UPDATE 1-Soccer-Real and Pellegrini under fire after Cup exit

Wed Nov 11, 2009 12:55pm GMT
 
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* Papers critical after exit to third-tier Alcorcon

* Raul says squad needs time to gel (Adds Raul quotes)

By Iain Rogers

MADRID, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Real Madrid and coach Manuel Pellegrini were on the wrong end of damning newspaper headlines on Wednesday after their humiliating exit from the King's Cup at the hands of third-tier Alcorcon.

Real managed to win only 1-0 on the night at the Bernabeu and crashed out 4-1 over two legs to the tiny Segunda B club, who play in the same division as Real's youth team and have an annual budget more than four hundred times smaller than the La Liga giants.

Even the Madrid-based sports papers showed no mercy, as club and fans woke up to the fact that their expensively assembled squad can no longer match the title treble of Champions League, La Liga and Cup achieved last season by arch-rivals Barcelona.

"Complete disaster," screamed the headline in As. "Unprecedented farce," bellowed Marca above a picture of the celebrating Alcorcon players. The paper said it refused to put any photos of Real on the front page as they did not deserve it.

Fans chanted for Pellegrini to quit when he brought on defender Marcelo for midfielder Lassana Diarra with around 20 minutes left and the Madrid papers focused much of their ire on the Chilean.

Why were the uninspiring midfield pair of Mahamadou Diarra and Fernando Gago included in the starting lineup and striker Karim Benzema and creative midfielders Xabi Alonso and Guti left out of the squad altogether, asked Delfin Melero in Marca.  Continued...

 

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