It has been a season for Eder Militao to remember thus far. Ever since joining Real Madrid from Porto in 2018/19, the Brazilian had failed to live up to the high expectations that the €50 million price tag brought. But we cannot blame Militao for this, can we?
It was the lack of opportunities that came his way in the initial seasons of his Real Madrid career. It was the period when Los Blancos’ attack was already struggling, so obviously, no manager would want to bench Sergio Ramos or Raphael Varane- the two undisputed starters, to play a new promising young defender.
But as Jean Jacques Rousseau said, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet”. Eder Militao never looked down. He knew he had to face this challenge and work hard. He knew his time would come, and when it does, he has to show the world what he is capable of. And this is exactly what he did.
When Sergio Ramos got injured in 2020, Eder Militao finally got his chance to prove himself and show his worth to the club. He knew that it was a now or never chance for him. Initially, Militao was not too good, pretty satisfactory. But he did show some promising sparks.
As the season continued, Eder Militao got better and better and as the 2020-21 season came close to an end, we saw Eder Militao like never before. There was definitely some scope of improvement, but he did silence those who asked questions about his presence.
This season too we saw Eder Militao play some great football. Despite having different centre backs pairing with him, he adapted well with each of them and he has just got better with every match this season.
So, what has he improved upon? Let’s talk about that.
1. Crisp Long Passes and Long Shots:
I think everyone has noticed this lately. Eder Militao has tried shooting from distance a few times in the past few matches. It all started with an attempt against Sevilla, the most competitive team this season.
In the 32nd minute, the Brazilian attempted a long shot, which came as a surprise to Bono. The goalkeeper did try to push the ball away. But since he wasn’t much prepared for such a surprise, the weak push struck the post and deflected back to Karim Benzema for an easy tap-in goal.
Since then, we have seen some similar attempts in many games. Especially the ones in which Real Madrid had trouble breaking the opponent team’s backline. For instance, the Cadiz game. The tightly packed Yellow Submarines gave no spaces to Los Blancos to exploit. They knew how dangerous Real Madrid is on the counter-attacks and when they find spaces.
Another similar fixture was against Getafe. After scoring early on in the game, they tried to stay as compact as they could and thus, got away with a narrow victory. It was yet another game when we saw Eder Militao try his luck from distance.
But is it just his long shots? No, long passing too. Have you guys noticed? In the recent game against Athletic Bilbao, Eder Militao launched a pass to Rodrygo Goes on the right-wing. It was a little far to the Brazilian, who could not manage to keep the ball in. But that pass was like a flashback. It reminded me of the pass by Toni Kroos to Vinicius Junior last season in the UEFA Champions League game against Liverpool and by David Alaba to Karim Benzema against Levante to set up a goal for Gareth Bale.
It wasn’t the first time I was impressed by Eder Militao’s ability of long passes. We have seen it plenty of times lately, and most of these to Vinicius Junior to switch the play. To justify this, the statistics are enough. Averaging the 26 games he has played for Real Madrid so far, Eder Militao completes 3.3 Long Balls a game.
How did Eder Militao manage to improve his vision and accuracy with those shots and passes? Well, the credit goes to the management. But are they the only reason? To be very honest, no. I believe that David Alaba also had a major role in this.
A player always learns a lot from his partners, and that is the case here too. Alaba is a very crucial player, and the way he has impressed everyone in such a short period, I think that he has been very influential. Eder Militao and David Alaba depend on each other a lot, and they respect each other’s qualities a lot.
Since the Austrian brings in years of experience, Eder Militao sees him as a role model and thus can be seen as a reason for the Brazilian to be very passionate about learning the skill that makes Alaba a special player.
2. Improved Heading Accuracy:
1.86 meter tall Eder Militao has worked a lot on making the most of his height.
Till now, we have seen Militao take advantage of his height mostly in defending the team in set pieces. With his high jumping, the Brazilian has been able to clear any dangerous crosses put in the box by the opponents. This is evident by the average of 2.5 Aerial Duels won per game,
The way plays and dominates in the air, reminds me of Raphael Varane. The former Madridista was a very crucial player for the club in the last few years and Real Madrid saw him as a future leader of the backline. The Frenchman was a great defender and one of the best in the world. Yet to reach his prime, Raphael Varane decided against renewing his contract with the club and thus left the Spanish capital of Madrid in the summer.
Raphael Varane was a great defender, using his height to a good effect. But he lacked a finishing touch when in the attack. We have often seen Varane managing to head the ball, but it would either land in the goalkeeper’s gloves or would be off target.
A similar problem is with Eder Militao too. He has scored some crucial goals, but he hasn’t been as effective as Sergio Ramos was from set pieces. Our former captain and leader was always a threat, and that would always be beneficial to the club.
And now this brings me to an important point, why Eder Militao must improve his heading in the final third. Have you noticed that Real Madrid hasn’t been a threat from set-pieces this season?
Los Blancos has scored a few goals from corners or free-kicks this season, but it is nothing compared to the number it was last season. Without the likes of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, the opponent’s defenders have to cover Karim Benzema and thus we are not able to capitalise on the crosses yet.
Eder Militao’s heading accuracy has improved a lot as compared to the last season, but I believe that there is still a lot of room for improvement. If Militao can improve his ability to score, he would do wonders for the club, and might even be recognised as one of the top-scoring defenders, just like his idol, Sergio Ramos.
3. Better Defensive Awareness:
Wonder how Eder Militao has been so good defensively with each passing game? The key to being a good defender is spot-on tackling. But to play for Real Madrid, you cannot be just good. You have to be the best.
And what is the key to that? A great defender is one who is always cautious, always focused, and always aware of his surroundings. As I mentioned in the last slide as well, a player always tends to learn positive things from his teammates.
And who has Eder Militao learned this from? Real Madrid’s old guard- Nacho Fernandez. The Spaniard is one of the most experienced defenders in Real Madrid’s squad this season. Not only this, despite being a bench player for most of his career at Real Madrid, Nacho has often proved his worth when he got the chance and his loyalty is something to be valued.
I don’t remember the match or the name, but a commentator once said that there are two types of defenders- the cautious one and the one who stays positive on the field. Nacho is the cautious one. He is always focused and it is this quality that makes him a special player. He gives his 100% and his focus is what minimizes the scope for mistakes.
Apart from this, training is an important routine of a player’s career and helps a lot in improving all aspects of his game. What surprises so many fans is how much Eder Militao has improved in such a short period. When a player trains with beasts like Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, he is got to improve.
If you noticed, this season, his tackles have been very spot on and his timing has been perfect. Statistically speaking, the Brazilian averages 1.77 tackles a game. Apart from that, he averages 1.9 interceptions and 3 clearances a game. These statistics are very impressive and have earned him a lot of recognition in recent months.
Eder Militao has done a pretty decent job in learning Nacho’s quality. He has made a few mistakes in the past few games, but the Brazilian has been doing well overall and his defensive awareness has improved with time. A more focused Eder Militao can achieve great heights of success and a lot of trophies at Real Madrid.