Whether you like it or not, for better or for worse, Carlo Ancelotti is back, sitting in the hot seat that is the Real Madrid dugout. There are many fans that are excited about his return, while there are also many that are not as optimistic. They think that the Italian manager is past his best days. They think that the move is not the best going forward.
While I’m not a huge fan of the move myself, I think that if he tries to change his habits — things like lack of squad rotation, not trusting youngsters, etc (which were also the reasons for his downfall at the majority of the clubs he was sacked from) — he could do a surprisingly good job at Real Madrid.
Maybe even that won’t be enough, but the least he can do is try a different approach. The guy’s stubborn when it comes to his principles, but I don’t think he’s that stubborn. Let’s be real here: It’s his last chance of proving that he can be a top-level coach. There’s a reason why he wasn’t managing clubs like Bayern Munich prior to the Madrid one. He was a manager at Napoli and Everton, which are good clubs, but they’re not at that level just yet. It’s his last shot at top-level coaching, and if I were him, I would change the things I do wrong.
This is why I’m trying to cook up this article. There are a few players that Ancelotti would need to trust a lot in the upcoming season because of the supposed lack of transfers that are going to happen in the summer. With Sergio Ramos leaving Real Madrid, Luka Modric being the age he is, and Real Madrid lacking a consistent, productive right-winger, you need to shift your focus to the young guns.
Real Madrid Centre-back Eder Militao
Let’s get the obvious one out first. Sergio Ramos has left the club. It sucks that he has, it sucks how it all went down, but Los Blancos will move on, just like they always do. But they (more importantly, Ancelotti) have a tough decision to make. Assuming Varane stays, should they play their brand new signing David Alaba alongside the Frenchman? Or, should it be the Brazilian centre-back that they already have?
The answer? Militao. Without a doubt.
We’re talking about the player who gave in his all when both Varane and Ramos were out. He’s a big reason why the team was still in the race for La Liga and the Champions League even with those two players out. He gave in one excellent performance after another — particularly in the second leg against Liverpool. I think that run of performances from him should make him at least worthy of a chance, up against Alaba.
Yes, David Alaba can play centre-back. He can play in a few positions, but just because he can play there does not mean that he should. I’m not the biggest fan of Alaba playing there. I think his shortcomings as a player are on display more often than not when he’s playing at centre-back, and he’s much better in other positions, such as at left-back and in midfield. It was seen throughout his time at Bayern Munich, and we saw his shortcomings in Euros as well, although he played really well for the most part.
If there’s an injury crisis or something, then he can be a decent option at centre-back, especially considering his excellent fitness record. Knock on wood.
Now, since Alaba is a new signing and is a player that’s earning a lot of money at Real Madrid, and it’s the only position with a vacancy, it’s likely that we see him play there, just because of the sheer fact that he is a big name signing. But, I hope Ancelotti at least considers playing Militao there instead.
Alaba wasn’t Ancelotti’s decision to buy him the first place. It was already done before his arrival, and although the Austrian spent some time playing under the manager, I hope Ancelotti realises that he has a better option available. I don’t see it happening, I think Alaba will be the one playing there. You never know, though.
Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard
The Norwegian Prodigy finally returns. I’ll be honest with you, I said similar words last season as well, but it didn’t quite pan out the way I expected it to. I thought Odegaard was a player that Zidane might like, and playing him would allow Modric to take some rest; to take a backseat, so that he doesn’t slow down. Well, as it turns out, Modric never needed the rest. He didn’t take a backseat, because he didn’t have to. He didn’t slow down, and stayed in top form throughout the season.
He was one of Real Madrid’s top three performers from last season, while also playing nearly every single game at the age of 35. It was beautiful to watch him play like that consistently.
But, I would say the same thing I said prior to last season. Even with Modric’s God-like characteristics, he isn’t getting any younger. There is some point in a player’s career where he slows down. It will happen at some point (yes, even with freakish athletes like Modric) and when it happens, you need a player to take over the mantle. That player — as I have explained very well in this article — can well be Odegaard.
Odegaard has all the characteristics to be an incredible player. He didn’t have the best time at Arsenal, but I don’t think there was a single Arsenal player that did. The club was struggling for the most part of the season, and Odegaard couldn’t really get going, apart from a bunch of excellent performances.
Out of all the players that Real Madrid have, Odegaard is an almost-perfect heir to the throne that Modric has been sitting on for so long.
As we have seen in Ancelotti’s previous stint, as well as in other clubs, he loves to use attacking midfielders in his lineups. It all depends on how much he trusts Odegaard. He shouldn’t make the same mistake Zidane made with “overusing” Modric last season. It didn’t really have an impact on Modric, but with his age, I don’t think that risk should be taken.
Besides, look at it this way: If Modric gets an ample amount of rest, and Odegaard gets significant playing time, and Modric is as fresh as ever during the crucial time of the season, what’s wrong with that? Nothing at all. Who’d be left unhappy? No one. That’s what should happen.
Real Madrid forward Rodrygo Goes
This one was interesting because there’s a clear lack of a good, consistent right winger that can be involved in a lot of goals. The options (currently) are Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale, Rodrygo, Takefusa Kubo, Brahim Diaz. Out of those players, I’m pretty sure Kubo has absolutely no chance of playing for Real Madrid next season. That leaves four.
If this news didn’t break out, Brahim would’ve been the name in the heading. I think he’s someone that deserves a chance to stay and fight for his place. But, as it turns out, apparently he’s going to AC Milan on a loan with an option to buy. I don’t know why. If they’re trying to clear the clutter, they should get rid of the players that aren’t useful/good. Brahim is both.
Anyway, that leaves us with another very talented player: Rodrygo. He’s had great games for Real Madrid, but he didn’t have many in the previous season. He spent a lot of time recovering from the injury he picked up in December. It was pretty sad to see, because he was playing really well at that time. He didn’t perform well after returning. He looked lost in a couple of games, and looked isolated in the other games. He wasn’t considered for a few games in which I think he could’ve done a lot of damage. Asensio was chosen in his place, who didn’t really provide a lot on either end of the pitch.
Believe it or not, he’s still the player who has the most potential out of the ones available. Gareth Bale has experience on his side, but he isn’t the same player he was back in the day. I’m not even sure if he cares enough to “show up”, you know? Asensio is just too inconsistent for anyone’s liking. He plays well for a few games and then is a literal bystander for the remaining part of the game, and yet still gets the nod over Rodrygo. It was weird.
That’s something I don’t really want Ancelotti to do. Not that it matters what I want, but I think Rodrygo is a far better option than Asensio, if the coach is patient with him and gives him an actual role to play. We saw in his first season how well he can play on either wing.
I also want to point one player out that I would love to see more of. I haven’t mentioned his name in this list, but I think Sergio Arribas is a great option too. It seems unlikely that he’d get minutes over the other players, but I think he’s talented enough to at least be considered as a squad rotation player. I liked what I saw from him at the end of last season, and I think he could be a great player if given enough chances.
The rest depends on Ancelotti. I think these are things he needs to address, and his decisions can have an impact on how long he lasts as a Real Madrid coach. He can go ahead and do what he used to do in the past. Or, he can change things around and prove everyone wrong.
Your move, Carlo.