Eden Hazard’s performance against fourth-tier club Cacereno has put Carlo Ancelotti under immense pressure.
The Italian manager kept his word and gave the Belgian a chance but as it turns out, the attacker failed to live up to the expectations and lasted a mere 68 minutes. And it has left the manager ‘extremely’ worried reports AS.
The 31-year-old recorded zero attempted dribbles, did not have a go at goal, lost the ball five times and managed just 24 touches, the lowest of any Real Madrid forward.
These are the statistics that are certain to worry any manager and Ancelotti is no different. The manager thought he could count on him during the packed schedule this month, but the player has only disappointed the main man.
Against Cacereno, the 31-year-old had most of his touches on the left side of the field and almost every single touch was outside the box. Hazard’s substitution saw Rodrygo moving to left and it only took the Brazilian a minute to score the winner for his team.
Interestingly enough, speaking after the game, Ancelotti did not say a lot against Hazard, but minced a lot about the state of the pitch.
“You can’t play football,” Ancelotti said. “For me, it’s not football, it’s another sport. It’s nice because small teams can fight and compete with bigger teams.
“It’s good for the fans, but the fans also want to see beautiful matches.
About Hazard, he noted, “I liked [Hazard]. It’s difficult to evaluate players individually, it was impossible to play. Smaller players like Hazard or Rodrygo suffer more, but he delivered.”
It must be noted that Hazard’s ongoing contract with Real Madrid runs until 2024, but he is more likely to leave the team before that. In fact, it is highly anticipated that he will be sold in summer itself.
Given the performance he delivered against the fourth-tier side of Spanish football, one can suspect that it is going to be the final roll of the dice.
Following a few difficult years after the departure of star player Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid have bounced back brilliantly. They have recalibrated their squad around young players and look ready to take Europe by storm in the years to come.
One of the reasons behind their success has been the top-notch scouting network that has been able to unearth talents such as Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, among many others.
Real Madrid’s scouting network has been led by Juni Calafat. The 50-year-old Brazilian is the mastermind behind the club’s capture of players such as Vinicius, Rodrygo and most recently, Endrick, who joined from Palmeiras in a lucrative deal.
Calafat’s strong network, especially in his native Brazil, has helped Real Madrid build a strong base in South America. It is one of the reasons why many of the current first-team stars stem from the same continent.
To that end, a recent report from ESPN has revealed that there are a few clubs that have reached out to Juni Calafat, in light of his resounding success at Real Madrid. They have attempted to lure him away from Santiago Bernabeu.
Calafat, though, has no plans to leave Real Madrid, a club he joined in 2014. The 50-year-old feels comfortable in the Spanish capital and avoids any public appearance. He enjoys staying out of the limelight, as it grants him special advantages in the world of scouting.
And despite the apparent interest from other clubs, it appears Calafat is keen on continuing his mission at Real Madrid and helping the Whites unearth more talents in the years to come.
Juni Calafat had recently made a rare public appearance when he travelled to Dubai to receive the Scout of the Year prize at the Globe Soccer Awards.
Source: madriduniversal
