Militan: Being ready to play in the national Derby has made me score when I have the chance

In an interview with the club's official media ahead of the National Derby, Real Madrid defender Militang talked about his current situation with the team.

About the national Derby

Militan: "You always have to be ready and involved because it is a very special game and in the national Derby you give your all. The team is ready, we've had a great start to the season and we're all into it and committed to this game."

About his own contribution in the set piece

Militan: "Carlo Ancelotti asked me to score when I had the chance and I kept trying until I did it against Getafe. Defensively, you don't have to go through hard times because it gets you closer to winning. We always work in a way that respects our team-mates. Whether Nacho, me, Alaba or Ruediger plays, we will have good security and we will do our best to win the game."

A message to the fans

"The fans give us a lot of energy, they give us a lot of encouragement, they help us a lot and I will tell them that we expect them to come and help us on Sunday."

"We want to win everything and I am proud to play for this team. We always fight until the last moment," said Militan.

Militang has been outstanding this season and his central defensive partnership with Alaba has allowed Real only 20 goals in La Liga this season, the third fewest in the division.

In attack, Militang is a threat with his header, which earned Real a 2-2 draw at home to Elce in the last league match.

Militang has played in 31 of Real's 32 games this season and the club are pleased with his performances, with the player now worth 60 million euros, one of the top 10 most expensive centre-halves in the world.

"One hundred! I played 100 times for Real Madrid and there is no greater joy and satisfaction than to play so many games for the biggest club in the world."

"Thank you to God and everyone who has supported me."

Now after arriving at Real Madrid, although Militan has not played outside his expected performance, also did not lock the first team position. But he will definitely be Real Madrid in the future in the back line of a key minister, after all, Real Madrid fans believe in the vision of Zidane, at the beginning of the Varane and Zidane has a direct relationship, now the joining of Militang, naturally will be placed on high hopes. Especially with Ramos already 34 years old, it should only be a matter of time before Militan finally becomes Real Madrid's main centre-back. There is no doubt that Militan, now only 22, is expected to be Real Madrid's defence for the next 10 years. So how did the young defender from Sao Paulo conquer Zidane?

From Brazil's famous family Militang, the future of Real Madrid is absolutely predictable

Born on January 18, 1998, Militan joined the famous Brazilian youth academy Sao Paulo. This Brazilian family has produced many stars, such as Kaka, Cafu and Lucas. In addition to Militan, there is only one other player in the Real Madrid squad who also came from Sao Paulo. He is Casemiro. Like those Sao Paulo stars, Militan began his career showing talent in Brazil before moving to Europe. In the summer of 2018, he joined Porto, the star factory of the Portuguese Super League, where he has gradually become a regular in the team.

In the 18-19 season, Militan played 46 games for Porto, including 45 starts, scoring 5 goals and 1 assist. His rating per game is 7.63, the fourth highest in the Portuguese Super League and the first highest among players in his position. So before the end of the season, the return of Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane made Real Madrid to sign him. Although after joining Real Madrid, Militang appeared dizzy at the press conference because of various factors, and after playing for Real Madrid, did not show the valiant performance in Porto period, but Real Madrid fans still believe Zidane's vision, if he can get more opportunities to play, Will naturally produce more impressive performances (just 11 starts for Real Madrid this season). Here, we take a closer look at how the Sao Paulo underachiever managed to conquer Zidane and what his future at Real Madrid looks like.

Despite the disadvantages of the body model, Militan has a unique way of surviving

As a centre-back, a tall centre-half like Van Dijk is the best model, but not all centre-halves are built to perfection. For a centre-half like Cannavaro, he is a lean type and Markinos is a lean type. But they can still be a good centre-half because they have a unique way of surviving. Cannavaro, for example, may not be tall enough to be a centre-half, but he has the jumping ability and awareness to make up the difference, while Markinos and Militang can also make up the difference with defensive aggression.

In the game, Militan is often able to play one-on-one defense in the case of poor physical confrontation, through stronger defensive will and quicker defensive awareness, so that he can make up for his size disadvantage. As a result, Militan would often take possession of the ball before his opponent had a chance to react, and he would also "fight for his life" when he was physically disadvantaged. So, as a centre-half, Militan looks like he has a weakness, but he can actually avoid it. So said Milidang has its own unique way of survival, which is Zidane fancy Milidang a big reason.

Versatility is Militan's attribute and he can play in two different central defensive positions

The centre-back position, in a strict sense, also has different types, respectively are the trailing organiser centre-half, van Dijk is the best example, another type of centre-half is the up-and-coming centre-half, the representative player is Varane. The result from Militan's ability to see, he can play two different positions in the center back, personal skills are very comprehensive. Playing as a left-sided centre-half, or a trailing centre-half, Militan is able to play from the back as an attacker. Last season, while playing for Porto, Militan averaged 82 percent of his passes per game, 56 percent up front and 53 percent from long range. With such stable passing ability, he can receive the goalkeeper's ball and then organize the team's transition from defense to attack, and when the team's attack is blocked, Militan can also transition the ball in the back, then transfer the ball again, so that the team's attack rhythm is more orderly.

When Militan plays right centre back, he plays the role of a scrunchy-half, rushing up the ball when the opposition forwards are ready to receive it, taking it away and breaking it out of danger. Relatively speaking, this is one of Militan's strengths. According to statistics, in last season's matches, Militang was able to complete 2.1 tackles per game, and also through the sense of anticipation to complete the pass interception, then made 2.2 interceptions, it can be said that Militang's presence to ensure that the team's defence against a lot of dangerous attacks (Porto only conceded 20 goals in 34 league games last season, the lowest number of goals conceded in the Portuguese Super League). He is a qualified centre-half who plays up the ball.

Influenced by the modern centre-half, Militan was also a knife-wielding defender

In today's world football, the demand for defenders is increasingly high, they not only have excellent foot skills, but also have the ability to score from set pieces, need to score from behind, and Militan also has such attributes. He scored a total of five goals for the team last season, and he can finish off set-piece attacks with a header and then a header. It is worth mentioning that Militan averaged 4.1 top attempts per game last season, which shows that he has air power on the court

Militan is also averaging one shot per game, which is a rare performance. For a team like Real Madrid that is very demanding in attack, defenders also need to score goals to help improve the team's attack, so Militan is a good fit for Real Madrid. With Ramos ageing, Militang is expected to be Zidane's new ace in the centre of defence and is expected to be in the same league as the world's top centre-backs.

Militan has a huge future at Real Madrid and will be the main force of the Galacticos for the next 10 years

Although Militan has not played as well as he did for Porto this season, he has shown his prodigious talent in limited appearances. Militan has made only seven La Liga starts this season, but is still averaging 1.89 tackles, 1.78 interceptions and three clearances per game, all of which rank high in the Real Madrid squad. Therefore, it can be said that Militang actually has the strength to play a major role in Real Madrid, perhaps when the 34-year-old Ramos gradually steps down, he will replace the Real Madrid captain, become the new Galacticos central defence candidate, will be with Varane.

Of course, it is not certain that Militan will play in the centre of defence for Real Madrid, after all, he is also expected to be converted into a central midfielder. Militang has played in the position before and done well, giving Real coach Zinedine Zidane more options. It is well known that Casemiro, the only legitimate defensive midfielder in the Real Madrid squad in recent years, is the only one who can guarantee the balance of both sides of the ball. As a result, Real Madrid are short of men at the back and do not rule out the possibility of Militan and Casemiro in the future rotation at the back. Of course, playing them together at the back is an option at a time when it is necessary, and Real Madrid will be solid in that position. There is no doubt that with Ramos out of the picture and Militan available in a number of positions, he will be the man for the next 10 years.

Write at the end

In the summer of 2011, Zidane urged Real Madrid to bring in the French centre-back Varane, who quickly became a regular at Real Madrid and is now indispensable. Now, Zidane has once again helped bring in a central defender, Militang, whose Real Madrid career has been in the spotlight. Zidane is known for being a good judge of character, so his acquisition of Militang will also be potential.

In the author's opinion, Militan is only limited by playing time, so he has not played the price, as long as give him more playing time support, Militan's performance will be better and better. In fact, from Zidane's approach to aid, he intends to create a new defence, and Militang is part of his plan. Therefore, in the coming years, Militang will be a key member of the new generation of Galacticos, who will keep Real Madrid proud like their predecessors Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Varane

Since joining Real from Porto in 2019, Militan has helped the club win two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups, one Champions League and one UEFA Super Cup.