Debunking the Myth of “Isco’s Missing Minutes” – A Deep Dive Analysis

Conclusion: Debunking the Myths

I should say, before attempting to unpack all of this data, that the comparison matrices above do leave out the crucial figures of Champions League minutes. And Isco has certainly been lacking in those to date, playing only 77 minutes across two matches.

Additionally, many of the players listed above like Reus, Iniesta, and Robben have spent long spells of this season injured, driving down their minutes, whereas Isco has largely been injury free.

However, introducing the discussion of the Champions League and the question of injuries brings me to a more important point about the status of Isco’s missing minutes and its role in the popular myths about Real Madrid.

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Real Madrid is a super club, fighting for much of the season to stay in three competitions (or more, when you include Super Cups, Club World Cups, and other less meaningful matches).

The distribution of minutes above indicates that Zidane has used Isco as a key player in his fight to regain Madrid’s first La Liga title since 2011. The fact that so many of the iconic players above have spent time missing through injury indicates that any squad which is serious about winning multiple trophies a season must take the issue of injury replacement seriously.

Those who cling to the myth of Isco’s missing minutes would probably be quick to remind me that when all of Madrid’s preferred midfielders are healthy, Isco has no place in Zidane’s once de gala.

This, I would argue, is an example of mythical thinking overshadowing the harsh realities of contemporary club football. When Madrid is fighting for trophies on multiple fronts across the length of a grueling, injury-ridden season, there is simply no such thing as a true “once de gala.”

Asking what would happen if Madrid’s players were all healthy at the same time seems like an exercise in fancy, because it is rare that Madrid’s players are all ever totally injury free.

One of the hallmarks of this Zidane side is its tactical flexibility.  Matt Wiltse of Managing Madrid recently wrote of Zidane’s tactical identity:

"Many have questioned and criticized Zidane for the constant chopping and changing of personnel and systems. At Real Madrid, there are 18+ players that could start for virtually any team in the world. Flexibility in the system provides options for different personnel and different characteristics."

This flexibility has been especially important as Madrid has experienced key injuries to players like Gareth Bale, Luka Modrić, and Casemiro. As Graham Ruthvren writes for Marca, “Isco has become a tactical lynchpin for Zinedine Zidane, allowing him a degree of flexibility in the final third.” If flexibility is the name of the game for Zidane, then Isco is far from a  player and is much more a key piece of Zidane’s constantly changing puzzle.

Another set of assumptions lurking in the background of the Isco minutes myth is that Isco necessarily deserves to start over the likes of other players, who are often the same ones scapegoated for Madrid’s occasionally lackluster performances.

The usual suspects are Karim Benzema and Casemiro, but we’re starting to see more calls for Isco to start over the likes of Luka Modrić as well:

I have no problem with fans discussing which players might function better in particular scenarios and at particular points in the season, but the discussion rarely takes place on this level.

The discourse about Isco’s missing minutes is usually rooted in hyperbole about how players like Benzema, Casemiro are utter garbage, a disgrace to the badge, and evidence that Zidane’s bald head is either empty or filled with delusions.

Think I’m exaggerating? Nope:

Everyone is, of course, entitled to their own opinions. Nobody, however, is entitled to their own set of facts. Benzema, Casemiro, and yes, even Luka Modric, are all prone to having off games. But to say that these players are garbage, or that Isco is so perfect that it is unthinkable that he would ever ride the pine in favor of these lesser beings, is a conclusion simply not hovering in the orbit of reality.

Soccer fans are emotional creatures by nature. The ties that bind us to our favorite clubs and players are far from rational, and these intense attachments can often cause us to miss the forest for the trees.

While I can understand where these fans are coming from, I believe they would be well served to take a step back, take a deep breath, and really think about what Zidane has accomplished with his tactical rotations.

Far from failing to provide Isco minutes, Zidane has done an excellent job including him as a key player in a diverse, tactically flexible squad. Real Madrid currently sit two points atop the La Liga table heading into the month of April, and Isco played a major role in getting them to that precipice.

Far from failing to provide Isco minutes, Zidane has done an excellent job including him as a key player in a diverse, tactically flexible squad.

It’s not even the case that Isco has been relegated to playing exclusively against the league’s minnows: Isco started in the Super Cup against Sevilla, in El Clásico at the Camp Nou, and in Real’s thrashing of Atletico Madrid in the Calderon. These decisions might indeed have been influenced by Madrid’s injury list at the time, but acting as if rotation isn’t always on the back of the coach’s mind is an exercise entirely divorced from the real world.

It is worth remembering that Isco is still just 24 years old. With Madrid mainstays like Ronaldo and Modrić creeping into their early thirties, the path ahead for Isco looks bright indeed. Isco will get his chance to cement his place as a Madrid legend.

Rather than focusing on Isco’s perceived lack of minutes as a sign of Zidane’s supposed naiveté, fans should appreciate how Zidane has created one of the deepest and most tactically flexible squads on the planet by distributing minutes widely across Madrid’s entire team.

There is a certain truth to the myth of Isco’s missing minutes. Isco is an amazing player, and in many other squads, he would probably get more playing time.

But this isn’t just any other squad. This is Real Madrid, the best team on the planet.

Next: Real Madrid Not So Routinely Take Care of Alavés

Isco has demonstrated the kind of patience that is needed to break through such a squad. Hopefully the purveyors of the myth of “Isco’s missing minutes” will demonstrate the same kind of patience.