Martín Ødegaard, Real Madrid | Storavis criticizes Ødegaard:

Real Madrid have had a mixed start to the 2019/20 season. In the most important matches, such as Barcelona and Inter, he has shown himself on the right side and has won. While in matches against rivals that on paper should be worse than Madrid, there have been defeats, such as against Shakhtar Donetsk, Cádiz and Alavés.

Especially in the Champions League, the big club is in a bad position, and it is not unlikely that Madrid will not advance from the group stage. It hasn’t happened since the 1994/95 season. For a club that has won the generous tournaments 13 times, it would be a disaster.

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In a longer article, the renowned English online newspaper The Athletic has taken a closer look at what is going wrong at Real Madrid. The English newspaper notes, among other things, that the defensive security of last season is gone, lack of motivation and that the club is too dependent on a few players, such as Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and Casemiro.

– Unable to take responsibility

But the big newspaper is not only critical of the great stars of Real Madrid who do not comply. Martin Ødegaard also receives criticism from the English newspaper, who believes that the Norwegian is not capable of being decisive for the team.

– Newer and younger players such as Marco Asensio, Ferland Mendy and Martin Ødegaard do not have the experience or the personality to take responsibility at this time, Athletic writes.

Martin Ødegaard was injury free at the start of the season, but eventually ended up on the disabled list and missed several games for Real Madrid. The Norwegian returned to the pitch in early November and has had some playing time with Madrid ever since.

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He has started three games, against Inter, Villarreal and Shakhtar Donetsk, which ended in victory, draw and defeat respectively. In addition to this, there have been entries against Valencia and Alavés. On Tuesday, Ødegaard was not seen at Real Madrid training and AS reports that the Norwegian suffers a muscle injury in his left leg.

– Up and down

Petter Veland is an expert in Spanish football and closely follows Martin Ødegaard’s performance at Real Madrid. He believes that Ødegaard’s start at Real Madrid can be summed up as follows:

– It’s been a little up and down in every possible way. Both the collective results, your individual achievements and whether it has been available or not. So we are still waiting for the long list of matches where he has a chance to show up. In general, I would say that the beginning is perfectly fine. No more no less. It does not stand out positively, nor does it stand out negatively. Then, in many ways, you have to put your finger in the ground and think that a 21-year-old with a Norwegian passport does not stand out negatively at Real Madrid, Veland tells Nettavisen.

However, the football expert believes that there is something that stands out positively for Ødegaard.

– When he returns from a loan and tries to play as a Real Madrid student, he starts out as a challenger. So he is basically at the back of the hierarchy. Then he’s behind the five midfielders who were there before. Now it’s number five. It’s pretty obvious that he’s currently ahead of Isco in the queue. In that sense, it has already managed to take a step forward, Veland believes.

ALSO READ: Storavis pays tribute to Ødegaard’s contribution to Real Madrid: – Improves those around him

– You must take a higher risk

So far, Ødegaard has failed to score any goal points for Real Madrid, and Veland is aware that Ødegaard has aspects of his game that he can improve.

– What you miss a bit is that he dares to take a little more risk in the passing game. That he manages to position himself a little better, because he usually goes to positions when he receives the ball and then turns his back to the goal. It’s often a touch or two to get into the correct body position or it sends a supportive pass that gets you back to the start, Veland believes.

But the football expert also remembers that no one can expect a player like Ødegaard to enter head-on and dominate for Real Madrid.

– There is definitely potential for improvement. This is how it should and should be. It would have been very strange if he had gone straight in and taken the lead and steered the boat for 90 minutes at a club like Real Madrid. Especially when things are not going so well for them collectively, says the soccer expert.

Veland points out that there are several factors that must come into play when analyzing how Ødegaard has performed at Real Madrid. Among other things, Real Madrid coach Zidane has not commented on what he demands of Ødegaard when he plays.

– We do not know what type of directives Martín receives from Zinedine Zidane. If Zidane believes that Martín’s role is to be the first to go under pressure, make sure he is not offended. You may have been told not to take such a great risk. It may be part of a collective that makes sure they flow, that they don’t lose the ball, that they attack slowly and with control. If that’s the case, then we as picky Norwegians just have to accept that this is their role right now, if that’s the case, says Veland.

Receive praise in the leading Spanish newspaper

English online newspaper The Athletic is less positive about Ødegaard’s achievements, but in the Spanish media Ødegaard has often received good coverage. Last week, the main Spanish newspaper Marca published an article about the influence of the Norwegian in the team.

Then Marca wrote that Real Madrid with and without Ødegaard were two different teams, and took as an example the games against Inter and Alavés. Ødegaard is a starter against Inter, while the 21-year-old was devastated from the start against Alavés.

– There was a fundamental difference. Ødegaard was not there, the newspaper wrote.

Marca also wrote that Real Madrid’s passing game in the game against Inter was much better than against Alavés, and referred to the statistics. In the match against Inter, Real Madrid had 796 passes during the match, a record for Madrid this season, while against Alavés they dropped to 563 passes. Passing accuracy also dropped from 92.21 percent in the Inter game to 87.92 percent in the game against Alavés.

Ødegaard will likely miss the important Champions League game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday night. The game is played in Madrid and begins at 9:00 p.m., and it is a place in the Champions League play-offs.

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