Madrid awaits the Galácticas era

When we talk about Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, we talk about a club synonymous with success at the highest level and the ability to attract the best players in the world to wear the white of Los Blancos. My introduction to Real Madrid was in the late 90s, when Predrag Mijatović, Raúl, and Roberto Carlos among many others, helped the club end a 32-year drought to win the UEFA Champions League trophy. Since then, the club went on to lure some of the greatest players the world has ever seen to wear the colours of Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Kaká, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo...the list is endless and fans of the team saw the best in world pass through the doors of the Santiago Bernabeu. Now, Los Blancos have been joined by Las Blancas and it seems as though the club will spare no expense in bringing the highest calibre of players in the women’s game today.

Flair in abundance will be on display

After announcing their intentions of forming a women’s team for Real Madrid, the club integrated with CD Tacón and formed what will be the Real Madrid women’s team after this upcoming season. The board wasted no time in announcing some big names to bolster their ranks. So far, the most well-known name has been that of Kosovare Asllani. The Swedish international has just come off a sensational World Cup tournament which saw her help her country to a bronze medal and she intends on bringing that type of vision and ability to CD Tacón for this season and beyond. As a self-proclaimed Madridista, Asllani seems keen to make an impact and as someone who has followed her career for a long time, I cannot wait to see how she fares not only in a new team but in the Primera División as well. Asllani’s signing hearkens back to how the men’s team would bring in players who are not only great on the ball, but also marketable off the field as well.

The Swede will be joined by Brazilian midfielder Thaisa, who although not as well-known as Asllani, has made an impact in Italy with AC Milan last season. Thaisa has great movement and if played in the right system, has the ability to cause havoc with late runs from midfield. Like most of her compatriots on the Brazilian national team, Thaisa has great ability on the ball, but it’s her off-the-ball movement that make her such a joy to watch when she’s on song. Bringing in Thaisa and Asllani is a statement of intent by the club of not only trying to match rivals Atlético de Madrid Femenino and FC Barcelona Femení, but also looking to play a brand of soccer that will be eye-catching for any potential viewers.

CD Tacón were not finished and recently announced that Sofia Jakobsson would be joining her fellow Swede Asllani in the Primera División Pro. Jakobsson will be just as thrilling to watch as those mentioned above as she has shown most recently in the World Cup and with Division 1 Feminine Side Montpellier HSC where she scored 50 goals in 91 appearances. Not only does Jakobsson have pace to burn but she also has great balance and an eye for goal which makes her one of the more lethal players in world soccer today. If you watched Sweden during the World Cup, you could see how effective Asllani and Jakobsson were for their country and if they can replicate that form and understanding for their new team, CD Tacón will be scoring goals for fun this season.

CD Tacón show an understanding for the need to balance a team

During the Galacticos era, Real Madrid failed to understand that a team needs to have solid players in defense and in midfield to not only allow their creative players more freedom to produce their magic, but to also prevent the team from having to out-score opponents in every match. This does not seem to be the case for the women’s side as they have brought in defensive reinforcements for this season as well.

The next ‘big signing’ that came in after Thaisa was French defender Aurélie Kaci. Kaci has a storied career in France with clubs such as Olympique Lyonnais Féminin and Paris Saint-Germain Féminine, and most recently, Atlético de Madrid Femenino, where she won two league titles. She is not as splashy as Thaise or Asllani, but bringing someone as vastly experienced as Kaci shows that the upper management at CD Tacón understand that you cannot win titles without a solid defense. Kaci will look to help anchor the backline while the likes of Asllani, Jakobsson and Thaisa (for now) will look to thrill fans in attack.

The Galácticas have begun to arrive and should the parent club of CD Tacón continue to spend well and support the team in every possible way (allowing the team to play at Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano is a good start), and not just as a great PR exercise, we may be seeing the emergence of a dominant force in the women’s game.