Ancelotti faces dreaded Sudoku

Carlo Michelangelo Ancelotti has a problem. A blessed problem for some (many) and a diabolical one for others. In midfield and attack he has six positions to cover, and seven stars available: James Rodríguez, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Isco, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. Such a situation had not occurred for four months. The last time Ancelotti found himself in a similar situation, against Rayo Vallecano, the coach left Isco on the bench. It was not a long sentence for the former Málaga man – he returned to the starting XI in the next match because Modric had sustained an injury on international duty.

This has passed for a large part of the season for the Italian coach and something similar was evident for a good stretch of last season too. Remember: when Ángel Di María asked to leave the club, Sami Khedira’s injury handed him a position in the starting XI. Some call him a flower and others call him a florist, but what’s certain is that injuries have repeatedly helped Ancelotti avoid the cumbersome task of having to choose. He must do so now, when the titles and his future will be decided.

Since Bale injured himself on October 10, Madrid have only had one match, the 5-1 win against Rayo, with all of their best collection of midfielders and forwards available. Previously the team had 11 matches (eight matches, a draw and two defeats against Atlético) with an obvious trend: Isco was a substitute on eight occasions.

Without Bale, Ancelotti was able to incorporate Isco, and without Modric, he placed the Spain playmaker in midfield. By that point Isco was the most-celebrated player among the club’s supporters. His performances also captivated the coach, who labelled his presence in the team as “non-negotiable”, after describing the members of the BBC as “untouchables” and overloading Kroos with minutes at the same time. The Sudoku complicated itself. Luckily, the art of diplomacy requires more flexibility than firmness.

Madrid put together a run of 22 consecutive wins, although in some of those wins (most notably in December, when Modric was absent) a loss of air was detected. That loss of air, however, did not prevent Madrid from defeating lesser opponents to triumph at the Club World Cup. After that, in 2015, the setbacks started to arrive. They were defeated at Mestalla, eliminated from the Copa del Rey, endured a debacle at the Calderón and produced an inadequate performance at the Camp Nou.

The most recent sensations, however, outweigh the good memory: Modric has brought order and with James they have gained an edge.

Dilemma. That is the panorama Ancelotti has with nine games to go in La Liga and four until the final of the Champions League. If he benches Isco he will disregard his magic and self-sacrifice (only Kroos has recovered more balls); on the other hand, it does not seem sensible to ignore the freshness and verticality that James offers. To that we can add the dilemma of the coach’s unsatisfied demand: to play with a 4-4-2.

For the moment, the AS.com readers have issued the first verdict: 31.9% would bench Bale, the player Florentino Pérez defended against the journalists.

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