Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid sits with the very best of the lot in the club’s history of all time. They have already established early dominance in Spain by crushing FC Barcelona in the Supercopa de España and would hope to win everything there is to.
Here are the 3 Real Madrid players who will be crucial if they are to repeat last season’s performance-
Karim Benzema- Apart from the mercurial Cristiano Ronaldo, this French striker has been one of the most consistent performers for Real Madrid. Since joining Los Blancos back in 2009, Benzema has scored 182 goals and provided 103 assists in 368 games for them. and his productivity could be well gauged by the number of managers he has played under at Santiago Bernabeu- all preferring him as their first choice.
Manuel Pellegrini, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez and now Zinedine Zidane, hardly anyone had to go worry about going for a striker during their reign and with Zidane now willing to offer Benzema a new contract hints at his dominance in the front role. He was brilliant against Barcelona in the Supercopa 2nd leg where he synchronized just fine with young Marco Asensio in the absence of Ronaldo. Another contract now would mean he will finish his prime at Real and him being injury free will be quintessential for Zidane.
Luka Modric- Amidst all the noise and speculation of the next Balon d’Or winner, the Croatian international’s ability is somewhere overlooked. The central midfielder, arriving from Tottenham Hotspur back in 2012, has been one of their best players who strings together the likes of Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Benzema.
While his occasional injuries and lack of his name on the scoresheet did keep the spotlight away from him, the 31-year-old is involved in almost every move of the Whites and is Zidane’s, main man. Real have no potential replacements for their playmaker in the squad at the moment as neither Mateo Kovacic nor Toni Kroos can do what he is capable of. The only thing that Zidane would expect from him is that he remains injury-free for the most part of this season.
Marco Asensio- Given how things are panning out for him this season, Zidane is expected to use more of him this time surely and he has the potential to reach the level of Ronaldo and Messi. Possessing an impeccable left foot that picks up the corner net from the acutest of angles, Asensio has shown how easily he can fill in the shoes of Ronaldo as and when required.
However, the manager will show more trust in him this season and Bale’s inconsistency on the right flank can also see the 21-year-old taking up that position. In all cases, many have touted him to have the breakthrough season this time and Real Madrid can win all titles again if he keeps going.
