The reason that Isco’s playing time was limited is not because of injuries or bad performances or fallout with the coach, but rather because of his preferred position.
When Isco was at the top of his game, Real Madrid was going through a phase of continuous Transition in Formation and style of play, which often revolved around build up play and counter attacking through the wings to get the best out of the Attack and Cristiano Ronaldo in Particular.
Between these Changes in the style of play along with the arrival of new players and James Rodriguez in Particular, Isco Alarcon lost some very precious minutes of his career.
Journey with Real Madrid
Isco arrived in the year 2013 and after one season, he was dubbed as the successor of Mesut Ozil. A Player whose game was naturally more attack-oriented, Isco played his best when played in the Attacking Midfield position, which had earned him the Golden boy award in 2013.
In 2013, Isco was credited by Marca journalist Pablo Polo as being “the most promising young player in Spanish football”, comparing his strength, skill, and low center of gravity to Sergio Agüero, and his vision and passing abilities to Zinedine Zidane.
Although he ended the first season with limited appearances, his presence and performances were praised.
With the arrival of James Rodriguez in the same position, Isco made a successful transition into a Utility player, a player who can play various positions. He was now being used as an attacking Midfielder, winger, and in central midfield along while sometimes playing high up in Gareth Bale Position.
“Isco is a very talented player but the highlight of his abilities is the ability to Dribble through the center effortlessly while shaking off two or three challenges pick an inch-perfect through ball and take a precise long shot into the top bin”.
But James remained the priority Attacking Midfielder and Isco would be either subbed in or started off in another Position. Playing in any other position was equally tough because while Isco was an exceptionally creative player, the likes of Modric, Toni Kroos, Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo were the best players for their respective positions which rendered it very difficult for him to become a starter in their positions. By now, Zidane had started his experiment with Casemmiro in the CDM position
During the 2016–2017 season, Isco did showcase his brilliance on the pitch, usually dribbling effortlessly through the Centre of the field rather than taking a discourse from the Wings.
But Zidane changed the style of play for Madrid soon, where the position of a Central attacking Midfielder was replaced by that of a Central Defensive Midfielder, a position usually mostly held by Casemiro. Now Real Madrid played Three players up in Attack, Two in Central Midfield, and one as a defensive midfield while the Wingbacks contributed more to the attack. With this new gameplay, Real Madrid did not miss the central attacking position much and the game basically was that of a build-up play with most of the counter attacks from the wings. The game now basically revolved around crossing from the wing and finding a target man.
While the midfield positions were very difficult to break into, the competition by Asensio and Lucas Vasquez did further limit the game time for Isco.
The Absence of Cristiano Ronaldo did open up space for Isco but by now, Zidane was also looking to give game experience to Vinicius Junior.
With the coming of hazard and a host of Brazilian youngsters, the old hierarchies of the squad were lost forever with the likes of James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, and Lucas Vasques looking to depart from the Club, Isco is determined to stay in the team and fight for his position.
Recently, the Likes of New –Juventus Manager Andrea Pirlo and Pep Guardiola were interested in bringing Isco to their sides, while showering Praises about the abilities of the Player.
Author: Hamzah Mattoo has been following football religiously ever since the FIFA world cup 2006, when he was 7 years old and now after missing the chance to make a career in football, has decided to contribute through his words.
Creative Writer at Headkick.co
