By Guest writer Thomas Rooney
There is always something going on at Real Madrid and it isn’t always to do with matters on the pitch. Whether it be transfer speculation, players falling out, the coach being under pressure, there is never a dull moment at the Bernabeu.
The latest dispute at the club is centred around under pressure left back Marcelo. The Brazilian came on as a substitute in last weekend’s 3-1 victory Osasuna and it is fair to say that he wasn’t given the best of receptions by the Real Madrid fans.
He was whistled as he made his way onto the pitch and it was made very clear that he is far from a popular figure as far as the crowd are concerned. Then, after the game, he hinted that he didn’t care whether the fans jeered him or not.
This led to some suggesting that he was disrespectful to the fans and didn’t understand the significance of their opinions. Overall, it didn’t do many favours to his rapidly decreasing popularity.
However, Marcelo has come out again and revealed that he meant no disrespect to the fans whatsoever and that he actually has ‘great respect’ for every Real Madrid fan that supports the team.
The full-back then went on to say that he wants to ‘grow as a player’ in the coming months by not allowing the negative reaction from fans affect his performance. Finally, he said that the people of Madrid are normally ‘very affectionate’ to him and that he hopes he can win over his doubters with some decent performances in the coming weeks.
In all fairness to Marcelo, I would say that the Madrid fans are being far too impatient with him. He is only 20-years-old and still has a lot to learn as a player. There is no doubt that he is talented and has the ability to have a very, very successful career with both Madrid and Brazil.
Speaking of his national team, it seems as though Brazil coach Dunga is very keen to get Marcelo involved as much as possible. In fact, the way things are going, Marcelo will be starting in the Brazil team next year and will get some World Cup football under his belt.
By this stage, hopefully he would have improved a lot as a player and started to show the Real Madrid fans what he can do. He seems a determined individual, so I would back him to win the crowd over. Perhaps Real Madrid fans are after a scapegoat given their current predicament and Marcelo is the player they have chosen.
Something that could help the situation is that Juande Ramos is considering Marcelo as a left winger as opposed to defender. Maybe this is where his future lies? He certainly gives Madrid another attacking option! Good luck to him I say.
By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about football betting


