Eduardo Camavinga at Real Madrid: The sensational left-back who doesn’t want to be one

Camavinga is Real’s future
The sensational left-back who doesn’t want to be one

By Emmanuel Schneider

Eduardo Camavinga is arguably the biggest revelation at Real Madrid this season. On the left side of defence, the 20-year-old athletic freak scurries through opposing defensive lines and also teaches Manchester City to fear. He doesn’t even play in his preferred position.

Eduardo Camavinga is 20 years old and therefore already something of a grown-up “child prodigy” – this hype stamp that promising talents are quickly provided with. Exactly the same happened to Camavinga. Four years before he shone in the Champions League semi-final against Pep Guardiola’s miracle team, he stormed the big football stage in France at the age of just 16. As the youngest player in the French league, at an age when he wasn’t even allowed to drive alone, he managed a decisive assist for outsiders Stade Rennes – against the unpopular giants Paris St. Germain of all places. That debut season 2019/20 brought the young professional the breakthrough and big offers. In late summer 2021, the left foot then signed with Real Madrid – for just 31 million euros. In view of the otherwise often dizzying sums, downright an earthly bargain.

While he often came off the bench as a joker in his first Real season, Camavinga has been an integral part of Madrid’s starting eleven this season, especially since the beginning of the year. Except for two games, Camavinga was always used, and in very different positions. It’s such a thing with footballer wisdom. Camavinga definitely takes one thing to heart: He plays where the coach puts him. The coach in this case is Carlo Ancelotti and “wo” is the left-back of the “Royals”.

“For me, he can play anywhere on the pitch. If I put him up as a centre-forward, Camavinga does his job. If I put him up as a centre-back, he does his job because he has something special. He’s a special player with his qualities.” , explained Ancelotti.

Camavinga helps Real Madrid everywhere

(Photo: IMAGO/NurPhoto)

Meanwhile, the Frenchman of Congolese descent has found his place on the left. Frontman Vinicius Junior also benefits from this. Together, the duo form a left power side that gives opponents tempo nightmares. This was shown once again in the giants meeting at Manchester City in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Champions League (1:1). This game was like a brief outline of the skills of the Real pros.

Camavinga repeatedly rushed into the city half with the ball on his foot, showed dribbling, straddled on the defensive and provided one of the highlights of the evening. With a long solo from the sixteenth he made up meter by meter in the style of a footballer and initiated Vinicius Junior’s 1-0 dream goal. At 20 years and 180 days, he became the youngest assist provider in a premier class semi-final, statistics service providers reported.

No doubt: the youngster has fully arrived at Real, albeit in the “wrong” position. Does he like playing as a left winger? “No, not yet,” he replied to journalists’ questions.

Because it’s like this: The professional actually feels at home in midfield, central and/or offensive, that’s his oasis of well-being. Here he learned to kick at Stade Rennes. But at Real Madrid he’s been forced to play at left-back for weeks since left winger Ferland Mendy’s injury. And surprisingly well and sovereign for his age. Ancelotti countered his player: “He doesn’t like it – we do.”

The future belongs to him

Camavinga’s strengths help him to find his way in the unfamiliar position. He is technically gifted, good at dribbling, fast, agile, athletic, almost more a dancer than a footballer. And so perfect for Real.

Whereby even with the former “child prodigy” there is still a breeze upwards. His positional play, final strength and passing accuracy are fluctuating. The game against City is a good example of this as well. With a rather sloppy pass to the center, which was then intercepted by City, Camavinga unintentionally initiated Kevin De Bruyne’s goal.

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(Photo: IMAGO/NurPhoto)

Nevertheless, with his duels, winning the ball and actions, he was one of the most important players that evening in Madrid and underlined what Real has in him and what potential there is still slumbering. With his tempo runs and dribbling, the 1.82 meter tall player is reminiscent of the young Gareth Bale in top form (as far as we know, golf is not one of Camavinga’s hobbies, but extensive Playstation games are). The amazing thing: After a year at Real Madrid, he has already won almost everything there is to win in club football. Champions League, Club World Cup, Spanish league title, Spanish Cup and European and national Supercup. Here, too, he is now at the forefront of club icon Iker Casillas – as the youngest Real professional to have won all six important club titles.

Success should also follow with the French national team. Camavinga currently has seven international matches. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he played a group game for 90 minutes, was substituted on the left in the final for regular Theo Hernandez and saw the big Mbappé final show from there, which, as is well known, had no happy ending. Due to the lost final, “only” the Nations League title 2021 is the greatest success at international level. While Hernandez blocks the way on the left, the French midfield is also peppered with top players such as Real teammate Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Wesley Fofana and long-running favorite N’Golo Kanté. Nevertheless, Camavinga is likely to start at the EM 2024 as the starting XI candidate for the French.

The football jack-of-all-trades could have started for Congo or Angola, but decided to play for the French national team. He received French citizenship at the end of 2019. It’s a long way. His parents are from the Congo, he was born in an Angolan enclave. At the age of two he came to northern France with his parents. He found his way to football through judo, and raw talent was then honed in Rennes.

Lifetime real?

The Stade-Rennens-School once had exceptional talent Ousmane Dembélé, unlike the ex-Dortmunder, Camavinga has not yet attracted attention with strikes or such bitches. In the Spanish capital, people are stretching out their hands to tie Camavinga even longer. At Real, they are certain that Camavinga owns the present and the future. Not only is he a jack of all trades on the pitch, but also a promise for the next Real era that is about to begin – together with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo he is considered the axis of the future.

The current contract runs until 2027. His protégé would like to play for Real forever, his adviser recently trumpeted. An allegedly stipulated exit clause of one billion euros made the rounds. It has not yet been clarified in which position Camavinga will play at Real in the future, for the club it is also of secondary importance. If the aging club greats Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić vacate their place in midfield in the near future, the 20-year-old will probably be needed there as well.

Anyway, Camavinga plays wherever the coach puts him. Good news for Real. Bad news for the competition.

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