the same heroes with Nacho at the helm and a step towards “number one” Courtois | Relief

Real Madrid’s sweet hangover mixed two topics of conversation: on the team’s rest day, after a long night of celebration, and during an unofficial national holiday, which Real Madrid fans justifiably declared. On the one hand, no one failed to comment on the historical events that occurred again at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. It didn’t matter whether it was in the newsroom, the supermarket, or the hairdresser. There was no other topic for conversation. On the other hand, it was impossible to hide from Valdebebas the confidence that Ancelotti already has for the Wembley final on June 1. La Decimoquinta is just one step away, just 90 minutes away, and no one at the white club wants to get lost.

On the one hand, the Italian coach has already attracted trusted people, which include managers and important pillars of sports management, who in London deserved most of the heroes who baffled City and Bayern, with a personality praised throughout match. world. There are no more doubts. If throughout the season the Nacho-Chuameni-Camavinga triangle was always at the center of controversy and continued to dance in the pools, then this debate is over. The Spanish national team player deserved his feats to become Rudiger’s partner in the four, in which Carvajal and Mendy fly. and, according to sources consulted, Tchouameni will forget to disguise himself as a defender: he will continue to lead the midfield alongside Kroos (if he recovers from a stress injury to his left leg).

In Madrid, especially for those who have been in charge for many years and have experienced everything, it is exciting to even talk about Nacho. The centre-back, unless something changes at the last minute as happened last year, will play his last game in white against Borussia Dortmund with a final at the club of his life, which every professional would have signed in advance. His new performances in front of Kane and with De la Fuente in the box allowed him to assert himself as captain of a day in which the fans were already living with their nerves on edge. If all goes according to plan and as the finalist category bets indicate, Nacho can compare to Gento with six European Cups alongside Carvajal, Modric and Kroos.

As on other occasions, Nacho will end the season very differently from how he started it, when he was a substitute in the first six league matches. As the rate advanced, it grew, aided by losses, until it became undisputed. A progression that This could take him to the European Championships in Germany. when no one was counting on him anymore. Even the fact that Militao is now fully recovered will not prevent him from starting at Wembley. According to all the technical experts, it is not just that he won this award, but that he is the most reliable alternative at the moment due to his positioning, concentration, coming from behind, strength in the air and speed in the game. exit to the cut.

It seems like the same thing, but it’s not

Lunin’s case is similar to Nacho’s. However, Ancelotti, with his usual naturalness, attempted to explain that he had his differences. Everyone, inside and outside the club, including even the Ukrainian goalkeeper, recognizes that Courtois is not just another goalkeeper, but the best in the world. “He number one“And therefore the best cannot be left on the bench on a whim, with the greatest respect for Lunin, who has grown enormously and is a major professional. To explain this and make it clear that he is not the ugly Lunin, to whom Madrid is eternally grateful and for whom they are going to sign an extension that is already closed until the end of this decade, several authoritative voices give an example of what would happen to the current Vinicius if the Brazilian had been for a long time was injured. time as a Belgian, and in his place great players like Brahim or Joselu took advantage of his absence to shine and justify themselves, No one will argue whether Vini would have had to reach the final if he had recovered in time and had such guarantees as Thibault.

It is true that outfield players can co-exist, since there are ten positions rather than one, and goalkeepers can only operate in one or the other at a time, but the reality is that Ancelotti (and Florentino Perez) He lives much more calmly with Courtois and believes that there are much more opportunities for victory if he is in the starting lineup. And this is what Real Madrid pays him for, as he himself admitted – winning and winning titles. It’s not that the locker room is some kind of NGO where everyone is happy, justice prevails like in court and acts with the heart, not the head. Therefore, symptomatically, I plan to give him the next League games to get him going. If Courtois plays against Granada, Alaves, Villarreal and Betis, the mystery will become clearer.

Courtois’s credibility is such that in recent days there have been informal talks at Ciudad Deportiva about introducing him to the starting XI early. He did it against Cadiz, and with a great performance (3-0 and stopping a key one-on-one match), but if he was not included in the squad either before the League or later in the Champions League, it was done so that not to create a problem that does not exist, increases uncertainty and reduces the exceptional atmosphere that exists in the booth and in which there is room for happiness due to the state of form that Lunin is experiencing, and for its renewal – which will be announced shortly – . and also for the return of the world’s best goalkeeper. The coach also asked him, somewhat reluctantly, before Bayern, how he would feel if he had to leave at a certain time. Nobody forgets that this is the same player who was decisive in the Paris 2022 final against Liverpool. and it could again monopolize all covers in London within 21 days due to its recent history of improvement.