There should be a question mark in the title, but it looked so out of place so I left it out. This is a piece on Marcos Alonso and his credentials to make an impact on the first team this season from the left back position. So it is a question to all of you, can Marco Alonso succeed at left back for Real Madrid this season? Before you answer that, lets take a few things in to consideration. First off is his pedigree, which reads like a prize winning horse who just won the Triple Crown.
Marcos Alonso is the grandchild of Marquitos, who won 5 European Cups with Real Madrid during the Di Stefano days. Marquitos was voted one of the best Real Madrid players ever by the fans (do not ask me where he fell on the list I could not find it) and is in an elite group of individuals in the amount of titles he won with Real. Marcos Alonso’s father was a Real Madrid canterano, but he never made the grade at the club. That did not stop him from having a brilliant club career in the 80s with Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and then one last season with Atletico. I know what you may be thinking, those two teams!?! Its actually fairly customary for Real Madrid canteranos to show up for Atletico and vice versa, and making the step from Atletico to Barcelona was not uncommon, and I suppose would still not be. Needless to say, Marcos was put in the Real Madrid youth system at age 12, instead of Atletico or Barcelona, so there is no need to question his allegiances.
The next thing to consider is that Macros has trained with the first team five times already this season. Three times in the preseason and twice during the regular season. He also displaced Chema Anton, who was on the tip of everyone’s tongue two years ago, as Castilla’s left back last season, being converted from a central midfield position. He was so impressive that he has been undisputed left back this season, and has condemned Chema Anton to being demoted to the C team! He is also trusted enough that he does not have a true back up on the Castilla team, with Nacho the closest player to cover his position. Nacho is a 17 year old center back that was promoted from the C team this summer. There is also Nir Mansour, an Isreali youth international, and Alvaro Gonzalez, a Spanish youth international and u-17 Euro winning captain, each of which have not seen any time because of Marcos’ excellence. ( Keep an eye out for Garcia Noblejas, a u-17 Spain international at left back. One for the future)
Alonso competed in this years u-19 European Championship in Spain, with the team unsuccessful. He returned to the Castilla team and has played the full 90 minutes in every game since then. A skilled and smart player, his positioning is superb and he is elegant when moving forward. He has been tipped by many, including Marca, to make the move to the first team in much the same way Miguel Torres did a few seasons ago. If for one would love to see him promoted on a permanent basis, because while at 18 he may not be at a higher level then Marcelo or Drenthe, the potential is there and it should be developed at a high level.
Alot of talk has centered around the left back problems for Real recently. To the extent that many are calling for Marcelo to be benched permanently, while others see a signing in January as a possibility, with recently capped Osasuna player Nacho Monreal touted as the target. While I think Monreal is a very good player, and I would not object to his signing, I would prefer we utilize Marcos Alonso beforehand to gauge where his potential is at this point. If he was indeed ready for the first team and we signed another left back, it would be detrimental to his development. Especially someone like Monreal, who is young himself at 23.
There has also been a discussion on whether Arbeloa should be played on the left from now on. Its a possibility, and maybe a short term solution to Marcelo’s lack of discipline and form, but I do not see Arbeloa as our first choice left back for years to come. Many have also complained about the loss of Miguel Torres to Getafe, as he could have filled in at left back with ease, and I also agree that this was an unwise move on the clubs part. Drenthe and Marcelo do not have to many fans amongst Real Madrid supporters, and neither has convinced so far this season. Cesar contends that with little midfield support though, they cannot be blamed for the troubles on the left channel:
I don’t agree with all the bashing marcelo has endured for the last week; sure, he had A TERRIBLE GAME, but I think the underlying problem was the lack of support from the midfielders; it’s the same problem we had under Schuster, when Ramos complained that he didn’t have support on the right flank, and the same can be said under Pellegrini and his method of playing everything through the middle of the field; unless the wingbacks have support from the midfields, i.e. wingers, CM, whatever, we’ll keep seeing this kind of performances from our wingbacks.
IMHO, It’s a matter of tactics, and that falls directly under Pellegrini, and not a matter of personal play; the coach has to put the best players in a situation for them to succeed, and I don’t think Pellegrini’s doing that at the moment.
Cesar is 100% correct in his assessment of the left channel, and the corollary drawn with the Schuster tactics is also a correct conclusion. I believe I also said something of this nature in the podcast two weeks ago, you can double check that if you want.
Pellegrini is leaving his wing backs high and dry in terms of defensive coverage, and when you have a weaker defender in Marcelo or Drenthe, they will have trouble. Couple that with the fact that every coach in La Liga has seen this issue from day one, and every La Liga team will exploit the problem. Sevilla simply did it most effectively, but if you remember both Xerez and Tenerife maintained a majority of their possession on the left wing, where there was ample space to do so. And they crossed the ball into the box a whole lot with little success. Until Marcelo, Drenthe or anyone else for that matter gets more midfield support in dealing with overlapping wingbacks or even the mercurial winger like Jesus Navas, they are doomed for failure. Sergio Ramos has had a similar problem again this year, but his defensive abilities are far greater then Marcelo’s.
Is it fair to throw Marcos Alonso into the tactical minefield then? Knowing Pellegrini has set the wingbacks up for failure because of his narrow midfield and lack of defensive instructions to his creative players, do we doom Marcos Alonso to the fate of another promising wing back in Miguel Palencia, who had a disastrous debut against Deportivo La Coruna. Palencia was a Spanish youth international in the u-16 European winning team that featured Torres, Miguel Moya and Iniesta, and had been a Real system player for 14 years before leaving for Re Mouscron in 2007. He was a very talented player that was thrown into a poor tactical setup of Luxemburgo, which is similar to what Pellegrini is now playing, trying to accommodate all of the creative stars. Palencia now plays for Getafe, but he probably will never recover his potential. Do we really want that to happen to Marcos Alonso?
My solution is pretty simple. If Pellegrini can not change his tactics to help his wing backs, then use Arbeloa at left back. If Pellegrini adjusts his lineup and formation, which he may be apt to do now that Ronaldo is injured, then give Marcos Alonso some help and have a player like Lass or Mahamadou Diarra supporting him constantly to see how he stands up. A game against Valladolid or Sporting Gijon would be a good test for the lad.
![bb[noone]](/data/avatars/m/22/22175.jpg?1345967835){kind=avatar}
моментално Жирков неможе да оди !
па и без него на листата нека биде пак ги има 12-13
дај бе нека земе бар на 1 утакмица бар 5 мин нека застане на терен само 1 шут и нишо поише....аааа ѕвер бе ѕвер
![[ Македоникус ]*](/data/avatars/m/26/26045.jpg?1373015970){kind=avatar}
