[ad_1]
GET CHANCES: Martin Ødegaard faces an important period with the national and club teams. Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
STADION ULLEVAAL (VG) The situation at Real Madrid opens up great opportunities for Martin Ødegaard (21) after the national team break.
“Ødegaard is Zidane’s savior,” it reads on the front page of Marca’s online newspaper Tuesday morning.
In a reader survey, 58 percent believe that Real Madrid’s trio of midfielders in the future should consist of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Martin Ødegaard.
“It’s time to impress,” writes the daily As about Ødegaard, adding that “the door is open for him to establish himself.”
This is due to a series of circumstances among the Real Madrid midfielders: Fede Valverde has been injured for a month, Isco is cut his throat for his poor performance, Casemiro has had coronavirus, while the tension on the aging Luka Modric and Toni Kroos must be limited with the tough match schedule.
– First of all, it is boring with Valverde who is out due to an injury, so it is rare. He has been an important player for us. But there are many other good players, so we who stay, we just have to take the glove and work hard, Ødegaard tells VG during the press conference that you can see here:
Suddenly, Ødegaard appears as a leading candidate to play matches regularly from the beginning after the national team break.
During the month in which Valverde is injured, Real Madrid will play key matches both in the domestic league and on the continent: against Villarreal, Alavés, Sevilla and Atlético de Madrid in La Liga, and against Inter, Shakhtar Donetsk and Mönchengladbach in the Champions.
– As I said, now there are many games, so there will be opportunities. Then you just have to be well prepared and try to bite, says Ødegaard.
also read
Ødegaard confirms Zidane’s phone: – It was fast
After several weeks off due to injury since the October national team meeting, Ødegaard managed just under half an hour in a 1-4 loss to Valencia this weekend. He is now in Oslo for the international game against Israel on Wednesday before traveling to Romania and Austria for two League of Nations settlements.
After problems with his knee this summer, followed by illness and then a leg injury, the Drammen man admits it was a mental strain last time.
– It gets a little more difficult now with injuries and a difficult situation when you are very isolated, a lot alone and it is difficult to get visitors and all that. It gets harder in that part. I feel like all of this helps me to get stronger. I choose to see it that way and see it as good evidence rather than complaining too much, Ødegaard says.
When asked how he got into the Real Madrid group, he replies:
– I think it went well. I have been well received and prospered.
Injuries and illnesses have led Ødegaard to playing just 142 minutes in four games for the club’s team this season. The capital’s team needs all the help they can get: in La Liga, they fight for the top of the table against Ødegaard’s old club, Real Sociedad, while in the Champions League it is open for the two places they give ascent.
