Money doesn't always ensure success but it certainly helps and Real Madrid hope their new collection of expensive 'Galacticos' live up to the hype and help overcome Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona side full of confidence after last season's historic treble.
Last season Real were ordinary compared to the dazzling Barcelona and a quick-fix was the only answer as they recruited a new manager and almost an entire team at a cost of over 250 million euros. New coach Manuel Pellegrini has arrived from Villarreal and watched on as Real, who rarely consult the manager on signings, splashed the cash on Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol among others.
A cool 163 million euros (233 million dollar) was spent to lure Brazilian Kaka from AC Milan and world record signing Ronaldo from Manchester United as Real bid to outshine a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona. With Ronaldo and Kaka joining Messi in the Spanish league, football fans can now directly compare three of the world's most gifted stars and judge for themselves who is the best player on the planet.
"I think we can win the big trophies with the team that we have," said Ronaldo. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is rarely talked about in the same bracket as Ronaldo and company so this is his big chance to shine after joining champions Barcelona from Inter Milan in a 69 million euro (98 million dollar) deal that saw Samuel Eto'o go the opposite way.
In the last campaign Barcelona beat Real twice as well as Chelsea and Manchester United on route to winning a league, Kings Cup and Champions League treble and if they can reproduce that form they will take some stopping. Real have not won the trophy since 2002 when the prototype Galactico team of Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo came up trumps.
Barcelona have won the trophy twice recently in 2006 and 2009 and nothing would be sweeter than winning the competition on the ground of their fiercest rivals. Real host Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday night in the season curtain-raiser while Barcelona begin their title defence against Sporting Gijon on Monday due to their European Super Cup commitments. It is hard to look past Barcelona and Real for the league title with the other top sides lacking the squad depth and genuine quality to make an impact.
FIXTURES:
-- Saturday: Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruna 20:00 (1800 GMT), Real Zaragoza v Tenerife 22:00 (2000 GMT)
-- Sunday: all 1500 GMT unless stated: Malaga v Atletico Madrid, Real Mallorca v Xerez, Racing Santander v Getafe, Osasuna v Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao v Espanyol, Valencia v Sevilla (17:00 GMT), Almería v Valladolid (19.00 GMT)
-- Monday: Barcelona v Sporting Gijon (2000 GMT).
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