Imanol
Sheriff It has not taken long to confirm that the depth of the squad will be decisive in this peculiar season in which Real, in addition to having had a short preparation period, will have to combine their usual obligations with the Spanish Super Cup and the Europa League. Only five dates have elapsed on the league calendar and the Real coach has already put 20 of his 26 first-team players into the fray, in addition to the testimonial presence of Gonzalez
of
Zarate against Madrid and the 90 minutes of Llorente in Valladolid, before signing for Leeds. All the healthy players on the roster that the Orio coach has under his command have enjoyed minutes and the only ones who still remain anonymous are the substitute goalkeeper, Moya, and the five who have started the course with physical problems: Merquelanz, Illarramendi, Zaldua, Guridi Y Sangalli.
It is too early to know if behind this democratization of the minutes lies a sustainable trend or it has only been a temporary conjuncture. Seeing the calendar that is coming to the Real, in any case, it seems easier to bet on that Imanol he will continue to explore the depths of his closet rather than sticking to a smaller script. Starting on Sunday in Seville, the txuri urdin team will face another series of seven games in 22 days, one every three or four days (Thursday and Sunday), which should necessarily force the coach to distribute efforts. For this, it will have one more piece since Guridi is fit to play and Zaldua Y Zubeldia neither can they be far from reappearing.
An extended trend
The Real method, in any case, is quite widespread in all the teams in the championship. Most clubs have had a short preparation period, some have even had to wait until the last days of the market to definitively configure their templates and that has resulted in more than half of the sets of First
Division have employed, like the Real, more than 20 footballers in the first five games, without taking into account the affiliate players to whom they may have resorted.
Among those who have used the least resources, the casuistry is different. In Barcelona, Koeman He wanted to take a few firm steps with an 'eleven' guy after the turbulent summer, Simeone Y Bordalás they are not very fond of changing their “eleven” type and Elche started the league with just 16 professionals. In general terms, the trend in these first matches has been to dose the players and, thus, around 75 players have not yet made their debut, less than four on average per team. And many of them are substitute goalkeepers.
Only three plenary sessions in the Real
Another fact that corroborates that we are facing a start to the campaign in which the coaches are especially attentive to the distribution of loads is that only three Real players have played the 450 minutes played so far: Remiro, Elustondo Y Merino. In the entire League, only 15 more outfield players (17 in total) have completed the five games. A very unusual fact at the dawn of a championship and that confirms that the coaches are clear that this year the League, more than ever, is everyone's business.