These observations — where I look at Real Madrid’s history, its players on loan, Castilla, tactical tidbits, and other relevant thoughts — are now a regular thing. All previous editions can be found here.
I took some mental notes as I was watching the pre-game press conferences today ahead of Real Madrid’s game against AEK Athens. Consider this a bit of a mental note dump to the quotes from both Eduardo Camavinga and Jose Mourinho:
Eduardo Camavinga
“The truth is, it was a tough, difficult time for me. But I think that
after every negative experience, there are good things I have to learn. I’ve worked really hard this summer and I’m a new man. I’m more disciplined than before. I’m working to repay the faith the club has shown in me. I’ve thought a lot about the things I need to improve. I spoke with the manager and he gave me a lot of confidence.
“I went back to school, it was a very different experience. I worked on things I don’t usually do: discipline, I arrive two or three hours early to work in the gym… Also my mentality, I’m a bit more mature.”
One of the things I’ve always loved about Eduardo Camavinga is that he is infectiously personable. He absolutely lights up the room the one or two times he appears in a press conference in a given season. His teammates love him. He is, for lack of a better word, a vibe.
He was responsible for a lot of the ‘friendship FC’ culture that appeared in the Carlo Ancelotti (2.0) era. Tactically, he was a cheat code: versatile, physically and technically gifted; intelligent between the lines. He has the most nasty slide tackle in world football.
He won a lot, quickly, when he was young — then all the leaders left. Maybe that tested his mentality. He made mistakes in buckets. He regressed. That forced him back into the lab.
Camavinga has always been cognizant of his mistakes. He often speaks, publicly, about his struggles in staying switched on.
He looks ready to get back on track this season. He seems ready to take the next step in his maturation process, and the timing seems to go hand in hand with: A) Zinedine Zidane taking over the French national team; and B) Jose Mourinho’s arrival.
Jose Mourinho
“We have to be serious. We’re close to qualifying for the playoffs, but far from qualifying directly for the round of 16, and we need points. We have to play seriously against a strong team, especially at home. The fact that Real Madrid has only won one of eight matches in Athens is significant. We have to play at our best, we have to play seriously, we have to maintain our level of play because we need points.”
This may age poorly, but I think one of the benefits of having someone like Jose Mourinho is his obsession with consistency and playing every game like it matters more than any other game — even if it’s technically not. He will be obsessed with winning the Copa del Rey; he’ll be obsessed with winning in Athens, he’ll be obsessed with winning every point possible.
And he has the deep squad to do it, and, luckily, squad health so far has been shockingly good. (Knock on wood.)
“The Roma comeback? From an emotional point of view, it can obviously always leave you with something positive. But a turning point in terms of our style of play? I don’t think so, because I believe more in the process than in the moment. We know each other better and better. Every training session and every match gives us the opportunity to improve. We’re also discovering more about each other. Every experience we have helps us understand each other better. And this accumulation of work and experience is what makes teams better. I don’t put much stock in turning points.”
I think if Real Madrid win major trophies this season, we’ll look back on the Roma game as a big turning point in because it was a script written by the football gods that revealed to us exactly what we needed to see:
- What hadn’t worked and will never worked was torched by Roma for most of the game.
- All the things that work were brought forward by Mourinho in the second half, and it worked to perfection, and the team hasn’t looked back since.
That game was effectively the end of the Valverde-Tchouameni double pivot, the nail in the coffin for Dumfries and Vinicius as guaranteed starters, and the rise in prominence for Bernardo, Huijsen, and Diomande.
“I see Fede Valverde as a very important player for the team. Being the captain of Real Madrid makes him see things differently. When you’re the captain, you have to be different; it’s a responsibility, and I think that will make him play wherever is necessary for his team and his teammates. That’s what a captain is to me, and that’s why I’m convinced it won’t be a problem for Fede to play anywhere. The squad is built to play with Valverde in midfield. This means we don’t have many midfielders, and since we don’t have many, I’m sure Valverde will play in midfield again. If you ask me if I’m happy he’s playing at full-back, yes. If you ask me if the team is playing better on that side, yes. But in midfield, we have Tchouameni, Camavinga, Bernardo, Thiago, and that’s it. That’s why I say Fede will play at full-back, because we all like him that way, but he’ll also have to play in midfield.”
This is a real question Lucas and I received on the mailbag:
My answer to this, and I’m paraphrasing, was something along the lines of: “Well, the answer is Achraf Hakimi, who is the best right-back in the world. But part of the reason Achraf is the best right-back in the world is because he’s an established right-back and is lightning quick bombing up and down the wing. But, hypothetically, if Fede Valverde played every game as a right-back for the next two years, why would he not be considered the best if he kept this pace?”
We have a ton of data now that suggests Fede as a right-back is essentially both unstoppable offensively but also extremely good defensively 1v1.
I also have something intangible to present here: Fede is a better captain and leader when he plays as right-back as oppose to the double-pivot, and I think it’s because he’s just more heavily involved in everything the team does. Against RB Leipzig, for example, he had the most touches of anyone on the field. He doesn’t hide when he’s on the right. He actively demands for the ball with confidence (something he doesn’t do nearly as well when he’s in the middle and asked to be the primary ball progressor). He also gets way more opportunities to provide assists and get into shooting positions.
Valverde is an unstoppable player when used properly.
Right now he’s unstoppable because he is being used properly.
“How long does the team need to reach perfection? Three years. Three seasons.”
If you told me right now that Mourinho would be here three seasons, I would sign with my own blood. Any time a manager at Real Madrid lasts three season, that means he’s been successful.
