Don’t let the shirt fool you, Little Ricky (Kaka) belongs to Florentino Perez. And, by way of agency principles, Manuel Pellegrini. But the question must be asked – what exactly have we purchased?

On the one hand, Kaka may be the typical enganche, an attacking midfielder that slots in behind the strikers. He enjoyed considerable success with Milan when running behind Crespo and Shevchenko. The UEFA training video shows beyond a reasonable doubt that Kaka has mastered the killer pass.

Okay, stop laughing. I am well aware that Kaka’s favorite pass – the 40 meter gem to Crespo in Istanbul – came in a losing effort. Which brings me to my point – Kaka also had success playing as a withdrawn striker. In 2007, the year Milan won the Champions league, Little Ricky ran off Pippo Inzaghi to perfection.

We live in a wily world of imperfection, but Pellegrini should consider playing Little Ricky as the Long Ranger upfront. While the 1-1 draw against Milan restored a sense of pride, too often Ricky waited for runs that were never made. And neither Benzema nor Higuain nor Raul has locked down the forward position.

I know the risk of such a position – Ricky may not see enough of the ball and go Holden Caulfield on the team, disappearing when Madrid needs him most. But I also know what I saw today – a very confused Kaka, standing around with his head up and looking for something which simply wasn’t there.

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