MADRID.- The French striker of the real Madrid, Kylian Mbappéauthor of a first record season in the individual facet, but without any important title, his second campaign in Spain will begin in search of the collective glory that has been denied so far.
Mbappé enjoyed a luxury that he had not known for years: three weeks on vacation. These rest days served him to disconnect, work physically and arrive in good condition with the aim of opening the second chapter of his career in the Spanish capital.
A necessary pause for the new N.10 of the “White House”, affected in June by a virus during the Club World Cup, after finishing a season as frustrating as exhausting.
Only one month after their setback in the United States, Madrid fans saw a Mbappé on Tuesday in full form, involved and already decisive, during the only official friendly game of the short preseason merengue, against the modest Austrian team of the Tyrol (4-0).
With a double and an assistance, the Bondy player has started the course perfectly, far from its shy start at Santiago Bernabéu last summer, before imposing himself little by little as the leader in the attack of the Carlo Ancelotti team.
Ni or 9, but leader
His status, difficult to define when he arrived at a team full of stars that had dominated Europe, is not questioned at the moment in the white box.
Recover the N.10, which left Luka Modric after leaving to Milan, his number in the French team, is not accidental and should be accompanied, according to the Madrid press, of a greater responsibility in the locker room.
The new Merengue coach, Xabi Alonso, had already appointed Mbappé as the official penalty pitcher, ending the debate of who should do it.
Although it is probably difficult to improve its individual statistics (44 goals in all competitions), the Bleus captain, aware of the tactical demands of the Basque coach, will have to make additional collective efforts, just as his friend Ousmane Dembélé has made in Paris Saint-Germain.
“We need and have to defend all. The eleven players who are in the field have to be involved at the defensive moment,” Alonso warned during the Club World Cup. “We have the same demands with Mbappé as with Huijsen, Tchouaméni or Ceballos,” he added.
Connection with vinicius
To aspire to his, finally, First Champions League and his first Golden Ball, Mbappé, crowned top scorer of European football last season, he will also have to connect with his attack partner, the Brazilian Vinicius Junior.
The understanding of both players could play a key role in the tactical revolution desired by Alonso.
“This is understanding, ‘feeling’. I think it can work well, they have (Mbappé and Vinicius) obviously many individual qualities. But, we must play together so that each one can benefit from the collective system,” Alonso describes.
Always positioned in the line of attack, but with great freedom of movements, Mbappé could also take advantage of the irruption of the young Spanish striker Gonzalo García to recover, at least at some times, his preferential position on the left side.
In addition, the incorporations of English Trent Alexander-Arnold as a right side and the Spanish Álvaro Carreras on the left, as well as the return of Dani Carvajal, could also help Mbappé generate more occasions of danger for the rival goal.
But demonstrate the same effectiveness that he exhibited since January (32 goals in 38 games in all competitions) depends on himself, to conquer the titles with “the club of their dreams.”
