Chronicle.Raúl García overwhelms Zidane and Athletic eliminates Real Madrid from the Super Cup
Against
Athletic
, with little success, Zidane was at least able to bring together that trident formed by
Hazard, Benzema and Asensio
with whom he has been dreaming for a year and a half, from the summer transfer market of 2019, a vital moment for
Real Madrid
.
After the unexpected departure of
Cristiano Ronaldo
twelve months earlier, the club was finally faced with the possibility of signing two footballers who could cover part of the gap left by the Portuguese star:
Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic
, more than 160 million euros.
e euros in total.
Also, whites paid 45 for
Rodrygo
, young promise of
Saints
.
A world star, one of the most desired forwards on the continent and one of the pearls of South American football.
It made sense.
The goal was the great burden of that team, which despite an excellent
Benzema
(30 goals) had waited, without luck, the final explosion of
Gareth Bale
as a global leader and star.
It did not happen.
Vinícius Júnior
(45 million) became a shock and great news for the season, but third place in the League and the knockout stages in the Champions League forced them to go to the market.
In addition, Barcelona and Atlético had spent more than one hundred million on
Griezmann and Joao Félix
.Hazard had just won the
Europa League
with Chelsea and being the star of a team that had astonished Russia and Jovic was the second most expensive center forward in that market behind
Romelu lukaku
.
The Belgian's football seemed to fit perfectly with Benzema and on the right Madrid and Spanish football wanted the last step forward from Marco Asensio.
But
everything went wrong
.
Hazard had physical problems in the preseason and Asensio suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and external meniscus.
Low all season.
A blow for any planning.The injury of the Mallorcan and the little continuity of the Belgian gave wings to
Vinicius and Rodrygo
, who accumulated minutes despite their young age.
The first gave overflow and freshness, and the second goal, key for the team.
Rodrygo formed with Hazard and Benzema
Madrid's best trident that year: six wins and two draws when they shared ownership.
Zidane tried it with Bale at the beginning of the course, giving him stripes with Belgian and French against
PSG and Atlético
but the Welsh faded.
The Whites were League champions with a compact block and a decisive Benzema, but with more midfielders than attackers, joining
Isco and Valverde
with Karim and leaving almost no minutes for a shy Jovic in his minutes on the pitch.
In the return before
Manchester City
, with Hazard recovered, the technician again bet on his favorite trident, but it was not enough.
The four times of Hazard, Benzema and Asensio
The short distance between the end of last season and the start of the current one and the new added bad luck have not helped the attack to recover and gain confidence either.
Hazard did not debut until the second day of the Champions League and the eighth of the League;
Jovic did not finish entering the rotation between physical and positive problems due to Covid-19;
Rodrygo was injured for several months
and only Asensio has had the necessary continuity for now, already in January, to be at his best level after the injury.
These circumstances have forced Zidane to vary.
Has tried up
twelve different tridents in four months
and he has only been able to bring together four times the trio that the coach, club and fans want on the pitch: Hazard, Benzema and Asensio.
They started in the wins against Inter (3-2) and Huesca (4-1) and in the last two white punctures, in Pamplona and in the Super Cup against Athletic, both in a strange week conditioned by Filomena. year and a half sound like little, even more so if you observe the regularity of other European tridents such as
Mané, Firmino and Salah
in Liverpool or
Mbappé, Neymar and Di María
in Paris.
Since the summer of 2019, Madrid have played
76 games
officials, Zidane has used
36 combinations
in their attack and the most watched trio have composed it
Hazard, Benzema and Rodrygo,
with only eight chances together in the starting eleven.
The injuries and the state of form of his forwards have been the great headache for Zidane, who in goal, in defense and in midfield has been able to be constant in his line-ups.
Not so in an attack that
has not been able to overcome any of the seven games
in which the marker has been put against him.
The importance of patience
For this reason, from the offices the
frustration
for some results it is accompanied by a certain
patience
, aware that
the pieces will eventually fit together
and that time, especially with Hazard, will reward the wait as it has with Asensio, the best in the Super Cup.
Losing was a blow, they admit, but "it is not a failure", as Zidane also recognized.
"
You have to be patient with Eden
"The Frenchman had an impact, who at the start of the game against Athletic tried a system with the Belgian as playmaker, released and in constant contact with the ball. But after the 0-1 he returned to the left wing, more heeled and without so much participation despite some details, such as the back ball that ended up sending Asensio to the post.
The future of Madrid depends on that connection
, with the league comeback and the eighth of the Champions League against Atalanta as the next big goals.
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