Real Madrid ended the Club World Cup on a sour note after a tournament in which they showed glimpses of what Xabi Alonso’s project could be, but where three key players clearly stood out as pillars for the new coach: Dean Huijsen, Thibaut Courtois, and Fede Valverde. All three had a 10/10 tournament, with special mention for the Uruguayan who, in the debacle against PSG, where he once again played at right-back, was the only saving grace for the team. He was a key player and untouchable for Carlo Ancelotti, and the new coach has picked up the baton with a player he compares to Steven Gerrard.
A pillar for Real Madrid
A pillar, an all-rounder, an indispensable player… there are a thousand ways to describe Fede Valverde, who is now untouchable at Real Madrid and one of the best players in the world. No matter where he plays, his performance is outstanding. His versatility seems to know no bounds, and if he was already an emergency right-back during the season, during the Club World Cup Xabi Alonso also tried him out in different positions, both from the start and depending on the phase of the game. He used him as a right winger, leaving Rodrygo on the bench; as a central midfielder alongside Güler, with whom he alternated positions at key moments; and also as a right wing-back in a three-man defense.
Xabi Alonso is full of praise
In the run-up to the round of 16 match, Xabi Alonso compared the player to Steven Gerrard. “I can see him in many places, as I could with Steven. But for what we need and how we play, starting from a double six… he can get there, because he has acceleration, the ability to break through lines easily. We’re there now, but we’ll see going forward. His greatest quality is not receiving the ball with his back to goal and turning, but playing with more space in front of him. Because he has that ability to accelerate.“ He went on to admit that Fede Valverde ”makes his life much easier“ and that he is a player ”who does practically everything right.”
World record for minutes played
Doing practically everything well and being an all-rounder on the pitch means that he is indispensable and therefore accumulates many games and minutes throughout the season. Specifically, Fede Valverde, with the World Cup now over, has played 72 games this season, 65 with Real Madrid and seven with the national team, and up to 6,116 minutes.
With Real Madrid, he only missed three games all season, against Girona and Betis in La Liga and against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey. He didn’t start, but he did play against Celta, Rayo, and Leganés, as well as against Bolivia with his national team, where he hasn’t missed a single game.
In terms of minutes played, he has no rival. He is followed in the rankings by Bruno Fernandes, but with a difference of more than 300 minutes, and third is Maignan, the Milan goalkeeper. There are two other La Liga players in the top 14: Oblak is tenth (5,190′) and Pedri thirteenth (4,611).
However, he does have a rival, and within Real Madrid itself, in terms of games played. Modric, although he has played two fewer games than the Uruguayan with his club, 63, has played ten with Croatia, bringing his total to 73 games played this season, although, obviously, with fewer minutes.