Shades of 2003: less than two weeks after driving Real Madrid to its first major trophy in four years, head coach Fabio Capello was unanimously cast aside by the Spanish champion's management. Four years earlier, former coach Vicente Del Bosque met the same fate after his team of galacticos lifted the La Liga title. "We've laid the foundations, but we need to find a more enthusiastic way of playing," Real president Ramon Calderon said of the decision, which came in the wake of a report presented by club sports director Predrag Mijatovic detailing everything that happened last season.

"We don't think Fabio Capello is the right person to lead Real Madrid into the future given what we want this club to achieve," said Mijatovic. "We have to have a little more than Fabio Capello gave us this year." Mijatovic added that the people of Madrid require "more than just results" and that the club has to play "a different soccer to last season."

Which suggests that Real Madrid wasn't entertaining enough. For a little perspective, consider that after the club's 3-3 draw against Barcelona at the Nou Camp (considered the turning point of the club's turbulent season), the Merengues scored 32 goals in 13 games. And in spite of conceding 19 goals, the club came from behind on six occasions to either win or draw those games, grabbing 32 points out of a possible 39. Nothing if not exciting. Meanwhile, Capello now has surely solidified his place as one of the game's great coaches, having won eight domestic titles with four different clubs in just 15 years (not counting the titles Juventus lost due to match-fixing).

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