Jude Bellingham and the art of arrival
Jude Bellingham and the art of arrival
At the end of a decade in which Real Madrid’s midfield has mastered through control, Bellingham's arrival marks the return of the llegador.
You’ll have probably heard the story about why Jude Bellingham wore the number 22. If not, the short version is that 22 is the final sum of 10, eight and four — three numbers representing three different midfield positions, or perhaps three different mentalities. And Bellingham, whose youth coach didn’t see him as any of the three in particular, urged him to aim to be all of them at the same time.
It’s a touch ironic then that after sealing the move of his life, in the place where his game will reach its fullest and final form, Bellingham will be wearing the number five on his back — a number usually associated with midfielders who spend more time organising than animating.
Of course, there’s a good reason for it. If there were any doubts about how Bellingham will assimilate the pressure, the historical weight of the shirt, and the inevitable player comparisons, then going out of his way (and into Jesús Vallejo’s) to secure the number five cleared that one up. For better or for worse, comparisons with his idol Zinedine Zidane will be with him from the jump. Bellingham doesn’t seem too worried about that.
What the 20-year-old will represent — beyond the talent that takes you to Madrid in the first place — is a unique profile of midfielder. That goes across the game as a whole, but specifically so now that the Santiago Bernabéu is his backdrop. It’s been a while since they’ve seen anything close to Bellingham. Maybe by the time he’s done, they won’t have full stop.
In arriving to (eventually) replace Luka Modrić, the way in which Bellingham goes about that will have little to do in mirroring the Croatian’s contribution. Sure, it’d be nice if he can learn to regulate his tempo and dominate in that same unhurried way. Some degree of that will be necessary. But for the foreseeable future, his game will be typified — and his pitch to the Bernabéu driven — by a contagious level of dynamism.
One of the main ways in which that will be felt is in how he moves from midfield to the point of finish. Ever since Bellingham emerged on the scene at Birmingham, his appetite and proficiency for fashioning scoring opportunities has been there. From the Championship to the Bundesliga, via the Champions League and World Cup, he arrives in Madrid with 29 senior goals to his name — more than half of which were netted last season (15).
The most crucial aspect of that information, perhaps, is that he’ll still be under 21 at the end of his first full campaign in Madrid. In that context, Bellingham is well ahead of schedule in becoming a double-digit scorer season upon season, and now his natural ascent as a professional will take place at the Santiago Bernabéu, surrounded by some pretty good teammates.
Bellingham joins a Real Madrid team whose scoring in the last two decades has been achieved largely through strikers and wide forwards. As time alone would dictate, the departure of Karim Benzema this summer removes the final part of their latest trident, and change will naturally occur in its place. That’s not to say the Englishman is going to radically alter that trend, but part of his attraction is in that he can contribute in a way that other Real Madrid midfielders haven’t in the recent past.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti is already busy shaping what that will look like. The rumours of a midfield diamond were substantiated in their first pre-season friendly against Milan — a modification which is influenced in large part by the arrival of Bellingham, who figured at the head of their midfield.
With the youngster as a central piece — whether it be as a no. 10 in the diamond or as a right-sided interior in the 4-3-3 — Real Madrid can expect to inherit a little more scoring help from midfield in coming years.
Arriving with and without the ball
When Bellingham scored at the 2022 World Cup — becoming only the second teenager to score in the competition for England — he achieved it through a well-timed run to insert himself in a number nine’s typical finishing zone. With both Iranian centre backs occupied as the cross came in, his dart straight through the middle of them was precisely the last thing the Iran pair wanted to see.
Of his 29 goals to date (at senior level), many of them are the product of those dynamic off-ball movements. Sometimes it’s over short distances, where timing is the most important element; sometimes it’s over long distances, where Bellingham’s physicality makes the difference.
Underpinning it all, though, is a mentality that doesn’t consider moving without the ball to be an optional exercise. Bellingham doesn’t move to comply; he moves to inflict stress on the opposition.
In the goal against Rangers pictured below, Bellingham’s run starts from behind the ball — inside his own half. Even with three players ahead of him occupying the defensive line, at no point during the sequence does he look for a short pass, or to involve himself with the ball. Bellingham guns straight for the box, through the middle of Rangers’ centre backs.
Here against Besiktas in the Champions League, he turns a simple switch of play towards a shooting (and scoring) opportunity inside the box. With Bellingham already on the move while the switch is in the air, the timing and speed of movement guides Thomas Meunier’s decision, and prevents the safe option of control, head up, and play backwards around Besiktas’ shape.
In this one, a third man run carves Eintracht Frankfurt’s defence wide open. Again, from a relatively secure state for the opposition, Bellingham’s movement away from the ball quickly forces them into a scramble. Already in full stride as the ball passes by him, he arrives in the opposition box — and scores — through that commitment to attacking as a runner.
If Ivan Rakitić comes up against him again this season, he ought to be on high alert. From being touch-tight on the halfway line, Bellingham waits for Rakitić to turn his head and then takes off into the space behind him. The Croatian perhaps thought he was passing him on, and that help was coming, but he thought wrong. Bellingham had seen the space behind Jesús Navas, and devoured it with a run back across the pitch (before scoring again),
The aforementioned examples show Bellingham covering longer distances on his way to the box. Later on in the piece, we’ll touch on why that bodes well for Real Madrid. In general, though, getting to that point is probably going to be a shorter trip on average for Bellingham this season. And if you can arrive from deep, you can arrive from the vicinity… a lot.
The good news for the 20-year-old is that, while he’ll retain opportunities to run in transition and hit spaces from the second line, Real Madrid establish deep positioning around the opposition box as well as anyone — and that means receivers like him in the area are a necessity.
Last season, only two teams in Europe’s big five leagues generated more pull-backs than Real Madrid (41). Particularly down the left side through Vinicius Junior, it is a frequent avenue for them to access the penalty area.
Given the way in which Ancelotti’s side concentrate their play on the left half of the field — congregating Vinicius, the left-sided central midfielder, the left back, and the no. 9 — the off-ball receivers will generally appear from the right side.
When Real Madrid arrive on the left, look for Bellingham arriving not too far away.
The archetypal llegador is a player who arrives in the penalty area in the right moment and converts with a single touch. We’ve seen it a thousand times. Those goals that are finalised with two contacts, from assister’s pass to scorer’s finish. It all looks so simple when it happens.
Of course, it’s pretty difficult to score those types of goals when opposition boxes are congested and they’ve committed to defence by numbers.
It is in those moments when a one-touch solution isn’t possible that Bellingham’s technical craft comes into play. The type which prompted Rene Marić — a former coach of his at Dortmund — to refer to the idea that Bellingham could be “Zidane in reduced spaces and Gerrard in open spaces” upon achieving his final form. Improvisation with the ball is a significant part of his attraction too.
Well, not a lot needs to be said here. The shot fake, the balance amid changing directions, and the finish on his weaker foot… Bellingham could have justified a cross back into the box, but his ability moving through traffic — and sense of when to put opponents on the back foot — walked him right into a goal entirely of his own invention.
Here against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bellingham times his movement into the box well but needs a little extra to get himself over the line. His ability to not only keep himself under control, but to take the ball on his weak foot and maintain his direction of travel in one movement, serves as a real punch in the gut for the opposition.
Just when you thought his initial space to attack was under controlled, he pirouettes out of a short pass like an authentic no. 10 from the mid-2000s.
This example from the World Cup didn’t end in a goal, but falls very much between Zinedine Zidane and Steven Gerrard on the venn diagram.
The galloping run, the craft to combine while moving at high speed, and the control in managing the ball under duress, gives reason aplenty to make defenders think twice before challenging him in the box. At 20 years old, he’s already built to ride contact when defenders do engage him too.
If we can extract from Real Madrid’s first pre-season friendly and Ancelotti’s accompanying thoughts, there’s a clear sense that the Italian wants Bellingham to have a big influence in the opposition half. His position at the head of their 4-4-2 diamond says as much in isolation.
“The team needs to accustom themselves to his quality,” Ancelotti said post-game. “We have to enjoy his llegada during the season.”
Later in the press conference, the Italian drew closely on Bellingham’s capacity to affect games when he’s not in contact with the ball:
“He’s very important for us because he’s a complete midfielder and he has a lot of rhythm and intensity in the games. He moves very well without the ball and he’s distinct to the other central midfielders we have — he goes after space, and adds an extra quality to this fantastic squad.”
It makes sense that Ancelotti is enamoured with Bellingham’s dynamism given the era that Real Madrid come from. As he says himself, the youngster is just different to the rest, and that means work for the manager to create the right conditions between his role and the surrounding system.
But whatever those happen to be, Bellingham’s game won’t be dictated solely by that. Real Madrid’s game will be dictated by Bellingham too — especially when it comes to animating play in the final third, with and without the ball.
Bellingham without Mbappé
Should Kylian Mbappé not arrive for whatever reason, it seems likely that Rodrygo will be the no. 9 in priority games — or in the majority of games when rotation isn’t an influencing factor. That’s to say, Real Madrid will be fronted by a player whose contribution and style of play isn’t that of a typical centre forward.
Rodrygo occupies the strange space of being a Real Madrid attacker without a position to really call his own, while being pretty close to universally favoured as a starter. At the very least, the consensus deems his quality and contribution to merit a place in the team — even if that consensus couldn’t agree on a fixed position. Quite simply, the Brazilian is a star who other stars like to play with, and that manifests positively on a team level.
In games where Rodrygo plays as the no. 9, Real Madrid supercharge their play at close quarters through his presence. That’s the case on the left side of the pitch in particular. Through that proximity to Vinícius Júnior, and aided by help from the left back and the ever precise Toni Kroos, los Blancos create a formidable grouping of players who bounce passes between themselves at will, absorbing markers towards the ball.
When the opponent finally jumps, they just shift it on again.
That Real Madrid favour their left side as a point of attack isn’t a secret, nor hard to figure out why. Vinícius Júnior’s talent emerges from there, which is reason enough. But when a raft of elite players cluster at close quarters — supplementing the dagger that is the Brazilian — it’s hard to take the ball from them, and damaging when you try and fail to do so. Rodrygo’s presence as a no. 9 ups the ante on that even more.
The problem with having a centre forward of Rodrygo’s profile is losing some heft in key finishing zones. Karim Benzema, no longer of Real Madrid, was a master at involving himself in the construction of attacks and then being in the right place to finish them. But that’s hard to do, and it took Benzema a while to perfect it.
In the meantime, Rodrygo is an expert in aiding the pull half of the push-and-pull effect. He drops out of the no.9 line, takes centre backs where they don’t want to go — or at least plants the seed of doubt — and provides touches that set Real Madrid on the path to goal, through precise, sharp combinations.
What they require in simultaneity is players moving the other way.
Whether Carlo Ancelotti opts for a 4-3-3, a 4-4-2 diamond or a 4-2-3-1, Bellingham’s runs into — and beyond — the last line will be a key supplement to their combination play this season.
Against Milan in their pre-season opener, we saw a typically roving Bellingham in the no. 10 role. He touched the ball 57 times in his 64 minutes on the pitch, without any clear preference in terms of left or right-sided areas, and with 70% of those coming in the opposition half. What stood out though — at least in terms of new additions to Real Madrid’s play — was Bellingham’s activity without the ball and the generosity to constantly support the play as a runner.
From his central role in support of the strikers, Bellingham has plenty of license to pick up on spaces in the opposition half. In the midfield diamond system especially, his runs into the channels will be a necessary feature, given that the full backs won’t always be up to the play providing the width.
Carlo Ancelotti said after the game that Real Madrid tried to play centrally rather than through wide areas against Milan. That’s where their initial advantage is with the diamond system. But as play progresses, Bellingham’s runs both to stretch the defensive line and offer support into the channels will develop as key cogs in the wheel.
What’s for certain is that in the case of any gaps, weaknesses or areas on the pitch that aren’t optimally occupied within the dynamics of the game, Bellingham will be racing his teammates to provide the solution. His ‘debut’ against Milan — a pre-season friendly — showed us just as much.
Real Madrid’s open field express
Playing for Real Madrid means having more of the ball than your opponent in the majority of games. Whether the manager is Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane or Rafa Benítez, that reality doesn’t change. Having plenty of the ball, though, isn’t the same as needing or prioritising that elevated share.
Ancelotti’s side aren’t vulnerable by the mere fact of not dominating possession. In fact, they benefit from the upside of not always doing so, and actively pursue playing against the ball in certain contexts.
“The most important thing, and what we did well in recent years, is that we adapted,” says Toni Kroos. “I prefer to have the ball and dominate the games, but there are days in which our quality is based around having less of it and creating space.”
In certain quarters, there’s a belief that Real Madrid need to become a pressing side — or at least improve their pressing as a unit — if they’re to sustain success against their current domestic and European competition. “We have to try to press a little bit higher,” Ancelotti said post-Milan. And if that’s the shared belief ahead of 2023-24, the signing of Jude Bellingham will certainly aid in that pursuit.
Despite that, Real Madrid aren’t going to become a full-throttle, Bundesliga-esque side overnight — or at all. The spells in games where they sit off will still be very much part of the fabric. When your best and most productive player is Vinícius Júnior, he appreciates the resulting space — and not to mention, the necessary recovery from repeated high intensity efforts. It’s an aspect of their game that los Blancos have channelled a lot in Europe.
Unless there’s a significant change in approach, then Real Madrid are still going to be managing plenty of transitions next season. The difference this time round will be adding Jude Bellingham to a midfield that is slowly morphing away from Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić (although both will still be important). That means Bellingham playing with the likes of Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde.
From what was once a midfield three engineered to control and platform a team of goal-getters at the top, now comes a midfielder who are younger, more dynamic and more direct in their actions. In the context of transitions, the current crop are just as likely to take off on a 30-yard dribble and march the team upfield as they are to slide Vinícius Júnior in down the side of a full back.
Real Madrid were one of the best in transition last season. They had more direct attacks than anyone else in Europe’s big five leagues (104), and nobody had more in the Champions League (24). Throw Jude Bellingham into the mix and remove Karim Benzema, perhaps alongside a midfield diamond without a recognised no. 9, and the team heading into next term look like they’ll be even more dynamic through the thirds.
At a moment in time when many are calling on Real Madrid to turn up their pressure, their midfield — at least — looks as primed as ever to sting in transition. But if this is to be a team crafted much in the name of Jude Bellingham, then expect them to do a little bit of everything.