where he stayed until 2014, when Real Madrid paid €13M to get him on board the project. With Cruzeiro, Lucas played 5 full seasons until signing for Los Blancos. With Real Madrid he only appeared in 8 games in La Liga, without showing enough quality to stay in the team. Carlo Ancelotti tried to put him in the pitch several times, but he couldn’t adapt his way of playing to Real Madrid in such a small time. It doesn’t matter if he succeeds or not, the most important thing is that Lucas Silva can play football again. And these are already good news.

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Good news for Zinedine Zidane. The manager could count on Raphael Varane for the game against Real Sociedad on Sunday and now he could train with James Rodríguez and Pepe. Both of them should be available for the trip to Vigo on Sunday evening, whereas Modric had to train apart and he’s still a major doubt.

Toni Kroos won’t be available for the game because he’s suspended after seeing the fifth yellow card this season. Therefore, it’d be very important if Luka Modric could play the game. Together with Mateo Kovacic and Casemiro, Modric could be in the line-up in the midfield. However, the Croatian couldn’t train on Tuesday with his team mates and he’s still a major doubt.

However, as usual, Zidane won’t risk with the Croatian midfielder. Luka Modric got injured on the 18th of January in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey against Celta de Vigo. He missed the home games in La Liga against Málaga and Real Sociedad and the clash in Vigo in Copa del Rey. Only two weeks later, he could be back with the team.

James Rodríguez has been out of the team more time. The Colombian playmaker started the year with a great performance against Sevilla in Copa del Rey, where he scored a brace. However, the Colombian got injured afterwards in the calf and when he was getting ready, he had the same injury in the other leg. Luckily, he could be back to fight with Isco for a place in the starting eleven.

In the defense line, Zinedine Zidane can recover Pepe. The Portuguese full back hasn’t played any game since December, before travelling to Japan. The defender has been out of the team since then, and receiving tempting offers from China. With Carvajal and Marcelo injured, it’s very important for Zizou to recover Pepe, a key player last season despite of his age.

After the victory against Real Sociedad in La Liga, Real Madrid opened a 4 points gap with Barcelona and Sevilla, with one game still to be played against Valencia. Los Blancos travel to Celta de Vigo in the middle of the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. Therefore, the Galician team should be more focused in the tie against Alavés rather than in the game in La Liga.

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Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas played several years with the Real Madrid t-shirt, so he knows better than anyone what is the feeling of being at Santiago Bernabéu. The Porto goalkeeper also had to listen several booes in his last years in the Spanish capital. Now, he talked about his experience at Real Madrid and the current situation at the club.

One of the main questions right now are the booes at Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese is disturbed by this situation but the Real Madrid supporters continue to show their criticism to the Portuguese star: “If this remind me to my experience? What should I tell you, that Bernabéu booed every single player? People demand a lot to Cristiano. Being the best in the world together what Messi has this responsibility. As a Real Madrid supporter, sometimes I don’t understand why this can happen. Six months ago he was European champion. Real Madrid have few bad things and many good things. This is Real Madrid. You cannot live in the past”, Iker Casillas said in an interview with the radios tation Onda Cero.

The goalkeeper also spoke about his farewell: “With the time everyone has the farewell that they want. I didn’t want to leave in any other way. What happened that week it’s only known by few people and my reaction was that I didn’t want another farewell. The president called me and asked me if I could to to Bernabéu because it wasn’t a good farewell”, Casillas remembered.

Now, Iker Casillas wants to look forward to the future: “I don’t think I was kicked out. The time heals everything. Looking behind it’s not positive. I left the club sad because I considered it my home but these things happen. […]. It took me a while but I got it”.

The goalkeeper is now happier with Porto: “I feel relieved, quieter. I have pressure but nothing compare with Spain. For good or for bad reason, I felt observed by many people. I’m not a machine, after football I have a life. People tell you, make some comments and you think too much. You have to find yourself”.

Finally, Casillas said he wants to continue one year more at Porto, a team that he compared with FC Barcelona. Besides, he didn’t want to have any controversy with Mourinho, Arbeloa or Xabi Alonso.

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FLORENCE, ITALY - DECEMBER 22: Faouzi Ghoulam of SSC Napoli in action during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and SSC Napoli at Stadio Artemio Franchi on December 22, 2016 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Zinedine Zidane is having a headache this year with the right and left back. Dani Carvajal and Marcelo are currently injured and they don’0t have a good replacement in the squad. For this reason, Real Madrid are looking into the market to reinforce these positions and they’ve spotted a good opportunity with Faouzi Ghoulam.

The Napoli defender is 25 years-old and he’s been just knocked out of the Africa Nations Cup with his national team Algeria. He plays as a left back for Napoli and he’s one of the most important players of the squad. Actually, he has appeared in 16 games this season with the Italian club, being one of the key footballers for Maurizio Sarri.

Los Blancos will have the opportunity to see Ghoulam in live because Napoli are visiting Santiago Bernabéu in this month, when both teams meet in the first leg of the Last 16 round of Champions League.

According to the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli and Ghoulam are already negotiating a new deal, because Ghoulam’s current contract ends in 2018. De Laurentis, Napoli boss, is in talks with the Algerian player, who wants a higher salary because he’s currently earning 900.000€ per year, less than most of his colleagues.

Ghoulam could be the perfect replacement for Marcelo. The Brazilian player is currently injured and Nacho has to play as a left back, although his most suitable position is full back. Fabio Coentrao is not showing the level to wear the white t-shirt, so it’s going to be very difficult for him to stay one year more with Los Blancos.

Napoli are doing a great season although they drew on Sunday against strugglers Palermo. The South Italian club has to play with Real Madrid in a few weeks and we should see all the potential of the team, including Ghoulam.

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Jesé Rodríguez will play until the end of the season with Unión Deportiva Las Palmas. The former Real Madrid striker go back to La Liga to play at home. Jesé was born in Las Palmas but he never played with the yellow t-shirt. Now he has the opportunity to shine in the island, surrounded by his people.

Jesé’s nightmare at PSG has ended. At least until now. The forward will play on loan until the end of the season to try to be fit again to play football at the highest level. Jesé will lose some money with this transfer but he thinks this is a step forward in his career to continue in his progression.

PSG paid a transfer fee of €25M in the summer for one of the best young players of Real Madrid. However, the adventure never went well and soon enough we could see some problems between Unai Emery, PSG coach, and Jesé Rodríguez. He has only played 9 games in Ligue One, scoring one goal back in November. His last game was in December in Coupe de la Ligue against Lille, where he scored another goal.

The lack of opportunities, the bad relationship with Unai and the problems with the language and the city made the adventure failed. Some Italian teams like Roma or British teams like Middlesbrough tried to sign him in the winter transfer window, but Jesé always preferred to play with Las Palmas. He owns a house in the island and the family and friends wait for him in the Canary Islands.

Real Madrid former player will have the chance to play again at Santiago Bernabéu. The 1st of March, Las Palmas will visit the Spanish capital and Jesé should be already prepared to play against his former team mates. It will be a special occasion for a player who has been raised at Real Madrid.

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Zinedine Zidane was very happy after the clear victory against Real Sociedad on Sunday. Los Blancos didn’t have the possession of the ball and they play in the counter attack in their own stadium. However, the manager was satisfied with the game: “At the start of our game we tried to pressure, but we did it in a disorganized way I wasn’t happy. For this reason we changed in the second half. We played closer to our goal and make counter attacks. Eusebio is right, sometimes the possession is not everything”, Zizou analyzed.

Barcelona, Sevilla and Atlético de Madrid failed to win, so the three points are even more important: “It’s a very important victory for us, after the tough days. It’s been a completed match, against a difficult rival. It’s important not to concede any goal. Besides, the results were positive for us”, the manager told in press conference.

The French star was also very happy with the supporters: “We have to thank Santiago Bernabéu. Sometimes the whistles bother us, but today they’ve been great and all together we’ve got something big. I want to thank the supporters”.

Despite not having the possession, according to Zidane the result was “fair”: “We didn’t concede any chances and this is very important. Defensively we’ve been very focus although in the first half we pressured bad. But we rectify in the second half and that’s it. When they were with 10 players was easier”.

Finally, Zinedine Zidane wanted to speak about Mateo Kovacic, the best player of the game: “I’m happy with him. Every time he plays he does well. Today he scored one goal and I liked it. In the future he can do it better. Having a player of his level is great for Real Madrid”, Zidane said in the press conference. Finally, he announced some good news: “Bale is already in the pitch with the boots”.

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Real Madrid achieved the victory against Real Sociedad in a very tough game at Santiago Bernabéu. Zinedine Zidane did some changes in the line up, highlighting Varane’s and Lucas Vázquez return to the starting 11. Now Los Blancos are more leader than before because Barcelona tied in their match against Betis and Sevilla lost at Cornella against Espanyol. The French manager also included Benzema in the line up after his poor performances in the last games.

Real Sociedad started really good the match having the ball possession and being the protagonists of the game. Willian José had the first chance in the 15th minute from a free kick, but Keylor Navas prevented the goal with a good save. Real Madrid didn’t have any important opportunity in the first half an hour and we were watching a very tactical game, where any mistake was going to be important. Suddenly, Mateo Kovacic opened the scoreboard in the 37th minute from an assist of Cristiano Ronaldo, and Los Blancos could go to the dressing room satisfied with the result because they were playing worse than Real Sociedad.

In the second half Los Blancos started with more intensity and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the second goal with a great finish from a fantastic pass of Kovacic. In the minute 60 Zinedine Zidane changed Benzema, who played another poor game and Morata entered on the pitch. With the pass of the minutes, Real Madrid were playing much better and Real Sociedad didn’t have the ball possession as in the first half. In the 77th minute Isco substituted Kovacic, who was the MVP of the match, scoring his first goal inf the regular season and giving a wonderful assist to Cristiano in the second one. In the last minutes Morata scored the third goal for Real Madrid from a cross of Lucas Vázquez.

Real Madrid didn’t play a good match but they finally achieved the three points against a good team as Real Sociedad. Now they must think in the next game that will be against Celta at Balaídos, where Los Blancos were knock out of La Copa del Rey.

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