When Karim Benzema left in the summer, Real Madrid not only lost their captain and talisman but also their main source of goals. While almost everyone was convinced that a certain Frenchman would arrive to fill his fellow countryman’s boots, the transfer saga of Kylian Mbappe seems unending at the moment.
The summer transfer window has provided a solution to Carlo Ancelotti. One nobody could have seen coming. With Jude Bellingham enjoying a dream start at Real Madrid and scoring in his first three games for the club, it looks like Los Blancos do not plan to make any more additions.
Giving that confidence to the coach is a man who was still a teenager when he signed for Los Blancos in June. Bellingham is not just another prospect though.
Birmingham City, an English Championship club, retired Bellingham’s No 22 shirt in July 2020 when he was transferred to Borussia Dortmund at 17 years of age. Edin Terzic once described him as ‘the oldest 19-year-old I have ever met‘.
Bellingham: Real Madrid’s new Galactico in the making
The ’22’ itself had significance. Bellingham had worn that number for Birmingham City, Borussia Dortmund and England, and it’s no coincidence. It goes back to his days at the youth levels with the Blues. They came up with 22 as he had the ability to be a number 4, a number 8 and a number 10, someone who can do it all.
He can do the not-so-nice bits of the game; breaking play up, running around, making tackles, so he could play in deeper areas as a ‘4’. The ‘8’ would be the box-to-box player, getting up and down with energy and driving the team on. And your ’10’ would be scoring and creating. He played all three to perfection in Germany earning himself the Bundesliga Player of the Season in 2022/23, even though Borussia Dortmund came up short in the title race.
Bellingham also has clear leadership qualities. When Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus was sidelined with injury and vice-captain Mats Hummels was also unavailable, the Englishman, then a teenager, ended up with the armband. He thus became the youngest skipper in the Bundesliga history.
Real Madrid have been very smart with their handling of the Englishman so far. On arrival, he was handed over the number 5 shirt, something not part of the computation for Bellingham but a number with a huge history at Santiago Bernabeu.
It, of course, was previously worn by Zinedine Zidane. Bellingham is believed to consider the Frenchman and Real Madrid icon as one of his idols.
Los Blancos seemed very clear with their message that despite the plethora of midfielders at the club they had complete faith in the Englishman. How many teenagers have been guaranteed starters in their domestic league let alone at Real Madrid?
Even in pre-season, Ancelotti opted for a 4-3-1-2 with Bellingham at the tip of the diamond, in the most advanced midfield role. It was a surprise against Celta Vigo, when Vinicius Junior got injured, the manager substituted on Joselu as his like-for-like replacement even though they are nothing alike.
Ancelotti is a very smart tactician and knows the game better than most ever will. With no number 9 of Benzema’s calibre on his roster, he knows the goals have to come from different sources. He has devised a system that is very narrow traditionally but added a touch of his own by adding speedy wingers up front, who can drift wide when needed.
Using this formation allows the team to keep the same pressing sequence whether going forward or in defence with plenty of technical midfielders who will block the passing lanes for opposition full-backs. The defence can choose to stay compact and play through the middle or depending on the game situation release one of the full-backs.
Of course, those with a keen memory will remember a similar system Ancelotti devised to great success at Chelsea back in the 2009/10 season. Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Deco formed the midfield diamond for the Blues while Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka were the duo up top.
One thing is very clear Ancelotti has devised a perfect game plan for the players he has available to him at Real Madrid right now. With things set up as they are right now, it seems like a perfect environment for someone like Bellingham to thrive and he is already doing exactly that.