In Ron Howard's film, Rush, that depicts the 1970s Formula One rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt, Lauda's character opens the film with a narrated line: "Twenty-five drivers start every season in Formula One," he says, "and each year, two of us die. What kind of person does a job like this?"
Figuratively, that also sounds a lot like football management. A lot like La Liga.
Already this season, we're two drivers (managers) down in the Primera Division.
First, Las Palmas, who face Real Madrid on Saturday, sacked Paco Herrera; Levante then followed suit and dispensed with Lucas Alcaraz. And in Madrid, at a club that hasn't allowed a coach to see out a contract in over a decade, Rafa Benitez will know he's never far away from joining them on that pile—and that there are even countless critics out there right now who would like to see him do so.
"It's surprising that, with all the things that are going well, the focus is on aspects that may not be going so well," Benitez told Radio Nacional's Radiogaceta this week, via Marca.
Get used to it, brother.
For Benitez, it's been another week that, to the uninitiated, will strike as ludicrously bizarre. Though his team sit top of the table, undefeated with statistically the league's best attack and defence, he's still batting away criticism and loaded questions like a banker plunged into the conference of a socialist party.
It didn't help the madrileno that, last time out, his Real Madrid ceded control to Celta Vigo after the hosts had gone a man down in the second half, surviving a period that should instead have been dominated. It also didn't help that Keylor Navas had been his best player—just as he has been for most of the season.
"Navas is a great goalkeeper but I'd like him to be less busy," admitted Benitez. Well, on Saturday, he probably will be less busy. Quite a bit less.
He'll probably be sat on his backside.
In what is yet another injury setback for Real Madrid this season, the Costa Rican has been troubled by an abductor complaint and will likely be rested for the visit of Las Palmas. "Keylor has overdone it a little and we are not going to risk him," said Benitez on Friday, per AS. He quickly added: "or Sergio, James or Benzema."
Consequently, Real Madrid head into a weekend significantly depleted once more. As alluded to by Benitez, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema will all likely sit this one out with Navas, as will Gareth Bale, Daniel Carvajal and possibly Pepe, too.
You'd imagine if there were a karaoke room at Valdebebas, Benitez this week would probably have been belting out a bit of Robert Palmer and "Doctor Doctor, gimme the news."
Las Palmas, meanwhile—well they've got bigger problems.
One win from eight games from the Canary Islanders was enough for Herrera to be thrown on the scrap heap earlier this month. And while they earned a respectable point against Villarreal in Quique Setien's first game in charge, they remain in the bottom three.
For the new boss, goals must be the priority. In nine games this season, Las Palmas have scored just six times, and three of those came at Balaidos—Spain's home of footballing madness, where it's criminal if you don't nab a few.
Thus, we're likely to see Los Amarillos move away from the five-at-the-back system they employed under Herrera—interestingly, both managers sacked this season regularly used a 5-3-2—and look for something a little more dynamic.
The question, however, is whether they've got the cattle to be more dynamic, given that igniting something within this team is almost entirely dependent on Sergio Araujo, Jonathan Viera and Roque Mesa.
But at least this weekend Las Palmas will enjoy a big day out at the Bernabeu for the first time in 13 years.
Or maybe they won't. Last time they were there, it was 7-0.
Match Details
Date: Saturday, October 31
Time: 3 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. EDT/4 p.m. local
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
TV Info: Sky Sports (UK—delayed broadcast), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Form Lines
| Last 6 Results in All Competitions (most recent first) | |
| W: 3-1 vs. Celta Vigo | D: 0-0 vs. Villarreal |
| D: 0-0 vs. Paris Saint-Germain | L: 0-4 vs. Getafe |
| W: 3-0 vs. Levante | L: 0-2 vs. Eibar |
| D: 1-1 vs. Atletico Madrid | L: 1-2 vs. Barcelona |
| W: 2-0 vs. Malmo | W: 2-0 vs. Sevilla |
| D: 0-0 vs. Malaga | L: 0-1 vs. Rayo Vallecano |
| B/R UK | |
Caution will be the theme of Real Madrid's selection policy for Saturday's outing, given that after this clash with Las Palmas, Madrid face Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Barcelona.
Navas, therefore, will likely be rested and missing from the team that faced Celta Vigo, with Ramos the other player who featured in that game set to be absent.
As a result, Kiko Casilla looks poised to make his Real Madrid debut, while Nacho could slot in alongside Raphael Varane in the centre of defence if Pepe isn't deemed fully fit.
Rodriguez, Bale, Benzema and Carvajal remain absent.
For Las Palmas, Mubarak Wakaso and Juan Emmanuel Culio are available again after serving suspensions, with Wakaso possibly set to form a three-man midfield with Roque Mesa and Hernan that was used in training this week, according to WhoScored.com.
In attack, Araujo and Viera headline a possible attacking trio, even if the visitors' shape is more likely to function as a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1.
Predicted Lineups
In the Spotlight
A bar had gotten in the way at Balaidos, but if it hadn't, this week might have been different for Benitez.
At 2-0 against Celta and with just 20 minutes remaining, Isco hammered a shot into the woodwork that would have emphatically ended the contest had it gone in; all hope would have been lost for the hosts. Instead, a lifeline was afforded to them, and Nolito then made things nervy and Benitez's week difficult.
But for Isco, the shot summed up his season: almost but not quite.
Though the Bernabeu favourite has been steady in the absences of Rodriguez and Bale, he hasn't been dominant or electric. Something has been missing. Last season, standing ovations for him were regular; this season, not so much.
Pulling apart Las Palmas would be a good way to get one.
Real Madrid: 1-10
Las Palmas: 16-1
