Xabi Alonso is changing things, slowly but surely. He is trusting the untrusted. Humbling the hyped. In short, he is bringing balance to a team that desperately needed it.
Real Madrid, more than most, is a team built on a delicate mix of fixed factors and shifting variables.
And like any great side, it needs the variables to be dynamic. Under Carlo Ancelotti, Arda Guler was not part of those variables at all.
He was nowhere in the Italian’s plans until the very end of last season, when it was already too late to unlock his true quality.
That has now changed. For Guler, Ancelotti’s departure may have been a tough goodbye, but in truth, it was the turning point of his career.
Xabi Alonso’s trusted Real Madrid gem tops Europe in key playmaking stat
To bench Guler was, in my view, a crime, and Ancelotti was guilty of it. Alonso has corrected that mistake already.
Guler is now a trusted starter with greater responsibility and freedom on the pitch, and it shows.
The numbers he is producing back up Alonso’s faith. According to Squawka, Arda Guler leads all of Europe’s top five leagues this season for chances created, with 10 in total.
Behind him are Sevilla’s Dodi Lukebakio with 9, Nicolas Pepe and Mason Greenwood with 8 each, Ousmane Dembele and Anton Stach with 7, and Yeremy Pino, Tom Louchet, Raphinha, and Edu Exposito with 6 each.
For a 22-year-old who hardly played last season, creating 5 chances per game after two matches is staggering.
Of course, the table will shift as the season progresses, and Guler may not remain on top, but to be there this early is an achievement in itself.
Alonso is doing many things right, but this might be his best decision so far. Guler deserves trust, and he has earned it.
This kid has the potential to be the face of Real Madrid, and I am not exaggerating, he is simply that good.