With barely a quarter of an hour to go in their Supercopa de Espana semi-final, Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde and Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata got into a bit of a scuffle.
It had been a game without yellow cards until then, but there was an explanation for the tension between the two: four years ago in the Supercopa final, also held in Riyadh, Valverde cynically fouled Morata as Atletico broke free in the 115th minute, with the score at 0-0.
The Uruguayan midfielder was sent off, but his team managed to hold out for a draw and then win the tournament on penalties.
📽 Federico Valverde'nin kırmızı kart gördüğü pozisyon ve sonrasında yaşananlar. pic.twitter.com/fUCU2jsfTd
— TRT Spor (@trtspor) January 12, 2020
That sacrifice was a turning point in Valverde’s career and he never came out of the starting XI again.
Would he repeat that action if he had his time over? “Yes, I would. As long as it’s for the team, but with a conscience. I would do it again because it was a key play,” Valverde said before returning to face Atletico on Wednesday.
This time, however, it did not take another tackle on Morata to win and Carlo Ancelotti’s side twice came from behind to triumph 5-3 and set up a meeting on Sunday with the winner of tonight’s semi-final between Barcelona and Osasuna.
Mario Hermoso had put Diego Simeone’s side ahead after six minutes, but Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy temporarily turned it around until Antoine Griezmann equalised before the break.
In the second half, an own goal by Rudiger made things difficult again, but Madrid scored three more thanks to Dani Carvajal, Joselu and Brahim Diaz — the latter two in extra time.
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Valverde did not score but again he proved to be an indispensable player for Ancelotti.
To understand the club’s gamble, you have to go back to 2015 when he was still a teenager and playing for Penarol. Real Madrid representatives visited him at his home in Montevideo to convince him that he could be a star in Spain.
As a scouting manager for one of the Premier League giants who tried to sign him told The Athletic: “Valverde was something else. He was already a reincarnation of Steven Gerrard from a very young age.”
But it was Juni Calafat, then a Madrid scout, who managed to sign him for a reported figure of €5million (£4.3m, $5.5m).
Valverde soon showed himself to be a promising attacking midfielder, although he went through a grey period with a loan spell at Deportivo La Coruna.
It was in the wake of the 2019-20 season and that Supercopa game that it became clear he could adapt to whatever Madrid asked of him.
“Valverde is a complete player. He can play football in many ways. It is very rare to find a midfielder with this profile on the market,” Ancelotti said before the semi-final against Atletico.
Thus, in recent years, the Uruguayan has played in different positions on the pitch, even operating on the right wing in the 2022 Champions League final in Paris. He scored 12 goals and provided seven assists from the same position in the following campaign, in 2022-23.
With this season’s change of system from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2, Valverde’s position was moved back to his original one, operating more centrally and causing him to lose offensive influence. He has one goal and three assists this campaign.
But the change of position has not affected his morale. What’s more, after a tough season on a personal level due to family reasons and Alex Baena’s complaint, which came to nothing, Valverde is going through a better time.
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“I enjoy this position a lot,” Valverde said before the match against Atletico. “I can contribute where I like the most. I would love to be scoring the same goals as last year, but in the end, you have to adapt to what the coach wants.”
During his 112 minutes of play against Atletico, Valverde was everywhere on the pitch.
He was key to Real Madrid’s defensive and attacking phases: he had a pass success rate of 97 per cent (104/107), made 18 passes in the final third of the field and created two chances. At the other end, he made six recoveries, three interceptions and won four out of seven duels.
In addition, during the derby, he showed the grit and character that led his team’s comeback.
The club’s coaching staff believe he will become a leader and highlight above all his capacity for resistance.
“He even got angry when they changed him at half-time against Union Berlin (in the Champions League), when we were already qualified, but he didn’t understand it, he just wanted to play,” said one dressing-room source, speaking anonymously to protect their relationships, like others in this article.
That is why Valverde is the only Madrid player who has played all possible matches this season (27) and also the one who has played the most minutes (2,186).
However, in the second half of extra time against Atletico, according to club sources, Valverde received a knock. That was the reason he was limping off and had to be replaced by Arda Guler before the late goals by Joselu and Brahim.
And, although it is not considered to be serious, it remains to be seen if he will be in the final on Sunday.
It will be another chance to shine for Valverde, who has accumulated suitors but recently renewed his contract until 2029 with Madrid. So when asked about the possibility of Saudi football, he is clear: “€10million, €20m or €30m is not going to change my life.”
(Top photo: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)