COACH OF
THESEASON
KudostoUnaiEmery
forhisefforts in the
ChampionsLeague,
butCarloAncelotti
isLaLiga’s Coachof
theSeason.At 62
yearsold,hebecame
theoldestmantolift
theSpanishleague
trophy andthefirst
managertoreach
fiveChampions
Leaguefinals.NEWCOMER
OFTHESEASON
FollowinginPedri’s
footsteps,Gavihas
gonefromanexciting
youth prospectto
a regularSpain
internationalinthe
spaceofa year. He
madeover 30 La
Ligaappearancesfor
Barcelonain 2021 -22
andincrediblystill
endedthe season
asa17-year-old.Ancelotti,theultimatepragmatist,
attimesaskedhissidetoabsorb
pressure andcounter,buttheycould
alsokeeppossessionforlong periods
ofgames,andtheyoften playedon the
frontfoot.Theyadaptedtheirstyle to
differentmomentsandopponents.
It’salsoa caseofAncelottiadapting
tohis squad.His preferredmidfield
three of ToniKroos,LukaModric
andCasemiroare 32 , 36 and 30
respectively. Theirslightlydeeper
startingpositionstooksomeofthe
physicalstrainofftheirageinglegs
andofferedmoreprotectiontoa
completelynew-lookcentral
defensivepairingofDavidAlabaand
EderMilitao,whilethepaceof Vinicius
Junior, RodrygoandMarcoAsensio were
effectivecounter-attackingweapons.
“Vini”,inparticular, hadanabsolutely
outstandingcampaign andrivalskeeper
ThibautCourtoisasMadrid’s prizefor
theBestPlayer Not-NamedBenzema.
Hescoredandassistedtwiceasmany
goalsasinthe past threeseasons
combined,showingfar more
composure with hisfinal ball.
HispartnershipwithBenzemahasbeenlethal,with thepairassistingeach
otherfor 1 1 leaguegoalsthisseason.
Despitehisgoalscoringfigures,the
Francestrikercanstilldropdeepto
create spacefor histeam-mate – just
asheusedtodofor CristianoRonaldo.
Barcelonafanswillgrumblethatthe
seasonwas decidedbeforeaballhad
evenbeenkicked.Thedepartureof
LionelMessiwas clearlya blow,albeit
expected,whiletheyfeltshort-changed
inthe AntoineGriezmann-Luukde
Jongdeadline-day swap deal.Ronald
Koemanwas sackedinlateOctober
after an awfulstart,withXavipicking
upthe piecesthereafter.
AtleticoMadrid,meanwhile,have
sufferedsomethingofanidentitycrisis.
Diego Simeone, changingtacticsand
line-upsonanalmostweeklybasis,
wasunabletoextractthecompetitive
edgefromhisplayersthatwon them
thetitlein 20 20-21 andthathissquad
havebecomesowellknownfor.Their
inconsistencyhasevenledtosomefans
questioningwhetherit’sthe endofthe
roadfortheArgentinian.
Julen Lopetegui’s Sevillawerethe
onlyside abletooffersomethingofa
titlechallenge,untilarunof just two
winsintenLa Liga gamesputthem
backinto a battlefor thetopfour.
RealMadrid’s triumphcappeda
remarkablemilestonefor Ancelotti,as
theItalianbecame
thefirstmanager
towintitlesineach
ofEurope’stopfive
leagues– England,
Spain,Germany,ItalyandFrance.
Itwas alsoa record-breakingseason
forMarcelo,who wonhis 24 thpiece
ofsilverwarewithRealMadrid.The
BraziliandefenderovertookPacoGento
asthe playerwiththemost trophy
winsintheclub’s120-yearhistory.
Poetically, though,the finalgoalof
the 4 -0victoryoverEspanyol,which
wrappedupMadrid’s earliesttitlein
32 years,camefromthatcombination
ofVinicius andBenzema.“Karim,
Ballond’Or”seemslikeareasonable
propositioncomeOctober 17 , 2 02 2.WORLDSOCCER 41
Starlet...Gavi
hasimpressed
thisseasonBoss...CarloAncelottimadehistory in 2 021 - 22
SPAIN:LALIGA
EUROSEASONREVIEW
RealMadridwerealreadysteamrollingtheir
waytowardsthetitlebythewinterbreak