Real Madrid seem to have problems behind the scenes whilst all is well at Barcelona

I have often wondered just how much input the manager of Real Madrid has when it comes to deciding who he wants to buy for the club and play in his team.

The answer may have been given a few days, much to the annoyance of Ramon Calderon, by the present incumbent, Bernd Schuster.

Bernd Schuster has become pretty good at caused a stir at Real Madrid and he did so again by telling the press that he is the last to know about how the club’s transfer dealings are progressing.

The disgruntled German coach took a swipe at club president Ramon Calderon and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic, having already revealed the lack of communication between the trio on previous occasions.

Schuster said that he was not kept in the loop about the progress of transfer deals, or the lack of it.

“I am the last to find out anything,” he said. “At last I am content because the president has arrived and intends to speak to me and clear things up. We came up with some ideas some time ago that were quite clear. I do not now if they have changed, but it would be good to find out. I am not that bothered as I am used to be being more or less the last to find things out. Everyone else seems to know things before me. It is not great and nor is not being given any answers. I would like to know more.”

The outburst will no doubt see Schuster reprimanded again by Calderon after being reminded on several occasions last season to be more careful about his comments when speaking to the press.

The forty-eight year old German coach has often courted controversy and has a reputation for speaking his mind and not suffering fools gladly. As a player with Barcelona he achieved great things but managed to fall out with the club president and just every coach he played under. His move to Real Madrid was highly controversial due to his Barcelona past.

It seemed likely that he would lose his job as coach when Real were eliminated from last season’s Champions League, but he managed to hang on and took them to their thirty-first La Liga title with a record points haul.

What should have been a great summer with further top names coming to the Bernabau to further their European ambitions has gone a little sour.

The Real coach has grown frustrated by the actions of those above him in the club’s hierarchy after seeing so much energy exerted on the pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo that he has been virtually unable to add to his squad at all.

As an outsider it is difficult to understand what goes on at Real Madrid. The title was won under Fabio Capello and he was relieved of his duties. It was true that the style adopted by Madrid that season was not the expansive and entertaining football with which Madrid are associated, but the preceding ‘Galacticos’ years had been notable by their lack of success.

Schuster came in, provided a more attacking and entertaining style of play and won the league and even his position it seems is always under threat.

Does Calderon only value success in Europe or is it that he cannot put up with a manager who has his own opinions and wants to play a part in the transfer process?

With Madrid looking something like their best towards the end of last season it would be a shame if the off-field squabbles and problems caused them to ‘take their eye off the ball’.

Their sworn enemies at Barcelona are undergoing a minor revolution under Pep Guardiola and they will be ready to pounce should Madrid show the slightest signs of slipping.

La Liga promises to be fascinating this season as the big two will probably battle it out again. Minor things like disagreements between the manager and the President can have a major knock on effect on the club, the players and the results.

At Barca, Guardiola is very much Laporta’s man. At Madrid, the support for the boss is not so obvious. After winning La Liga for two years in a row after suffering three fruitless seasons it really would be an ‘own goal’ to upset the nature of things at this time.

Schuster knows what he is doing, but he would have hoped to have strengthened his squad more than he has during the summer. He will be blaming those above him for that. That is not a healthy position whereas Guardiola seems to have been given free rein to go out and form his squad.

To an outsider it looks like Madrid are the team who had a poor season by their standards and Barcelona are the ones looking to carry on where they left off. Something is definitely not right.