Real Madrid Galacticos

3 Reasons why Guti will NOT play as a starter this season

Posted on 22. Sep, 2009 by Borris Becker in General, Real Madrid Football Club, Real Madrid Players

Guti is going to have to get used to warming the bench no matter how hard and long he ponders about this after giving good performances.

Looking at Guti’s performance in the previous match against Xerez and also taking into consideration the past 3 seasons, from Capello to Schuster and from Juande Ramos to Pelligrini, I think there are certain conditions and situations in which Guti’s full potential can be harnessed to its maximum and lets all be honest guys, we know that this guy does possess a magical left foot and when he is in the mood, he can be a game changer.

However, as we all have witnessed that Guti has been primarily used as a substitute (save for the situation in which half the squad is injured so there is no other choice but to use Guti as a starter) for the past 3 seasons and here are my 3 REASONS why it will not change (unless and again, half the squad gets injured) this season as well.

Guti knows that he is not fit enough for 90 minutes in the white Jersey.

1. Well, first and foremost (and I think, the pretty obvious one as well) is that Guti is just not good enough to wear a Real Madrid shirt for the whole 90 minutes in a match. He does not have the stamina, neither the will nor the head to keep himself in the game for long. He looses concentration too many times. Sometimes turns away from the game at every pass he receives which really allows the other teams to get back and defend in numbers. While that does allow Real Madrid to have more possession on the ball, it is detrimental to our chances of scoring on a quick break. This is just one of the problems. He does not track back. Given how well can C.Ronaldo defend (ie tracking back and defensive heading), Guti should at least try his best to help out the defense, but this is his problem, he does not even try and like the old Ronaldo’s last months at Real Madrid, looks completely disinterested in the game sometimes. There used to be a time when Guti scored 10+ goals per season by playing as a regular. He is on 3 now, in 3 games playing as a super sub, so lets see what develops in the coming games.
2. Secondly, he always plays like a World Class player when he is brought on as a substitute. Don’t know what goes through his mind but whenever any coach has used him as a substitute (not a late substitute just for the sake of resting someone more important, but actual meaningful substitute, like, when the team is not clicking and then Guti is brought on) he performs 2 times better than he would if the coach had decided to start with him. This benefits the team and Guti himself too. Guti is prone to loosing concentration but when he is brought on, only for say, like 30 minutes. He stays focused and tries to make an impact inside those 30 minutes. This gives the coach an extra ace up his sleeve and thus another man to count on in big games. There will be more options for Pelligrini when he knows that, there is no point in starting with Guti, so he will chop and change from a smaller group of mid fielders and top it off with, having Guti as a emergency sub.
3. It is better for Guti himself that he does not start because if he does (and I think he knows this and the coach knows this as well)then he will not perform and will be out of coach’s consideration for the whole season and may be the whole tenure of the coach, ie, Pelligrini. By performing as a substitute (given that Guti always gives a 4 to 5 star performance when he comes on as a second half sub) his chances will increase (at least Guti would think so) of playing in the first team, but here is the catch. Pelligrini will not select him for the 1st team because he would know that Guti plays like crap when he starts. So Pelligrini would keep him as his trump card and Guti would keep on working hard (at least he should) in hope of getting to the first 11. This would allow Guti to fight for something and will keep him motivated for much longer of his remaining career, because if Pelligrini starts to start with Guti, it would have two negatives for Guti himself. One, is that he will not perform to the levels he does when he comes  on as a second half sub and two, is that Guti would become complacent knowing that he is in the first team, so he will not work as hard and neither will try to improve.

If Guti wants to get approval from the fans, he is going to have to play as a sub, because he just doesn't cut being a starter

So there you go, this is why I think Guti will not start (REGULARLY might I add as well) this season and neither he should and neither allowed. This will benefit all of us. Guti, Real Madrid, Pelligrini and us fans as, we will not scrutinize his every mistake if he plays as a starter (please understand that it is a given FACT that Guti does not play well the whole 90 minutes. Past 4 seasons prove that) and will be more tolerant towards any mistake Guti would make as a sub because, well, he is a sub, what else can one expect. lol.

HALA MADRID!!! See you guys tomorrow.