Eduardo Camavinga is the best left back in Europe

In the 35th minute, of the Real Madrid-Manchester City match, in the Champions League, Eduardo Camavinga did something that not many left-backs can do, as he quickly passed the ball to Luka Modric, before he went deep into the defensive half of the Citizens, the French advanced in front of Bernardo Silva, before sending the ball to Vinicius Junior, and the Real Madrid winger did the rest, bypassing the fallen Ederson on the sides, to give the Royals a 1-0 lead in the match that ended in a draw.

Although Junior stole the spotlight with his goal, Camavinga’s pass is everything, and Real Madrid could not advance without it, and there is the fact that the French player is not a full-back, but rather a central midfielder, who deals powerfully with the ball, as a player 6, and sends passes to the goal as a number 10 classic.

But for Real Madrid, he is a full-back, playing out of position, after a struggle for his place for the past three months, and he may be the obstacle to Manchester City’s attack, in Wednesday’s second leg at the Etihad Stadium.

The beginning of the journey
Camavinga drew the attention of all of Europe, when he was named Man of the Match, Rennes against Paris Saint-Germain in 2019, when he was young at 16 years old, but he succeeded in controlling the midfield that included Marco Verratti and Marquinhos, easily, to give his team a 2- lead. 1 on the Parisians.

Watch a video of the match, and you will see a kid who does everything adults do with football, evades pressure with great confidence, wins cleverly with free kicks, then kicks the ball into the far corner, scores the second goal of Rennes, tries possession, chooses the right times to move forward, avoids midfield The whole of Paris Saint-Germain, before being attacked as he entered the final third, all caught the eye of Spanish football, and the so-called pivot, who is a defensive midfielder, is a task that only the greats do.

But he was not a Spanish player, nor the type preferred by Real Madrid or Barcelona, ​​so it was strange for everyone that the royal paid 40 million euros, to snatch Camavinga from the French League, to bring him to a team that had a distinguished trio in the midfield, so Modric, Kroos and Casemiro were completely in control. There is no place for the little French.

Although the player did not seem suitable for the formation of Real Madrid, Ancelotti trusted him completely and did not put him as a substitute, so he scored in his first match, and he also played distinguished minutes with the team, in the Champions League during his journey to win the fourteenth title.

Camavinga played everywhere in midfield, starting on the right, but appearing in the 6th, 8th, left and even as a right winger.

Ancelotti does not force the players to join the squad, but he has made it clear that he prefers to use Nacho in the right-back position rather than the small Frenchman, or the left-footed David Alaba, but the 19-year-old Camavinga is now playing with full right in Spain’s best clubs.

Continue to grow
The 2022 Champions League final ended 1-0, but Real Madrid did not favor possession more than ten minutes, while Liverpool did not look like they would score soon, and with Camavinga having his five minutes on the field, he touched the ball seven times, He won with a tackle, and it was nice to have him at the final whistle to celebrate the win.

The last match in which Camavinga participated was a few minutes, so Ancelotti started with him, or he was an important substitute, so the French international played 18 matches in the Spanish League, and seven out of 10 in the Champions League.

Ancelotti preferred to play with Camavinga, even after Real Madrid paid 100 million euros for Tshuamini, who seemed to be a substitute for Casemiro, but that was not clear yet.

This is one of the drawbacks of playing in Real Madrid. It is said that the player is bad after a few months. Tchuamini is not perfect, but he needs more minutes. He has defects that must be fixed with time, which is what the player learned after his repeated exclusion from the starting line-up.

And Camavinga was the one who assumed his role, in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 match against Liverpool, when he was preferred to his French colleague, and he played a key role in the first 45 minutes in that match, which led to the supremacy of Real Madrid.

Qatar has changed a lot
France coach Didier Deschamps was the first coach to use Camavinga as a left-back. This is the flexibility that Ancelotti is asking for. The player has an idea of what is required to play in that position.

So the credit goes to the French coach for playing Camavinga as a full-back. In a group stage match in the World Cup, he started playing left-back, and the Real Madrid player was added, as a substitute in the 70th minute in the center, when France lost control of this side of the field.

Although Argentina won the tournament in the end, Camavinga played a decisive role in his country’s victory in the World Cup, as his presence helped the defensive superiority of his team, and he was decisive as France scored two goals near the end of normal time.

It seemed that Ancelotti had always been watching Camavinga to play in the left-back position since last January, until in April he became his first choice, despite the presence of many players.

Not his favorite place
“But he’s not in my position,” were Camavinga’s words after his brilliant performance at left-back, in the Champions League quarter-final, after he helped significantly in the victory over Chelsea, and he continues to repeat it in front of Ancelotti and the media in Madrid.

But the Italian coach ignores his words, as he said: “He surprised us all as a left-back. He played very little in this position, but he created a lot of danger in the opponent’s half. He also has defensive work. He doesn’t like it, but we do it.”

Camavinga’s humiliating life differed a lot, as the Frenchman quickly moved to the royal, but he certainly knew that he had no place in the Real Madrid midfield, but everything changes in the Santiago Bernabeu, and he is sure to become essential there.

Long term role?
Camavinga came at the right time, Ferland Mendy has been injured for four months, and despite his defensive solidity, he lacks quality, and it was said that he will leave Real Madrid soon.

It seems that the young Frenchman is the first choice for a long time from now, and it will be confirmed after the Manchester City confrontation on Wednesday. He will be assigned to monitor one of the opponent’s wings, whether it is Bernardo Silva or Riyad Mahrez, so the Citizens will face a difficult task to cross in front of him.

He may not like it, but it’s a match he can easily win.