No one will talk about Fed Valverde when they remember Real Madrid’s last Champions League final, and that’s a mistake | Relief

If Real Madrid have shown anything in recent years, it is that rational analysis does not fit into their way of interpreting the game. Not in his mind. This explains why dominance by others almost never leads to real advantages and that the poor play of some of their best players leaves them without a chance to play metal. For years, whites have based their aura on an obscene accumulation of talent, competitiveness, and resilience. and against Borussia Dortmund, everything that Real Madrid is crystallized in a victory that does not boast, but allows us to understand the winning team. From Ancelotti and his adjustments to the silent dominance of Fede Valverde.

Only at the Etihad, where Real Madrid played their special early Champions League final, did Carlo Ancelotti’s men find it more difficult to hurt their opponents, subdue them, drown them and get noticed. In the match against Borussia Dortmund, Rodrigo, Vinicius and Bellingham each had 10 touches in the opponent’s penalty area, which is the second lowest figure in the Champions League., which is proof of the mud in which Terzic placed them for most of the match, depriving Ancelotti’s men of their usual form in which they could naturally recognize themselves. The goals came from set pieces and after a serious mistake by Maatsen, as if the goal could only be scored in this way.

The unstoppable rise of Fede Valverde

The Ballon d’Or is likely to go to Vinicius (a possible argument for the German could be the Kroos EuroCup) and the Champions League final has its stamp, with a play that led to a corner before the score was 0-1 and a title-confirming goal, but for many minutes the white fan was none other than Federico Valverde, a player accustomed to less spectacular perfection, one that has almost no adjectives to do it justice, because there is nothing in it that can attract attention. In the worst moments in Real Madrid’s history, Fede was the player who understood the game better than anyone, speeded it up and gave meaning to missing possessions.

Positioned as a right-centre player, Valverde showed that his football is no longer complementary, but general. He went through the stages without raising his voice, taking on the role he was given with naturalness and generosity: striker, full-back, midfielder or central defender, because in fact the Uruguayan is a great footballer, one who thinks and processes things in a level. with a speed greater than men imagine, and with a course and travel which few contemporaries can achieve. It’s clear that Kroos is his idol, as their stylistic differences are proportional to their tactical similarities.

His tactical sense gave his team a strategic advantage. Reception in internal zones, taking advantage of the fact that the opponent is focusing on a different profile (Vinicius, Bellingham and Rodrygo) or turning from the outside to stretch the auxiliaries and open up the interior spaces, in Fed the player born from a collective need and the one who finishes converge, closing the circle to give greater meaning to the collective. . There were no smarter passes than his and no better decisions than the ones he made over the course of 90 minutes. At 25 years old, Federico Valverde is much more than anyone could have imagined when he arrived at Real Madrid.

Ancelotti’s half-time adjustment to stifle the opposition

Carlo Ancelotti leads his people from a roof too high to reach. The Italian has five Champions League titles (more than anyone else) and the confidence in his decisions of a man who has already failed, more than anyone else, to know what to do and what not to do. but at the same time, there is nothing about Carlo that makes you think of his huge track record, because the coach asks, listens and includes everything else in his decisions.. He is a coach who gets players involved and it is only through this two-pronged lens that we can understand how Real Madrid avoid unfavorable approaches.

Dortmund dominated the first half from start to finish. From a very aggressive 4-4-2 formation, With Sabitzer jumping on Kroos’ moves, Terzic’s men embarrassed Real Madrid, cutting off their main communication channel and exploiting White’s unsuccessful retreat with precise counterattacks. Direct, neat and concentrated play. And Ancelotti acted. The main change was the position of Kroos, who went from playing prone in profile to playing almost like a libero, receiving so low that no opponent would jump on him, weaving the threads from a height too low to cause pressure. Fede lost height, but his loss was compensated by Rodrigo in this profile, who at least appeared in the final.

Also, in defense, Real Madrid changed their game plan. Instead of pressing in a 4-4-2, they started to defend passively in a 4-5-1, giving up height in exchange for forcing Borussia Dortmund to take over, and it paid off because, despite the fact that if we had less ball, the opponent would have less space to run. This will create a false sense of dominance while giving Real more security and time to escape. Ancelotti’s greatness lies precisely in the fact that he makes decisions that a priori seem to minimize his own.

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The match was marked by the ineffectiveness of the Germans and the punctuality of Real Madrid. As always, their opponent failed to take advantage of the opportunities available to them in their best moments, thereby missing the opportunity to take the lead, and White took the signal diligently. Physically and technically, these are players of a higher level, which means that in the 85th minute they play as they did in the first 30, denying even the slightest hint of doubt in their gestures.

The only truth that is undeniable is that victory, as a way of life, teaches you more than anything else to win again, to do everything in your power to make it come to you again. Real Madrid’s style, so debated when they win, is nothing more than an irrational love for what smells like metal.