Do Real Madrid need to buy another centre-back?
Zidane used Casemiro as a makeshift centre-back in the past but the Brazilian thinks like a midfielder and can be too aggressive; Vallejo meanwhile is injury-prone...Champions League Final: Real Madrid - Liverpool
With just five days until the transfer window closes, the debate continues as to whether Real Madrid need to bring in a new central defender following Pepe's departure to Beşiktaş... Do Real Madrid need to sign a central defender? According to Zidane, the answer is no. “We don't need reinforcements in that position; we have Casemiro and Marcos Llorente who can drop back when necessary”, the coach said in his press conference after the Valencia game. “I don't think this situation will happen again this season”.
Zidane has relied on Casemiro as a makeshift centre-back when his regular defenders are out injured or suspended. It was an experiment he tried out last season in the Copa del Rey quarter final return leg against Celta when the team bowed out after drawing 2-2 in Vigo. This time, he was without the suspended Sergio Ramos who was sent off at Riazor with 20 seconds remaining and the team 0-3 up, and also missing Raphaël Varane and Jesús Vallejo - both carrying injuries, which left him with just Nacho.
No Marcos Llorente, no Vallejo and Pepe long gone
Deploying Casemiro in a position which is unfamiliar to him didn't have the desired effect against Valencia. In open play he was able to win back the ball but he struggled when he had to drop back and defend; he gave away five fouls and a challenge on Carlos Soler which nearly earned him a red card. In the move which led to Valencia's equaliser, he showed a lack of basic defensive knowledge in positioning and marking - because he thinks like a midfielder. Picking up rival forwards isn't an automatic, unconscious response for Casmiro. That move prompted many comentators to think of how Madrid missed a seasoned centre-back like Pepe, or Marcos Llorente, who has more experience as an emergency central defender - a role he undertook under Zidane with Castilla, and even Manu Hernando - one of the players who has come up from the youth ranks this summer.
Manu Hernando on duty with Castilla
We saw how Manu kept Lukaku and Pogba at bay during his 45 minute run-out against Manchester United in Santa Clara. He looked just as solid in the second half against Fiorentina in the Trofeo Bernabéu. But yesterday, Castilla coach Santiago Solari included him in the squad who travelled to Pontevedra for the Week 2 meeting with Coruxo then didn't play him at all. If he wasn't going to feature against Coruxo, he could have at least been on the bench at the Bernabéu for the Valencia game...
This mini-crisis in central defence has only highlighted how Vallejo, Pepe's supposed substitute, isn't always available. There is no question about Vallejo's talent or his potential, but he is injury-prone. He has suffered eight injuries in the last three seasons during his time at Zaragoza, Eintracht Frankfurt and now Real Madrid, where he has still yet to make his debut. Pepe, on the other hand has made his league debut with Beşiktaş, and even with a goal against Antalyaspor on the opening day...
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