Any hopes Real Madrid fans may have held that their side was finding some consistency did not last long.
After consecutive wins in La Liga, Madrid travelled to Liverpool and came unstuck, with a 2-0 defeat leaving their hopes of qualifying for the next phase of the Champions League in jeopardy.
It marks a seismic shift from June, when Carlo Ancelotti’s side were crowned European champions, and has raised an important question: is the club’s dressing room lacking leaders?
There has been an exodus of senior players since that Wembley win over Borussia Dortmund. Veterans Nacho Fernandez, Toni Kroos and Joselu have gone, replaced by less experienced players, including Endrick, a superstar talent that needs time to adjust to his new surroundings. Even Kylian Mbappe, who has played more than 400 first-team matches for club and country, needs to adjust to life in a new country: nights like Wednesday, when he missed a crucial penalty, will not help that process.
The Athletic spoke to multiple sources connected to the squad and coaching staff, who prefer to remain anonymous to protect their positions, to understand whether these leadership concerns are shared internally.
The feedback was that the atmosphere among the players is still good and that, despite recent defeats and some doubts about the style of play, they are still supportive of Ancelotti. The fact that Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde hugged Ancelotti after scoring goals recently has been cited as a sign of their genuine affection for the Italian.
What is acknowledged, however, is that there are fewer strong voices in the dressing room.
One player who has been badly missed is Dani Carvajal, one of the most vocal players, often encouraging his team-mates. His anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury against Villarreal in October, which is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season, has left a void, even if coaching staff have offered him the chance to travel with and help the team whenever he wants. When asked about leadership at a press conference last week, Ancelotti accepted that Carvajal was “an important player” who was missed.
In his absence, others have had to step up. Lucas Vazquez is one of the few who has continued to raise his voice when things have gone wrong this season. Vazquez, who has also been injured for a couple of weeks, is seen as a unifying figure in the dressing room, given he has a relationship with practically all his team-mates.
Luka Modric also offers leadership, but that of a quieter kind. The 39-year-old talks to the coaching staff, who consult him on ideas around tactics, but he is not so quick to raise his voice. His daily work ethic and dedication serve more as an example to the young players than his messages to the group.
Ancelotti has singled out other players he believes are taking more responsibility, including Valverde. Due to injuries, the Uruguayan was captain for the first time against Leganes.
He is well-liked in the dressing room, but is generally thought of as a shy person who rarely speaks out, although that in itself is not a problem. “I prefer a player like him who transmits leadership on the pitch rather than just talk,” said one dressing-room source.
Mbappe is also not one to make big speeches. The striker is respected, but considered someone who is mainly focused on his own performance. He can communicate well in almost all the languages heard in the dressing room, although his main friendship group is with the other French players in the squad: Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and Ferland Mendy. The club hope, however, that his his leadership will grow over time if there is sporting success to go with it.
In the absence of veteran voices, Madrid are hoping that the experienced defender David Alaba will help his team-mates when he returns from his own ACL injury, probably in January. In the meantime, Antonio Rudiger has shown himself capable of helping the youngsters both in training with coaching and advice behind closed doors.
But when talking about a future leader, the name that stands out is Jude Bellingham. The England international midfielder was a key player in his first season, quickly winning the respect of his senior colleagues for his technical qualities. At the moment, there is a feeling within the dressing room that he has not gripped the team yet because he is not fluent in its languages, which makes it harder for him to connect.
Despite this, Bellingham has been prepared to show his displeasure with poor performances and demand more from his team-mates. His verdict on Madrid’s performance at Anfield, delivered to TNT Sports — “Liverpool wanted it more” — was an indication of that. The fact that he spoke to broadcasters after the match, as well as doing the official UEFA pre-match press conference, suggests a willingness to embrace more responsibility.
Vinicius Jr is also described as a leader on the pitch and is now considered the one his team-mates rely on the most. Before his last injury, the Brazilian was the most successful striker at Madrid, having been involved in 20 goals (scoring 12 and assisting eight), and he can be a vocal presence in dressing-room discussions.
These are young players, however, who cannot be expected to be the finished article as leaders at this stage of their careers. It is one of the reasons why Sergio Ramos has been touted as a possible transfer option for Madrid, particularly given how many defenders are injured.
Ramos is a Madrid icon, a five-time champion of La Liga and four-time Champions League winner, yet the former captain is not viewed as necessarily the right fit for this dressing room. Ramos is certainly a vocal senior player — which Madrid clearly lack — but sources suggest that dropping in such a strong personality could upset the squad dynamic.
At Madrid, the hope is that there is no need to bring back the former legends, and that the new talents will pick up the slack. “It’s a process that needs time,” Ancelotti said recently when asked about the transition in the team to younger players.
The problem is that, at the Bernabeu, time is always in short supply.
(Top photo: Michael Regan/UEFA via Getty Images)
