The summer of 2018 has been an eventful one for Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally departed the Spanish capital for a new challenge at Juventus, and Florentino Perez surprisingly decided against dipping into his chequebook to replace the five-time Ballon dOr winner, while earlier in the year, Zinedine Zidane also decided to leave Real after leading them to three Champions League wins in a row.
Few would have predicted the chain of events as they occurred, as Perez picked Julen Lopetegui, the manager of the Spanish national team as Zidanes replacement.
If that alone was a surprising choice, the manner in which his appointment was announced threw Spains World Cup into disarray, with the president of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales only informed of this decision five minutes before Madrid made it public, just two days before Spains opening World Cup game.
Rubiales was forced to sack Lopetegui for his perceived unprofessionalism, leading to Fernando Hierro taking temporary charge of the team for the World Cup, while Lopetegui said that his sacking was the saddest day of his life.
Memories in football are notoriously short, however, and much of this has already been forgotten as the new season has commenced. Lopetegui has had to rejig the team to account for Ronaldos departure, and while there has not been a radical shift in tactics from the Zidane era, it is useful to compare Lopeteguis Madrid side with his time in charge of Spain.
Lopetegui, like most modern managers, tweaks his approach based on the players at his disposal, and while there are several familiar faces at Madrid, the difference in approach between the two sides is notable enough to warrant discussion.
Madrid began the season with a 4-2 defeat at the hands of city rivals Atletico Madrid in the European Super Cup, but have since picked up three wins out of their first three league fixtures, against Getafe, Girona and Leganes.
We shall now look at Los Blancos approach in these games, and how it differed from the tactics employed by Lopetegui while in charge of Spain.
Attacking build-up
Lopetegui has been lucky to be able to call on some of the best players in the world during his time in charge of both sides, especially in midfield, and this is evident from the sides approach under him. His first few games in charge of Madrid have seen him use a couple of systems; either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, but with similar characteristics across the two formations. One player, usually Casemiro, is the holding player, tasked with protecting the space in front of the defence and recycling possession, while his partner in midfield is the deep-lying playmaker, controlling the tempo of the game. This role has been reserved for Toni Kroos, and the German has been excellent, playing the full 90 minutes in all three league fixtures and averaging 111 passes per game, with a stunning 96.6% success rate. Kroos touch map from the 4-1 win over Leganes illustrates his influence on Madrids approach, while Casemiros touch map shows the defensive role he is expected to play
This is similar to the way Spain were sent out under Lopetegui, with Sergio Busquets/Koke and Thiago Alcantara forming the midfield pivot. The key difference here is that Casemiro is far more defensive-minded than either Koke or Busquets, while Thiago could do the job that Kroos does for Madrid, although the German is probably the best in the world at it. A look at Spains system against Tunisia and Kokes touch map against Germany confirms this
Thiago and Busquets form the double pivot here, with Silva drifting inside from the right, Isco wide on the left and Iniesta left-of-centre
The role of Isco
In Lopeteguis systems, the third midfielder is the one tasked with getting forward to support attacking moves, whether from a deeper position in the 4-3-3 or as the advanced playmaker in the 4-2-3-1. Luka Modrics World Cup exertions have meant that he has been eased into the Madrid side, making his first start of the season in their most recent league game. In his absence, this role has been taken up by Lopetegui favourite Isco. The Spaniard was a key part of Lopeteguis Spain side, and looks like being a cornerstone of his tenure at Madrid as well. Regardless of whether Isco or Modric start, their role is clear; drift across the pitch to link up with the wide players and full-backs, while looking to supply the killer pass into the box. Their touch maps from the games against Girona and Leganes demonstrate this perfectly
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