MADRID, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- It has been a strange few months for Real Madrid following the conquest of their third successive Champions League title and with the new season just days away, it is hard to escape the feeling that the club has been treading water.
The summer got off to a bad start when Zinedine Zidane announced he was stepping down as coach, prompting a frantic search for a replacement, which ended with the controversial signing of Spain coach Julen Lopetegui, who only weeks previously had agreed to lead the national team until 2020.
Lopetegui was subsequently sacked by the Spanish Football Federation on the eve of the World Cup and many hold Real Madrid's move for him as one of the main reasons for Spain's disappointing campaign in Russia.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the next to jump ship, pushing for a big-money transfer to Juventus to leave Real Madrid without arguably the most emblematic player in their history.
Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic has also left the Santiago Bernabeu after pushing for a move and while right back Alvaro Odriozola has arrived from Real Sociedad along with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from Chelsea and 18 year-old winger Vinicius Jr from Brazil, only Courtois looks as if he is going to be a regular starter.
Odriozola was in the Spain squad for the World Cup, but was substitute to Dani Carvajal; the man who will presumably be ahead of him in the pecking order at the Bernabeu, while Vinicius is a precocious talent who will need time to mature.
There is still time for Madrid to add to their squad and Lopetegui is known to want to sign a striker and a central defender. However, with the Premier League transfer window already closed, it is hard to see Chelsea allowing Eden Hazzard, who was probably Madrid's first choice as a big-name signing, to leave between now and the end of August.
Lopetegui has insisted in press conferences that he is happy with the players he has and he could have a point: last season saw Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema play in Ronaldo's shadow and the signs so far are that the departure of the Portuguese will allow them more responsibility and play roles more suited to them.
Bale has had a good pre-season and will be able to play down his favored left flank, while Benzema appears to have rediscovered the scoring touch, which deserted him so badly last season.
Marco Asensio should also benefit from the extra game-time he will now get and this has to be the year the young Spain international confirms him as a key player at the Bernabeu.
In short, Madrid have lost a great individual, but could improve as a team.
Likewise Kovacic's departure should open the door for Dani Ceballos, who was arguably Madrid's biggest disappointment last season after joining from Betis. The former Spain Under-21 international has the talent to play in the Madrid midfield and he will benefit from being the natural substitute to Luka Modric (himself the subject of transfer speculation) and Tony Kroos.
Lopetegui will worry that Ronaldo's departure will rob his side of goals: Ronaldo netted 42 goals for Madrid in all competitions last season and that is a lot for Benzema, who has just 16 league goals in the last two seasons, Bale, who netted 16 last season and Asensio (6) to make up for.
Meanwhile the Madrid defense looks as strong as ever with Rafael Varane a world class central defender, Nacho Fernandez an excellent all-round player and Sergio Ramos, who may be watched more closely by referees after his actions in the Champions League final.
Courtois is a better all-round keeper than Keylor Navas, who can nevertheless feel unlucky to lose his place as he rarely does anything wrong, but the added competition can only be good for Lopetegui's side.
Real Madrid finished last season third in the Liga Santander with their obsession in winning the Champions League seeing them take their eye off the ball domestically and their title hopes were ended by Christmas as Barca beat them 3-0 in the Classico.
Lopetegui needs to improve on that, but with Barca and Atletico both looking stronger, it will be a huge test for the former Spain boss to justify his decision to put club ahead of country.
