People say club DNA doesn’t exist. How possible? Managers, players, directors, and backroom personnel change. How can a club stand out? Can Spurs be Spursy? How can Bayern get Dusel? Why do Ajax keep talking about playing the game right?
It’s often illogical. A fan-transmitted mood? Culture passed along from player to player, director to director? Something in the stadium air?
Sometimes it’s clear why a club is the way it is, why it’s stuck in an unfathomable cycle. Real Madrid acts like Real Madrid because Florentino Perez has been president since 2000, save for three years. What Perez loves most is a famous, wealthy footballer.
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Madrid seemed to transform post-Covid, as European football struggled financially. The club made smart purchases as it rose. Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, and Jude Bellingham cost about $250m, although they weren’t galácticos.
Through collaboration with Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Fede Valverde, they developed a mutually compatible style while still developing further. Perez added Kylian Mbappe, which is reminiscent of the summer of 2003, when he got David Beckham but sold Claude Makelele and ruined the team.
Madrid boycotted the Ballon d’Or ceremony knowing Vinicius would not win. This raises the question of why they paid a high sum for a player who plays in the same position as Rodri and has similar traits, despite their fury over Rodri being chosen over Vinicius.
Vinicius prefers playing on the left. He can go extended stretches without playing. However, he is fast, skilled, imaginative, and a unique finisher. Just like Mbappe.
Last season’s forward line balance was ideal. Bellingham played centrally but dived deep, allowing Vinicius or Rodrygo to swoop in.
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Add Mbappe and it’s a disaster. Bellingham scored 19 times in 28 league matches last season; his goal against Osasuna on 9 November was his first for Real this season since he has been moved deeper.
Rodrygo was benched for not being famous, while Mbappe, who has scored six league goals, has looked dissatisfied for a squad that has fallen behind Barcelona in La Liga and started their Champions League championship defense poorly.
Naturally, Mbappe is a technically gifted and incredibly speedy player. Watching him destroy Argentina in the 2018 World Cup was thrilling. He was 19 yet seemed incredibly mature.
No limit appeared to his potential. He’s been frozen in potential since. Moving to Paris Saint-Germain, where he was rarely challenged and had political power, was nearly guaranteed to impede his development.
He could accomplish whatever he wanted with his abilities in that squad and league. He played easily, hence he was rarely involved in important games. France has a similar story.
He was shifted from his natural left wing to the middle in the 2022 World Cup semi-final and final because he refused to track the opposing right-back. He turned it on in the final, scoring a hat-trick with two penalties and a spectacular volley, but he was so disengaged that Argentina might not have been 2-0 ahead.
Mbappé is out of the France squad due to “a difficult period” with “a physical element and a psychological one,” according to coach Didier Deschamps.
The grueling schedule makes it understandable why players need time off, thus the break may help him. He’s only scored once in his past eight games, and he was caught offside eight times in the Clásico against Barcelona’s high line.
He must worry that his time in Paris, where he was rarely pushed, has dulled his edge and forgotten how to tackle difficulties on the pitch. For him and football, it should return.
But his situation shows that even talented players can choose the wrong club and have troubles. Given its tactical flaws, Real Madrid may not be suited for Mbappé either.
