Real Madrid: Zinedine Zidane’s silver lining
By Jubril
In a season with very little delight, it was refreshing to see Vinícius Júnior come on for Brahim Diaz during Real Madrid‘s narrow win against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday. These youth players are the silver lining for Los Blancos and manager Zinedine Zidane
It was not just because the teenage prodigy who – arguably is the revelation of the year – has recovered from a serious injury, but more so because he was replacing another teenager who has, yet again, shown a lot of promise in the minutes available.
In his presser after the game, Zidane said of Brahim Diaz, “I’m happy with his performance because when he picks up the ball, he heads straight for the opposition goal. He might play better or worse, but he’s a player who is always in search of space.”
Just about an hour into the game, Marcelo flicked the ball into the path of Diaz after some smart exchanges with Toni Kroos. Accompanied and well guided by Gaspar, the Spanish U-21 looked to be heading for the byline and possibly to shoot across goal, hoping for a tap in.
Yes, that’s what we were all expecting, but like a prima ballerina, Brahim wriggled his waist, twisted his ankle, turned his body and in a nifty move, changed direction with a resonance that left Gaspar drooling as much as everyone of us watching.
Had it not been for for a smart save by Fernandez, we would have had the goal of the game. That move, clearly buffed the desire and audacity of the Real Madrid winter signing, and strengthened his case as a special player.
But if that did not result in a goal, how about the perfectly weighted defense splitting pass by Fede Valverde to release Dani Carvajal on the right flank which led to Mariano’s second goal. The pass was delicately stroked in between the Villarreal defense and rolled on, nonchalantly and undisturbed, like a bowling ball towards the pins, until it was intercepted by the marauding fullback.
It was undoubtedly, the pass of the game.
The Real Madrid academy player is having a good run of playing time, having featured in more games than Dani Ceballos and Marcos Llorente combined. His guile, astute attention to the formation layout, and vision for a pass, long or short, gives him an edge in the battle for midfield spaces and is likely to earn him a spot in the team next season.
With the level of promise shown by these two, the anticipated arrival and inclusion of another young Brazilian, RodrygoGoes in the team, and the return of Martin Ødegaard from SBV Vitesse and the rumored signing of top players like Hazard and Pogba to the first team, Zinedine Zidane might just have a plethora of young talented back-ups who will give the manager sufficient depth to fire on all three fronts next season, and return the club to its rightful place.
Next. Zinedine Zidane to drop Real Madrid’s Luka Modric. dark
Finally, there might just be a silver lining from an otherwise underwhelming football season at the White House.