Real Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero is the latest high profile addition to Mark Hughes’ squad at Loftus Road. LFW’s man in Spain Miguel Ortiz tells us what we can expect from The Pirate.
Granero is a 25-year-old graduate of the Real Madrid academy system. He spent time with their B and C teams before two years on loan with cross-city neighbours Getafe and has since made more than 60 appearances for the senior team.
The academy at Madrid has become a decent breeding ground for other clubs to siphon talent from, but it rarely produces players for the Real first team so it’s unusual to find a graduate of it with so many first team appearances at the Bernabeu to his name.
Granero was part of an excellent school of players who rose through the ranks at Madrid together. Chelsea’s Juan Mata and Real Valladolid’s Alberto Bueno completed the midfield of what must have been an imposing midfield in their age group. He has played for Spain at every level up to Under 21s and won the UEFA Under 19 Championships in 2006.
Getafe regularly pick off players from the Madrid academy on loan and permanent deals and they took Granero on a season long loan for the first time in 2007/08 when he scored three times in 27 appearances. Later they added Ruben de la Red and Adrian Gonzalez from the same team as Granero while Javi Garcia went to Osasuna and then signed permanently for Benfica before attracting interest this window from Manchester City.
De la Red and Granero were part of the Getafe team that reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup and the final of the Copa Del Rey in 2008 and he joined the club permanently at the end of the season – only for Madrid to exercise a €4m buy back clause on him in 2009 after he’d played 35 times and scored five goals that season.
Madrid used him intermittently in 2009/10 and he clocked up 31 appearances for them but when players like Mesut Özil started to arrive it pushed him back down the pecking order. He was, nevertheless, well liked by the Madrid fans who rarely get to see players graduate from the club’s youth set up to the first team and he played 17 times for them last season as Jose Mourinho’s side won the La Liga title.
Rangers and Madrid have agreed an undisclosed fee and Granero has signed a four year deal at Loftus Road. He will take the number 14 shirt, previously well worn by Martin Rowlands.
“He is a great player, first and foremost. You don’t play at a club like Real Madrid if you’re not. He has been there from the age of nine, so this has been a huge decision for him. He is very well regarded there and for him to leave a club of that stature to come to us shows the belief he has in what we are trying to do. What we are doing at QPR is having an impact on players. It is probably true to say that if we had approached certain players three or four months ago about joining the club, the suggestion wouldn’t have been entertained. But people now know we are serious and we are trying to do something different here. And that message is out there now which is why we are able to sit in front of quality players and once we are given that opportunity, we feel we have a good story to tell them. That’s why players are deciding that QPR is a great option.” - Mark Hughes
“I think QPR will continue to grow as a club and I want to be part of a very bright future here. When I spoke to Mark and Mike, as well as Tony I was convinced that I wanted to be part of this project, which has no limits. Players that have joined before me are as excited as I am about what QPR can become, one of the great teams in England.” - Esteban Granero
Estaban is at Loftus road now. Just spoken to him. Great attitude. Attitude and professionalism is worth a lot more than talent. Grenero is a massive signing and one that in years to come we will always pat ourselves on the back. – Tony Fernandes
Mercifully, at the end of probably the longest day I’ve ever had in eight years of writing LoftforWords, this is a signing from Spain. That means I can turn this over to our man in Barcelona Miguel Ortiz for his opinion of our new signing. Now if you’re not familiar with Miguel’s work for LFW, then check out the Opposition Profile piece he contributed to prior to the Swansea game and his opinions on the Chico-De Guzman-Michu axis that went on to tear QPR apart. I think they call that establishing trust. As ever, we thank Miguel for his time and input.
“Esteban Granero - nickname El Pirata (the pirate) – was a member of one of the most talented youth squads ever come from the White House. He grew up alongside Diego Lopez (Sevilla) Javi Garcia (Benfica, maybe soon to be Man City) Borja Valero (Fiorentina) Juan Mata (Chelsea) Roberto Soldado ( Valencia ) and Ruben De La Red (retired due to heart issues).
He was loaned to Getafe in 2007/2008 and was splendid during the whole season. His goal scoring and play making ability really shone in the second half of the season and he even scored from the penalty spot in the cup final against Valencia which they lost 3-1.
“In Spain most of the teams play a 4-2-3-1 - except maybe Barcelona and Real Madrid although now under Mourinho’s guidance even Madrid plays a 4-2-3-1 quite often. Usually one fullback plays attack, the other keep his defensive position and in front of him coaches will play a winger. On the other side, with the attacking full back, they put a converted striker who will look to cut inside to leave space for the full back, and also track back and helps in defence. At the base of the midfield we have what we call double pivot position - a typical number five sweeping and kicking everything that moves and a number six organizing the set up. Further forward to support the striker you have a number eight, who is more of a playmaker and an attacker.
“When Granero returned to Madrid after two years with Getafe he found out his opportunities were restricted to cup games, easy Champions League games and in the league to give rest to the starting line up - trash minutes. Things did not change or improve with the arrival of Mourinho (aka The Translator) but he did not complain too much. In Mourinho’s second season he started to have more minutes but in the double pivot position, playing as a six which is not his position - he is an eight. So he was ineffective, obscure, with not much influence on the game. His season finished with shadows and doubts; he didn’t break totally but now it seems that he has given up his dream to succeed in his childhood club.
“He is right footed and tall for being a Spanish eight. In his Getafe days he was a playmaker who would always get his head up and see options around him, and a scorer of classy goals. After three years without a lot of minutes he’s possibly a bit rusty, but he has improved his work rate under Mourinho that was his worst attribute. He is tactically good - as usual in the Spanish players.
“His departure seems to be a consequence of the arrival of Modric (another eight who’s going to play six you’ll see) and represents another failure for Real Madrid to settle in the first team a player from their youth structure – it’s an obsession for them but they don’t have patience to do it.
“It’s a terrific signing for QPR. Let’s see how he copes with the box to box, second balls, nasty/horror tackles etc of the English football but I can’t wait to see what Hughes is going to do with him. You’ll like him, I’m 100 % sure. QPR should give him the number eight position immediately.”
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