Endless nostalgia for Kroos
“ Real Madrid are lacking a player like me and they are still looking for one. The problem is that there are not many of them, and if there are, it is not easy to recruit them ,” Toni Kroos told Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup semi-final.
Speaking to Italy's leading sports newspaper, Kroos was frank when Real Madrid had positive results: " It's too early to judge the club under Xabi .
It takes time to understand the change and the application of Alonso's philosophy. I can only say that he has done a very good job in Germany . "
Kroos' assessment was completely correct after 90 minutes of the match between the two most recent Champions League champions at MetLife Stadium: PSG crushed Real Madrid 4-0.
Almost a year ago, also in America, as he prepared for pre-season, Carlo Ancelotti looked at the players he had in midfield and decided he needed to look forward.
“We are missing Kroos, but we have all the possibilities to replace him,” Ancelotti argued; “in a different way, of course, because there is no one with the quality of Toni.”
Ancelotti has never wanted to make excuses for the absence of a playmaker like Kroos. He should not be mentioned.
However, from the opening draw with Al Hilal, to the defeat against PSG, we need to talk about Kroos, as well as the huge void he left behind.
In the first half of the Al Hilal game, the midfield was left to Bellingham, Valverde and Tchouameni – a trio that has struggled to control games in the past. In that first 45 minutes, the Saudis had more possession.
In contrast, the ball that Real Madrid had was quite harmless. The passes in the middle or from one wing to the other were quite far from the Al Hilal goal.
After the break, Alonso withdrew Asencio, moved Tchouameni back to centre-back and brought on Arda Guler, a player with great technical qualities and a creative style. When he was on the pitch, the team's play was more positive.
Since then, Guler has become the creative link in midfield, leaving Rodrygo on the bench for five consecutive matches.
Lack of brain
“We learned a lot from the game against Al Hilal,” Courtois said after the first game of Alonso’s reign.
“We had four years under Ancelotti and developed some fixed habits. Now we have to change to adapt to what the new coach wants,” the Belgian goalkeeper explained.
After beating weak teams Pachuca and Salzburg in the group stage, as well as struggling to overcome Juventus and Dortmund in the knockout stages, Courtois declared: "Xabi is more modern than Carlo" .
However, Alonso's modernity that Courtois "flatters" still cannot help Real Madrid overcome the "habits" of 5 years with Ancelotti - including 2 Champions League titles and many other titles.
One of those “habits” is Kroos. He left Real Madrid still maintaining a central role in his final season: most passes per game (72); midfielder created most chances (1.92).
In the first long season without Kroos, the team lacked a clear coordinator. Valverde and Tchouameni made the most passes (58), but had less influence.
These two players combined create an average of just 1.5 chances per game – less than Kroos alone.
The midfielder who created the most chances was Luka Modric, with an average of 1.74 chances per game. But the Croatian's Real Madrid journey ended after losing to PSG.
Guler created three chances against Al Hilal. However, in the high-profile game against PSG, he failed to make an impact against a quality midfield – led by Vitinha – and had to be taken off early.
Xabi and Ancelotti share the same views on many team analyses, including the need to buy a “brain” to organize the play – something both have acknowledged.
Ancelotti persevered almost to the end of his tenure. Just three months before leaving the coaching position, he put forward two names: Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister and Newcastle's Sandro Tonali.
In response, the board pointed out that the team had too many midfielders: Bellingham, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni, Guler, Modric (now gone) and Dani Ceballos – who, in an emergency against PSG, Alonso still did not use.
From Ancelotti's comments and Alonso's 6-match journey of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, perhaps Real Madrid will have to enter the transfer market to find a new version of Kroos.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/van-de-cua-real-madrid-noi-nho-bat-tan-voi-toni-kroos-2420442.html
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