Let the finger-pointing begin
Keen observers of the Madrid press will have noticed that in the flood of articles, thinkpieces and analysis, the first reports emerged declaring that Florentino Pérez was doubts about Carlo Ancelotti. Not for the first time, it should be said. Yet the affable Italian had managed to postpone those articles for a good nine months after winning a Champions League and La Liga double, against plenty if not all odds.
Whenever Real Madrid struggle under Ancelotti, it is important to remember that the he was not only far from Pérez’s first choice, but there is a chance that he might have been considering bringing in someone else last summer before he was so successful. He has a contract until 2024, but that means little in the White House.
The article declared that the recent run of poor results, namely the Supercopa thrashing in Saudi Arabia, failure to win the Madrid derby, and this latest El Clásico loss, had begun to plant a seed of doubt in the President’s mind as to whether Ancelotti was indeed the masterful manager he praised so much last June. No doubt the seven-point deficit to Barcelona in La Liga is not helping.
Yet there is a fair argument to say that digging a little deeper than the surface, Ancelotti is not the largest cause of what can be cautiously referred to as a ‘poor run’. Of course, the Italian has flaws, but this season was set up for the squad’s weaknesses to be exposed.
The cardinal sin Ancelotti was accused of last season was a lack of rotation. The Italian has, with the exception of the almost irrepressible Vinícius Júnior, rotated as much as possible. As Ancelotti pointed out recently, Los Blancos have just two points less than at this stage last season, while Xavi Hernández deflected criticism by reminding the press that Barcelona are accumulating points at an almost historic rate.
In the Supercopa, Real Madrid looked half-fit – a product of Antonio Pintus’ carefully constructed conditioning plan. Ancelotti’s compatriot was brought back at the behest of the club, and while not doubting his record (it worked last season), the manager did not implement that plan. Throughout the season, it’s been seen how Real Madrid have mended and made do without Benzema, but even with the Frenchman back, he has not been the same player as last season. If anything Real Madrid have handled that far better than could have been expected.
Injuries were to be predicted with the curiously timed World Cup, and even more so when arguably the leaders of the midfield (Luka Modric) and the attack are aged 37 and 35. When Los Blancos looked short of ideas against Atlético and Barcelona, it was 18-year-old Álvaro Rodríguez they had to turn to – who started the season in the C side of their under-19s. There was the half-fit Rodrygo Goes too, but it looks a little disappointing when considering that he was supposed to have all of the above plus Kylian Mbappé instead of Marco Asensio. The lack of ideas was in part down to a lack of mental freshness.
More recently on Thursday, Ronald Araújo shut down Vinícius once more, while Fede Valverde moved inside. The logical next course of action to break down a deeper defence would be to make the pitch wider using the full-backs. None of Nacho Fernández, Eduardo Camavinga, Ferland Mendy or David Alaba (had they been fit) are especially skilled at doing so. On the other side, Lucas Vázquez has not been fit either, injured during the spell of building up fitness in January.
The simple fact is that the two biggest differences to Real Madrid this season have been the domestic form of Barcelona, and the fixture congestion. To say that nobody could have foreseen this would be to ignore the fact the issues of depth were loudly highlighted last season and over the summer – Ancelotti worked miracles in the Champions League too.
Whomever is in charge will likely look like they have dealt these issues better for the lack of World Cup next season, and probable reinforcements. Ultimately Pérez holds the power and the demands at Real Madrid are the highest in football. Could Ancelotti have done things better or differently in those three games? Naturally. But if the finger-pointing starts in the summer, the Italian would be well within his rights get his own index digit out.