The night Antonio Rüdiger began to wear white, April 12, 2022, could have ended tragically for Real Madrid; nevertheless, thanks to Rodrygo and Benzema, it became one more step toward the ‘Fourteenth’. Prior to those two saves, the German defender had scored Chelsea’s second goal, tying the game after the Whites had lost 1-3 at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues were already up 1-0 when a strongly contested corner kick came in. Long ball to the far post at the launch, where Rüdiger appeared to head cross. Courtois does not arrive. Goal. He was totally alone. He attacked Ancelotti’s team’s normal zonal defense from a distance, with no one standing in his way. With the ‘2’ on his back and clothed in yellow, Rüdiger sang the goal as if it were the last one he would ever score. His final season with Chelsea was his most fruitful, scoring four goals.

After recovering from being nearly eliminated from the Champions League, there was renewed interest in Rüdiger in Valdebebas. It was not the first time, of course. In truth, he has been on the radar of white coaches since 2016, his final year at Roma, when he sustained a catastrophic injury, a rupture of the cruciate ligament in his right leg. Carlo Ancelotti, while coaching Naples (2018-20), attempted to sign him to form a tandem with Koulibaly, oblivious to the possibility of him returning to Real Madrid. He couldn’t, but when he returned to the Santiago Bernabéu and discovered that the player was geolocated by the club and available on June 30, 2022, he marked him with a ‘x’. “For me, sign it”

And here is Antonio Rüdiger. In his second season in white, he has delivered a performance much beyond expectations. He acclimated to living in the shadow of Militao and Alaba while serving as the squad’s notional third center back last season (51 games, 37 starting, 36 complete), and no one denies his importance in the team’s organization defense. Rüdiger enjoys leading the defense. He feels significant. Ancelotti considers him an optimistic defender since he is unafraid of anything or anyone. He loves to play on the right because he is right-footed, but he does not hesitate when Tchouameni plays and he needs to switch sides.

Without his presence in the middle, without his anticipation and confidence in always defending forward, it would be difficult to understand why the Madrid squad defends so high. True, the ball occasionally gets trapped between his legs, causing some collective panic, but his consistency is worth noting. He spends less on his attacking exploits at Chelsea, which mainly resulted in shots from outside the box and some on goal. However, he never misses the climbs to complete set pieces. The penalty spot serves as his reference point, and he takes the unmarked areas to the right or left. He is also an expert at blocking. Moving him while he has his feet planted is impossible.

Since Militao’s injury on the first day at San Mamés, he has missed only four games. Three in the League due to injury, one due to an accumulation of warnings, and one in the Champions League as a result of his blow at Getafe, in which he came out badly despite the fact that the tackle was his. He scored two of his team’s goals against Celta. They are not recognized as goal scorers, but all Real Madrid fans see those two actions as their own. How to contradict him!