Nacho refuses to settle for the role of central fourth and, to the minimum that he has been able, he has got on the Real Madrid train In what is probably going to be the most demanding stage for whites, with a hellish schedule for the rest of the year: ten games in 35 days before the end of 2020. It has required the absence of two of the four centrals of the squad, but the Alcalaíno, faithful to his fame as a team man and achiever, took advantage of the opportunity in Vila-real and earned the right to have Zidane trust him on Wednesday, at San Siro against Inter Milan.
The ballot for Nacho was complicated, just recovered from a muscle injury in the right thigh that he suffered during the Camp Nou Classic (1-3) and that forced him to leave the field before the break. After practically a month without playing, the youth squad entered the eleven with Varane with no other possible option: Ramos is injured and has been out for at least one more week and Militao is awaiting a new PCR test to confirm that he has overcome COVID-19. The absence of the captain usually generates mistrust around Madrid's defensive solvency, but both Nacho and Varane conjured those thoughts in La Cerámica. There were several things that did not work in Madrid against Villarreal, but the central pair was not one of them.
In 90 minutes, Nacho was the center-back who most dared to kick the ball (44 passes out of 47 good ones; Varane, 34 out of 38) and the one that went further into enemy territory (11 passes in rival field; Varane, six). He tripled in duels against the French (6 to 2) and also in those in which he was victorious (3 to 1). And he recovered the ball four times, which he only lost when he was in possession of Madrid five times, the second least among the white starters (the first was Varane, with four).
Varane and Nacho shone
The result was a very timid Madrid in attack, with very few offensive options and just one shot on goal, Mariano's goal, but which largely dried up the attacking flow of Villarreal, one of the coconuts of this start of the League, as proof his third position in the table. The Yellow Submarine only finished once between the sticks, in the penalty that Gerard materialized to equalize the contest. Zidane, who lacked creativity and depth to damage the rival, could leave at least with the feeling that Varane and Nacho can solve the ballot in San Siro.
Nacho, during a Villarreal-Real Madrid action.
DAVID GONZALEZ
Last year, Zidane made things clear to Nacho, when he described Militao as “the third center-back” of the white squad. De facto, he sent the youth squad to fourth place in line, the one that receives the least food in the form of minutes. Zidane did nothing but continue with the line that the club defined when he paid 50 million euros for Militao to Porto, a bet for the present and the future that, for the moment, has left irregular results, alternating splendid performances (San Mamés, the course last, it was the best of all) and other very questionable (against Betis before the confinement, Shakhtar …). Nacho, an important piece of that Plan B that sustained the 2016-17 League title and also brilliant in the 2018 Champions final against Liverpool (in which he had to leave for the injured Carvajal), he accepted the situation naturally and without raising his voice.
“I bet on Zidane”
And working, despite the fact that last year he only had 685 minutes, a very marked figure also by several injuries that prevented him from participating more. All in all, he left a good header in Valladolid to give the whites three points, after which he showed his spirit as a team man: “If I have to bet on someone, I bet on Zidane. I have his trust, it's the most important thing for me”, Nacho commented in Pucela; he celebrated that goal hugging the same coach who weeks before had placed him fourth in a four-participant race.
In summer, he explored the possibility of going to Italy, a country where he has always had a big bill; on this occasion, Rome, Naples and Milan showed interest. But the injury that Carvajal suffered before the market closed stopped that option and Nacho stayed to fight for the position. With a contract until June 2022 and about to turn 31, the Alcalaíno rebels against the elements and points to San Siro with his head held high.