Last summer, Kylian Mbappé (26) joined Real Madrid. The club that made him dream and vibrate as a child. For his first season in Casa Blanca, the Frenchman had ups and downs. After the first steps, the Spanish press was not tender with the attacker, who was scratched several times. A treatment very different from what he could know when he was playing at PSG where the media was often lenient with him. On the other side of the Pyrenees, the press did not deprive itself to criticize it, in particular concerning its very low contribution in the defensive work of the team. Something to amaze in France since it is one of the reproaches that has always been made at KM9, whether in selection as in club.
His former coaches failed to make it defend it more
Last year, Luis Enrique did not hesitate to reframe him on this subject. “I read that you liked Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan grabbed all his teammates by the balls and defended like a son of P … You have to give this example. First as a person and as a player to hurry. You have to press Cubarsi, you must be the one who scores Cubarsi and Ter Stegen, you will spend the whole match to put pressure on Cubarsi so that he does not move forward and on Ter Stegen to play quickly and come back quickly. For what ? So that you are a leader, because you think you have to score goals for us. Of course you are a phenomenon, a great world player, without a doubt. But me, that is not enough for me. ”
In Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti was not necessarily of this opinion. At least publicly. At a press conference, the Mister notably said about French. “What do I ask Mbappé?” That he scores goals, not that he will do the pressing. It is not very different from what I asked Karim (Benzema) before. He must be ready to go into quick transition when we collect the ball. ” Mbappé responded rather well with 38 goals and 4 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions. But beyond the figures, he sometimes lacked impact on his team, which was unbalanced with all the stars stacked by Ancelotti. Xabi Alonso will have to succeed where his predecessor failed.
Xabi Alonso must find the solution
There Cadena Ser explains that the Spanish technician's mission will be to help the team find a certain balance, lost since the departure of Toni Kroos. But above all, he will have to make sure that his team can be exposed by succeeding in making his offensive stars work defensively. At the top of the list, we find Mbappé. For the Iberian media, the 26 -year -old striker still has a margin of progression because “He must still refine certain aspects of his defense which would allow him to become a much more complete player”. The media believes that this is the first major challenge of Xabi Alonso within Casa Blanca. He will have to do km9 “A much more united player in his defensive tasks.”
Journalist Manu Carreño added on the subject: “Xabi Alonso has to get into the locker room and, just as Luis Enrique tried to run Mbappé without success and just as Ancelotti tried to make him be one more player and defend without success, now it's Xabi Alonso's turn … and it's not easy at all.” Journalist for Fichajes.comJuan Carlos Navarro is rather of the same opinion. “Xabi Alonso must call on Kylian Mbappé, but also Vinicius Jr, to improve the defensive performance of Real Madrid. The most important thing is to build a team, because this year, Real Madrid was hardly a set of individuals. He must provide the team with a defined style of play. ” Xabi Alonso, who a priori wishes to bet on a modular 3-4-3 in 3-4-2-1, counts in particular on Kylian Mbappé. A player who will be at the center of his project.
