The Bernabéu bid farewell on foot to Carvajal when he was substituted in the derby, on March 22. There were two recognitions in one: the first, for his notable match against Atlético; the second, to an impressive, legendary career. There is a feeling in the air that the captain is playing his last games with Real Madrid (his contract ends on June 30 and it does not seem like he will renew) and the fans do not want to miss the opportunity to thank him for his incredible career as a Real Madrid player whenever they can. In short, the duel against Atlético was a double triumph for Carvajal: he won the derby and started a great game. A mood boost in very difficult times for the veteran defender who, however, has not had continuity. Because after the break, not a minute against Mallorca and Bayern. Hard for Carvawho could have a chance against Girona.
Carvajal is going through very complicated weeks. Dark days in which he has collided with a reality to which he was not accustomed: a loss of prominence in the team that has pushed his patience to the limit and that has diminished his overwhelming personality in the locker room. In short, it has demoralized. The severity of the latest injuries (two knee operations within a year) and greater competition in his position, with the ‘Fede formula’ at the time and the emergence of Trent, have kept him away from starting. He is no longer untouchable and his loss of weight in the team has become increasingly evident. Without going any further, with the last two substitutions without minutes against Mallorca and Bayern.
The situation is not being easy to digest: as a captain, as a player with an enormous competitive character and as a legend who has dominated with an iron fist a position in which he has had no competition since he returned to Madrid in 2013. Now, for the first time, his performance has been questioned after his return from the very serious knee injury he suffered last season. A sporting hesitation that Carvajal does not share, nor the delay in giving him a chance to try to recover his best level.
Carvajal, in trainingReal Madrid via Getty Images
A return that was not expected
Carvajal returned from his last injury on January 4 against Betis. After his return, the minutes resisted him more than he expected. Xabi Alonso did not give them them, with Trent still out due to injury, and Arbeloa granted them to him in dribs and drabs. Carvajal began to get angry. Until it exploded. The substitution without minutes against Rayo Vallecano on February 1 It sparked tension between the captain and the new coach. A tension that increased a week later, when Arbeloa started against Valencia in Mestalla to the youth squad David Jiménez, leaving Carvajal and Trent on the bench, who returned to a call-up after injury. Carvajal’s anger was evident in his heated talk with Pintus at the end of the match, which went viral because it occurred on the grass a few minutes after the conclusion of the match, while the players who had not participated were carrying out the usual post-match compensatory training.
The Mestalla scene uncovered the ‘Carvajal case’ and gave rise to a player-coach face to face upon the team’s return to training, as MARCA announced. The objective, to iron out rough edges and clarify the situation. After the summit, the first consequence is that David Jiménez returned to Castilla. Since Mestalla, the youth player has not returned to a call-up and the way has been left free for Carvajal to have more minutes. The captain would not start against Real Sociedad on February 14 either, although he did play for half an hour replacing Trent. He was still not happy with the situation and it showed in his day to day life.
An anger that in Valdebebas they believe was the cause of an unpleasant incident with a youth player. In training prior to the match against Osasuna in Pamplona, Carvajal overrevved and made a rather harsh entrance to ValdepeñasCastilla defender, which caused him a knee injury that kept him out for a month, but which could have had worse consequences. “The entrance was very ugly,” they remember in Valdebebas.
Carvajal, during the derby on March 22SOPA Images
Trent’s ‘forced’ truce
A few days of darkness that had a respite thanks to Trent. The Englishman’s unpunctuality reported by MARCA in one of the training sessions prior to the derby cost him the title against Atlético. In the last session prior to the duel against the rojiblancos, Carvajal He already tried with the starting eleven and ended up being one in the game. A circumstance that ‘reconciled’ him with Arbeloa. The captain appreciated the coach’s rectitude when facing the situation and the opportunity it gave him in a complete ‘final’ for the League.
Arbeloa won over Carvajal with a decision that the locker room likes, such as keeping Fran García and Brahim in the eleven at the time. Carvajal played, received a standing ovation from the Bernabéu after being substituted and hugged Arbeloa, with whom he could be seen in the discussion with Munuera after Valverde was sent off. A significant reaction because weeks ago they noticed that he was subdued in the locker room and on the bench, without that leadership that he has always exercised, even before being captain. A little light before returning to the ‘tunnel’ of substitutions. His loneliness on the bench and his lost look after the defeat in Son Moix said it all. Against Bayern, more of the same. These are dark days for Carvajal, who not only sees Madrid’s train slip away, but also that of the national team and a World Cup that was going to be the icing on the cake of his monumental career.
