Isco

And in that same token, good bye Llorente and Ceballos

But it also means goodbye Bale once and for all

As they say you have to take the good with the bad

Ceballos only stayed because of Lopetegui. I don't see him hanging around once Zidane is back, but at least we know James is not coming back lol

Isco trained on his day off. Excellent commitment

Was Zizou fond of Isco? I can't remember.

This could be his revival.

ZZ's motto to start his career was BBC to the death. Then he fell out of love with Bale and started using his (in)famous Zdiamond that had Isco behind Ronaldo and Benz/Bale. Isco found consistensy and was vital for us in our league and CL wins

I don't know if he'll start using that formation again but one thing is for sure, Isco is the biggest winner from the ZZ reappointment. ZZ lavishes praise on Isco everytime he os asked about him, he is one of the players he "enjoys" the most watching.

Isco has been given a ginormous life line. Bias aside, he really did put on alot of weight so he needs to use the summer break to really get in shape and put his money where his mouth is

Yeah he was fond of Isco and probably as important, Isco wanted to prove his worth with Zidane around.

Isco needs to leave. His biggest downfall is actually his lack of athleticism/short legs. Over the years i have learned to dislike players of his ilk.

I concur with Nick in that the 4312 is aids, particularly with this squad of ours.

His downfall was Solari and he is gone so, Isco would be back trying to impress Zizou again. It's the likes of Valverde and co. whose position is on the line (:

Doc wrote:Valverde (:

But the 4-3-1-2 is the Zidiamond. I don't like it either, but maybe with different personnel like Hazard in the Isco role, and 2 different strikers it could work. We can't know until we see it.

I'm really curious what formation Zidane wants to go with tbh.

I would bet Zidane will prob continue with a 433 at least till the end of the season.

4312 is one of those formations that takes more than it gives imo, and it should probably only be used if your squad is already ideal for it, which ours is not. When we used the Zidiamond it was more a matter of trying to awkwardly put the puzzle pieces together. For now i wouldn't find the 4312 optimal with this midfield and Marcelo as lb.

This summer might finally be the time for Isco to leave and ply his trade elsewhere. I’d be hard pressed to argue that he’s lived up to his initial expectations. Chad would probably argue that he’s done more damage than good. That said, let’s take a look back at when he did look good for us. I’m a bit disappointed that his performance as a DM against Liverpool in the Champions League isn’t included here, but his ball control is something else.

After watching that video, my love for Isco has been renewed. Thank you brother Thimmy.

Too slow and poor physicality, thus giving him too narrow of a player profile. Thanks and cya Francisco.

And yet, Zidane still likes him.

He played fantastic against Osasuna. if he keeps this form he is going to start in important matches. Zidane really likes him and that's for a reason.

should replace him with odegaard next season

I will always like Isco but I think it’s time to move on. hope he performs well till season end and leaves on a good note

Why? you acting like he is 35 years old lol. he had ONE bad season and that had it's reasons. injury, Solari etc... before that he performed very good under Zidane for 3 years.

we let him go then sign somebody with half the talent for 100M? no thanks i'd rather keep Isco.

and Odegaard ain't coming next season.

Odegaard is literally coming back to Madrid next summer, that's how his loan deal is set up. The agreement for a 2 years loan is only verbal, it's not technically legal in Spain.

Then we will make the decision to send him again. It's time to move on from Modric and install Odegaard at a key player

Doc wrote:And in that same token, good bye Llorente and Ceballos

Huh, I was correct with this one big time.

Also, yeah, Modric time at Madrid is up and I personally believe Ode is the man that can replace him. Not like for like obviously but fill the void nicely.

Reportedly (my Spanish isn’t quite good enough to confirm it), Isco vented his frustration about a lack of game time by complaining on Movistar+‘s El Partidazo show that Zidane takes him off prematurely(50th or 60th minute), or subs him on in the 80th minute.

I don’t understand how he can complain. He’s been featured so often, despite his typically underwhelming performance level. If not grateful for the unrequited love shown to him by the manager, he should at least take a moment to reflect on what he actually contributes with, or why he’s failed to become a starter for all of these years, under different coaches.

He should be happy he's getting any minutes tbh, guy has been a shadow of himself in recent seasons.

Frankly if i was Zidane i'd be looking for ways to offload him.

The complaining starts at 0:38:



Apparently, he says:

If he has to take me off, it's in the 50th or 60th minute of the game. Sometimes at half time.

If he has to bring me on, it's in the 80th minute

For someone who has been playing at an amateurish level for a while now, the last thing he needs is complain. He's lucky he's still getting minutes.

I also love how Jovic in the video is completely immersed in his own world.

I'm definitely in the minority here, but I feel bad for him, all things considered. He went from being one of the hottest emerging strikers in Europe to a bench warmer in just a matter of months. He didn't play well in the very few times he was called upon, so the blame shouldn't fall entirely on Madrid and Zidane. But, it's a fact that he was treated unfairly.

Madrid should really stop destroying careers like that. If you want to fully commit yourself to this youth policy, give them enough playing time to develop.

Well... Jovic got injured, then had issue in training, then got sick, then broke curfew and almost went to jail during coronavirus lockdowns, etc.

He had a very rough year.  But ZZ is giving him some changes early on in this season.  He's literally done nothing.

As far as Isco... he needs to show up in shape to start the season first. He's been fat the past 2 seasons.

Sports, re Jovic, the last game he played in there was a lot of chances. The trio of Vinicius, Jovic, Benzema showed IMO a lot of potential. Mind you Jovic needs to get his confidence back and Vinicius still needs to develop better finishing, but I thought there was hope.

Last Season, Initially I think Zidane should have played him more, but his off field antics was his own fault for not getting more opportunities. I do think Zidane is giving everyone amble opportunities this season.

As to Isco complaints, I agree with everyone here. There are no more prima donnas here anymore. Everyone is playing and no one bar Courtois and Ramos are untouchable any longer. Later in the season, we likely won’t be the same degree of experimentation, but it will be after everyone has had opportunities.