Real Madrid Sign Lassana Diarra, Makélélé’s Mini-Me
By: Laurie | December 22nd, 2008
On the left, Claude Makélélé, defensive midfielder and France international, 35 years old. On the right, Lassana Diarra, defensive midfielder and France international, 23 years old. Both are 5′7″ (1.7m) with similar body types. Both used to play at Chelsea. Both currently sport shaved heads. And note the similarities in facial hair. In short, these guys look alike.
And now Diarra has signed with Makélélé’s old club, Real Madrid.
A little history here: Makélélé left Madrid in 2003, a time when their goal was to sign a “Galactico” (Zidane, Figo, Beckham, the original Ronaldo) each year. Management wanted to create a global brand by paying these superstars huge salaries with the expectation that the club would be so phenomenal on the pitch that everybody in the world would pay to be a fan. When Claude asked for an salary a little closer to what his teammates were getting, he was turned down. And so he went to Chelsea. Madrid President Florentino Pérez had this to say at the time:
We will not miss Makélélé. His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents, and ninety percent of his distribution either goes backwards or sideways. He wasn’t a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres. Younger players will arrive who will cause Makélélé to be forgotten.
Contrast that to the opinion of Zidane, who said:
“Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?”
Zidane was the one proven right, and Real Madrid struggled to win stuff without Makélélé. (Obviously I’m not saying that it was all due to losing Claude. But management scorn for workhorses who didn’t sell club gear was definitely part of the problem.)
And so Real Madrid finished second a lot. Makélélé, on the other hand, helped Chelsea win a couple of domestic titles, had the position he plays named after him, and went on to become a FIFPro World XI player in 2005.
So does anybody else find it a little…well…odd that Real Madrid has now signed Diarra, Makélélé’s Mini-Me? It makes me think of the guy who dumps the girl because she’s not glamorous enough, then realizes too late he’s made a mistake. And since she’s moved on, he marries her little sister.
Maybe I’m making this too Freudian. Diarra’s a talented player in his own right.
But he’s not Makélélé.
I wonder if they realize that?
 |
Soccer Forums | Team/International Results |  |
 |  |
Category: 
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments
-
Thanks for the news
he’s a great player ^^Posted from
United States
-
Not the Maka mini-me, he is Lassana, or Lass (to make things a little worse)…like you said.
Ummm……errrrr…..ahhhh.., he was brought in to break the curse of Florentino, and now maybe we can pass the round of 16 for the first time since…i don’t know…since the departure of Claude? No the arrival of Gravesen…
btw, I cannit believe you made the comparison with little sisters and Marraige…
—
Diarra is more talented than Claude, but the price tag was too steep, 8-10 million euro’s would have been good. I think Claude is a better defender, but Lassana is still very good.Posted from
United States -
supposedly they’re getting him to fill on for Mahamadou Diarra, who funny enough was the closest thing to a Makelele that Real Madrid have (…even funnier was that they won the league twice with said player ).
The hilarious thing about the ” galacticos ” era was that they avoided playing a Defensive midfielder…..even though they’re history suggest that those have been some of there best player ( Redondo, Diarra )
Posted from
United States -
One Diarra comes, another Diarra goes?
Posted from
Italy -
Well in Spain a first team can only have a 25 man roster and with the inclusion of Lassana, Parejo and Huntelaar we currently have a 27 man roster. However, in January if a team has a player or players who have a season long injury, the club can opt to unregister/deregister that or those players. In this case, that would be Diarra, De la Red and v.Nistelrooy leaving us with a 24 man roster once again (we also plan to sign a right winger this winter, so 25).
So come times this summer, players like Saviola, Javi Garcia, maybe van der Vaart and Salgado will be offloaded to make room for new recruits and open up spaces for the winter arrivals.
I think v.Nistelrooy maybe leaving us and De la Red may be forced into retirement, but Diarra might stay…unless Xabi Alonso is available (I’m playing). I think one of the three may end up staying. Nothing is clear right now, but we’ll see when the season is drawing to a close.
Posted from
United States -
Julien G. – i think you meant to say De La Red would be leaving and V. Nistelrooy would be forced to retire.
cause last i checked, de la red isnt that old lol :p
Posted from
United States -
whoops, my mistake, i got what you were saying, cause de la red had a serious heart attack recently.
Posted from
United States -
yeah, lol. Ruud’s contract will expire because he hasn’t played the required 30 games… unless the management decides otherwise, I don’t see him staying. aAfter all Huntelaar is his natural replacement.
Posted from
United States -
Julien, I don’t think you can be a France fan and NOT compare the two. And I think Lassana is doing everything he can to cement it in people’s minds. Why else the shaved head and facial hair?
Posted from
United States -
lassana diarra is a great player with a funny shaped head… and i love him, especially for this video, any excuse for me to watch this video is a good one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dp-YIsfGZc
White guy: “Is ‘Maka’ your father?”
Lassana: “No no no no, he’s my friend”
Essien: “Where is your father?”
Lassana: “Michael Essien”Posted from
United States -
Mustafa, I’ve always loved that video.
Posted from
United States -
“supposedly they’re getting him to fill on for Mahamadou Diarra, who funny enough was the closest thing to a Makelele that Real Madrid have (…even funnier was that they won the league twice with said player ).
The hilarious thing about the ” galacticos ” era was that they avoided playing a Defensive midfielder…..even though they’re history suggest that those have been some of there best player ( Redondo, Diarra )”Through out the post galactico era, i’ve encountered many discussions in which everyone seems to agree that Real’s biggest mistake and the beginning of the end was when Makelele was undermined and transfered to Chelsea. A year later, we all understood what he meant for the team. I hope he’s displays some versatility and quality besides disrupting the midfield. Gravesen was a ridiculous signing and i feel some comfort in knowing that’s he’s been called for the national squad in a few occasions and it also looks like he’s france’s new young defensive midfielder. He’s played 72 matches so far and i assume he’d have a better chance if it werent for Viera and Makelele (there’s quite a high bench mark to fight for a starting position if you ask me). I think we’ll all be happy if bites enough and recovers more possession than losses since it takes sometime to adapt to a team. Diarra and Gago were sht in their debut, and now its a different story, Gago is looking very close to Fernando Redondo, well…perhaps the style and haircut since he’s lacks Redondo’s height and elbowing. Higuain perhaps has been Real’s quickest player to adapt, along with Robben.
Van Der Vaart has to be given a chance or i hope Juande finds him a good spot. The kid is very gifted but he’s in a difficult position to compete against Guti and Sneider. Juande will need to eye which players combine best and Sneider has been pulling the train lately.
Posted from
Spain -
yeah laurie… and that video also has some great background performances as well, with Michael essien in his breakout performance as “ridiculous overlaughter guy” in the background, and Drogba with his translational skills, and then Geremi coming to rescue him, all while Salomon Kalou stands in the background, nervously laughing along with Essien with a look in his face that SCREAMS “I hope this guy doesn’t ask me anything”
Posted from
United States -
Laurie, they are very similar but I will continue to refrain from calling Makelele, Lassana’s father.
I mean it pretty evident how similar they are and how they cover ground, but I think Makelele is slightly (from a single chest hair) better on the defensive end of the field. Lassana is definitely more talented, he has better technique, he can get involved with the attack and will score more goals than Claude if he hasn’t already. His passing range is better, he’s more of a complete defensive midfielder. Also keeping in mind his versatility…
9 CL’s, Fernando Gago is not even in the same class of Redondo. Don’t you think Gago is still a bit mediocre? Some games he’ll be phenomenal, and complete almost every pass and every tackle he goes into and then there are the days where he misses 90% of his tackles and can’t land a single pass (slight exaggeration). The truth is Gago hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, he still has some work to do on the defensive end of his game.
Gago is more similar to Guardiola (as I know) but he lacks the pure creative ability. Gago wont ever be like the player Redondo was because he lacks the physical presence that he had and will never be able to out muscle the majority of midfielders like Redondo. Fernando Redondo was one of the great players in the past 20 years. Technically perfect, especially in the one-on-ones, he was a physically wonder, which allowed him to cover a lot of the field in very little time.
Gago is well on his way to becoming an excellent player he just has to become more consistent and work on a few areas of his game. Heck, a little support from the wingers (Robben) wouldn’t hurt either.
Posted from
United States -
I agree, Gago is not close to Redondo but i do think he’s improving a lot. I’ve noticed more agressivenss and better quick passes. He could become a hybrid between Redondo and guti… but he still has a long stretch, but i have to say im pleased, i wouldnt sell him. Drenthe, Salgado, Saviola need to go and Van der Vaart is on probation (you have to give him the benefit of the doubt that’s he’s being repositioned all around the pitch, he needs some consistency in his ideal position. Similar to Raul’s deal, who happened to gain form again once Capello placed him in his original position.)
I can foresee Real signing Benzema along with a defensive right winger so Ramos can also play as a full back. What the hell, Cannavaro will be gone which means we’ll need another fullback. I believe Garay is returning to Real but that doesnt seem like a good solution.
The critics will eye Calderon’s youth development management carefully, its the healthiest solution for the future and its been lacking ever since the Raul, Guti, casillas era. (There are questionable players like Mata….but still a little premature).
Posted from
Spain -
Oh no, Gago is not going anywhere he is one of, if not the most important midfielder we have. Van der Vaarts situation is a little different, he plays in the same role as Sneijder, Juande is going to opt to use Sneijder in his natural role which may cause some problems for van der Vaart. It’s going to be difficult for Rafaal but well have to wait a while to see how it turns out.
Frankly, I don’t think it would be a great idea to move Ramos back to the right. He is made to be a center-back, all his natural abilities are suited for that position, everything from his passing range, his powerful heading ability, his strength and even his personality (his temper). When Ramos was first signed as a 19 year old it was clear that he wasn’t ready to to play in the center, he didn’t read the game well, he was caught out of position, he wasn’t mature enough. It was safer to play him on the right. But now, as he has matured as player (muscles have developed), it’s clear that he has to make the move back into the center, he isn’t as comfortable as he was before and it’s evident.
When he’s being played on the right, he doesn’t have the quick footing to keep pace with a fast winger, he looks to be turned easily and he ends up drawing fouls and yellow cards (he’s fast on track to breaking Liga BBVA’s record of all times yellow cards, he has had 8 red cards already and he’s only 23. Hierro retired with 10 and he holds Madrid record). He can only get up and down the wing 3 – 4 times a game (compared to the slow Michel Salgado, who was averaging 6), His crossing is mediocre and ha struggles to get into the box or down to the corner flag. I was very frustrating watching him run up the flank with the ball from the right and some how (miraculously) he would end up in the centre of the pitch where he would attempt to do a roulette and lose the ball. Now, he has come out openly and complained that he isn’t enjoying it and everyone is complaining that he isn’t playing well, he needs support etc…
He’s at the stage of his career where he has to make the move to center-—his situation is very similar to Puyol where he was played as a right back until he was 25 and right now many van say he didn’t reach his full peak potential. He should have made the move late last season. But on the bright side, the management is looking for at right backs, Maggio and Iraola for example.
About Gsray, he’s a fantastic player. He was rated by the the management to be the top 5 player in the world, supposedly the air to Ayala, every big club was linked to him at point but the the only concern is that he isn’t very athletic like Pepe or Ramos but he incredible positioning, very elegant playing style and he is probably the most intelligent center-backs in the BBVA. Even if he starts on the bench, I’m pretty sure he’ll find his way on the starting XI within a year/year and a half. AS for Cannavaro, I hope we don’t renew his contract, he was great at Juve but he’s too old and isn’t the same player nor is his playing style suited for La Liga.
Parejo has been signed, I think he’s one of the only player that have a real future with the sqaud… we’ll have to wait and see.
Posted from
United States -
Diarra is quality.
Posted from
United States -
I’m just waiting for RM to also buy Alou Diarra. Then they could eventually play a midfield like this:
Diarra – Diarra – Diarra
That would be awesome.
Posted from
United States -
No it wouldn’t, Diarra is staying put.
Posted from
United States -
Question:
How did Madrid sign 2 players before the transfer window opened? I thought they could only do that IF the player was a free agent.
But they fully signed, transfered and presented Huntelaar & Lassana as Real Madrid players before the window even opened.
How come?
Posted from
United States -
Lass may not be Claude and I was always a big fan of Claude but Lass is better. He is the only one that currently MUST be picked for midfield. People may talk about Claude but the future is LASS.
Julien G – you are wrong about Cannavaro: he still has enough class to give to Madrid. I hope he stays for one more year. His experience and knowledge of the game would be an asset anywhere in the world. Make no mistake, Fabio still has a lot to give. with regard to your comments on the Dutch: I say we would be better off without van der vaart and sneijder. BOTH are POOOOR
Posted from
Spain
Comments are closed
Home 
