Real Madrid fans have been calling for Eduardo Camavinga to receive more minutes in midfield throughout the 2021/22 season. He has been a difference-maker in his opportunities this season, whether in LaLiga or the Champions League. After his brilliance in the late stages of the second leg against Chelsea, Camavinga fully won over Madridistas.
Since then, he seems to have won over Carlo Ancelotti, too. And if Ancelotti had any lingering doubts about “Cama” and his discipline, the Frenchman did an excellent job of dispelling them on Wednesday night in Pamplona.
But wait, you might say, didn’t Camavinga pick up a booking within the first five minutes of the match?
Well, yes. Yes, he did.
Therein lies the importance of context, though. Camavinga did not deserve that yellow card. He won the aerial ball with his foot first and barely made incidental contact with the Osasuna player thereafter. Camavinga should not have been booked, and that was yet another terrible call made by a LaLiga official.
Eduardo Camavinga is taking on more responsibility for Real Madrid
Despite having to play on a yellow card from that moment on, Camavinga kept his cool. He never once made a questionable challenge or decision or felt like he had to rush into a 50/50 tackle. Whereas Camavinga may have made Carlo nervous over the weekend against Sevilla and had to be subbed after narrowly missing a sending-off, he surely made Ancelotti feel confident in his judgment against Osasuna.
The manager even complimented the 19-year-old post-match, and this is an example of Ancelotti appreciating and acknowledging this immediate improvement from Camavinga.
Ancelotti is on board with the fans and the club. He likes Camavinga. It is not easy to find opportunities with “KCM” still playing at a high level, but we all know that Camavinga is good enough to start for Real Madrid and has earned more minutes. Ancelotti may have had a concern related to the 2021 summer signing’s discipline, but by walking the tightrope flawlessly against Osasuna, the young midfielder proved to the Italian manager that he is mature enough to handle that aspect of the role of the 6.
He is a special player who is already capable of starting for a club like Real Madrid, and fans can only imagine what he can do at this club over the next few years. His performance against Osasuna was yet another comfortably positive one in the fabled Royal White kit, and the confidence with which he played on that yellow defensively is yet another statement that he can handle a larger role.
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Carlo has his trusted veterans, but with their latest performances, Camavinga and another young midfielder, Fede Valverde, are quietly entering that hallowed circle. With Manchester City on the horizon, let’s see how the former Rennes standout continues to make an impact for the Merengues in 2021/22.