While the all-star game is a strictly American phenomenon, the all-star team might as well be trademarked by Real Madrid.
The roster that the Spanish giants will bring to Washington is unlike any other in the world. Yet, it’s not the first time this decade that the world’s richest club has assembled such a squad.
In fact, the galcticos, as Lus Figo (signed 2000), Zinedine Zidane (2001), Ronaldo (2002) and David Beckham (2003) were known — they cost an average of $50 million apiece — might’ve been more famous.
But there is something different about the $365 million Real Madrid has spent since June on eight different players. Perhaps it’s the simultaneous acquisition of two of the world’s best players: Cristiano Ronaldo ($135 million from Manchester United) and Kak ($93.5 million from AC Milan).
“There is a strange sense of déj vu,” said London Times columnist Gabriel Marcotti. “But the way in which it’s different is that [Real Madrid president] Florentino [Pérez] has come out very clearly and said they’re doing their spending this summer for the next three years.”
Despite winning consecutive Spanish La Liga titles in 2007 and 2008 — the club’s 30th and 31st all-time — archrival Barcelona has edged ahead recently in Spain’s perennial two-team battle for off-field preeminence and on-field success.
Cue the return of Pérez, who during his previous presidential tenure (2000-06) was responsible for the first galctico era — one of offensive superstars mixed with an inadequate supporting cast. He was elected again this summer on a similar platform but promised not to repeat past mistakes.
Thus the addition of role players, too — such as Ral Albiol (Valencia), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) and Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool) — to back up Ronaldo, Kak, and Karim Benzema ($50 million from Lyon).
“You need a Bruce Bowen to go with your Tim Duncan,” said Marcotti. “That was the part that Pérez kind of missed out on before.”
Not everyone agrees with the expensive shortcut to success, one afforded Real Madrid by its sole ownership of its television rights, one of the biggest stadiums in Europe (80,000-capacity Estadio Santiago Bernabéu), and its existence as a club, not a shareholder-driven company.
“They are what they are: They went out and bought a bunch of big players and they have a great team,” said D.C. United rookie Chris Pontius. “I’m not going to judge them for that, but I’m more of a fan of bringing players up from the youth system.”
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a childhood dream for Pontius, or any other member of United, to play against galcticos in person.
“These are the guys you pretended to be, and these are the guys that the young kids are pretending to be now,” said United midfielder Santino Quaranta. “For us, it’s something that we’ll be able to talk about for a long time.”
Player to watch » Kaká
Among soccer players, it may be the one compliment that rises above all others.
“His mind seems like it’s two steps ahead of everybody,” is how D.C. United midfielder Santino Quaranta describes Kaká.
The 26-year-old Brazilian, whose given name is Ricardo Izecson dos Santos, may not be the flashiest player on the field. But that may be what makes him the most dangerous. He is extremely fluid, yet deceivingly explosive both with and without the ball.
In 2007, Kaká had 18 goals and 9 assists — impressive yet modest totals — but he was named FIFA, European and Serie A player of the year after almost single-handedly leading AC Milan to the UEFA Champions League title.
“He’s definitely great with the ball and can take you on the dribble,” said United midfielder Clyde Simms. “But he’s such a smart player, and he combines well with other players around him, and that makes him even more dangerous because there’s times when he’s not right in front of you, but he’s going to cause havoc in behind you.”
United midfielder Rodney Wallace said Kaká is his favorite player.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Wallace. “It’s exciting. I never thought it would come this quick to play against him.”
Player to watch » Cristiano Ronaldo
It’s not easy to put Cristiano Ronaldo’s talents into words. They’re nearly indescribable.
“Ronaldo’s doing things that nobody’s ever done before on the soccer field,” said Quaranta.
The record price ($135 million) paid for the Portuguese winger, who was born Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, and the capacity crowd of 80,000 who showed up simply for his unveiling in a Real Madrid uniform should give a good idea of the effect his blinding ball skills have had on the sport.
And don’t let anyone tell you that the 24-year-old’s penchant for the dramatic — often after getting clipped by a frustrated defender — undermines his value. Ronaldo scored a Manchester United record 42 goals in all competitions in 2007-08, leading the team that bought him for approximately $20 million at the age of 18 to Premiership and Champions League titles.
“He can hurt you in different ways, with his speed off the dribble,” said Simms, “and he scored a lot of goals last year with his head, off corners and things like that,” an attribute of his 6-foot-1 size — the same height as Kaká.
“I think [Ronaldo’s size] is a little deceiving,” said Simms. “He’s fast, and some big guys look slow, but once you’re running against them, they’re moving pretty fast.”
