Two Real Madrid players who have benefited from Valverde’s right-back role

Jose Mourinho’s astute skill in balancing out profiles on the field has been key in Real Madrid’s resurgence, particularly in the last month.

Los Blancos did not start the new season strongly, and the midfield appeared to be a mess early on.

Mourinho’s idea of a Federico Valverde-Aurelien Tchouameni double pivot, in particular, did not work out on the field.

The manager then found an innovative solution to add creativity while also retaining Valverde and Tchouameni’s impact on the game.

He sacrificed a natural right back and placed the captain in that position, and moved one of Arda Guler or Bernardo Silva to the newly opened midfield slot to enhance the creative output.

The decision to move Valverde to right-back opened the doors for Guler and Bernardo to solidify their place in the starting XI. While the former was having a good season regardless, the latter was relatively struggling up until that point.

Since the new system began, both players have flourished and are now two of Mourinho’s most trusted personnel on the field. Additionally, both players bring completely different profiles to the field, giving the manager tactical versatility.

The Portuguese star brings a sense of calm and control to the middle of the park, and with his experience also comes an extraordinary ability to understand spaces and movements.

Guler, on the other hand, stands out for his unpredictability, creativity and ability to create imbalances – something very different from Bernardo. Both players, in fact, have also shown that they can operate in tandem.

While Guler and Bernardo Silva have both benefited and grown into the team’s regular dynamics in midfield, the manoeuvre to bring Valverde to right back has displaced the team’s natural defenders.

Just last summer, Los Blancos roped in Trent Alexander-Arnold amid much hype with a lot of expectations placed on the former Liverpool star.

This summer, they went on and signed Denzel Dumfries as well, taking on a second world-class right-back.

Now, however, both players appear to have no chance of starting in the big games as Valverde has settled into that role comfortably, and they thus emerge as the players on the losing end of the deal.