This is Arda Guler’s Real Madrid moment – and he is seizing it

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When it comes to Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid, nothing seems to be a coincidence, and that applies to the emergence of Arda Guler.

Madrid’s new coach has been taking care of every detail since he took over in May, with the 20-year-old Turkey playmaker one of the main beneficiaries of his arrival.

After their win against Borussia Dortmund in the Club World Cup semi-finals, the coach and the player were seen heading to the team bus together as they left the MetLife Stadium.

Guler had just delivered two brilliant assists to help Madrid progress to the semi-finals, where they will face Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

“Assist maker!” Luka Modric wrote alongside a fire emoji on Guler’s Instagram post. “I’m trying to learn from him every day,” Guler had answered when asked by The Athletic whether he can replace the veteran Croatia midfielder.

Former Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti had suggested to Guler that he could be the player to take the mantle of Modric and Toni Kroos, who retired last summer.

The youngster has become a key figure in the U.S., playing the ninth-most minutes in the squad (340), having finished 17th in that metric last season when Ancelotti was still in charge.

Guler travelled to the U.S. this summer ready to make the step up to become a regular starter, and he is succeeding.

Alonso has given Guler a chance (Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid via Getty Images)

After signing from Fenerbahce in the summer of 2023 for an initial €20million ($21.7m; £17.1m), Guler’s first season was beset by injuries. But in the final campaign with Ancelotti, his issue was a lack of opportunity. This caused unease within the club and among the fans and that hit a nerve with Ancelotti in press conferences.

The coach, who has since left to take charge of Brazil, justified himself by saying that, at Madrid, youngsters have to “suck it up on the bench (chupar banquillo)” before becoming undisputed starters.

Alonso has taken a different view. “Arda is delighted with Xabi,” sources close to Guler, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, told The Athletic.

Alonso wanted to sign him when he was in charge of Bayer Leverkusen and in this new chapter, he is showing why. At the same time, the club have shown confidence in Guler.

When Madrid executives and the coach were pushing to finalise the signing of Franco Mastantuono from River Plate, Guler knew he would be playing as a midfielder this season. He was told that the arrival of the Argentine, who plays on the right wing, would not pose a threat to his playing time.

Guler started the Club World Cup as a substitute, but Alonso sent him to warm up in the 10th minute of Madrid’s opener against Al Hilal and brought him on in the 46th minute. Despite the 1-1 draw, Guler convinced everyone and has been key since.

He scored in the 3-1 win against Pachuca, making him the youngest player (at 20 years and 57 days) to score 10 goals for Madrid in a season across all competitions since at least the 2009-2010 campaign, when Opta began recording this stat, surpassing Vinicius Junior’s record (20 years and 80 days), which was set in 2020.

Guler’s prominence has grown in front of the media, too. He has been chosen by the club to speak on three occasions during the competition, despite not speaking much Spanish and not being particularly fluent in English.

When asked about the differences between Ancelotti and Alonso, Guler explained that “the coach is trying to make us have more control of the game, that’s better for me”. He added: “I’m happier because I play and play in the middle.”

Guler after scoring against Pachuca (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)

He reaffirmed the view before the Dortmund game. “All is good because I have started all the last three games, I played very good, the coach is happy and the team is happy with me.”

Minutes later, Alonso backed him when answering whether Guler could be stronger defensively. “It’s a time to invest in Arda’s progress and development,” he said. “Let him know that he can make mistakes.”

Guler promptly delivered his most complete game of the tournament. Within a minute, he showed his evolution into a more versatile player, first recovering a ball, controlling with the sole of his boot, and then masterfully setting up Gonzalo Garcia’s 10th-minute opener.

“We talked about it before the game,” Garcia said. “He had told me that if he had space he would put it to me, (he asked me) to be there. I was just there, the pass was sweet, like the other day with Trent (Alexander-Arnold), and all I had to do was push it in.”

Guler showed his versatility. He started as an organising midfielder and ended up as a playmaker and even out wide, too. From there, he linked up with Kylian Mbappe, who made it 3-1.

His arrival was overseen by president Florentino Perez, with other clubs, Barcelona included, pushing to sign him.

At that time, he did not have a natural place in the squad but was seen as an outstanding talent whom they just had to sign. Under Alonso’s guidance, Guler is silencing any doubts.

(Top photo: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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