retired_Brenniepooh

Madrid v Sevilla

Match day arrived and Ashley handed his team sheet to the forth official. Salgado was suspended due to reaching his yellow card limit for the season and with Raul out injured he was out of contention. Also on the sidelines was David Beckham, still recovering from his broken jaw.

In came Cicinho for Salgado and Cardenas for Beckham. Upfront he hoped the partnership of Nistelrooy and Robinho would provide the goals.

Madrid started well, creating a few chances. Then on the 13th minute Nistelrooy had the ball in the back of the net but the linesman had raised his flag and given offside.

On the 34th minute he had the ball in the back of net again, but once again the linesman on the far side waved his flag like he was directing a plane to land. Ashley was furious, the first goal was offside, but the second was legitimate in his eyes. As the half time whistle blew and the players made their way to the dressing room.

Ashley told them they were unlucky to go in not leading the match. He told them to keep on playing the way they were and the result would come.

On the way out to the pitch he was stopped by a Sky reporter who asked him how he felt about the second goal being dis-allowed. He told the reported that he didn’t want to comment on the issue as the last thing he wanted was another warning from the Spanish FA.

The second half was pretty much a carbon copy of the first, with Madrid creating all the chances. However the final touch was being applied. With Reyes’ looking jaded and Robinho not having one of his better matches Ashley made changes, on came Francia for Reyes, and Cassano for Robinho. The move paid off, 2 minutes after coming on Cassano was put through by Cardenas and passed the ball into the back of the goal. The Italian then added his second of the match in the 92nd minute when a shot from Man of the Match Guti rebounded off the post into his path and with an excellent first touch he shot past the keeper.

The match ended and Ashley was happy Madrid’s 9 match unbeaten run was still intact. Ramon Calderon had commented that he was pleased with Madrid’s recent form, and told Ashley on no uncertain terms that he was definitely the right choice for the job.

Real Madrid 2
Cassano (71, 92)

Sevilla 0

Man of the Match - Guti

It was midnight by the time Ashley arrived back at the hotel, to late to give Charlotte a call. He checked over the teams schedule for December, there was the winter break which he thought would be the ideal opportunity to fly back to England to catch up with friends and family for Christmas. It would also be a good opportunity to meet up with Charlotte.

That Monday he made the call.

Hi honey

Hey you, thought you weren’t going to call. Saw you on TV last night, good win. 1st in the table as well, looking good out there

Yea, it’s going well. One less thing to worry about. Anyway, we’ve got the winter break coming up and I’m planning on flying over, just wondered if you fancied meeting up.

Sure, what have you planned for Christmas

Well, you know me, not much

Ashley’s mum had passed away when he was 13, so Christmas was normally spent with friends as opposed to family. It wasn’t such a big deal to him now.

Well, why don’t you come up to Walsall, I’m sure mum won’t mind making up an extra plate for you.

You sure he asked

Positive, you know she’ll enjoy seeing you, been a while now.

Ok then, it’s a date he joked.

Great, I’ll let her know.

Listen Char, I want to ask you something, I was just wondering if, well, errrr…

C’mon, spit it out she said

Well, I was wondering if you fancied going out whilst I’m over there, you know, just you and me.

On a date she asked

Well, yea, sorta.

Well Mr Smith, I thought you’d never ask.

He hadn’t expected that, so was happy when she agreed. They spent the next half hour talking, arranging the meet up and when the call ended he felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

retired_Brenniepooh

The weeks training sessions went without incident, another youth match saw Nicolas Millan score a hat-trick and Ashley draw up a deal with Colo Colo to bring the youngster out to Spain permanently, much to dis-approval of Calderon. He knew that it would be some time before the Chilean would make it into the first team, but he hoped with Madrid’s excellent youth set up he would be one for the future.

As the week ended Ashley was invited to the World Player of the Year awards. It was a lavish ceremony which saw Thierry Henry pick up 1st place, with Miroslav Klose and Steven Gerrard take 2nd and 3rd respectively.

On the return back to Madrid Ashley was called into the board room. He was slightly nervous about the meeting, wondering if it was anything to do with the Nicolas Millan deal.

Ashley, we’ve good news. With the recent improvement with funds here we’ve decided to grant you additional transfer funds.

The news came as a shock to Ashley, he wasn’t expecting that at all.

How much will I get he asked, hoping for a figure between 10 and 20 million

Well, we the board have decided a figure of 8.25 million is sufficient to see you through the season. This money will be made available immediately.

Although this was welcome news he thought to himself why such and odd figure, why not round this up to 10 million.

Make sure that if you spend this money it is done so wisely said Calderon. Any questions?

Ashley had wanted to ask why only 8.25. The team were top of the league, topping their Champions League group and what appeared to be in a comfortable position. He decided against making any comments.

No, no questions here he said

Well gentleman, that concludes the meeting. We look forward to the continuation of the fine form we are in at the moment, and hope to see us atop the table come the end of the season.

Ashley left the boardroom, he now had more money to play with and the first thing he wanted to do was check out the scout reports he had been getting from Argentina on Gonzalo Higuain and see if was worth pursuing a deal to get him to the Bernabue. He had 2.7 million left over from the budget at the beginning of the season so with 11 million to spend he was sure he could get at least one player in during the transfer window.

Summary for November

Madrid 1 - 0 Deportivo
Madrid 2 - 0 Ferrol (Spanish Cup)
R.Sociedad 2 - 2 Madrid
Madrid 4 - 0 Steau (European Champions League)
Madrid 2 - 0 Sevilla

League Position - 1st
Champions League Position - 1st
Spanish Cup - 5th Round

retired_Brenniepooh

Madrid’s first opponents of December was an away trip to Espanyol. The team from Barcelona were playing above themselves this season, sitting 5th in the table. At the pre-match press conference Ashley was asked if he was worried that Espanyol would match Madrid on the pitch and cause them a problem. He responded by stating that as long as his players were committed then he could see no reason why they couldn’t leave Barcelona with the 3 points.

With his 2 goals in the previous match he decided to partner Cassano with Nistelrooy. Salgado was back in contention following his suspension and Ashley decided that Francia would replace Reyes on the left wing. They were going into the game with a 10 match unbeaten steak and he hoped they could extend this to 11 games.

Espanyol v Real Madrid

As the teams ran out into the torrent of rain Ashley hoped the conditions wouldn’t play to much a part of the result. Madrid had the upper had, with both Francia and Guti hitting the post early on. Madrid looked the better of the teams and on the 45th proved why they topped the Spanish table. A miss-placed pass by Espanyol midfielder De La Pena fell to the feet of Diarra who spotted Cassano on the left wing. After taking the ball past Jarque the Italian crossed into the box and there was Nistelrooy to head in his 11th of the season. Shortly after the referee blew his whistle for the end of the half

Well done lads, your looking good out there. Ruud, excellent work, keep it up son

After praising the efforts of the team and telling them to go out there and kill the game off the players returned to the pitch for the second half.

The lead was short lived however. In the 50th minute De La Pena knocked a long ball down the pitch which was headed on by Striker Garcia. The ball fell to the feet of Espanyol Captain Tamudo who neatly placed the ball past the diving Casillas.

The weather worsened and with so much surface water it was making it hard for either team to play passing football, with Espanyol resorting to long ball tactics. This nearly paid off in injury time when a long ball played over the top of the Madrid defence found substitute Coro in space and he blasted the ball into the back of the net. The fans went wild and the players ran over to Coro in celebration but it was cut short when the referee indicated the goal had been dis-allowed due to an offside.

The game ended and the soaked players left the pitch, looking dejected by the result.

Never mind lads, you played well out there, it was always going to be hard with the conditions the way they were. Don’t beat yourselves up over it. We’re still unbeaten

Espanyol 1
Tamudo (50)

Real Madrid 1
Nistelrooy (45th)

Man Of The Match - Nistelrooy

With Madrid being held to a draw and Valencia winning 3-1 against Sevilla it saw them leap frog Madrid into 1st place, leaving Real 2nd and Barcelona 3rd, both joint on points.

retired_shinwari_1

Brilliant story mate, keep it up

retired_Brenniepooh

Mondays training session was a short one, with the players leaving for Holland to face Ajax in their final Champions League group match. Ashley wanted to maintain the 100% record that had seen them be the first team to qualify from the group stage. Neither team needed the win as both had qualified for the next stage of the competition so the pressure was off.

No less than 8 changes were made to the team that had drawn against Espanyol. Ashley didn’t want any un-necessary injuries hindering his progress in the league and thought it best to give some of the backup players a match.

Ajax v Real Madrid

Before the match Ashley had told the players that there was no pressure on them, but it would be great if they could get the win against their Dutch opponents.

The first half passed without much incident, both teams matched each other and seemed to be taking easy. Both Robinho and Ronaldo had half chances, but nothing that really worried the Ajax keeper.

Ashley hoped the second half would be better.

C’mon lads, lets put this one to bed. One goal is what’s going to decide it and I’m confident it’s going to be us that gets it

The second half kicked off and 7 minutes after the restart the goal came. Guti with a long range effort that curled past the keeper. However, Madrid weren’t finished scoring. In the 55th minute after a pass from Ronaldo found Sherman Cardenas unmarked in the box he slotted home to get the 2nd of the game. Ashley was happy, they looked comfortable for the win and it was sealed on the 86th minute when substitute Raul headed in the 3rd of the match. Ajax scored a late consolation in the 88th when Belgium midfielder Jan Vertonghen’s long shot took a deflection off of Pavon, looping over the helpless Lopez.

The second half performance had been better and Ashley was pleased to have remained unbeaten. Now all that was left was to sit back and wait to see who their first opponents would be in the knock out stage.

Ajax 1
Vertonghan (88)

Real Madrid 3
Guti (52)
Cardenas (55)
Raul (86)

Man Of The Match - Ronaldo


The next day saw the final matches of the group stage’s being played.

Group A saw Manchester United and Roma qualify.

Group B was Real and Ajax.

Group C saw Benfica win on the last day to join Bayern in the next stage.

Group D had been a foregone conclusion with Chelsea and Milan having comfortable margins over the other two teams in the group.

Group E saw PSV hammer Arsenal 6-2 on the last day which ensured they would progress ahead of Olympiakos on goal difference with Arsenal taking top spot.

Group F was another close one, Lyon topping the table and Barcelona going through by the skin of their teeth with a better goal difference than Turkish team Galatasaray.

A win by German team Bremen had seen them take second spot behind Inter in Group G.

Group H was another that had been decided early with Liverpool and Sporting progressing .

Ashley thought the next round to games would be hard. With so many good teams in the competition still it would be a hard path if they were going to reach the final. But to be the best we have the beat the best he thought to himself.

retired_Brenniepooh

glad your enjoying the story cr_7, plenty more to come

retired_Brenniepooh

On the day before the match away to Levante Ashley made some inquiries into signing Gonzalo Higuain in the upcoming transfer window. He had been impressed with Higuain’s performances in Argentina this season with the 18yr old scoring 10 goals in 18 outings for River. He was defiantly someone who Ashley was interested in capturing the signature of. He was told that the player was unavailable for transfer but as far as Ashley concerned he was going to come in with an offer that would see Higuain join Madrid.

His attention turned to the upcoming match. Apart from David Beckham who was still recovering from the broken jaw that had out the Englishman out of action he had the luxury of a fully fit squad to choose from.

Before the match Levante coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro had said that he felt Madrid were strong contenders for the title. Ashley was surprised by the comments. Not because he didn’t feel the statement to be true, but because another manager was praising his teams ability. He responded by saying that although Levante lay in 16th he was certain the Caro had the ability to keep them up.

Levante v Real Madrid

Ashley had decided to keep pretty much the same team that had beaten Ajax midweek although he brought in Casillas, Ramos and started Raul upfront with Ronaldo.

The first half came and went with Madrid having the better of the opportunities but failing to get on the score sheet. At half time he replaced Francia for Reyes for the extra injection of pace.

The second half was pretty much the same as the first until the 79th minute when Ramos headed home from a corner. Levante then changed to a defensive formation and the match ended with Madrid taking the win.

Levante 0

Madrid 1
Ramos (79)

Man Of The Match - Cicinho

It had been a disappointing display by the away team and Ashley wondered if the Christmas break was in the heads of the players a bit to early. He told them that although they had won he was disappointed by the display and wanted to see a much better one in the final match of the year to Athletico.

retired_nitro509

Brilliant story. Each morning i check this forum for new info on what now seems a very interesting Real Madrid. Good luck with Athletico.

retired_Brenniepooh

once again thanks for the comments. Glad your enjoying. The story is currently 2 months behind where I am at the moment in the league so theirs plenty more to come.

On a side note this is the longest its ever taken me to do one season, clocking up a total of 31 hours so far.

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The match against rivals Athletico was already being built up when coach Javier Aguirre stated that he didn’t want Madrid to win the title this season and that he hoped to end their 12 match unbeaten run when they met the next day. Ashley decided to add a bit more spice when he stated that confident his team could overcome their rivals in the match, stating that he would enjoy doing so in the process.

Madrid v Athletico

The atmosphere inside the Bernabeu was electric. Both sets of fans making as much noise as possible.
Ashley reminded the players of the importance of winning the match not only for the club, but also for the fans. It was important that they didn’t lose the local derby and he reminded them of the comments the Athletico coach had made a few days earlier. They were pumped up and ready for the match.

As the referee blew the whistle to start the match Ashley took his seat in the dugout, hoping his comments about being confident of the win would backfire.

The match was turning out to be a good one, both teams having excellent chances to go ahead but it was Real who took the lead when on the 37th minute from a long pass from Cardenas, Nistelrooy took the ball perfectly in his stride and passed the ball into the back of the Athletico goal. The fans erupted into cheers and whistles. Madrid went in 1-0 up at half time.

Well done lads, excellent display out there. Your really showing them you’re the best team. Don’t get sloppy, don’t let them get back into the match. We can win this, just concentrate and the 3 points are ours. The players acknowledged the praise and made their way out onto the pitch for the second half. They were kept waiting for a few minutes as away team came out onto the pitch late. Ashley wondered if this was some kind of mind game they were trying but was confident that his players would see off the opposition in the 2nd half.


Madrid outplayed their rivals everywhere on the pitch in the second half so it was a surprise when they conceded to a Mista goal in the 87th minute. An excellent save by Casillas from a shot by Gaitan resulted in the ball falling the feat of Mista who slotted the ball into the net. The celebrations were short live however when a minute later Seitaridis fouled Reyes out on the left wing. Raul swung the ball into the box and Nistelrooy scored with a powerful header. The fans went wild. The players all ran to the corner to celebrate with Nistelrooy. With only 2 minutes left Real had won the local derby and also maintained their incredible unbeaten run.

Real Madrid 2
Nistelrooy (38, 89)

Athletico Madrid
Mista (87)

Man Of The Match - Casillas

Ashley was delighted. He told the players they had been sensational, offering individual praise to man of the match Casillas and Nistelrooy.

After the match in the players lounge Calderon approached Ashley

Congratulations Ashley, that win was excellent. Had our hearts in out stomachs for a moment there though.

Thank you Mr Calderon, you not the only one that was worried there. The boys did me proud and I couldn’t have asked for any more from them.

You have done well so far, I hope we can continue the form after the winter break.

I’m sure we can, I’m very confident that this season will be a good one for Madrid.

I’m glad to hear it Ashley, that’s exactly the sort of attitude we need here at the club

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The next day the first knock out stage as drawn for the Champions League. Madrid would face PSV at the Philips Stadion. They had finished 2nd in the Group, just making it through on goal difference. Ashley knew it would be a hard match but was quietly confident.

Last season’s winners Barcelona would host Manchester United at the Camp Nou for the first leg with runners up Arsenal facing a tricky away tie to Milan.

Knockout stage draw roundup

Barcelona v Manchester United
Roma v FC Bayern
PSV v Real Madrid
Ajax v Chelsea
Benfica v Lyon
Milan v Arsenal
Sporting CP v Inter
Werder Bremen v Liverpool

retired_sesmith0116

I do the same. I seem to need my Real Madrid fix before I can go about my day. Its inspired me to write my own!