Real Deal Pods: Upgrading The Madrid Machine

Managing Madrid Podcast

When extreme success breeds complacency, even giants need updating. We dive deep into Real Madrid’s organizational structure and why it’s due for an overhaul. From medical modernization to youth development, from recruitment processes to power dynamics - everything’s on the table.

We explore why Real Madrid needs system-wide updates:

LA FABRICA AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT:

• La Fabrica needs to successfully produce role players for the first team at a much better rate, which would give the first team better injury insurance
• Why did Raul Asencio not have any prominence at the club until his assist for the first team? Did nobody notice that he was good?
• Building a true development pipeline requires investing in world-class youth coaches
• The current pay grade for youth team leads surely isn’t attracting top talents
• Creating a consistent playing philosophy from academy to first team would help, but is not required

MEDICAL AND PERFORMANCE:

• Modern football demands a complete medical overhaul
• Why paying top dollar for medical leadership is as crucial as signing stars: players and coaches won’t take a medical guy seriously because their own jobs are on the line. Increasing pay gives the medical leadership more legitimacy and authority.
• The outdated approach to player health and recovery

HUMAN-CENTRIC APPROACH:

• The unsustainability of having Valverde, Jude and others cover defensive duties for everyone
• Why burning out your most versatile players isn’t a long-term solution
• Creating balanced tactical systems that don’t overstress certain players
• The need for collective defensive responsibility

LEADERSHIP EVOLUTION:

• Florentino’s increasing perfectionism with age
• How the pursuit of perfection can paradoxically block innovation by making you stick to your old systems
• The challenge of introducing new paradigms to established leadership
• Why self-preservation politics grows stronger in aging organizations, and is particularly prevalent at sports teams where everyone is worried about getting fired

INSTITUTIONAL INNOVATION:

• Why sports teams lag behind Fortune 500s in innovation
• The mismatch between available resources and institutional innovation is large in sports
• Owners of sports teams typically permit worser standards of execution across the board at the sports team than they do at their own successful companies
• Innovation happens out of necessity, and usually comes with copying others: rare for a team to adopt an approach purely out of a desire to be ahead unless they copy it from the next team
• Successful innovation models: Kansas City Chiefs, Golden State Warriors
• Managing superstar egos while implementing systematic changes
• The need for a biology-centric leader to innovate going forward

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