[Sport] A matter of trust: from Valverde's high to Isco's crisis

[#Steeven.™]

Zinedine Zidane always ensures that he is 100% with his players, but at the moment of truth he can only 11. He is a coach who measures a lot the minutes that everyone accumulates, but there is always a nucleus of them who play much more than him. rest. At this start of the season we can already see where the Frenchman's shots are going in this regard.

 

The spine rules
Analyzing the number of minutes of the first 10 games, the spinal column exceeds 500. The five that accumulate the most are not surprising: Courtois, Benzema, Varane, Casemiro and Ramos. The Belgian goalkeeper is the only one who has played everything, while Karim and 'Case' have been present in the 10 but without being starters in all. The two center-backs have only missed one game, although the captain had to be substituted against Cádiz due to an injury that later prevented him from playing in the Champions League against Shakhtar.

 

Valverde, the new 'fixed', ahead of Modric
After them one that is more and more fixed slips in: Valverde. The Uruguayan has participated in the 10, with 734 minutes and eight starts, two more than a Modric who is behind with 551 minutes. He has given Zidane good reasons to become one of his favorites. To his well-known facet of physical waste, he has added the scoring vein: three goals, being one of the team's top scooters.

 

Isco's worst moment
The other protagonist, but on the negative side, is Isco. The Malaga, who came to be 'hunted' complaining about what he was playing, barely accumulates 177 minutes spread over five games and without making his debut in the Champions League. He has played even less than Luka Jovic, who has 201 in four games.

He hasn't played in three of the last four games. Without any doubt, he is living his worst stage as a professional, almost without counting and forgotten by Luis Enrique in the national team, the same one who when he came to the position of coach for the first time gave him the helm of Spain. He has lived through bad moments that he always ended up reversing, although this time he has hit rock bottom and it remains to be seen if he will overcome it.

 

Mendy, owner of the left
The Frenchman is one of those who have played the most (7th) even occupying the right side due to emergencies. In the 'fat' matches Mendy has been chosen ahead of Marcelo. He has played eight, with seven starts and 668 minutes for the Brazilian's 360 (four complete games).

 

Kroos dosage
It is surprising to see the German so low. He has participated in eight of the 10, having started six. It is true that in the most important such as against Barcelona, Mönchengladbach and Inter it has been the game, but it takes less minutes than men like Vinícius or Asensio. The Brazilian (527 minutes) has taken advantage of a lot from Hazard's injury and the Mallorcan (also 527) has had the confidence of Zidane.

 

Rodrygo, many games, few minutes
The hero of the duel against Inter Milan is twelfth in number of games, but he is 17th in minutes (206). He has only played more than the injured (not all), the youth players, Jovic and Isco. Perhaps the goal in Champions will hit him a rush.

 

The injured
Among those who accumulate fewer minutes there are several proper names that, were it not for injuries, would possibly take longer to play. They are the cases of Hazard, Odegaard or Carvajal. The Belgian did not make his debut until the eighth game and has not yet completed a full match, but he has already been 144 minutes. The Norwegian started playing but was hampered by physical problems and stopped the count at 115. The Spanish international dried up at 213. Nacho and Militao have also been slowed down for this reason, although the minutes they had also enjoyed it was due to the absence of others.

 

No minutes
There are several players who have not had their chance yet. One of them is Lunin. Neither did the other goalkeeper, Altube. Along with them, Mariano, something that is no longer seen as a surprise. Even Mayoral (now in Roma) and homegrown players Marvin and Arribas have enjoyed minutes.