MATCHDAY - CWC QF: 5 JULY 2025

The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to d all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name! Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Kung_Fu_Zizou

UP next BVB

The last time the two sides met, Vinicius scored a brilliant second half hatrick to overturn a two goal deficit at the Bernabeu. Dortmund do not have a great record against Real Madrid since winning the SF clash against Mourinho's team in 2013.

Xabi Alonso's men are 3 wins away from becoming inaugural CWC winners. The club and the payers have talked it up even before the tournament kicked off. The jokes about the CWC are done now.. This is a tournament everyone wants to win. The losers will claim its worthless but the winners will get the money, the trophy and the badge for a season.

What's more is the new era could do with a winning start. Xabi Alonso is already the biggest winner so far. He's been able to identify strengths and weaknesses of players and the squad while implementing his ideas.

The Rodrygo Affair

Rodrygo's situation under Xabi Alonso is strange. The banter is one thing but Rodrygo is one of the best players in the squad. It doesn't make sense that he's not played more minutes. Xabi says he will use him like how Carlo talked about Brahim. Hopefully Rodrygo gets more minutes against Dortmund. He needs to play.

Arda Is Life?

Xabi explains what Arda needs to do in defence. There's no need to obsess over physicality. Arda needs to anticipate well and he will be able to pressure opponents more effectively, make interception and win more duels. He can learn all this stuff. It's not a stretch.

“we play better with him”

Real Madrid have a young talented midfielder who is clearly a natural playmaker. This is the long and short of it. It's the reason he's starting for Xabi Alonso.

No Leaders?

Every dressing room needs leaders. We saw last season what happens when there are no bosses and things are not going well. Not everyone is a leader. Leadership is distinct and necessary. “We have no leaders. We're all the same” Is a recipe for disaster. That said, I'm certain Carvajal and Modric are the bosses in that dressing room by virtue of their seniority.

The Daily Poll

Poll 1

Poll 2

Poll 3

2025-07-05T10:11:33Z