Facilitating Greatness: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid's Midfield Jewel
In the realm of Los Blanco’s storied legacy, what are the nuanced tweaks implemented by Carlo Ancelotti that elevated Jude Bellingham as the resplendent Jewel In Real Madrid’s Crown?
Flourishing amidst the storied halls of Real Madrid has been the talk of the footballing world, Jude Bellingham. Unlike most of his Galatico predecessors, Jude Bellingham has become the shining star and talisman of this Real Madrid team from midfield, but how has Carlo Ancelotti refined his team to unlock Jude Bellingham as the jewel in Real Madrid’s crown?
During Carlo Ancelotti’s second spell in Madrid, he mostly implemented a 4-3-3 system, which centred around his star striker and eventual Balon D’or winner, Karim Benzema. Benzema would not only occupy the central areas and be active in the box as a traditional 9, but he'd also drop into the pockets to be a facilitator for his wingers, most notably his left winger, Vinicius Jr, who, with Benzema dropping deep and linking up play, would have space to attack in behind and penetrate the box. Benzema would also like to drop and contribute in link-up play, hence why he’s in a rare elite cadre of strikers who are referred to as “9.5’s”, as he’s got the traditional instincts of a number 9, but with the linkup and playmaking abilities of a 10.
Thus, with Benzema departing Los Blancos over the summer, Carlo Ancelotti was faced with a dilemma, especially with no direct successor for Benzema planned to come in and the ceaseless saga of Kylian Mbappé’s apparent move to the Santiago Bernabeu being held back for another year, regarding how he would be able to replace Benzema’s staggering 95 goals and assists in the 89 games he played during Ancelotti’s latest reign in charge.
In comes Jude Bellingham, who has spent the majority of his career playing as a dynamic, effervescent number 8, carrying his team up the pitch with his distinctive skill set in ball carrying, dribbling, duel winning, and crashing the box. This was highlighted the best in his contribution to Dortmund’s painfully close endeavour to dethrone Bayern Munich’s firm grip on the Bundesliga title, in which he contributed to 21 goals and assists in all competitions.
However, not even the biggest Jude Bellingham advocate would have foreseen the staggering contribution he’s made to Real Madrid in front of goal. The biggest compliment that can be given to the Birmingham City Academy graduate is that Benzema’s presence in front of goal has not been missed, mainly as a result of Bellingham unexpectedly filling those shoes. This was not only a change in personnel; it was a testament to his adaptability, as he unexpectedly stepped into the considerable shoes of Real Madrid’s second-all-time top scorer, whose brilliance had illuminated the Bernabéu for over a decade while being 15 years his junior.
From a tactical standpoint, there have been a few tweaks Ancelotti has made to extract this side of Bellingham’s game. The most apparent change you’d be told if you ask anyone who’s watched Real Madrid this season would be that they’re lining up in a diamond formation, a 4-3-1-2 shape, as opposed to the 4-3-3 that’s been accustomed to Ancelotti’s Madrid. Be that as it may, there are a few more nuanced tweaks, mostly when Madrid is in possession, which can be attributed as primary factors to Bellingham’s explosion in the final third.
As we can see, the 2-5-3 shape in possession is being implemented within the diamond. Through this, Madrid’s full-backs (Fran Garcia, Camavinga, and Carvajal) provide the width that the team lacks with no natural wingers in the diamond. Carvajal has benefited massively from the shift to the diamond, as it has allowed him to do his best work, which is in the wide areas of the offensive third. In doing so, relieving him of the 1 v 1’s he struggled with over the last few seasons, as he has struck an invaluable connection on the right-hand side with Valverde, whose contributions defensively have not only helped in Carvajal’s uptick in form, but his dynamic contributions on both sides of the pitch have been imperative to the success of Carlo’s diamond thus far. We can see below how Valverde has been covering for Carvajal when he makes his runs into the final third.
In the 2-5-3 build-up structure, Jude is given a somewhat free role in the final third, usually behind the duo of Vini and Rodrigo, who do a good job of occupying defenders in the wide and half-space areas, allowing Jude more space in the usually congested central areas of the final third. This has allowed Bellingham to drive into the box and showcase his goal threat. This is best illustrated in Madrid’s second goal against Napoli in this year’s Champions League.
As we can see, when Jude starts driving into the final third, Rodrygo does a good job of occupying both the RB Di Lorenzo and the RCB, Østigard to where when Jude does enter the box, he’s not able to block off the pathway for Jude’s entry into a goal-scoring position, before he finishes past Meret.
Thus, the movements of the two forwards in the diamond have facilitated Jude’s increased impact in the box, and with Rodrygo and Vini Jr. being innate at occupying defenders wide due to natural winger instincts, it has left defences with dilemmas on who to cover, allowing Jude more space as a spare man in the box.
When looking at the pressing structure of Madrid, they’ve slightly tweaked that as a result of the change in the system. We’ve seen two main structures: a 4-4-2 press with Vini and Rodrygo as the first pressers, with Valverde on the right and Jude on the left, almost occupying an LM position. When Madrid wins the ball back, this opens up Jude to attack the left half-space, forming combinations with Vini, Camavinga, Kroos, and whoever is playing. We see Vini reverting back to his LW position at times, providing the width and allowing Jude to have the left half space to attack, where his best work comes from.
Bellingham, who before this blossoming at Madrid, had been known as this “all-action” midfielder who was able to contribute in all phases of play, with some even considering him a box-to-box midfielder. This narrative had ignored his blissful presence in the final third, and those who have watched him extensively for club and country beforehand would acknowledge that his best attributes were his dribbling, his strideful ball carrying, and his ability to find space in the final third. Kudos must be given to Carlo Ancelotti for being able to extrapolate this, masterfully integrating him into the tactical tapestry of the squad, and in doing so, maximising the effectiveness of Madrid’s newest galactico, The Jewel in Los Blanco’s Crown, Jude Bellingham.
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