Well, the Galácticos 2.0 era is underway.

Real Madrid were able to overshadow the treble-winning rivals off the pitch by spending unheard of amounts of money. Just to give some perspective, the money that they spent on Kaká, Ronaldo, Benzema, Albiol and the rest of their transactions was the equivalent of the payroll of the New York Yankees. The results will have to be immediate and

There are lots of answers, but yet a ton of question marks with this generation of players. On the attack, there could have not been a group of players more lethal than the group that Florentino Pérez has assembled. To have Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso added to a Raúl, Guti, Gonzalo Higuaín, and Arjen Robben could translate to goals. But there is still a distinct possibility that they will have goals scored on their net as well.

Iker Casillas will have to perform to his Superman-type level this season again as there are several doubts cast on the Merengue backline. Raúl Albiol replaced Fabio Cannavaro in order to shore up that team's Achilles' heel. Still that unit is paper thin, and an injury could see Manuel Pellegrini in dire straits. Madrid does not have the depth there and their youth side has not been given the chance to shine due to the lack of interest shown by Madrid presidents past and present with regards to their "Pavons". This will place players like Ezequiel Garay and Alvaro Arbeloa into the spotlight, their success in helping out would mean the difference between winning and losing. Pepe and Sergio Ramos will be important, but they have to remain on the pitch in order to be effective. Both of these players have been on a penchant for getting carded and leaving their team at a disadvantage. Ramos, once considered one of the best young defenders since Paolo Maldini, truly slipped in 2008-09 and will have to find himself again. That form also showed in the Confederations Cup which was summer up in one play- Clint Dempsey's goal.


Biggest Issues:
Locker Room- This will be Manuel Pellegrini's greatest challenege. The tactics part is going to be simple; the camaraderie in the dressing room is not. Pellegrini will not have dealt with the egos that he will at Valdebebas. For the guys that start, all is fine and dandy. Competition will be fierce for ten starting spots, because Casillas is the only untouchable. There are players like Raúl and Guti who can poison a dressing room and have done so as was the case in Spain. This was part of the reason why both Luis Aragonés and Vicente Del Bosque have looked in a different direction.

Do they have the potential to win it all? Absolutely, they have all the ingredients in place. Can they fail? No doubt, they have all the ingredients in place. One thing is for sure, if they are not playing in the Champions League final come May (it is at the Bernabéu) then will be cataloged as one of the greatest flops ever. I don't think neither one will happen, I go for the middle of the road. But remember they do have to beat their eternal rivals, who are at the height of their powers.

Player to watch:
Xabi Alonso- Besides all the glitz and glamour of the big money acquisitions that they got over the summer transfer period, it will be one of the lower-key newbies that will make a difference for Los Blancos. If there was a lesson that Florentino Pérez learned during his first term as president was that he needs that midfielder that destroys on defense and is that first pass on offense. Without a good first pass and crisp pass to Ronaldo, Kaká, or Benzema up top, Pérez could have spent billions and his team would not be successful. He realized that the loss of Claude Makélélé was the biggest problem that he was never able to recover from.

Players In
Cristiano Ronaldo
Kaká
Karim Benzema
Xabi Alonso
Raúl Albiol
Granero
Alvaro Arbeloa
Ezequiel Garay


Players Out
Michel Salgado
Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus)
Julien Faubert (West Ham)
Javier Saviola (Benfica)
Javier Negredo (Sevilla)
Gabriel Heinze (Olympique Marseille)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan)