Julen Lopetegui may be getting the chance to meet a lot of recognisable faces during
his first pre-season campaign as Real Madrid boss, but one player that he already knows
and trusts is yet to come back into the mix for his domestic club after the 2018 World
Cup.
Isco is a player who has had big moments for Los Blancos over the last couple of years,
but the current one threatens to be his most important yet, with Lopetegui set to maintain
the same faith that he has had in the 26-year-old since he was turning out for Spain’s youth
sides.
When Spain travelled to Israel as part of their qualification campaign for the World
Cup in Russia, Jerusalem was certainly not an unfamiliar destination for plenty of Lopetegui’s
squad.
The ex-Spain boss lined up for a photo with David De Gea, Marc Bartra, Koke, Nacho, Rodrigo
Moreno, Asier Illarramendi and Isco, some four years after they worked together to win
the European Under-21 Championship back in 2013.
The final, which they won 4-2 against Italy, was held in the same country where Illarramendi
would score to carry Spain’s national team to a 1-0 qualifying win last October.
Lopetegui is used to putting faith in those who he has worked with in the past.
When Isco first found himself a part of the Under-21 set up, Lopetegui was quick to spot
his talent, encouraging him to control games and set the tempo.
Five years later in Russia, with Lopetegui’s blueprint in hand, Spain situated Isco at
the crux of their set up, with the ex-Malaga midfielder asked to provide the driving force
and cutting edge to a style of play that revolved around patient possession and dictating play.
Lopetegui always gave Isco the confidence to play his natural game, to believe in what
he was doing and to focus on his football.
After picking up the Golden Boy award at that U21 European Championship, Isco was destined
to move on to bigger things.
Swapping Malaga for Real Madrid in the process, Isco made the decision to step onto a bigger
stage where expectations were heightened and the pressure intensified.
While his exposure to first-team football has been consistent throughout his five years
with Los Blancos, his role and importance in the squad has never been nailed down.
Beyond the Christmas period in the 2016/17 season, Zinedine Zidane had began to use Isco
as a vital link between midfield and attack for his Real Madrid side, with the Spaniard’s
contribution helping the squad to battle their way to a Champions League trophy after an
improved second half of the campaign on an individual level.
Isco was involved for a combined 80 minutes throughout Los Blancos’ first nine matches
in the competition, but in the semi-finals against Atletico Madrid and their final win
against Juventus, the diminutive playmaker stepped up to the plate and delivered.
It appeared that Isco’s performances in the latter stages of the Champions League
would guarantee his place as a key man for the club’s project moving forward, but instead,
the 2017/18 season once again saw Zidane put further faith in others.
“During the times where I haven’t been key for my club, Lopetegui has given me all
of his trust,” Isco explained after the announcement that his former U21 coach would
be moving to the Spanish capital to take over at Real Madrid.
Back in November 2017, Lopetegui promised that “the best of Isco is yet to come,”
and now the 51-year-old can guide him towards that level himself.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure paves the way for someone else to step up alongside
Luka Modric and lead by example at Real Madrid, and in recent years we have seen Isco thrive
best when given plenty of freedom to link the midfield to the attack.
The 26-year-old’s role for Spain gave him essentially a free role to dictate play and
position himself either deeper or in between the lines, as Lopetegui trusts him to play
his natural game and control the tempo.
Whether drifting in from a flank or actively searching to receive possession and turn within
tight spaces, his creativity will be a key weapon in Real Madrid's arsenal.
From Spain U21 to preparing for the biggest international tournament in world football,
Lopetegui and Isco have maintained a great relationship and a trusting bond in one another.
Lopetegui will know that he is in the most demanding job of his career, and potentially
a little bit out of his depth for now, but having a core of players that know how he
works and defended him amidst controversy will help matters along.
Isco’s free role will be vital in deciding tight games, and after all that Lopetegui
has done during his impressive career to date, it is time for that faith to be repaid in
full.