A disastrous defeat at the Nou Camp, a Copa del Rey final win. It was indeed a roller-coaster season for Madrid. But was it a positive ride?
It was tough to swallow. Blame the UEFA as much as you want. Blame the officiating as much as you want. But take nothing away from what Barcelona implicated on Real Madrid throughout this season. Yes, we are indeed speaking comparatively between these two Spanish giants because it perfectly defines the kind of season Madrid have had.
They huffed and puffed but nothing made any difference as a crestfallen Cristiano Ronaldo stood in disbelief when his so called 'football rival', Lionel Messi was busy inspiring a 5-0 triumph. And yet, there was some time for Ronaldo to earn that coveted first goal against the mighty Catalans as Mourinho achieved what others have failed to do with Madrid in recent times. Mestalla was perhaps their best memory of the season.
The moment Jose Mourinho celebrated emotionally after Inter's Champions League triumph last season, it was too obvious that the Bernabeu was about to be his home for the next few years. It was a crossroad where everything Madrid wanted collided with everything standing in their path. And Mourinho was brought in to deal with those obstacles.
But despite suffering that demoralizing defeat at the Nou Camp, positives has been a cliché' in Madrid's camp throughout the season. They have scored goals, with a majority of them coming through Cristiano Ronaldo and they do play some excellent football with Mesut Ozil providing all those added spice of beauty upfront.
Well, after all Jose Mourinho did guide them past the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in almost seven years. He did guide them to a triumph over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. I mean, getting into the quarter finals of the Champions League, winning the Copa del Rey and pushing Barcelona all the way in the La Liga isn't a sign of a bad team right?
As far as Casillas was concerned, the season was a positive one indeed. He said: I believe the season was positive both on a personal and collective level. We had chances to win the three titles at the end of the campaign. We lost that chance in La Liga two weeks before it ended, but I believe we had a rather good run.
The Spanish goalkeeper does have a strong point there and he was already looking forward for next season.
"Our objective is to improve on what we did this season. If we do this, it should be a very good campaign. Improving our place in the league would mean we’d top the table, and improving on our run in the Champions League would place us in the final.
"Improving on what we did in the Copa del Rey would imply us winning the title again. Anything we do to improve on last season will be excellent for us."
The likes of Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop have already been brought in to strengthen the squad. Barcelona might have had a tremendous season but looking at it from Madrid's perspective, it was a positive season on an overall note. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Mourinho and Madrid have taken the first step.
They huffed and puffed but nothing made any difference as a crestfallen Cristiano Ronaldo stood in disbelief when his so called 'football rival', Lionel Messi was busy inspiring a 5-0 triumph. And yet, there was some time for Ronaldo to earn that coveted first goal against the mighty Catalans as Mourinho achieved what others have failed to do with Madrid in recent times. Mestalla was perhaps their best memory of the season.
The moment Jose Mourinho celebrated emotionally after Inter's Champions League triumph last season, it was too obvious that the Bernabeu was about to be his home for the next few years. It was a crossroad where everything Madrid wanted collided with everything standing in their path. And Mourinho was brought in to deal with those obstacles.
But despite suffering that demoralizing defeat at the Nou Camp, positives has been a cliché' in Madrid's camp throughout the season. They have scored goals, with a majority of them coming through Cristiano Ronaldo and they do play some excellent football with Mesut Ozil providing all those added spice of beauty upfront.
Well, after all Jose Mourinho did guide them past the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in almost seven years. He did guide them to a triumph over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. I mean, getting into the quarter finals of the Champions League, winning the Copa del Rey and pushing Barcelona all the way in the La Liga isn't a sign of a bad team right?
As far as Casillas was concerned, the season was a positive one indeed. He said: I believe the season was positive both on a personal and collective level. We had chances to win the three titles at the end of the campaign. We lost that chance in La Liga two weeks before it ended, but I believe we had a rather good run.
The Spanish goalkeeper does have a strong point there and he was already looking forward for next season.
"Our objective is to improve on what we did this season. If we do this, it should be a very good campaign. Improving our place in the league would mean we’d top the table, and improving on our run in the Champions League would place us in the final.
"Improving on what we did in the Copa del Rey would imply us winning the title again. Anything we do to improve on last season will be excellent for us."
The likes of Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop have already been brought in to strengthen the squad. Barcelona might have had a tremendous season but looking at it from Madrid's perspective, it was a positive season on an overall note. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Mourinho and Madrid have taken the first step.
