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Monday, November 11, 2013

Déjà vu for Isco

Déjà vu for Isco




11/11/2013
What Francisco Román Alarcón, aka 'Isco', has been going through of late at Real Madrid is nothing new to him. He is experiencing his own personal déjà vu at Real Madrid. An almost identical situation to the one he experienced two seasons ago. It was when he had just arrived at Malaga from Valencia as a player who the club's Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini knew very little about.
Isco then went through a process of adaptation at Malaga. Little by little, he gained Pellegrini's trust and was rewarded with playing time, but always in the shadow of first-choice Cazorla, the team's star signing. Back then, his process of adaptation was due to a lack of physical fitness. Once again déjà vu. Isco barely rested that summer due to his commitments with Spain's international youth set-up.
It was a very similar story this summer. Isco played in the European Under-21 Championship, lifted the title and was named player of the tournament. Upon his return, his move to Real Madrid came about and with it, the usual pressure to perform. With almost no time to disconnect, he joined up with the squad for pre-season. Ancelotti himself admitted that a lack of time out has had an adverse effect on Isco.
However, if there is one thing which characterises Isco, it is his never-say-die attitude, which will see him grow in importance and earn more chances as the season progresses. During his first season at Malaga he played 32 league matches and scored 5 goals. He hit the ground running last season, playing 47 matches and scoring 12 times. These statistics clearly reflect that the best Isco is still to come, and he will.

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