The situation
Alvaro Odriozola has taken advantage of his football Erasmus in Florence to make his long-awaited return to Real Madrid. The right-back from San Sebastian (26 years old) has two more seasons on his contract with the white club (he signed until 2024) and his intention is to fulfill them at the Bernabéu without further transfers. He has already tried that medicine at Bayern Munich and Fiorentina, and considers that quota has him covered. Ancelotti welcomes this new opportunity for the Gipuzkoan (waiting for him on July 8 in Valdebebas), given that this season he has had to pull on Lucas Vázquez, an attacking winger, when Carvajal was absent. The good thing about Odriozola is his speed when he goes up the wing, to which must be added the improvement in his defensive game, as has been seen this season in Serie A. Carvajal, finally. It is true that last summer that position raised many more unknowns, given that the numerous muscle injuries suffered by Carvajal last season left the area a little in doubt.
The details
But the youth squad reacted in time and from March to May he reminded us, at 30 years old, of the best Carvajal ever. The sample was the final in Paris against Liverpool, in which he annulled the Colombian Luis Díaz and completed one of his best games of the 330 that he has played in white since 2013 (7 goals and 51 assists). But Odriozola takes on the challenge of fighting for the position and always being available when it comes to him, something inevitable in a season that will reach 70 games as he plays for the European and League champions in up to six different competitions. Odriozola (43 games, 3 goals and 11 assists) has followed a specific nutrition and physical preparation plan this season, so he is at an ideal time to finally be able to justify the 30 million euros that his signing cost in 2018 (in fact, he played the World Cup in Russia with Spain). His current listing has dropped to 12, something he hopes to reverse.