"The Magic Flute" finale: how to build the new ceremony interlude?

For Real Madrid President Florentino, Mbappe is obviously not the last piece of the puzzle for the reconstruction of the "Galaxy Fleet", and Modric's successor is. After all, the foundation of Real Madrid's success in the past 10 years has been a world-class "ceremonial midfielder". From this point of view, after Alonso takes over, the rebuilding of Real Madrid's midfield will be his primary technical "assessment indicator".

The reporter reported coldly With the departure of Modric, the "ceremonial midfield" of Real Madrid's golden era in the last 10 years is officially history. Real Madrid has invested nearly 290 million euros to buy seven newcomers in the midfield in order to build the "Galaxy Fleet III". However, after this season of empty four, it proves that the rebuilding of Real Madrid's midfield is still not complete. Jude Bellingham (€180 million), Ernesto Valverde (€130 million), Tchouameni (€80 million) and Camavinga ($70 million) all have their own strengths, but they lack the masterful ability of Luka Modric to control the tempo and possession of the ball.

For Real Madrid President Florentino, Mbappe is obviously not the last piece of the puzzle for the reconstruction of the "Galaxy Fleet", and Modric's successor is. After all, the foundation of Real Madrid's success in the past 10 years has been a world-class "ceremonial midfielder". While Real Madrid are confident of the success of Bellingham, Ernesto Valverde and Güller in forming a new midfield, new boss Marcos Alonso has already submitted a midfield signing. It is still unknown whether Real Madrid's new "ceremonial midfielder" will be a three-man, four-man or five-man group in the future.

How to build Real Madrid's midfield in the new season should be based on the tactical system that new coach Alonso has played in Real Madrid. Alonso's success at Bayer Leverkusen is 3421, and there is a high probability that it will be copied to Real Madrid. With the arrival of Heyson and Alexander-Arnold, and the recovery of Militão and Carvajal, Real Madrid has completed the dual insurance configuration of the back three system and the right wing-back. But on the left, Alonso's system at Real Madrid lacks a wide wing weapon that can achieve both wings. Bayer Leverkusen's favorite Grimaldo is Alonso's proposed reinforcement to Real Madrid.

Bayer Leverkusen have played as many as 35 games with a back three this season (27 of the 343 and eight of the 352) and a back four of just 13, including 4231, 442, 451 and 4411. Alonso is very flexible and he will not completely abandon the familiar back four. However, the 3421 will still be Real Madrid's main formation, and it will be based on Real Madrid's existing players, and will be integrated and transformed.

Alonso's midfield at Bayer Leverkusen did rely on wing-backs, attacking on the left and right. But more goals came from passes down the middle, with 38 per cent on the left side of the middle, 26 per cent on the right side and 18 per cent on each wing. Bayer Leverkusen's success has largely been based on the attacking style led by left and right wing-backs Grimaldo, Frimpong and left midfielder Wirtz, but the quality of possession and push brought by possession midfielder Xhaka has also played an important role. The same tactics could be replicated at Real Madrid, with Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe attacking and Güller and Ernesto Valverde attacking on the right flank. However, it is difficult to find a match for the four midfielders, with no suitable left wing-backs for attacking and defensive, and Camavinga and Tchouameni can occupy a defensive midfield position, but the axial role of Xhaka remains vacant.

Real Madrid's "ceremonial midfield" configuration is Kroos and Modric and Casemiro forming an organic whole, while Alonso's four-man midfield system in Bayer Leverkusen, Xhaka is the axis of attack and defense conversion, and Garcia is responsible for protection and pressing. Jude Bellingham was unable to fit perfectly into Xhaka's role, with Luka Modric and Kroos leaving the most crucial position vacant. In this sense, how Real Madrid's new "ceremonial midfield" is structured, Alonso is more concerned with finding a successor to Modric first, and then integrating it according to the existing players.

Real Madrid's new coach Marcos Alonso has proposed to the club to bring in the core of the midfield, namely Vitinha of Paris, Enzo of Chelsea and Palacios of Bayer Leverkusen. In addition, there are more options for younger and younger, but apparently only a mid- to long-term plan rather than a short-term goal for the new season. However, it is very difficult to sign these three candidates. Not only is the price high, but more importantly, it is almost impossible for their respective clubs to release them.

The 25-year-old Portuguese midfielder Vitinha is one of the best midfielders in Ligue 1 and the Champions League this season. He has seven goals and two assists in 45 appearances in Ligue 1 and the Champions League this season, surpassing Xavi (1,200, 2003/04) for the most passes in a single season in the Champions League since statistics began in 2003/04. In the second leg of the 1/8 final against Liverpool in February, Vitinha made 212 passes in a single game, setting a record for the most passes in a single game in the Champions League. Moreover, in this season's Champions League, Vitinha has a pass success rate of 96% under the pressure of opponents pressing and defending. Obviously, Vitinha, who can pass and shoot well, is the best successor to Modric. However, his contract with Grand Paris has four years to expire, and although he is currently worth only 60 million euros, it is believed that it will soar significantly after the season, and Grand Paris is destined not to let him go easily.

The 24-year-old has seven goals and 12 assists in 40 Premier League and UEFA Cup games this season, and is better than Vitinha in attack. Enzo's area of activity was on the left, almost exactly coinciding with Xhaka's presence at Bayer Leverkusen. He tops the Premier League for passes before assists this season and ranks in the top five in the Premier League for passes before shots are created. In addition, he is also among the best in the number of through balls, the number of transitions in attack and defense, and the success rate is very high. In the Premier League this season, only Mohamed Salah's Palmer has scored more goals in open play than Enzo. Moreover, Enzo is good at tackling and organizing attacks at the back, and is the ideal metronome for Alonso's 3421 tactics at Real Madrid. However, Enzo has seven years left on his contract and Chelsea have stressed that the Argentine midfielder is not for sale. However, sources in the Brazilian media claim that Real Madrid and Chelsea may complete the astonishing deal in a swap between Rodrygo and Enzo.

The 26-year-old Palacios is Alonso's favorite player, contributing one goal and six assists in 34 Bundesliga and Champions League games this season, and his offensive statistics are not as good as Vitinha and Enzo. Palacios averaged 80 passes per game, with a 90.3% success rate, and averaged 7.4 threatening passes per game. Although his contract at Bayer Leverkusen expires with three years remaining, he is the easiest new signing for Real Madrid, and his transfer fee of 40 million euros will not exceed 50 million euros. Of course, compared to Vitinha and Enzo, Palacios's ability is still slightly inferior.