Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti is not known for giving much away in terms of tactical schemes, but the Real Madrid manager did explain his thinking when choosing his midfielders.
Speaking ahead of Real Madrid’s tie with Real Betis this weekend, Ancelotti told Marca that he was not surprised by Aurelien Tchouameni’s promising start to the season.
“He has not surprised me because we know him well, to invest that much money in a player you have to know him. He is showing what we expected.”
He did have some notes for the French midfielder though, who is more used to playing in a double pivot than a three.
“We are working more on the defensive side of things, because he defends well but he has to get used to the characteristics of his teammates. It is not the same to play with [Luka] Modric and [Toni] Kroos as it is with [Fede] Valverde and [Eduardo] Camavinga.”
For many years, there has been little room for choice in Real Madrid’s midfield. Following the departure of Casemiro, there is an open spot. Ancelotti highlighted Tchouameni as the most natural option to play there.
“Due to the characteristics he has, he is the most obvious player for that position, but Camavinga has played there and Kroos is very reliable. It depends on how we want to play, if you want more control, Kroos is very clean with his passes, if you need more energy Tchouameni and Camavinga can do it better.”
“Tchouameni is a great midfielder, very focused on his work. He is an extraordinary signing.”
As Ancelotti has pointed out in previous press conferences, the challenge for Real Madrid will be to evolve their midfield with Tchouameni rather than replace Casemiro with him.
The central question will be how that affects the Real Madrid ecosystem with Kroos and Modric, who have been used to Casemiro’s characteristics for so long.