Quest for the Real deal

The dust from the tumultuous Jose Mourinho era has finally settled at the Santiago Bernabeu. Distracted by internal turmoil , they suffered from mixed priorities. Even after lording it over Barcelona twice within a week, they ended up losing the league and in Europe.
Now, the ‘enemy' within has been banished and it is again time for the warriors in white, Los Blancos, to set out to reclaim the title and rule over Spain again.
The experienced and successful Carlo Ancelotti was lured from Paris to take charge and he will have one of the greatest players to put on the famous white shirt, Zinedine Zidane, by his side in the dugout.
Yet to lose a game in pre-season , they have made a statement of intent by thumping Mourinho and Chelsea.
As is generally the case, they have been active in the transfer market. The trio of Gonzalo Higuain, Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon were shipped off to Napoli for a sizeable amount as they looked to clear the dead wood and strengthen their ranks.
Unusually, they have spent big on youth. Two of the brightest young prospects in the country and stars at the European under-21 championships— Isco and Asier Illarramendi have been signed from Malaga and Real Sociedad, respectively. Despite being far from finished products, close to 30 million euros was shelled out for each.
Both youngsters have drawn huge comparisons to established Spanish stars. Attacking midfielder Isco has been compared to Barcelona's Iniesta while holding midfielder Illarra (as he is known) has been dubbed the new Xabi Alonso.
Club president Florentino Perez, the man behind the famous Galacticos era, is still in search for a marquee signing. After missing out on Brazilian wonderkid Neymar, he is fighting tooth and nail to break the all-time transfer record and sign Tottenham Hotspur attacker Gareth Bale.
On the field Ancelotti will be hoping to emulate the last Italian to manage the club, Fabio Capello and win the league title. Capello, however was sacked just days after that triumph and that is something Ancelotti will not want to emulate.
Unlike Capello, whose football was criticized for being pragmatic , defensive and not ‘the Real Madrid way', Ancelotti's teams are known to play attacking football using his tried and tested midfield diamond formation.
The new signings will ensure that the likes of Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Luka Modric and Alonso don't take things for granted with just one seasoned forward in Karim Benzema, youngster Alvaro Morata (who won the golden boot at the under-21 Euros) or talisman Cristiano Ronaldo may also be used up front.
Question marks still remain over Ronaldo's future and tying him down to a new contract will undoubtedly be a priority.
When they finally line-up for their opener against Real Betis, they will know there is no time to lose. La Liga is not known to be forgiving to a team that is off the pace early on. Real learnt that lesson the hard way last season. They lost the title even before the winter break.
Barcelona are also undergoing a period of change under a relatively less successful manager. With the first league Clasico at the Nou Camp only scheduled for late October, it is a great chance for Real to get out like a greyhound and not look back.