One of the most trending topics in the football world right
now: The departure of Xabi Alonso from Real Madrid to Bayern Munich and the
effect of it which resulted a rare poor start to the new season for Los
Blanco’s. The Spanish giants lost the Spanish Super Cup to their neighbors Atletico
Madrid by 2-1 on aggregate over two legs.
The poor start continued in La Liga too where the La Decima
holders were defeated 4-2 by Real Sociedad before they went down 1-0 and Atletico were the villains again. The problematic midfield was identified and highlighted as
the issue. Coach Carlo Ancelotti also stressed that the imbalance and lack of
solidity at the centre cost them those games and he promised to bring back the
stability like he did in the previous year.
From that point onwards, the team improved defensively, but
not attained the level of balance offered by the great maestro XABI ALONSO.
The former Liverpool man was the key in midfield for Real
throughout the last season. The experience and vision he provided is
irreplaceable and the boots left by him are as heavy as a mountain for any other to shoulder.
Real Madrid knew the aging of Xabi very well and were desperate to replace the veteran, always they do replace. But in Alonso’s
case, the truth is they have not succeeded yet. Last season, by surprise, RM bought a fellow Spaniard for
nearly €30m who is often termed as “The next Xabi” and they brought him to the
Barnabeu as a long term replacement of the former. Asier illarramendi was
bought with high expectations and also a heavy load waited for him to bear.
But the youngster was never given an opportunity to prove his
worth. Coach Carlo Ancelotti played Alonso and Luka Modric over the new comer in
the starting XI and that is not a surprise. Rightly so, the duo won him the La Decima,
a dream the mighty Madrid long waited to achieve.
Still, whenever Illarra appeared on the pitch, his quality
was there for everyone to see. But that doesn’t convince the coach who
preferred him in the benches and as a second half substitute.
The things have changed; Xabi left Madrid and a situation
rose which might have pleased Illarra. Real started to struggle and lost their
balance.
The young fellow possesses a large amount of qualities that
Xabi Alonso has. He is solid in the midfield, can see the game defensively. His
passing is not bad either. With the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and James
Rodriguez ahead of him who can create a lot, Illara can easily drop deep to
provide the balance what Ancelotti is crying for and he is a specialist in
that.
The game against Deportivo La Coruna is the best example for
the ability of the little Spaniard. Even though Real thrashed Deportivo by
putting 8 past them, they indeed were imbalanced. The lack of solidity in
defense is clearly visible when Deportivo scored their first goal.
Once the U-21 European Championship winner was introduced in
the second half, magic happened. Madrid seemed more stable and were tough to
break. The mid fielder provided more defensive stuff which eased the pressure
on Sergio Ramos and Pepe. After that Kroos seemed more relaxed and was involved
more in attacking.
Instead of looking for replacements globally, real can well
use their home grown talent and they won’t regret if they do.
Coming back to the question: Can Illarramendi fill in Xabi
Alonso’s boots? YES, He can, that’s the answer from me. But the Spaniard must
be given more playing time and some much needed FAITH from the authorities.
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