Before El Clasico: Isco the silent hero

(Baonghean.vn) - Although playing at home and having the nuclear attacking trio BBC, coachZidane still had to leave Bale on the bench, switching to a 4-4-2 formation to use Isco. So what role does Isco play in the Spanish classic?

For a long time, Real, as La Liga champions, European champions and most recently 2017 Club World Cup champions, have always been confident with the 4-3-3 formation, if they have enough players, without much concern for how their opponents play. But now, things have changed, especially when their opponents, Barca, have been unbeaten in 24 matches, are at the top of La Liga and are 11 points ahead of them (in fourth place), although Real still have a game in hand.

Out of respect for the opponent

Isco is considered a silent hero in the Real Madrid team. Photo: Internet

Spanish coach Ernesto Valverde has made no secret of the fact that his 4-4-2 formation is working very well after the 1-5 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup. Superstar Lionel Messi will play slightly to the left and will receive active support from left-back Jordi Alba. In the last 6 times the duo have combined, Messi has converted 3 chances into goals.

The visitors' attack, if Lionel Messi has 14 goals, leading the scoring list in La Liga, Luis Suarez also has 9 goals, ranking 3rd. The visitors have just had the return of Iniesta, the best midfielder in world football today. Captain Iniesta is famous for his "see the rice, see the meat" passes, a constant worry for any defense. The Bernabeu's back four Marcelo, Ramos, Varane and Carvajal, if only supported by Casemiro, will find it difficult to protect the goal. Barca's midfield, with the presence of Paulinho, who has scored 6 goals in 15 appearances in La Liga this season, always plays with unpredictable changes.

In fact, if Bale is in the starting lineup, Casemiro is Madrid's destroyer, with the role of recovering and passing the ball to the two attacking midfielders Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. This is the lineup that helped Real win a series of records last season, but in the extremely important El Clasico match, Zizou did not dare to take risks. And the French coach decided to strengthen the steel handicap with young midfielder Isco.

The Athlete and the Poet

Despite having a great squad, coach Zidane still trusts Isco with the responsibility. Photo: Internet

The El Clasico match will be watched by about 700 million people on the planet, of course no team wants to lose. For Zidane, if he loses at the Santiago Bernabeu, he might pay dearly for his head coach position. Isco is the player that Zidane trusts to take on the important role in this important match. This 24-year-old Spaniard will play both the role of an athlete and a poet. The madridistas have witnessed him tirelessly plowing in the midfield with a series of skillful tackles. But Isco has not lost his image as a football artist with his spontaneous, poetic dribbling and ball handling. On average, Isco has 7 successful dribbles per match, the highest in the team.

Zidane used Isco with a deeper calculation. In 2013, Isco left Malaga with the desire to join the Catalan team, but at that time, Barca's midfield was very strong with the trio Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta, even "Xavi the second" Thiago Alcantara had to sell his team to find a chance to play. Seeing that Barca ignored him and invested all their money in the Neymar deal, Isco decided to move to Real, Barca's arch-rival.

At Real, where there are many top stars, the battle for a place is not easy for Isco. However, the Spanish midfielder is still loved by madridistas because of his... loyalty. Unlike James Rodriguez, who was capricious, demanding and eventually left Bernabeu, Isco accepted the role of a reserve and always tried his best every time he entered the field. When playing against the team that once turned its back on him, Isco will team up with Casemiro to form a central midfield pair, playing in a "die-die" style.

Coincidentally, both Real and Barca used a central midfield pair consisting of Brazilian and Spanish players, with Paulinho and Busquets for the away team and Casemiro and Isco for the home team.

An Thanh