Nothing’s lost yet, but everything could be: 8 reasons why Real Madrid could end trophyless

No one would have ever thought back in December that by March of 2015, they would have to read an article like this. Things have changed for the Madrid club and they have changed quite fast – and at the worst possible time to boot.People who started watching football from January of this year wouldn’t believe it if they were told that this is the same Real Madrid team that went won 22 games in a row in the first half of the season. That team was like the extreme progressive death metal equivalent of football – they were quick, brutal, progressively got better in each match and brought death to the opposition teams.Los Blancos, on current form, don’t even look like a poor man’s version of that team. The Whites once looked like running away with the league title, but now find themselves sitting second with one point behind leaders Barcelona. They also made a mess of a seemingly easy second leg against Schalke and almost got themselves knocked out of the Champions League. Playing at home while leading 2-0 from the first leg, it should have been just a walk in the park – or the pitch – for 90 minutes for them to qualify. However, they lost 4-3 in front of their fans – who weren’t satisfied to say the least – and were just seconds away from getting knocked out after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored in the 84th minute.Things aren’t looking very bright for the Merengues and with the El Clasico coming up, they could completely blow their chances in the league with a loss against their most bitter rivals. What was once unthinkable could happen: Real Madrid could end up trophyless this season. And here are eight reasons why:

#1 Injuries

This is the most obvious reason. Injuries have hampered the Whites to a scale greater than they – or anyone else – would have thought, given the size and quality of the squad.

The domino effect started with the fall of Luka Modric. After him, James Rodriguez, Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Sami Khedira went to the treatment table. While Pepe and the German are back – and both have been way below their standard since returning (especially the Portuguese; Khedira has been like that all season) – Rodriguez and Ramos are still not fit to play.

The way Real Madrid have played after the injuries of their key players, it wouldn’t be a stretch to claim that they would have been struggling to fight for even a Champions League spot – let alone the title – if they had as many injuries as Borussia Dortmund have had this season.

This wasn’t supposed to be a problem simply because the Galacticos had assembled their squad while keeping in mind the possibility of an injury epidemic. But the fact is that it has been a problem – and a huge one, which could very well cost them tremendously by the end of the season. Some blame here must go to Carlo Ancelotti for his...