In the long history of Real Madrid, there have been a lot of players who got the chance to play for the biggest football club on the planet. Some of those players left their mark at Madrid and became some of the most iconic legends of the club.
But there are some players, who had a great time with Real Madrid but can’t be called legends of this club. Their contribution to this club has been somewhat forgotten by a lot of fans. There have been a lot of such players from different eras, but today let’s remember three such forgotten stars of the 2010s, whose contribution to Los Blancos is truly worth remembering.
1. Fabio Coentrao
We all celebrate our club legend Marcelo as one of the greatest left-backs of all time, while some people like Toni Kroos rate the Brazilian as the greatest in his position. But there was a time when it looked like the generational full-back was going to become a second-choice left-back, to make way for another player. That one player who was able to challenge Marcelo was Fabio Coentrao, who’s the first name on this list.
He was signed from Benfica in the summer of 2011, for a fee of 30 million euros, amidst competition from Bayern Munich and Chelsea. At the time of his signing, people really didn’t know if he was signed as a backup to Marcelo, or as a replacement for the Brazilian.
Practically, he was a backup for Marcelo but got to play more than 2000 minutes in each of his first two seasons at Madrid. He was used well by his compatriot Jose Mourinho and was preferred to Marcelo in the Champions League.
The fact that Coentrao is a two-way full-back and is more responsible in defence when compared to Marcelo, made him the manager’s choice against attacking sides in the Champions League. He performed every time he was given an opportunity, which was something that challenged Marcelo, and made the Brazilian push his limits.
He was used against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the 2014 Champions League semifinals, and he had the best games of his career in those two legs against the German club. He also started in the historic La Decima final against Atletico Madrid but was subbed off due to injury. After that season, he was rewarded with a contract extension until 2019.
At this point, it seemed like Coentrao had the upper hand over Marcelo in their competition for the left-back position. But the advantage was short-lived, as regular injuries made his 2014/15 season a disappointing one.
After that season, people started to wonder if Coentrao was really a Real Madrid player anymore, as he spent two seasons on loan at AS Monaco and Sporting Lisbon. In the 2016/17 season, he couldn’t even get to play 300 minutes at Madrid.
He finally left Real Madrid in 2018, as the club terminated his contract. He has retired from professional football now and is leading his life as a fisherman.
He isn’t a Real Madrid legend by any means but played a key role in Real’s Champions League triumph in 2013/14 and LaLiga title win in 2011/12. He had three great seasons at the club, and that contribution is worth remembering. After all, he wasn’t any average player. He was a talented and hardworking player.
2. Lassana Diarra
We often see creative midfielders taking the No.10 jersey at any club. Still, at Real Madrid, that number was owned by a defensive midfielder for two years, before being reclaimed by an attacking midfielder in Mesut Ozil. That player was Lassana Diarra, who played for Real Madrid from 2009 to 2012.
The Frenchman was signed from Portsmouth in January 2009, for a fee of 20 million euros. The club valued his signing so much that they preferred him to another winter signing Klass Jan-Huntelaar when they had the option of picking only one new signing for the Champions League knockouts.
He was used in almost every LaLiga game in his first season at Real but eventually saw his importance reduce in 2009/10, after the signing of the legendary Xabi Alonso. He was left out of the squad for some games, but he was used well and got over 2000 minutes in all competitions.
The actual challenge started for him when Jose Mourinho, a manager with whom he fell out at Chelsea, became the Madrid manager. The Portuguese manager didn’t see the midfielder as someone who should start every game but chose the right oppositions to unleash Diarra as a starter. And the fact that Diarra could play in multiple positions wasn’t ignored by Mourinho.
Diarra didn’t have the most intimidating physical structure, but he was one strong player. He was a relentless workhorse and a proper destroyer with excellent defensive skills. He wasn’t a highly creative player, but his ability to win the ball out of nowhere helped the team launch lightning-quick counterattacks.
Following the signing of Sami Khedira in 2011, Diarra realised that his minutes would significantly reduce and wanted to leave the club. But he stayed for another season and became a part of the team that won the LaLiga title, playing more than 1600 minutes. He finally left the club in the 2012 summer for the Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, after spending three and a half seasons in Madrid. Ironically, it was the longest time he had spent at any club in his career.
The last club that employed Diarra was PSG, and the Frenchman retired from professional football in 2019, after the Qatar-owned club terminated his contract.
Diarra was never really seen as a Madrid star, but he was a good squad player, who could perform whenever he was asked to do so. It never looked like he was going to stay at the club for a long time, but he had a decent time in his Madrid stint.
3. Ricardo Carvalho
Whenever we discuss about the centre-backs of Real Madrid in the last decade, we take the names of Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Raphael Varane, and even Nacho. But Ricardo Carvalho, who was once a starter for the club, is often forgotten.
Ricardo Carvalho was targetted by Real Madrid a lot of times when he was at Chelsea, but they couldn’t get him because of Jose Mourinho. But the club finally got their man in 2010, for 8 million euros, just days after Jose Mourinho became the Real Madrid manager. He reunited with the man who trained him at Porto and led his team to a Champions League title. He was signed at the age of 32, and if I’m not wrong he has to be the oldest player signed by the club in the last decade.
He was in his thirties, but he adapted well with age and played for Real Madrid as a regular starter. He was a vital cog of Real Madrid’s backline, forming a rock-solid duo with Pepe. He played the whole 120 minutes in that historic Copa Del Rey final against Barcelona, and had a great game, maintaining a clean sheet.
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He couldn’t play a lot in 2011/12, due to injuries that kept him out on the sidelines for a long while. These long-term injuries changed Mourinho’s view of Carvalho as an aging defender, and the Portuguese manager made it clear that he wouldn’t count on the defender next season. But Carvalho continued at the club for another year, won another trophy, and played more than 1500 minutes whilst not being the first choice. He then left for AS Monaco in 2013, joining them as a free agent.
He joined the club in search of a new challenge, and did well at the club, winning three titles in his three years at Real Madrid.