Julio Baptista compares Jude Bellingham to Zinedine Zidane

Julio Baptista joined Sevilla at the age of 21 in the summer of 2003 and his impact in LaLiga was instant. Signed by sporting director Monchi as a midfielder, head coach Joaquín Caparrós spotted his goal-scoring qualities and moved him further forward. In the two years he played for Sevilla, he scored 49 goals, with his standout performances earning him a move to Real Madrid.

In the two seasons Baptista spent at the Santiago Bernabéu (one on loan at Arsenal), he failed to perform as expected, but still scored some decisive goals, including the winner against Barcelona at Camp Nou that helped the club to the 2007-08 title. Jude Bellingham’s emergence as soon as he landed in Spain is reminiscent of the emergence of the now Valladolid Promesas coach, who has spoken to AS.

Bellingham hits the ground running at Madrid

Is Bellingham’s immediate impact similar to yours?

Yeah. There are parallels and, in both cases, the coach is key. When a coach knows how to recognize the pieces he has and how to fit them together, everything works better. Bellingham is proving to be the most decisive player at Madrid and in LaLiga. Ancelotti’s system benefits him and he has found a place for him to fully exploit his qualities, because of his scoring ability.

Caparrós did the same with you when he played you as a second striker...

That’s how it went. They are not two identical cases, because Bellingham is more creative and I was maybe a little more aggressive attacking the spaces, something he also does very well. The movement he has and the runs he makes in the final third of the pitch are really good. It does seem similar in that I also attacked in those areas. He is very unpredictable, difficult to read, and enters the area with a lot of power.

He is only 20, one year younger than you when you arrived in Seville. What future do you predict?

Playing for Real Madrid puts you out there and if someone does what he is doing, you go global. He seems to me to be a guy with a good head on his shoulders and who knows how to handle success and pressure. It is, however, advisable to be patient with him, because we already know what passion is like in football. When someone is doing very well we praise them a lot and if their performance drops, we no longer recognize them in the same way. Right now he is a great player who is going through a sweet spell, but he has to be prepared for when things don’t go so well.

Comparing Bellingham to Zidane

Who does he remind you of?

He has the strengths of several stars of the past and reminds me of Zidane. I don’t think he has the technical excellence [of Zidane], but he has more goal-scoring ability. He also reminds me of [Frank] Lampard. His ideal position is that of an attacking midfielder, with freedom to move and be close to goal.