Champions: Arda Güler, the spark of the galaxy and Ancelotti’s ‘new’ Di María

The Madrid of the midfielders is now the Madrid of the forwards. A team that understands the feet and the goals of Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Juniorcentral pieces of a football and media galaxy that Charles Ancelotti still trying to fit in. The white team has accumulated a month of competition since lifting the European Super Cup He has already left behind more doubts than certainties, with two draws in Mallorca y Las Palmas which puts them four points behind Barça in the League. Tonight begins its defense of the Champions League, with Arda Guler become the nucleus and spark of the galaxy in the face of injuries and a lack of creativity in attack. It is the ‘Ancelotti’s new ‘Di Maria’a winger transformed into a connector between the midfield and the forward line.

Against Stuttgart, one of the revolutionaries of the last Bundesliga, the Turk is expected to start. Camavinga, Ceballos and Brahimcon Tchouaméni y Bellingham fresh out of the infirmary and after a match in San Sebastian in which he was the best player on the team, He laughs He hopes to repeat his position and role in his continental debut at the Bernabéu. After not being counted on until the end of last season and his good Euro Cup, he has a great opportunity to accumulate minutes. All this after a summer in which there were rumours, although Madrid did not consider it, about his loan to another club.

His case is a bit reminiscent of Di Maria’s. Let’s go to the 2013-2014 season. Ancelotti used a 4-2-3-1 with Gareth Bale on the right side, Modric, Khedira y Xabi Alonso sharing the double pivot and Isco or the Croatian in the attacking midfield. There was no place for the Argentine, who alternated between starting and substitution and began to consider leaving. But in the end, injuries and Ancelotti’s own idea ended up elevating him to the 4-3-3 as playmaker, with the final in Lisbon against Atlético being the icing on the cake for the season.

The solution to the walls

That’s what he’s looking for now Little Charles with Güler. The attacking trident seems clear: Vinicius, Rodrygo and Mbappé. Unless Rodrygo drops significantly or someone gets injured, it doesn’t seem like the Turk will be able to find a regular place there. He still has the midfield trump card and two situations that are bothering Ancelotti: injuries and the lack of creativity When the opponent closes in, something that Madrid has suffered in all of this season’s La Liga games. If they see two well-constructed lines in front of them, they have a hard time breaking through. In Ancelotti’s mind, that’s where Güler comes in.

The Turk is creative, brave when looking for the vertical pass and has great vision of the game. And in addition, he has improved his physique, vital for the hand-to-hand combat that the coach also asks of him. Against Real Madrid he acted as a playmaker, with Valverde and Modric behind and the star trio up front. He completed 34 of 35 passes, won 3 of 5 duels, recovered three balls and ended up winning a penalty.

Against Stuttgart, Bellingham and Tchouaméni will return, but the Englishman may start from the bench and the Frenchman, if he comes on, would do so for Modric, who has played almost everything with Madrid and Croatia.

The “little brother” of the locker room

Camavinga, Ceballos and Brahim are in the infirmary and will still be there for a few more weeks, so Güler’s chance exists, even more so when Madrid has lost Toni Kroos, who also did not land in the capital in the 13-14, when Di María shone. Left-footed and thin like ‘El Fideo’, at 19 years old he is one of the fans’ favourites, especially the children, and is the “little brother” of a dressing room that has treated him with care since his arrival more than twelve months ago. I didn’t speak Spanish and not much English either.and during the first part of the season he spent more time with the doctors than with his teammates, so it was difficult for him to get into the dynamics of the dressing room. Not anymore. Abi, which means ‘brother’ in Turkish, is his nickname in the corridors of Valdebebas. Valverde, from whom he has inherited the number 15 and whose son is a fan of the Turk, and Brahim are his two main supporters.

Beyond Madrid, he is the great hope of Turkey, where he is already captain general: «When I see him play, I go back to my childhood. He has no limits and the best thing is that he listens to everyone,” admitted Montella, the Ottoman coach. “He can’t play in the double pivot, but he can play as an inside midfielder,” explained Ancelotti yesterday. “He has to defend and attack, get between the lines well, receive, assist… He is responding well and will have more prominence,” he announced.

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