Beyond The Pitch show

Summary: Phil and Anto are joined by Kay Murray of Real Madrid TV to take a look back at a season of remarkable performances and some amazing records by Real Madrid while achieving 100 points in La Liga. All of the discussion will involve Jose Mourinho in his second year with a football club and how his teams generally do approach that second campaign with a very different quality as the siege mentality takes hold and the unit becomes tighter. We also consider how Cristiano Ronaldo has evolved as a player under Mourinho which has been mostly apparent in the away goal tally and how he has brought his teammates more into the action in tandem with the system. We also evaluate where the Champions League went wrong in terms of the timing of El Clasico sandwiched between two semi-final matches with Bayern Munich and how much focus Mourinho placed on La Liga and finally beating Barcelona in the league was the highest priority. We also examine the start of the campaign which began in preseason in Los Angeles and how it seemed apparent that Mourinho was gambling that his athletes as a unit would ultimately surpass their biggest rivals given that time, energy, focus and power was on their side. We also gauge some of the changes Mourinho has brought to the football club along with the growth of Mezut Ozil and how the defense might take on a slightly different shape in the years ahead with Raphael Varane who seems to be emerging as a true continental centerback to keep an eye on in the coming year. We close on the matter of Iker Casillas who led this team as captain and last line of defence, turning in one of the finest years for a goalkeeper worldwide and measuring his influence as a season with very little room for error forced him to be even more perfect than in years past. This is pure Real Madrid from Kay Murray who has seen the club perform all across Europe and within La Liga in a historic performance including a moment of Real Madrid history for Cristiano Ronaldo.