Real Madrid News
Former Real Madrid director questions megastar’s leadership: ‘Great footballer, but not a leader’
Real Madrid’s 4-2 defeat to SL Benfica in the UEFA Champions League, which has forced them into a playoff tie to qualify for the Round of 16, continues to draw sharp criticism from former players and fans.
Questions are being asked of the team’s level and commitment, while those within the club are also angry with the image of the team being presented in the European competition.
Former Real Madrid player and director Pedja Mijatovic became the latest to air his concerns, pointing fingers at one of the team’s best performers this season – Kylian Mbappe.
Indeed, speaking on El Larguero, the ex-Real Madrid star questioned the French superstar’s leadership capabilities, stating that scoring goals does not make him a leader.
“I think Real Madrid lacks a leader, not a player who makes a difference. I don’t see a leader who says, ‘What the hell are we doing?’ A Sergio Ramos, Modric, Benzema, Fernando Hierro, Raul…. A leader the camera focuses on,” he began.
“Mbappe is a great footballer, but he’s not a leader. Just like Zidane wasn’t with France. He wasn’t a leader, but he was the best player. Goals don’t make Mbappe a leader,” Mijatovic added.
“In my generation, the leader was Fernando Hierro, and when Fernando said something, you had to do it no matter what.”
Explaining that Real Madrid’s problems go beyond just the coach, Mijatovic stated: “When
Xabi Alonso had already left, I said that perhaps it wasn’t a coaching problem. And I still say it.
“Alvaro Arbeloa has arrived, a coach who perhaps doesn’t have enough experience, but who is a Real Madrid fan and knows the players and the club, and again you see these signs of complacency.”
Pointing fingers at the players, he added: “And I think we have to start asking ourselves if a coach can fix this. It’s not the president’s fault: I think the players will have to wake up a bit and ask themselves how they can improve.
“Against Benfica, you see them lose the ball and it doesn’t seem to matter to them, they act as if they’re the best in the world and as if nothing’s wrong. It’s fatigue, complacency… I don’t see the spark, I don’t see anything.”
Real Madrid’s adventure so far under new coach Jose Mourinho has been far from perfect and this fact shouldn’t be lost even after the team’s brilliant comeback win over AS Roma in midweek.
However, there are areas where Los Blancos have shown a clear improvement under Mourinho, when compared to previous bosses such as Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa.
One of those areas has been set plays, with Real Madrid appearing far more potent from set pieces this season.
A clear improvement from last season
As reported by Diario AS, the three goals in Rome, all from Arda Guler corners inside a seven-minute blitz, were the perfect advert for the work being done at Valdebebas.
Those strikes took Real Madrid’s set-piece tally to seven goals in just ten matches this season. Four of them have come in La Liga, one from a corner and three from free kicks, with the trio in Rome completing the haul.
It is a striking figure when set against last season’s return. Under Alonso and Arbeloa, Madrid managed 12 set-piece goals across the entire campaign, all in La Liga, split evenly between six from corners and six from free kicks.
On current trends, this side looks well placed to surpass that number comfortably.
The reason behind Real Madrid’s improvement
Attacking set pieces are led at Valdebebas by Pedro Machado, with the whole coaching staff involved and Mourinho himself giving the final green light on every routine.
Defending them, meanwhile, falls to Sami Khedira, though it is treated as a collective effort. Mourinho’s appreciation of that teamwork was clear when Bellingham headed in a Guler free kick against Espanyol, prompting the manager to leap up and embrace his assistants.
Machado, one of Mourinho’s most trusted lieutenants, has followed him from Fenerbahce to Benfica and now Madrid, part of a backroom team blending experience with young, ambitious talent.
On the pitch, Guler is the undisputed master when available, his left foot the key weapon, with Bernardo Silva, Trent Alexander-Arnold and even Diomande also trusted to initiate attacks.
Such meticulous strategy has helped Real Madrid turn into a potent side from set-pieces this season.
