The dismissal of coach Julen Lopetegui by Real Madrid cannot be separated from the poor performances of several key players in a number of important matches.
Quoted from Squawka, there are at least five players who caused Julen Lopetegui to be sacked as coach of Los Blancos. The poor performance of these players affected Madrid’s negative results. The result of 14 matches in all competitions in this season, Madrid only won six wins and swallowed six defeats. Including three consecutive defeats in La Liga after losing 5-1 to Barcelona last weekend.
The following five players took part in the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui by Real Madrid quoted from Squawka:
1. Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Courtois came to Madrid with a great reputation. In addition to appearing well with Chelsea in the previous season, Courtois is also the 2018 World Cup Best Goalkeeper. The report makes the Belgian goalkeeper want to appear as a major player at Los Blancos.
Unfortunately, the figure of Keylor Navas who has been the mainstay of Madrid also cannot be removed. As a result, Lopetegui also had to divide the tasks for the two goalkeepers. However, the division of assignment was bad for Courtois’s inconsistent performance in La Liga.
2. Raphael Varane
Raphael Varane is the mainstay of Madrid as a central defender duet with Sergio Ramos. Varane is also key for France to win the 2018 World Cup. But in the 2018/2019 season, Varane’s appearance was not like the previous few seasons.
Varane’s poor form this season has seen Madrid concede 14 goals in 10 matches. In El Clasico, Varane claimed to performed poorly in the first half. He was also the cause of the penalty of Barcelona’s second goal.
3. Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos is a supporter of Julen Lopetegui. Ramos also wants Lopetegui to continue to coach Spain during the 2018 World Cup. When Lopetegui arrives in Madrid, the 32-year-old defender welcomes him. However, Ramos’ performance at the start of the season was far from expectations.
The former Sevilla player is also claimed to want to be an important figure in the field as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. Several times Ramos was seen taking over a free kick. It’s just that, Ramos’s great desire is not balanced with his appearance as a central defender. Mistake after mistake was made by Ramos while guarding Madrid’s defense.
4. Luka Modric
Luka Modric starts the new season in Madrid with the 2018 World Cup Player of the Year and 2018 FIFA Player of the Year label. But Modric’s great performance with Zinedine Zidane was not seen when trained by Lopetegui. Modric had argued he was still exhausted after the World Cup.
Modric, who is expected to be the main player for Madrid’s new style under Lopetegui, did not come true. Modric game began to slow down and could not survive properly. Modric is now claimed by the best players to be the worst.
5. Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is expected to become a new star for Madrid after Ronaldo’s departure. Initially Bale performed brilliantly this season by packing three goals in the first three La Liga matches. But after that, goals from the Welshman did not come again.
The inconsistency of the former Tottenham Hotspur player was relapsed again this season. Bale is also considered not able to work well when against opponent’s defense.
