These observations — where I look at Real Madrid’s history, its players on loan, Castilla, tactical tidbits, and other relevant thoughts — are now a regular thing. All previous editions can be found here.
Pre-season in the USA has always been about different things outside the football itself. And I don’t mean, necessarily, the obvious stuff, like ‘match fitness’, ‘tactical experiments’, ‘giving playing time to the youth’. Yes, that stuff does factor in, and all three are real to varying degrees. But what I’m referring to, mostly, is ‘access’.
Things are done differently in the United States, across the entire sporting spectrum. The access in major sports in North America is a haven for media and fans compared to what is normal in Europe. Doors are more open. People can get closer.
Rarely will you see a mixed zone in La Liga at the Bernabeu. You can, at times, see mixed zones pop up now for the away teams, but as far as Real Madrid players are concerned, they are not sent out unless it’s a Champions League match. Access, apart from the nominal post-game press conferences from the manager, is closed.
My question to Carlo Ancelotti tonight about Arda Güler, and his insightful answer. Can Güler play in a deeper role? What’s his best position? pic.twitter.com/o5ia7MizXy
— Kiyan Sobhani (@KiyanSo) August 1, 2024
Trainings at Real Madrid City in Valdebebas follow suit. Media are given ‘open doors access’ the day before a game, for 15 minutes, from a balcony distanced from where the players train. Journalists pop in, grab photos and videos of the rondos, and take note of which players are available and which players are injured for their reports. Outside, fans wait at the gate both before and after the session, in hopes of getting a glimpse of the players driving in and out.
In most part, because the pre-season events are organized by AEG — an American sports entity based in Los Angeles — the Soccer Champions Tour, which consists of European teams, is handled a bit differently.
It may be a North American thing. In my years of covering the Toronto Raptors at the (then) Air Canada Center, the access was similar. Journalists could walk into the locker-room after the games and talk, freely, to NBA players as they’re getting dressed. It may sound strange, especially if you’re use to following Real Madrid, where camera access is especially closed, (even to La Liga), but it was normal.
Another great thing during pre-season tours: Training sessions are observed pitch-side by the media, where journalists are allowed to watch full scrimmage sessions up close. There is lots of mingling, and it’s not uncommon for legends and club employees Roberto Carlos and Chendo to walk around and chat with the media. Just outside, fans are able to get autographs and photos of players coming in and out of training. The whole event is festive and fun.
The access, for the most part, or to put it even more bluntly, the ‘vibes’, are why I love pre-season possibly more than anyone. I will not remember the scores and events of the matches I’ve attended (apart from that 7 – 3 bloodbath loss to Atletico Madrid at MetLife in 2019), but I do remember the connections I’ve made, the fans I’ve met at the podcasts, and the fun times in LA, Vegas, Chicago, and so on.
One of the most fascinating aspects of seeing these players train up close is the level of sheer intensity they play at. We are close enough to nearly feel the impact of some of the challenges. The game is much faster and bone-crunching at eye level. The athletes are more impressive, the technical skill more remarkable.
(The eye-level experience is more common in England, where stadiums are shorter and the press are seated just behind the team benches — close enough to experience the aforementioned intensity and close enough where you can even hear what the coaches are yelling.)
Those Castilla kids? Hardly kids. They are gifted up close, and none stood out more than 16-year-old Joan Martinez, whose towering presence, if you didn’t know him, would make you think he’s a 24-year-old veteran who regularly commands the backline at the top flight level.
Martinez stood out for everyone, and speaking to people on the ground, it was clear how highly the club — from the board, coaches, and peers — valued him. The news of his ACL injury was devastating on many levels.
(Martinez was not expected to play much at the senior level this season — something that Ancelotti alluded to me after the game against Barcelona, where he stated that as much as they rate him, he’ll need to play most of his minutes at Castilla — but there was a clear expectation for him to stay in the youth team and be an arms length away for a call up in certain scenarios where the backline is thin and Tchouameni is forced to play center-back.)
With pre-season done and dusted, and just a few days remaining until the real season actually kicks off, I wanted to shoe-horn a glimpse of what it was like covering the team up close in the USA.
Onward to the European Super Cup!
