MADRID, 18 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid’s Uruguayan midfielder, Fede Valverde, lives one of his sweetest moments in the white team, in a position that initially was not assigned to ‘Halcón’, although with a lot of influence on the goal and the game of the meringues , which take advantage of a player’s energy that seems inexhaustible.
It’s only been four years since the Uruguayan ‘all-rounder’ made his debut with the Whites’ first team, and now he’s a fixture for Carlo Ancelotti, who relies heavily on his legs for decisive matches. A meteoric evolution in a club as demanding as Real Madrid.
One of the keys to his rapid and successful growth in the team is his ability to adapt to any situation and position on the pitch. Surely, he is a player that any coach would want in his squad. He plays wherever they put him, without question, and making the most of his qualities, which are many.
Thus, his best version has come in a disposition that was not made for him at first. Always associated with the inside position, the Uruguayan ‘flies’ now more angled to the right, where he can expose his powerful ball movements and gallops and be closer to the goal, with a shot as powerful as it is accurate. Not without neglecting the defensive side, proving to be one of the most committed players in aid.
And that influence and positive evolution are supported by Valverde’s statistics. The Uruguayan is the third player with the most minutes (1,076) in the squad this season, behind Vinicius and Alaba. He has played 14 games in this 2022-2023 season, with only two substitutions, and in which he has scored five goals -the same as Benzema and Rodrygo- and provided two assists. Thus, he has already surpassed the scoring and goal assist figures of his previous four seasons in the first team.
Nor should we forget his track record despite his young age. Valverde has already won a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a European Super Cup, two Leagues and two Spanish Super Cups with Real Madrid. Data and achievements that show that he is one of Ancelotti’s talismanic footballers, who is largely to blame for the Uruguayan’s enviable form.
And the recent Clásico was the perfect example of everything that Valverde represents in this Real Madrid. Apart from his goal, coming from behind and with a dry shot from the front, the Uruguayan contributes that invisible work for many that is key for his team. The charrúa was the best of the match along with Toni Kroos, who did not hesitate to assure after the duel against the azulgranas that Valverde is within the current ‘Top3’ of the best midfielders in the world.
“Valverde is getting used to playing in that position and he is doing well. He reaches the goal more, he is scoring, he has spectacular energy,” said the Italian coach after the “good game” against Barça on Sunday.
In addition, the Uruguayan has already gone through some more complicated moments in the injury section. Valverde suffered a knee sprain in El Clásico in October 2021 that left him in the dry dock for more than a month. A setback from which it was difficult for him to get out firmly, although now it is an isolated and forgotten fact, which does not prevent him from performing at his best and having become a faithful soldier of the Italian coach.
And another of his strengths, which suggests that he has not yet reached his ceiling, is his age. The one from Montevideo has just turned 24, so it seems that Real Madrid will enjoy this box-to-box midfielder for many seasons. And it is that another of Valverde’s qualities that ‘falls in love’ with the white fans is his madridismo, which emerges in each of his races, efforts and celebrations.
And all this will mean that Valverde will have a fixed place in the Uruguayan team in the next World Cup in Qatar, which begins in just over a month, and with Portugal, Ghana and Korea as rivals. Real Madrid’s ’15’ has accumulated 44 caps, with 4 goals, after making his debut with the senior team at just 19 years old.
