Bellingham: The New Zidane and Di Stéfano Combined

That Bellingham has intertwined Zidane’s name with his is a reality. And not current. It goes beyond the 5 they share in the numeral history of Madrid. They are the gestures, the controls, the corpulence disguised with elegance, the talent, the idolatry of the young man from Stourbridge (20 years old) for the veteran from Marseille (51). “I greatly admire Zidane, his legacy in this club and with this number. I don’t try to be like him, I’m different, but it’s a number that inspires me,” he acknowledged in his presentation as a Real Madrid player. “It is a huge responsibility. Maybe it could put me in an uncomfortable position, but I always valued Zidane a lot and for me he has been the best. I hope I can expand the legacy of the number,” he concluded. A responsibility that he is handling with an efficiency, maturity and comfort that turns even the most optimistic a priori into a pessimist. In preseason, his Zidanesque goal against United, control and Vaseline, watered the seed. And at the start of the course there is much more than green shoots.

Jude shreds with anticipation. But at Maradona, he strengthened the comparison with Zizou and his all-roundness already puts another name in football saints on the table. “Bellingham, a player who from midfield forward is beginning to seriously remind me of Di Stéfano. He has elegant ways in his trot and handling of the ball, but fierce and tireless in the dispute. Half artist, half warrior. The attacking game is organized around him, but even though he is always at the origin of the play, he does not give up finishing it.” Alfredo Relaño, honorary president of AS, is the signatory, in his daily column with this newspaper. Before, in Carrusel Deportivo, Relaño had already made the Englishman and Saeta Rubia share a phrase: “The goal he scored was a goal from Di Stéfano.” That much was a slalom so beautifully crafted that even Vinicius wanted to photograph the celebration. A volcanic performance on the banks of Vesuvius.

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Bellingham celebrates his goal with his teammates and ‘photographer’ Vinicius.Francesco PecoraroGetty Images

Although it is not the nose for goals and the skill, that is also the reason for that comparison with Di Stéfano. It’s being everywhere, going down to the center of the field as a lifeline to relieve the team, putting pressure on to be the first defender despite being drawn as an attacker. The tie, without going any further, was a robbery by Jude when he telegraphed a poor delivery from Di Lorenzo that allowed him to step into the area and wait for the right moment to leave Vinicius the advantage. The pause and elite finish by the Brazilian against Meret, who scored his second goal of the season, did the rest. Recovery and assistance. Afterwards, I wriggle and hug the stands. Eight goals and three assists in nine games and one more trophy for best player of the match. But, above all, “character”, the same word with which the British accompanied his post-victory festive publication. A quality that defined Di Stefano and also a Jude who, in the eyes of Ancelotti, “looks like he is 30 years old” and not 20. Bellingham arrived as the box-to-box of the future and is becoming a total footballer. In present.

“Bellingham has shown what he is worth”

From Italy, Gazzetta dello Sport summarizes the Bellingham match simply: “A spectacle.” While on the live Sky Sport program he received praise from two legends. “Today Bellingham has shown how much it is worth. He is a complete player, he lacks nothing. Class, with weight in the game, scoring ability, ball control, everything that only great champions have. It is impossible to always mark, because he has that even altruistic sensitivity”, radiographed Fabio Capello. While Alessandro del Piero did not even know how to describe him: “How can you define a footballer who is physically strong, good with his feet, who has a great personality, who scores goals playing as a midfielder? I don’t know…, name it whatever you want.”

The reality is that Bellingham, beyond the goal and the assist, led Madrid in chances created (four), in completed dribbles (three, like Vinicius), in passes in the final third (16, like Tchouameni), in tackles ( four, like Valverde) or in recoveries among field footballers (four, like Camavinga). A salad of data with several names and only one common denominator: Jude Bellingham. He dribbled, struggled, generated and recovered as the best white specialist in each of the subjects. What they said about Di Stefano, that he could play anywhere on the field, takes shape with Bellingham. At least, as Relaño points out, from “midfield forward.” If Zidane, his idol, took 30 games to score eight goals, Jude has needed nine and the 14 that he has as a ceiling are beginning to look anecdotal. Ancelotti has not bet any amount with Bellingham but, if he had, he could rest easy. His coaching card would be safe and sound.

2023-10-04 02:19:50
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