Eduardo Camavinga has the chance to become one of the most important players at Real Madrid over the new few years. The match against Real Valladolid, in which he played a key role in assisting Karim Benzema for his second goal of the night, has pleased head coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Although he has corrected the excessive bookings the French midfielder was receiving for almost always going to the ground to win the ball back, Ancelotti is fully aware that he still needs to improve a lot, although his progress has been good. One of Camavinga’s most worrying weaknesses for the Real Madrid coaching staff is his positioning on the pitch, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Sometimes the Frenchman struggles to find his position and can often look lost until he settles into the game. He can then use his quality to influence the game with his ball-carrying ability. Tactical flaws are still one of Camavinga’s main problems that Ancelotti hopes to correct as time goes by.
Despite the extremely high competition in the engine room with Modric, Kroos, Tchouaméni, Valverde and, to a lesser extent, Ceballos, Camavinga wants his place in the starting eleven. The France midfielder ended the World Cup disappointingly, losing in the final to Argentina but proved that the big stages do not weigh him down, as his second-half introduction was key to France’s comeback and taking the match to penalties.
That day in Lusail, Camavinga played as a makeshift left-back, a position he had to adapt to quickly after Lucas Hernandez’s serious injury in the first match in Qatar. His ability to change games by coming off the bench thanks to his energy and physicality proved decisive in getting Didier Deschamps’ side back into the game.
Back at Madrid, Ancelotti called on him to open the game up away to Valladolid at the end of 2022. His introduction in the 69th minute was a breath of fresh air for a Madrid side lacking in the final third. In the 20 minutes he played he made 22 passes with an 88% success rate and set up Benzema to make it 2-0. Against tired opponents, his power wreaks havoc as was already proven in the comebacks in the Champions League last season.
Against Cacereño in the Copa del Rey, his performance was one of the few highlights of a drab Madrid side that won thanks to Rodrygo’s fine goal. The Frenchman started ahead of Aurélien Tchoumaméni and when his compatriot was substituted at half-time he took on the role of the pivot.
“I don’t want to be a luxury substitute all my life,” he told Goal in an interview before the World Cup. “It’s not nice to be on the bench but I have good players ahead of me. You have to be patient,” admitted the young midfielder, who has started 2023 with the major challenge of earning a regular spot in Ancelotti’s team.
Kieran Quaile | GSFN
