Real Madrid’s excellent end of the season has been attributed to the midfielders, so is it high time the BBC went off air?
Real Madrid ended the 2016/17 season with a Champions League and La Liga double, a feat not seen at the club for the past 59 years back when Alfredo Di Stefano, known as the Blonde Arrow, was the main man.
Raymond Kopa and Paco Gento ran the wings, the latter scoring the winner in the European Cup after extra time, with Argentine Luis Carnaglia as the coach and Santiago Bernabeu the president. It was indeed a long time ago.
Now things have changed. Florentino Perez is the new supremo, Cristiano Ronaldo the man in charge of striking fear into opposition hearts and a legendary player in Zinedine Zidane is at the helm.
For the better part of his tenure, Zizou has always maintained that his three best forwards, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, otherwise known as the BBC, were surefire starters when fit. They had, after all, led the club to La Decima back in 2014, with goals coming left, right and centre as the whole of Europe stood up and took notice.
They had always contributed to the better part of the goal tally for the club in any given season since they’ve been together, so why change?
The dependency on Ronaldo
The idea of BBC playing together and causing damage had come undone back in 2015 when teams worked out how to stop them by double marking Bale, using four players to Madrid’s three in midfield, thereby nullifying them.
However since the goals were coming in, no problem was noticed, but the issue with the goal tally was the fact that the lion’s share was derived Ronaldo, the remaining members of BBC blowing hot and cold alongside him.
BBC’s tactical shortcomings
The 4-3-3 was still in place in the early months of the 2014/15 season, despite the obvious reasons behind its failure, and it only came to a temporary end when Bale got injured, which proved a blessing in disguise for then coach Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian used the newly acquired midfielders, a signing trend that has not abated in the white half of Madrid, in a 4-4-2, which worked an absolute treat as they embarked on a 22-match winning streak.
“4-4-2 is the best defensive system that exists, 4-3-3 doesn’t give the balance required and it’s more difficult to pressure higher upfield, the players are all comfortable with this system,” Ancelotti said.
The streak came to an end against Valencia, the first game of the 2015 calendar year, as the 4-3-3 was back in place after the winter break, coming with it the loss of control they had in midfield. The forwards didn’t track back, leaving the bulk of the work for the midfielders who buckled under the intense workload.
Most were injured during the key moments of the season, moreover, rendering the campaign a highly forgettable one.
Zidane’s 4-4-2 success
The idea of BBC as undisputed starters in Los Blancos’ starting XI was finally shown up last season as they all failed to send any positive signal in most of the key games they were featured in together. For the first time since 2013, furthermore, they all failed to score in the same game. The big wins against strong teams last season will live long in the memory as they showed the strength present in the team, but one thing was common though.
The wins all came using the 4-4-2, modified to different variants all determined by the opponent. Atletico faced a packed midfield as Zizou went with a 4-4-1-1 and trashed them 3-0 at the Vicente Calderon early on in the season. Whilst the match was more remembered for Ronaldo’s hat-trick, those with keen eyes must have seen Isco run the game from his role behind the Portuguese.
Juventus were faced with a tricky Isco as well who shone in a 4-3-1-2, with the midfield quartet completely taking the game away from the Old Lady as they dominated possession and did all they wanted in a 4-1 Champions League final victory to send shockwaves across the European hemisphere.
All of the games that followed the shocking Clasico loss had one thing in common, moreover; they were all won using the new 4-3-1-2, the system that managed to accommodate all the midfield players and introduce a highly motivated Isco in place of a consistently injured Bale, another reason to dump the BBC.
The era of midfielders
The slew of signings that have been made by the board in recent times has also pointed to a wider trend that might influence how long the BBC might be on air; midfielders have been signed on long term deals. Seven of them are in the team at present, but seven into three positions will not be the best fit despite Zizou’s rotations, though seven into four sounds a lot more appealing.
In truth, the team plays better when the team is midfield heavy. The fans love it, the trophies are rolling in, so why stop? We’re in the era of midfielders at Zidane’s Madrid and it’s high time the BBC went off air.
Have we seen the end of BBC? Should Zidane stick with his successful 4-4-2 formation? Let us know in the comments section below.