Macca: Makélélé was key to our Real Madrid side

First off I want to thank ESPN and Relevent Sports for the invitation to today’s press conference. We’re planning more robust La Liga coverage this season so this was a great way to kick off the campaign. My colleague Javier Martinez also attended.

Secondly, call this confirmation bias for me but I was heartened today by Steve McManaman saying Claude Makélélé was the most important player on the Real Madrid teams he featured for. In my opinion, during the 2000’s, Xavi and Makélélé (Pirlo and Fabergas to a lesser extent) were midfielders who changed the way football was played at its highest levels in Europe. During the 2010’s you could argue David Silva, Tony Kroos and Luca Modrić were the most impactful in terms of tactical shifts BUT I believe the Xavi/Makélélé era shifted tactics permanently to where we are today.

Macca leaned right into the subject when asked a question by another reporter that attended today’s press conference:

Manu Gutiérrez (NBP Sports):

“Steve, you played for a Madrid side with Raúl, Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane—many big names starring in the attack—and you won titles. Today, Madrid have a similar level of talent, but they’re coming off two seasons without winning a major trophy. What do you think is needed for so many talented players to coexist and function well together?”

Steve McManaman:

“Um, well, I... nice to see you, by the... Um, yes, well, I mean, when we won all those titles with the names you mentioned, we had an incredible number six in Claude Makélélé, who really helped the midfield. Of course, the defense at that particular time... that was very, very strong.

I think Real Madrid this year have tried to rectify that. I think they were weak defensively last year, and Jose’s brought in another three defenders: I think Dumfries has come in, Cucurella has come in, and of course Konaté’s come in. They haven’t got a number six yet. The number six, the best number six in the world, is going to Barcelona in Rodri from Manchester City, and he’s the best around. So Real Madrid are going to have to try and sort out their defensive area that way.

But I think if they get the front three right—if Jose gets Vini Jr. and Kylian playing correctly and playing together—they’ll score many goals. But as you rightly said, they need to find the best midfielders in there, too, to stop them leaking goals. I think Jose is starting with his defense; he wants his defense to be strong, and it didn’t surprise me that he brought new defenders in this year.”

Fernando Palomo (Moderator/ESPN talent):

“I would remember Zidane’s phrase, right? After they sold Makélélé out of Real Madrid and they brought in another attacker up front, they said, ‘Why put another layer of gold paint on a Bentley when you don’t have an engine?’”

Steve McManaman:

“Yeah, exactly. He was the most important—most important player in our team. Forget about Figo, Zidane, Raúl, and Ronaldo; as you said, the most important player was Claude Makélélé.”

Fernando Palomo:

“There’s your headline...”

Yep, Fernando, absolutely my headline. My colleague Javier Martinez and I will likely have more from this presser in the next few days.

Photo: By Web Summit Qatar - RCZ_5578, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=147325206