Do we really need him (Photo by branquinholxpt)
Why are Real Madrid so obsessed with signing a left back this season? Well, football used to be a game of having a best 11 but now a days because of teams like Barcelona, clubs need to have depth in their squad. Is this what Real Madrid’s manager Jose Mourinho is trying to achieve with the signing of Coentrao?
It could be. Real Madrid has Marcelo who is fast becoming one of the best left backs in the world under Jose Mourinho. Coentrao was a total reject some time back. He was not even wanted by Real Zaragoza. Well, how times change. Coentrao improved his game a lot and fast became one of the best left backs in the world.
Same was the case with Marcelo. Inside 12 months, Marcelo went from being a fringe player at Real Madrid to one of the best left backs in the world, he is the third captain of the team, has formed a magnificent partnership with Ronaldo on the left wing and improved his defensive skills a lot. He became much more considerable while attacking as well.
Most of Real Madrid fans do not want Real Madrid to sign another left back including myself (atleast a couple of days ago). But Mourinho is a no nonsense kind of a coach when it comes to summer transfer targets. Some people say it is because Mourinho, Ronaldo and Coentrao have the same agent and that is why Mourinho wants to sign Coentrao.
This fact can be disregarded because we all know very well how strict Mourinho is about keeping his interest on the field and off the field very very distant relative to each other. Point is, Mourinho wants coentrao and it is not because of his relationships with Jorge Mendes (their common agent).
Even though Mourinho has said that Arbeloa impressed him the most in this current Real Madrid squad, game time shows that Marcelo actually was in the good books of Jose Mourinho. Mourinho rarely used Arbeloa throughout the course of the season and the signing of Coentrao, means more competition for Marcelo.
Marcelo made left back position at Real Madrid his own after the arrival of Jose Mourinho. Don’t know what Mourinho did with Marcelo but Marcelo seems to have been waiting for Mourinho to arrive at Real Madrid for him to showcase his true talents.
But despite the fact that Marcelo has performed really well for Real Madrid this last season, doubts remain in the mind of Mourinho and many of Real Madrid fans in the defensive skills of Marcelo which do become quite questionable in the big games. Especially his sense of position when defending against good attackers is really not up there with the best of the world.
If Real Madrid want to break Barcelona’s dominance in Europe and in La Liga, then Real Madrid have to win games against big teams when it counts. One thing is clear, with or without Marcelo, Real Madrid will be able to beat any team in Europe. We can beat Barcelona too but for that to happen we need good defenders who can stay focused on their defensive duties throughout the 90 minutes. A second here and there can make all the difference when it comes to playing teams like Barcelona who pass the ball like hell.
Mourinho has put a lot of faith in Portuguese players since moving to Real Madrid and though he has barely coached in Portugal for the last half a decade or so, he knows their football rather well. Better than most actually. Jose Mourinho has given the leadership role to Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid. At the back he has Carvalho to lead the defense and Pepe was the surprise weapon Mourinho used effectively against Barcelona in the 4 clasico’s this season.
May be Mourinho understands Portuguese players really well. May be they suit his system perfectly. By the looks of it, Mourinho admires the tactical discipline of Portuguese players and their ability to carry out instructions that are sometimes quite complex.
With that said, shelling out 20 million euros for a left back is quite lavish. Especially given the fact after Ronaldo, Marcelo was Real Madrid’s best player last season and he is a left back. Real Madrid have a rather strong left back and you would think that would be the last position Real Madrid would add strength too.
Coentrao is desperate to join Real Madrid. That can be observed by his interview in which he clearly said that he would play in any position for Jose Mourinho except in goal. That basically means that he wants Real Madrid and he wants Real Madrid bad.
Or may be Mourinho is planning something different altogether. May be he does not want Coentrao to play as a left back at all. If you look at coentrao’s game a little closely you would see that he rarely uses his right foot. While he has great speed, skill and stamina, one thing that is not so great about him is his right foot. Angel Di Maria is another player who does not have the best of right foots.
What does this lead to? Angel Di Maria formed a devastating partnership with a certain left back with his former club Benfica. This time you do get a prize for guessing that, that left back was none other than Coentrao. Same thing happened when Maria was signed. People said that Real Madrid already have Ronaldo so how can Maria play on the left. What did we see then? He did not play on the left, he played on the right.
Such a system which would allow Maria and Coentrao to link together again, would see Sergio Ramos play in the center of defense alongside Carvalho with Pepe being the alternative. Mourinho in all likelihood will also consider deploying Pepe as the midfield destroyer in big games. The 4 Clasico’s against Barcelona gave us enough proof of whether Pepe can flourish in that role.
We do not know for sure what Mourinho is thinking right now and what will be his decisions about Marcelo and Coentrao. Hell, we do not even know if Coentrao is coming to Real Madrid. But what we do know is that Mourinho is not afraid of benching world class players. Last season players such as Kaka, Benzema, Oezil, Higuain and Diarra were left out of the squad for extended periods of time and same thing could happen with Marcelo or Coentrao as well.
But what else is the choice for Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho. Real Madrid need to beat perhaps the best team of 11 players this world has ever seen. Perhaps Jose Mourinho thinks that he needs to have two world class players for every position. Every position. That idea could further be cemented in Mourinho’s mind by the destruction of BPL Champions Manchester United at the hands of Barcelona.
Playing the best left back in the world, for some, on the right may be weird way to go about beating Barcelona but if someone can beat Barcelona, then its not Real Madrid. It is Real Madrid lead by Jose Mourinho.
Please read our tiny Comment Policy by cliking here
Related posts:
