On 30th January 2021, Real Madrid had to play against Levante in LaLiga, with a paper-thin defensive squadron. Captain Sergio Ramos was out with a knee injury and Nacho was unavailable as he had tested positive for COVID-19. The Entrenador for that game was Zidane’s assistant David Bettoni, with the gaffer instructing his assistant from his home whilst being COVID positive.
With two of the four centre-backs out of the tie, Raphael Varane and Eder Militao were the ones to start the game. It had been a year and a half since his arrival at Real Madrid, but he couldn’t convince Zidane of his quality due to restricted opportunities, which is something that comes naturally with Ramos and Varane’s existence at the club, and he also fell behind Nacho in the pecking order. Militao had to try his best to impress his manager and show that he could be used in non-emergency situations.
Militao played the previous game against Alaves, but he couldn’t make his mark. He knew how important this game was for him, and how he wouldn’t get many opportunities like that. He was determined to do his best, but what followed next was something he wouldn’t have wanted at any point in his life. He was sent off in the 9th minute, as he denied Levante’s Sergio Leon a clear goalscoring opportunity. He wasn’t the last man standing and the decision was debatable, but what was done couldn’t be undone, and Militao’s chance slipped away from him.
He wouldn’t get any opportunity in two months after that game, and questions were raised about his future at Real Madrid. It looked like the fourth choice centre-back wouldn’t be playing anymore in the season, as a tight title race going on in the league didn’t give Zidane a scope for experimentation.
But, on 6th April 2021, Militao got the chance he would have never expected. Real Madrid was about to play Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals, and hours before the game news broke out, Raphael Varane tested positive for COVID-19. And with Ramos’ out due to a calf injury, Zidane was forced to start Nacho and Militao against an attack comprising the likes of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Diogo Jota.
It was the most important week of the season, with an important Clasico four days away, which would be followed by the second leg at Anfield. The Brazilian had played just 534 minutes till that game, and there were a lot of doubts over his match readiness before the big week.
It was Militao’s biggest chance to prove his worth, he wouldn’t have gotten a bigger stage than that to perform. And he proved himself with immense performances in all three games, as he completely silenced the likes of Sadio Mane, Leo Messi, and Antoine Griezmann. Everyone hoped to see Militao at his best, but no one expected Militao to do so well.
Militao took his chance and took it superbly. He had proved that it is difficult to get past a man on a mission, as the Brazilian formed a solid partnership with Nacho that was literally unbreakable from the middle. Zidane took note of the Brazilian’s brilliance and rewarded him by starting him in every game remaining in the season. Militao repaid his manager’s faith in him by playing at a world-class level consistently and gave his hundred per cent on the pitch to keep Real Madrid alive in the title race.
Today, he is an untouchable player for the club while being a starter for his national team, who didn’t even call him for the previous international break. This just shows how good he was in the last three months. And next season he might actually be a definite starter for Real Madrid, due to several reasons at which we will have a look.
Eder Militao is a great asset and he brings a sense of completeness in defence
When Real Madrid bought Militao as a 21-year-old from Porto for 50 million, people had a lot of expectations of him particularly due to the price tag and the hype behind him. With him getting minimal game time, the expectations decreased drastically. But now, after two years, people have finally realised his world-class defensive abilities. Let us analyse his gameplay and his abilities in detail, which make him special.
One of the best defensive skills of MIlitao is his ability to intercept the ball with ease. He’s a dynamic defender, and he knows how to respond to different situations while defending. He usually sticks around the player he has to mark, whilst the ball is being played in the midfield zone. Once the pass is made towards the attacker, Militao times his run well and gets to the ball before the attacker gets there. While playing a high line, he has to cover a lot of ground to reach the ball, but he clears the danger most of the time, thanks to his supreme recovery speed.
But the best part about his technique is his ability to not give any warning to the opponent that he’s approaching the ball, and winning the ball silently. He stays behind the attacker and gets ahead of them at the perfect moment. He gets a touch on the ball while it’s almost about to reach the target player. It’s like he just steals the ball off the player’s feet while the player is about to make his next move. No wonder he averages 1.9 interceptions per 90 minutes in the Champions League.
And while going 1v1, he matches the opponents’ stride to stride, with his rapid pace and wiry frame with long legs helping him to do so, and for the final step, he stretches and just takes a simple touch that diverts the path of the ball away from the attacker. Militao manages to intercept the ball almost every time and passes the ball to his nearest teammate even with a difficult touch made after a split-second decision, which helps the team regain possession.
The same qualities make him great in 1v1 duels, particularly in footraces. According to UEFA, he reached a top speed of 33.2 km/h in the Champions League. And his 186 cm height helps him dominate attackers in an aerial duel. Not to forget his decent heading skills, something visible during setpieces. He already has 2 headed goals this season and has often shown a tendency to rise the highest while jumping up like a compressed spring that has been released.
He also knows how to use physical force on occasions, but stays within the limit, a trait that we often see in his compatriot Casemiro. One also needs to appreciate his presence of mind and footballing intelligence. He watches the attacker’s moments closely and waits for the right moment, before pouncing on them to win the ball.
He is adept at ball-winning, and his aggressive nature helps him excel in tackling. He never goes into a tackle half-heartedly. If he decides to go for a slide tackle, he will give his 100% into that and lunge into the tackle, irrespective of the positioning and he won’t take half measures. Sometimes it’s risky going into a slide tackle, due to obvious reasons. But Militao manages to time those tackles to perfection, due to which he manages to win the ball in most of the cases. Chelsea’s attackers might be knowing a lot about this, as Militao won a game-high 7 tackles in the first leg. No wonder he averaged 2.2 tackles per 90 mins in 2020/21, a figure which jumps to 3.8 tackles per 90 mins in the Champions League, according to WhoScored.
Another skill of Militao which I liked a lot is his ability to block shots. He makes himself big whenever facing a shot inside the box (doesn’t forget to stick his hands to the chest), and in some cases, he manages to get ahead of the attacker (when the attacker lines up for a tap-in). Sometimes the ploy fails, as it did against Mason Mount in the second leg, but it’s still an effective weapon for Eder. On average, he blocked 0.7 shots and 1 pass per 90 mins, according to WhoScored.
And while facing a skilful dribbler, someone like Messi whom he did manage to stop successfully, who’re dribblers who don’t reveal anything until the final moment, he matches them for every step and watches every move of the attacker carefully. He never rushes in this case. He is highly observant and waits for the right moment like a tiger ready to prey, and then clears the danger at a rate of 3.2 well-timed clearances per 90 mins.
Eder Militao is a confident guy with the ball at his feet, which is something that’s needed while building from the back. This is problematic with Varane, as he’s shaky under pressure. His press resistance isn’t as good as Sergio Ramos, but he’s satisfactory in that aspect and can bring the ball out of pressure either on his own or make a pass after some flicks and turns.
But sometimes he can put the opponents under pressure with his passes. His long passing is great, particularly the ball with which he tries to release the Right-Back into space down the right flank, and the occasional switch with a diagonal ball from right to left. He makes around 4.8 successful long balls per 90 minutes, a number that proves his ball-playing abilities. Not to forget that he is a decent dribbler, a skill that enabled him to play as an RB as well at Porto.
Considering his wonderful skill-set, I believe it is fair to call Militao a ‘complete defender.’ Some people see him as a destroyer primarily, but I feel Militao is much more than that, he can also guide his team from the back with the ball at his feet.
Real Madrid has such a talented defender at their disposal, a player who has proven himself, and it would be a shame to see that talent is wasted on the bench. MIlitao’s abilities make him an invaluable asset, and such a gem should be seen regularly in the starting XI of Real Madrid, playing week-in week-out. He is just 23, and the only way he will go from here is upwards.
Raphael Varane might leave Real Madrid
After 10 years at Real Madrid, Raphael Varane might be finally leaving the club this year. He has been one of the best defenders in Europe which made many clubs pursue him for a long time. But this time, with Varane reportedly wanting to try out a new challenge in his career, the clubs from England might finally get the signature of the Frenchman.
But Real Madrid still doesn’t have clarity about the defender’s future, as there have been some renewal talks with Varane which didn’t come to a great conclusion. With Varane’s contract expiring in 2022, Real Madrid is willing to renew Varane’s contract if he agrees to the terms, or sell him this summer for a big amount if he wants to leave. According to MARCA, Real Madrid are still waiting for Varane’s response.
Varane’s departure will be a huge loss in sporting terms, though it will reap some financial benefits for Madrid. But Real Madrid isn’t worrying much about that because Militao is there in the squad to replace the Frenchman.
The Brazilian plays in the same position as Varane, the spot of a right-sided centre-back in a four-man defence. That position has been occupied by Varane for a long time, who established himself at that position, winning 4 Champions League titles on the way. Now that Varane might actually leave, this will present Militao with a huge opportunity to start next season.
Assuming Sergio Ramos stays and will continue as the starting LCB, the only competition Militao will have is from Nacho. David Alaba, the new signing, is also an LCB and he won’t pose much competition to the Brazilian. Nacho has the ability to play as an RCB, something which he has done in the past, but I doubt if the one-club man will be given a chance ahead of Militao, who has rapidly improved.
And looking at the way Militao has played last season, there will be no question of him not being ready for a starting position. In fact, a regular starting role will only make Eder Militao better and will help him become a legend of the club in the future.
Continuity is highly important for the growth of a player
One of the reasons why I keep saying that the implementation of Real Madrid’s youth development scheme went wrong is that they couldn’t offer continuity to players. Real Madrid got the highly talented players for high prices, but they couldn’t give them consistent game time, something that is very important for the development of a young player.
If we consider the cases of all the U-23 players used by Real Madrid in recent years, we can see that only Fede Valverde and Vinicius Jr are the players who got consistent playing time. And even in Vinicius’ case, he got the minutes mainly due to Eden Hazard’s injury struggles which made him unavailable most of the time.
Due to this lack of game time, some players preferred to go out on loan, like Martin Odegaard. And players who waited but couldn’t get playing time, like Marcos Llorente, left the club permanently. This reduced playing time not only hampers the player’s progress but also decreases their market value, something that is evident in the case of Luka Jovic.
Real Madrid needs to make sure that this case doesn’t happen in Eder Militao’s case, the player who has been highly promising. Real Madrid made a huge investment of 50 million euros on the Brazilian, but they restricted his role to a backup role for more than a season and a half. They shouldn’t be doing the same mistake again, that too after Militao has been so promising.
This is one of the reasons why I’m not a great fan of the Jules Kounde rumours, because he’s an RCB as well, and his arrival might affect Militao’s development in some way or the other. Real Madrid should have realised their mistake in Militao’s case by this time, and they should make amends by giving Militao the role of a starter.
And with someone like Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, who knows how game time is important for the development of a player and likes quick and ball-playing center-backs like Militao, the Brazilian should be expecting a bigger role next season, and he should gear up for the big season ahead.