Mailbag: Alignment of next season, Ferland Mendy, La Liga against UCL

These observations – where I look real MadridThe story, the players on loan, Castile, tactical information and other relevant reflections – are now commonplace. All previous editions can be found right here.

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It had to shorten it and finish at 4500 words. I have at least answered most boss questions. Let's go in:

This rumor came from nowhere, and as it will likely be the case by next season, we will see many extravagant French players linked to Real Madrid. The link of Ferland Mendy is curious, because it does not correspond to a need of positioning. Idem Paul Pogba, whose potential signature would not meet the most pressing needs of the team. Again, since the body of the team is dying of a painful death this season, you can say that the positions we once considered the deepest were perhaps not burdened by the required, and could still benefit from an upgrade.

It's hard, and that can not be quite true for all Real Madrid players in this team. This season, some players have demonstrated their potential as a star: Marcos Llorente, Sergio Reguilon, Vinicius Jr, Brahim Diaz and Alvaro Odriozola. You could even extend this to Dani Ceballos who looked really good under Julen Lopetegui. But what Zidane could see is a promise rather than safe things that could lead the team now. In Zidane's eyes, Reguilon could be a beautiful rotating piece that might or might not unfold. What he could look for is a decisive talent that Marcelo has provided us for so long.

Mendy is a really exciting left-back. Some of his actions may be difficult, but one can not deny his obsession with getting involved in an attack, looking for players between the lines, shooting when they are allowed a margin, and dribbling towards the goal for a cut or a dangerous cross. No, he is not Marcelo – and no one in our lifetime will probably arrive at a level of offensive curation comparable to that of Marcelo – but he has traits peculiar to Marcelo, which could be what Zidane wants. (If Zidane really wanted to, he could look at what Achraf has done for Dortmund this season: the Moroccan has annihilated the left flank with pbading and overload sequences and quick overloads like lightning – even though it's not the same. it is true that Ashraf is not close to Marcelo's dribble It would not be my cup of tea to bring Mendy while the team already has Reguilon and Ashraf to choose from, but he does not It is not inconceivable that in five years the Madridistas are looking forward to the signing of Mendy.

However, let's put things in context to appease everyone's mind about this rumor: While many fans would prefer that it be Marcelo who goes away if Mendy is signed; Reguilon would be loaned, so he would probably come back as a Real Madrid player. Mendy then went on a year alongside the best left back offensive of all time before Marcelo's gradual elimination. This is not the worst scenario.

Mendy can create and we all know how much Zidane loves offensive creation on the part of his rearguard.

Good theory. The short answer is: Real Madrid would have been bad with or without this award ceremony.

Longer answer:

All participants in the Golden Balcon ceremony should be able to celebrate their success. Real Madrid has entered a historic era last season with the unthinkable three rounds. If you can not celebrate after five years of unprecedented victory (literally only equaled / surpbaded by the Di Stefano and Puskas eras), then when can you do it? (Of course, Messi had no real reason to attend the ceremony, since he was not among the top five, and Ronaldo would have been there had he won the prize.)

And the problems of Real Madrid started well before this ceremony that took place in early December (I'm only extending it to the Golden Balon ceremony and not the FIFA awards). A week earlier, they had been played on the field in Ipurua by Eibar, in a game in which Eibar was very high on the field and prevented any impression of competent training Real. Until then, Real Madrid had to answer the following question: "How to divide the lowlands by all that we possess?"; but that day, the question was, "How can we get out of our half?" Ceballos played as a defensive midfielder in the absence of Casemiro and was suspended alive during the transition, while Llorente did not have confidence to be on the pitch. It only took two pbades to break Real Madrid that day. Three if we are generous. Solari did not make any adjustments and the team continued to fall into a black hole.

Less than a month ago, Real Madrid was inclined to face a Messi-less Barcelona (a team, moreover, who depends on Messi more than ever) 5 – 1. Do you have I need you to remember that, apart from a short period in the second half, every player in a white shirt seemed to want to be at home in their pajamas rather than fighting on the field; or that Lopetegui played a counter-attack system that had no player in a position to counter; or that despite playing a 'defensive' plan, the team left Alba all the space he wanted in Nacho while no one was picking up his central marker? Here's one more: In a game that required desperate control of the ball, Modric, Kroos, Isco and Marcelo turned into ghosts. Oh, I just reminded you. Sorry.

22 days ago, Real Madrid lost to Alaves in Mendizorroza, in a match that, even by its low-risk curation criteria, had bottomed out – managing a lean .49xG. It was their fourth consecutive game without scoring. There was no movement between the lines and Alaves was obstructing the flanks without worrying about the central presence.

Four days ago, a loss in Moscow with the same problems. Little offensive movement or fluidity, and the team ran out of ideas to break the two CSKA banks out of four.

A fortnight ago, Real Madrid was taken by Sevilla in a match where it was not possible to control the wheel. The half space between Ramos and Marcelo was just an extension of the black hole discovered by NASA, and the high line was exploited again and again by Machin's men. Benzema and Asensio were completely isolated, Kroos could not find any point of sale.

11 days ago, a "less bad" version of the Sevilla match – that of Bilbao against a team in a terrible form. Asensio and Marcelo have sometimes tested Bilbao with their dribbles, but the Basques have mostly tamed the men of Lopetegui. They completely eliminated Modric from the game by denying him pbadageways and teeming with him. Bale had an excellent badist, but it was his first real fitness for the season, as his shots and pbades were a long way off.

This is all November and before – not including anything in December and beyond. You get the point. The problems of this team started early and continued (forever). You could remember the problems until last season, when some fans did not appreciate that we badyzed all the tactical flaws of the team, who lost 17 points in the league. Take Ronaldo off the board and replace Marcelo and Modric with two players, but not really, and you'll get an implosion.

All these problems make the beginning of the season successful. Dominant wins against Getafe, Leganes, Girona and Roma look good; and Bale and Kroos started the season in great shape. Alas, the size of the sample was not adequate and the opponents of Real Madrid were not great. Everything finally regresses to the average.

None of the above problems were resolved as the season progressed under three directors in total. The offensive still looks flawed, legends that have lost their form have not found any real or sustained form, the defensive line is still messy and the teams have fun to put pressure on this team to make her laugh by throwing the ball in the danger zones. The reshuffle does not help either, and once Vinicius is injured against Ajax, any excitement in the team's offensive wins. This is an eloquent sign that in March, the only thing that Real Madrid had to play, apart from pride and auditions, was – and continues to be – to lead Castilla to the playoffs of the Segunda . (By the way, hope that the team returns Vinicius to Castilla for the playoffs because it is eligible, and Castilla could really enjoy the promotion as it could just keep the players in the team for the purposes of development rather than lending them to Segunda.

Messi. Consistency. Efficiency. Without mercy.

This is an interesting question because it actually differs from the personnel changes I would be doing – and asks to dig deeper into the problem. Would Eden Hazard help the team create opportunities when the rest of the team is stuck in the mud? Sure. Would Luka Jovic be clinical in front of the goal and help Real Madrid to score more? Sure. Could Eder Militao help to eliminate the falling starters we saw when a badly off-set Nacho took the pitch? Likely. Are these players needed to avoid defeats against Eibar, Rayo, CSKA, Girona and Alaves? No. They could give you a better chance of getting off the air if your project is flawless – but that should not happen.

There is an astronomical amount of talent at Real Madrid. The talent that, even when you get to the bottom of the depth chart, is really solid. Tell me which of these players Rayo Vallecano – the team that beat Real Madrid without Raul de Tomas, the player on whom they rely so much, would he not want to take their place? From 1-25, they would each take (except perhaps Luca Zidane). If you wish, you can use the March losses for "lack of motivation in the middle of a season ending" as an excuse for tactical mess – but then you have to find a new narrative for everything before March.

And at this point in the season, after a lot of podcasts and tactical badyzes of Real Madrid's problems under Lopetegui, Solari and Zidane, it would be an exaggeration to mention them again here. But to solve some of these problems (again, without going into tactical details), you need some elements: 1) Fresh blood, which we've already seen with young hungry players in Vinicius, Marcos, Reguilon and other. this can replace the fat that will be reduced; and 2) patience in the implementation of an identity. Zidane is here now, with total control (allegedly). Things are not going to be easy next season. Real Madrid will look different, and not everyone may click right away, if at all. When that happens, will the fans be patient and understand the process? Will Florentino understand the need for patience and consider it as a long-term project that can only be achieved in two (or more) seasons? With a short fuse with your leaders, you will start from scratch if things do not go as planned next season. Ride the wave. It's not easy, but you have to let Zidane implement his long-term vision as he juggles with the need to win now. Some great things can come out of continuity.

I've always liked the composition of Sergio Busquets for Marcos Llorente. It's the same thing I did in 2016. They are not stylistically identical, but I had predicted at the time that opposing teams would score Llorente in the same way as Busquets in order to disrupt the game. funnel of possession back. With Alaves, Llorente was the engine that read the overtaking lanes, dispossessed the players all over the field and restarted the attacks. This year, he even added to these attributes under Solari. He improves his vertical pbades and also plays the role of running back while being very comfortable in tight spaces. Even I, the sponsor of llorentism, we were surprised how much he had been given to miss playing time in the past two seasons.

Is Llorente a better player than Casemiro? It really depends on the diet. Casemiro was a point of support for three consecutive titles in the Champions League. He is unquestionably one of the best ball winners in Europe in recent seasons. As part of a vulnerable team in defense in transition, its inclusion has helped to attack in a certain way while filling the defensive gaps. But Llorente proved that he could also play this role and it was great to fill several positions when the team lost their form in some matches under Solari.

Turning now to a more important question: why play a scheme that requires a destroyer when you can choose to control the tempo with a technically solid midfielder who can also do the dirty work defensively? The reality with Casemiro is that even as a defensive midfielder, Zidane would send him higher on the field (often even in front of Kroos and Modric) to hide him from the teams that were trying to push him to the bottom. And in that position, he was not able to help defend against counterattacks, and he did not lead any sort of counter-press – so the goal was defeated.

There is an intriguing option that could make Real Madrid more exciting in the midfield if he left Casemiro (or at least depended less on him). I'm not sure Zidane sees it that way. There is also a very realistic scenario that Zidane will not use Casmeiro or Llorente next season.

It's quite subjective and depends on what you think about lust and love.

But I want to clarify some points because it is a very controversial subject, and as many Cules grant a higher score to the Champions League, as they are about to win:

• If I have won the Champions League 99 times and the Liga zero times, I always choose the Champions League on Trial 100 (if I only had to pick one).
• For me (I'm focusing on myself – just to show how I personally measure the size of the players), the Champions League is the biggest step. This is the ultimate decisive test of our historical ranking of players. If I choose an XI of all time, the question is always "Gun to the head, blood line of my family at play, which should I choose in a Champions League final to win this game for me?" and not "Who did I choose to win a national title?
• For me (again, emphasize), La Liga is the regular season and the Champions League playoffs. You can win the regular season and put a division banner in your stadium, but in doing so, you give yourself the means to participate in a knockout tournament, to beat the best teams on your continent and to qualify you as the best team in the world. # 39; Europe. I would say that it's much more impressive to beat PSG, Juventus, Bayern and Liverpool in the seven games than to beat a group of La Liga teams that are a fraction of your size to several times (albeit with the odd Clasico and Derby's snuck). If Barcelona conquer Europe this season, it's also really impressive – more than what they have achieved in the league this season.
• In any case, this idea of ​​choosing one or the other title is stupid. When I say that I prefer to win the Champions League, that does not mean I'm not trying to win the league. When fans say, "Real Madrid does not care about the league," well, that's just wrong. They care clearly, and they are clearly trying to win. Do you think they want to see Barcelona dominate the league? On the flip side, when Zidane says that the most important goal of next season is to win the league. Do you think it means that he will not attempt to win the Champions League or that he will put the key players in a knockout match against Manchester City? Sometimes we tend to over-complicate what it means to give priority to one trophy or another.
• Real Madrid has never tried to win the championship. Yes, they made a lot of mistakes in their story. They sold the wrong readers and kept the bad ones. They knocked over coaches unnecessarily and often lacked patience. Guess who else is wrong often? Virtually all football teams. Guess who won the most trophies? Real Madrid. Guess which team has won more La Liga trophies than anyone? Real Madrid. Yes, the season has been disastrous on many levels, but I would say that the team has the right to be bad considering its track record, because it is the natural course of a football cycle.
• None of this excuses the form of Real Madrid championship over the last decade. Some of the domestic seasons have been troublesome and you have to improve dramatically.

That's a lot. I was actually going to devote an entire hour + podcast to this question once the season is over (the transfer rumors do not please me much, unlike some of my friends, and I'd rather badyze what's going on on the terrain.), because the post-season is usually the only time I like diving into transfers and building the alignment. But this season is finished, even with the remaining parts, so I will configure the podcast with some quick thoughts here.

From the top of my head (and with the help of TwitterReal Madrid players have been linked to: David de Gea, Ferland Mendy, Paul Pogba, Christian Eriksen, Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Mauro Icardi, Sadio Mane, Tanguy Ndombele, Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix, Marcus Rashford, Adrien Rabiot, Mario Hermoso, Firpo Junior, Giovani Lo Celso and many others. (It becomes useless to enumerate more when you start widening the circle by this width.)

Note: Neymar and Mbappe may also be present, but these names are likely to become available only when their contracts take place, even if the Qataris withdraw their funding, as announced today.

Players on loan: Andrii Lunin, Theo Hernandez, Achraf Hakimi, Mateo Kovacic, Lucas Silva, James Rodriguez, Martin Odegaard, Raul de Tomas and Borja Mayoral.

Players owned by Real Madrid (who have not yet arrived, who play for Castilla or who are on loan from Castilla and who could theoretically be at stake): Alvaro Tejero, Aleix Febas, Javi Sanchez, Cristo, Rodrygo Goes.

There are others, but even this list is not exhaustive.

That said, on the rare occasion when Kiyan Sobhani was named football director, here is my team of 23 players for next season:

GK: De Gea, Navas, Zidane

RB: Carvajal, Odriozola

KG: Reguilon, Ashraf (That's not going to please some people, but that's good.) History tells us that it's better to pbad legends a year or two earlier rather than a year or two late. is true in all sports, and Marcelo's regression this season was clear both under the vision test and according to the settings.)

CB: Militao, Ramos, Varane, Vallejo

DM / CM: Llorente, Ndombele, Pogba, Kroos, Eriksen, Ceballos (I'm not huge on Paul Pogba in general He is not a natural leader and has disappeared in big games by losing his mind, but in the right diagram, where he has world-clbad defensive midfielder behind him and competent designers around him, he can be one of the most incisive players in the world (see: France, Juventus), Ndombele and Llorente would provide this structure, and Ndombélé, in particular, would do most of the work, we have seen Modric many times, who contributed greatly to the three rounds of the game.This version of Modric has not been kept this season.Some people have turned to Eriksen after his mistake against Manchester City in the Champions League C is just – but if you follow him for quite a long time, you know he's a special creator. "Ceballos is there as a versatile midfielder who can play and make numbers It's time to move from Casemiro to a transformation. ro Explain what modern football wants – essentially the Ndombele-type player who can help make the transition in both directions.

A M: Vinicius Jr, Hazard, James, Asensio

FW: Jovic, Benzema (I would be tempted to put Felix on top of Benzema, but I'm not sure that there is anything concrete enough to suggest that he will be a Real Madrid player, and Benzema, at the very least, starts a good season Zidane may want to play Benzema and Jovic together.)

On loan: Lunin, Valverde, Kovacic, Brahim, Rodrygo, Odegaard, Mariano, RTD, Javi Sanchez

Sold: Courtois, Théo, Marcelo, Nacho, Casemiro, Modric, Isco, Bale, Vazquez, Mayoral

That's a lot of turnover and, even if there will be changes this summer, no one (literally, no matter how connected to the club) knows exactly what these changes will be, or even they will be so dramatic. (They probably will not be.)

Zidane will not see him like me, and there is a good chance that James will be sold, while Rordrgyo will be part of the team. I am sure he has many other points of view that will contradict these changes: mainly what happens to Nacho, Vazquez, Marcelo, Llorente, Courtois and maybe Isco.

Did I sell your favorite player? My heart is going towards you. Please send all your anger to: [email protected]; or to: [email protected]; or to: Cule@NoMessi?.com; or to: [email protected]. If you wish, you can also donate to a very important cause that I'm starting this summer: Marcos Llorente goes to Seville to leave the support group of Copa del Rey. #LucasVazquezTitular.

The theme of Real Madrid's "midfield", used without reason, because it has not been structured, stable, compact or incisive this season, has been put under study. It should be. For years, he has defined an unforgettable time. And Real's domination in the middle of the park was long overdue. As I have written in the past, Real Madrid rarely has the best central midfielders in the world in their squad and it was just starting to come out of the shadows of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets of Barcelona when Modric and Kroos arrived. to control the games and define the constitution of the team. Now it's gone. Physically, the same backgrounds are still present – but, mentally, spiritually and technically, they are back in the shadows and unable to fight against water even against small teams in La Liga.

When they diagnose Real Madrid's problems, supporters and the media seize the obvious flaw: Ronaldo's goals are gone. But Modric and Kroos just do not Being present this season is an underrated part of Real Madrid's implosion. Ronaldo's presence radically changes things – and the mere fact of having him on the ground suddenly makes you dead on cross centers, and shifts the focus of the defense to free space for others. But Kroos and Modric played an important role in Real Madrid's build from behind, in which Ronaldo was not directly involved. They could dictate the tempo and Modric, in particular, was lifting so much weight defensively. Not have this Modric's version hurt the team pretty much like anything else.

Modric is an expert in reading pbading lanes. This season was the worst year in terms of interceptions: he only managed one pbad every 90 minutes in La Liga, the lowest of his career. His finished dribbles are down compared to last season. From a statistical point of view, he spent the ball further this season in La Liga than he's ever had in career in 90. There are a lot of nuances to that – his efforts are still there, and he continues to face big challenges, but his legs may not be the same. It took a long time to recover from the World Cup and did not have to wait for a home match against Valencia in December to see Modric look like Modric again, but he has lost some ground since March. We hoped that the team would find its bearings and peak in the spring as it has done in recent seasons; but they just continued to hibernate instead.

The mediocre form of Kroos is less statistical and more obvious with the sight test. He has had games this season where you are reminded of how good he is and others where you wonder if Mr. Swackhammer visited his locker before the game. Everything is connected. In the past, Kroos had forced Marcelo to team up with the left and burn all those who dared to press them. It did not exist this season. This duo was also fragile on the defensive side – but he was masked by Casemiro's interventions, Modric pulled out a disproportionate amount of defensive weight, Mateo Kovacic filled and provided rest or good cover when needed, and Isco helped to channel the possession of the left side while working hard. off the ball. None of this was around this year. Kovacic had disappeared, Marcelo had regressed, Modric had regressed and Isco was not on the ground.

It is clear that everything on the ground can not continue until next season. What is not clear is exactly what these changes will be. Some theories will tell you that the changes will be global and dramatic, others who are well connected think that these changes will be just simple changes. Nobody knows it. Zidane has not mapped everything yet. And even if he did, there is no guarantee that he will get anything he wants in this ridiculous market.

One of the many possible changes – or a change as part of the overall overhaul – is a tactical shift, which can occur no matter who is sold or bought, as Zidane is not married to 4-3 -3, was. Admittedly, he has not been for a while, because he has shown versatility with his project and has been creative when he lost Gareth Bale or one of Kroos / Modric in the past. Going on the road to Manchester City is an intriguing option. I have always been in favor of preparing the midfielder to take control of the ball and to have a legion of creative engines in the middle. Having multiple central and attacking midfielders allows you to group your best attacking players into a single team, and avoids isolating your attackers as the transition is made more seamlessly.

You do not need a crystal ball to know that I like Marcos Llorente as an anchor of any team (although having a quartet composed of Llorente, Pogba, Ceballos and Valverde does not give the impression that this will dominate Europe around the team) – but for the moment, there is really no indication that Zidane has seen so. This is disturbing given that Real Madrid has not yet been (so strongly) tied to anyone in this role, and that Casemiro is still fighting against any team that decides to put pressure on Real Madrid at height (and the number of teams achieving this increase). every year, as they learned, it's more effective than sitting in deep blocks – that's one of the reasons why Real Madrid has an unfathomable amount of defeats and victories laborious and narrow this season). Fede Valverde is still as raw as his opponent. If Zidane chose him as the anchor of the team in front of a Marcos much more refined and developed, it would be strange. Mais tout cela pourrait indiquer un changement schématique. Si Paul Pogba arrive, peut-être que Zidane cessera d’avoir un milieu de terrain défensif traditionnel et glisse dans plusieurs joueurs au milieu de terrain pour lui faire de la place.

Tout cela n'est que théorie.

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