BBC, Isco Among Real Madrid Players Thriving Under Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane's arrival at Real Madrid has sparked a plethora of worship for the superstar as well as his ability to get the team back to its attacking best. Since his takeover, Los Blancos have managed to get 10 of 12 points and have scored a whopping 17 goals in four games.
Of course the tests thus far have not been overly demanding, but the reality is that Madrid has, for the most part romped through teams that they were struggling to unlock.
Zizou's tactics have truly benefitted a number of players and it is interesting to see how the adjustment has been made under the new coach. Here are the players that have benefitted most from the French legend.
Toni Kroos
Kroos is a unique breed of midfielder. He is an attacker and play maker, but is also an agile midfield maestro who has incorporated defensive abilities into his game.
Under Rafa Benitez, none of Kroos' best skills were allowed to come to the fore. Under the rigid 4-2-3-1 formation, Kroos was expected to hang back and build from the back, essentially stifling him through and through. While Luka Modric was expected to maraude forward, Kroos was the defensive midfielder, thoroughly exposed time and again.
Under Zidane, Kroos has turned back into the player that succeeded so well under Carlo Ancelotti. The system, which uses three midfielders in constant rotation, allows Kroos more freedom, knowing that he has the full the defensive support of two other midfielders. The possession game has been in full flow and Madrid's attack has had a dynamism that was never seen during the first half of the season.
Dani Carvajal
This is an easy one to pinpoint, simply because the Spaniard is actually getting a chance to play under Zidane. During Benitez's reign Danilo was the rightback of choice, but he proved time and again that he lacked the offensive or defensive level to match the all-stars around him.
That is not an issue with Carvajal who is a diligent defender and a tremendous attacker that has great speed and knows how to whip in deadly crosses when necessary.
The BBC
Let's throw Real Madrid's attacking line in as a unit. Under Benitez, the BBC was a disaster with Cristiano Ronaldo looking lost, Karim Benzema playing well and Gareth Bale turning in some solid performances. The problem was that the unit was not working cohesively. Bale could turn a game on his own, but he was not doing it with his attacking partners. Benzema was finishing chances, but his usual link-up play with Ronaldo was missing.
And Ronaldo? Let's just say that he has five goals in four games since Zidane took over and has two assists in that span as well.
What has worked? Bale is no longer in the center (when he plays), but is now running up and down the flanks. Ronaldo and Benzema are rotating around the pitch, keeping defenders constantly on their toes and forcing them into one of two decisions - follow their marker to his new position and thus throw themselves out of position, or constantly adjust to defend a new member of the BBC.Certainly not a choice that is easy for most defenders and thus far the tactics have worked wonderfully.
Bale and Benzema have both scored in every game they have played under Zidane, thus highlighting how effective his offensive scheme has been for them. All in all the BBC has a whopping 15 goals and three assists in Zidane's first four matches.
Isco
The Spaniard looked great in the preseason and then wound up benched for most of Benitez's tenure. What the Spanish coach failed to realize is that the Spaniard is a brilliant utility player that should not be left on the wings but allows to roam about the pitch freely to have serious impact.
Zidane recognized this and has reaped the benefits of his scheme. Simply put, Isco is a dominant force when he can roam about the middle of the pitch and pick out passes in small pockets. He is an agile dribbler that can make the most out of compressed spaces and he is also a solid defender when he puts himself up to it. And he has been all of those things in Zidane's Madrid.
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