It’s almost ludicrous to even think about, but you’d struggle to place Gareth Bale in Real Madrid’s starting line-up these days. Madrid are flying sky high at the moment, they’ve won 11 on the trot in all competitions and scored an astonishing 46 goals in the process.
Carlo Ancelotti’s squad have moved far past their early season growing pains at a much faster rate than they did last season, and seem to have achieved almost perfect balance between defence and attack. Surprisingly, or not depending on who you ask, they’ve done this without Gareth Bale who has spent the past few weeks recovering from his buttock injury.
News of Bale’s injury came to light a few days before their crucial test at Anfield a couple weeks ago. Prior to the game, despite Madrid’s impressive form, pundits wondered how they would hold up against a higher quality opponent in a hostile environment. Yet a first-half master class put all the doubters to rest as Madrid quite easily dispatched of Liverpool. This would provided the impetus and confidence that would lead to their fantastic performance in El Clasico as Madrid played an almost perfect game against the previously undefeated (in La Liga) Barcelona.
But apart from these big results against the giants of European football it’s the kind of football Madrid are playing that’s really caught the eye. They are a fluid team, constantly in motion and always working for each other. Even Cristiano Ronaldo, constantly criticised for his “selfishness”, has been more than happy to share the load in recent weeks, sometimes almost to a fault.
The star of the show and the reason this debate is even seeing the light of day has been the performance of playmaker Isco. Carlo Ancelotti’s experiment – the transformation of the young Spaniard into a fully capable central midfielder – is almost complete. Isco’s defensive work has come on leaps and bounds in the past year, and coupled with his already silky footwork and his improved decision-making, he’s been perhaps the brightest of the bunch in the past few games.
Isco’s defensive work, combined with the surprising tenacity of James Rodriguez alongside Luka Modric’s and Toni Kroos’ calmness in midfield, has been an absolute nightmare for teams to defend and attack against. None of the four are particularly brilliant defensively but together in Ancelotti’s 4-4-2 they combine perfectly.
Compare this to the at times fragmented nature of the team when Bale plays. This isn’t really a slight at Bale; we all saw what the BBC could do last season, but with Bale’s movement mostly glued to the wing, Madrid’s midfield becomes vulnerable to the counter. Yet when Bale is on the pitch anything can happen. Bale was brought in to give Madrid another option that could carry them at the most crucial moments. He’s delivered on his promise as well, game-winning goals in the Copa Del Rey and Champions League finals a testament to his sheer ability.
That’s why he was brought in, not necessarily for the game to game performances, something he’s also been capable of providing, but more for that “X” factor.
Isco may feel hard done by when the Welshman inevitably takes his place in the starting line-up, but if there is one person who can manage any potential issues it’s Carlo Ancelotti.
