REAL MADRIDCAN THEY BREAK OUT OF THEIR
INJURY HOODOO?
Fans ofLos Blancoswould be wise to
keep their fingers crossed. Since the
start of the season, almost three
quarters of Real’s squad have missed at
least one match because of injury or a
positive COVID test. Who would have
imagined that one of the world’s biggest
clubs would face such a personnel
predicament?
These are the cards that Zinedine
Zidane has been dealt, struggling to
bring any sort of continuity to team
selection. Under huge pressure to keep
the show on the road, Zizou has had to
continually shuffle his pack, playing mix
and match. In Europe, the use of square
pegs in round holes has been the norm
this term: right-winger Lucas Vazquez
filling in at right-back, reserve centre-
back Nacho in an emergency role,
Mariano Diaz and LukaJovic trying and
failing to make up for the absence of
top scorer Karim Benzema.
Eden Hazard – of whom so much
was expected when he arrived from
Chelsea in the summer of 2019 for a
cool€100m – started just twice in the
group stage and has been plagued by
injury and illness. Inspirational skipper
Sergio Ramos was also badly missed on
the continental front, unavailable for
half of the group games through knee
and hamstring injuries.
No wonder Real made such heavy
weather of qualifying for the last16,
securing their place with a victory over
Borussia Monchengladbach on
matchday six.
Peculiarly,certain critics haveUEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEKnockout stage
accused Zidane of excessive line-up
rotation. His response is that it’s the only
way to avoid even more injuries.
Real’s packed treatment room has
shone a particularly bright light on a
squad that lacks strength in depth. Back
in the summer, Zidane was reported to
have identified four areas of the side
that needed extra manpower: attacking
reinforcements, a box-to-box midfielder,
a full-back and a centre-back. Much to
his frustration, none of his wishes were
fulfilled. Indeed, not one new buy came
through the door, let alone a big-money
headliner.
The harsh truth is that Real, like the
vast majority of clubs in these times of
the pandemic, are feeling the pinch.
They have had to take a substantial
economic hit. Last season, income was€715m. This term, that is expected to
drop by€107m. For the current
campaign, their budget has shrunk from
€917m to€617m. Players, coaches and
executives have suffered a salary cut of
ten per cent. “This is a moment for
austerity and solidarity,” declared club
president Florentino Perez at a meeting
of club members late last year.
Zidane, the architect of three straight
Champions League triumphs with the
Galacticos in 2016, 2017 and 2018,
faces the most problematic of tasks:
continuing to win with less resources.
Under the circumstances, adding a
fourth would be his finest achievement.Selection headaches...ZidaneWho would have imagined that one
of the world’s biggest clubs would
face such a personnel predicament?Injury-prone...
HazardInjury-prone...
Hazard