Real Madrid’s attack? It feels like an orchestra without a conductor right now, totally struggling to get everyone on the same page and pull those strings together on the pitch. You’ve got all this talent, distinct skillsets all over the field, but it's just not gelling cohesively since Toni Kroos retired.
The Void Kroos and Modric Left Behind
Kroos was the de facto leader for Madrid on the field in his later years, no doubt about it. His final season numbers are bonkers: he was attempting over 100 passes per 90 minutes in La Liga, completing nearly 95% of them. In the Champions League, he was still throwing out 82 pass attempts per 90. That’s a massive workload! Compare that to last season’s leading passer from midfield, Aurélien Tchouaméni, who only had 65.5 pass attempts per 90 in La Liga and 55.7 per 90 in Champions League. That’s a significant drop-off.
What’s even wilder is that with Luka Modric also gone, for the first time in almost a decade, it wasn’t a midfielder leading the team in pass attempts per 90. Nope, it was two centre-backs: Antonio Rüdiger in La Liga and Dean Huijsen in the Champions League. That tells you everything you need to know about the creative hole in the middle. The big criticisms swirling around post-Kroos and Modric are that the deeper players like Rüdiger and Fede Valverde aren’t moving the ball quickly enough or delivering those incisive passes to the forward line. Let's dive into that first point about quick ball circulation, because the numbers might surprise you.
The Shocking Truth About "Quick" Passing
Everyone assumes a tempo controller has to sling the ball around super fast, all one-touch, right? Well, Kroos’s final season numbers beg to differ. He attempted 22.2% of his passes one-touch in league play, which puts him in the fourth percentile among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues. Only 53.7% of his passes were within two seconds of receiving the ball, placing him in the eighth percentile. Modric that same season was similar, with 23.5% first-touch passes and 52.6% under two seconds. These guys weren't exactly speed demons with the ball!
Now check this out: last season, Tchouaméni distributed 26.4% of his La Liga passes one-time, and Valverde was at 26.3%. Those are actually *higher* percentages than Kroos and Modric in 2023/2024 for one-touch passes. For passes within two seconds of receiving the ball, Tchouaméni was at 53.8% and Valverde at 53.3%. That’s nearly identical to Kroos's 53.7% and Modric's 52.6%. The numbers show that Kroos, believe it or not, actually circulated the ball *slower* in his final season than many of Madrid’s midfielders did last season. It’s not about being quick every single time; the best tempo controllers know when to hit it first-time, when to hold, when to progress, and when to just keep possession, reading the game, the score, and player positioning. Just look at Vitinha, widely considered the best deep-lying playmaker today, who had less than one in five of his passes (18.3%) from a first touch. Even PSG’s vaunted midfield, with Vitinha (46.8%), Fabián Ruiz (44.1%), and João Neves (49.4%), played less than 50% of their passes in under two seconds. Rodri, another absolute master, saw less than half his passes (49.3%) come under two seconds last season. So, maybe the "slow ball circulation" criticism isn’t as valid as everyone thinks.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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