On a day in late May of 2018, Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League final. With confetti coming down from the rafters Real Madrid captain, Sergio Ramos, lifted the the Champions League trophy (their third consecutive championship) high above his head. It would be hard to believe that this was the end of an era for the club.

Five days later, the manager that had led the club to those three consecutive championships, Zinedine Zidane, announced his resignation. A little over a month and a half later, the club’s all-time leading goal scorer and talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo, signed a four year deal with Italian giants, Juventus. In a matter of months, the club went from the pinnacle of club football to a team looking for a new identity.

When Zidane tendered his resignation in late May, there seemed to have been a sense that the move was somewhat inevitable. The manager ended his tenure with Los Blancos with a team whose Champions League accomplishments redeemed a relatively unimpressive league season for Real Madrid in which they never really challenged Barcelona for the La Liga title, settling for a third place finish in the league. It was as if Zidane could sense that the window of success for him at this club with these players was closing and left before things started going poorly.

After some searching, Julen Lopetegui, the former Spanish National Team manager, was selected as the new man to lead Real Madrid. The signing wasn’t without controversy, as it was announced mere days before he was to lead Spain in the World Cup. T\Spain sacked him. With Lopetegui, the club acquired a manager with experience in taking a team with a moribund attack at times and revitalised them, as he had accomplished with Spain.

Lopetegui’s teams tend to favor ball possession mixed with quick and effective counterattacks which should pair well with the speed found within this roster. He will also hope to transition the team from what it has seemed to have become for the past few years: a team reliant on one main playmaker: Cristiano Ronaldo.

Oftentimes, Madrid heavily relied on Ronaldo’s ability to create and execute chances all by himself. When he falters, as he did at the beginning of last season, the team struggled mightily to score consistently. With Ronaldo gone, the shadow of his loss will loom over this squad and Lopetegui will have to count on a few players both young and experienced, to help fill the void that he left behind.

Gareth Bale will be asked to shoulder much of the burden of replacing Ronaldo
photos” Ali Gilmore

One of the playmakers that will be absolutely vital to maintaining the era of dominance for Real Madrid will be Gareth Bale. In his five years at Real Madrid, Bale has tried to live up to £85.1 million transfer fee that brought him to the club.

However, his fragile health has limited his ability to be as productive as his transfer fee dictated. When healthy, the former Tottenham player can be one of the truly exceptional wingers in the world. With pace that is unmatched in the world, Bale is able to simply sprint past opposing defenders and his skill on the ball is exceptional. He has a great shot and is deadly on set pieces. Without the distraction of Ronaldo, Bale can finally claim this team as his own and,with health permitting, reach his true potential.

Lopetegui puts quite a bit of faith in his young players, as shown by his time with the Spanish National Team. Two of those playmakers he relied on with the national team will once again be counted on by the Spanish manager to play important parts in his squad: Isco and Marco Asensio.

Isco, the young playmaker, should be an absolutely vital part of Los Blancos moving forward. He is widely considered one of the best attacking midfielders in the world and with the absence of Ronaldo, he will most likely bear the burden of being Madrid’s main playmaker. His pinpoint passing ability and his ability to read the game will help fill some of the playmaking void that Ronaldo will leave behind and open up opportunities for a player like Bale or forward Karim Benzema can use to their advantage. Isco performed well for his country under Lopetegui and the manager will hope that his form continues to blossom during their partnership in Madrid.

Asencio is a bright young prospect who has the skill and temperament to grow into a star for Los Blancos. When Asencio has seen given an opportunity with the first team, he excelled last year with eleven goals across all competitions and numerous assists along the way. If this past preseason is any indication, Asencio looks primed to be much more involved as a goalscorer (netting 3 during this summer’s International Champions Cup competitions) and has seemed to have formed a favorable partnership with Bale.

With Ronaldo and Zidane no longer associated with the club anymore, the 2018-2019 season is seen as a bit of a transition year for Los Blancos. The team will definitely have a different identity going into this season. But this is a club known for achieving and it will be hard to believe that this team, even with new faces, doesn’t achieve some of the success of Real Madrid’s recent past.