Jude Bellingham got off to a furious start at Real Madrid and even broke a Ronaldo record. Will he soon inherit the superstar as a world footballer?
When England and Italy meet at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening (8:45 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online), great memories will be awakened. The two national teams finally faced each other in the final of the 2021 European Championship at the same place two years ago. After a 1-1 draw in regular time, the Italians won the final 3-2 on penalties and crowned themselves champions in their opponents’ living room, so to speak.
Jude Bellingham may have particularly painful memories of this experience. After all, he was part of the English national team in the European Championship final. However, he was not used in that game and had to witness the English drama from the substitutes’ bench – as a spectator and without any possibility of influencing the outcome of this big game. Anyone who knows Bellingham or has seen him play knows that this is exactly the worst thing for the midfielder, who is full of ambition and drive.
The reunion with Italy is only about European Championship qualification and not about the title, but for England it is still a bit about making amends. And Bellingham will definitely be in the thick of things this time. With his furious start at Real Madrid, he has long since made himself indispensable in the English national team.
Bellingham breaks Ronaldo record at Real
After moving from Borussia Dortmund to the Spanish capital club for 103 million euros in the summer, Bellingham is really getting off to a flying start. The 20-year-old has already scored eight goals and provided two assists in his first eight league games. Bellingham even surpasses the record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo. After his arrival in Madrid in the summer of 2009, the Portuguese “only” scored seven times in the first eight games in the Primera División and provided one assist. Bellingham also scored in the two previous Champions League games for Real and provided another assist.
He owes all of this to a tactical trick that Real head coach Carlo Ancelotti came up with with him. In search of a place for him in his star ensemble, the Italian moved him further forward from the midfield center, where he always played at BVB, to the tenth position. And there Bellingham suddenly developed goalscoring qualities that were previously unknown from him.
Hargreaves: “Bellingham is from another planet”
“I couldn’t have imagined that he would play as a ten at Real Madrid and then immediately score the most goals there,” says former England international and ex-Bayern professional Owen Hargreaves in an interview with t-online. “Jude is simply unique, such a special player.”
Why shouldn’t what works perfectly at Real not also work for the English national team, national coach Gareth Southgate apparently thought. So he simply put him in the ten position in the friendly against Scotland in September. And of course Bellingham promptly contributed a goal to the “Three Lions’” 3-1 win.
“He simply has no limits. The boy is from another planet. His huge talent cannot be overlooked. But what really sets him apart for me is his personality,” says Hargreaves and explains: “The way he just stands there, his presence on the football field – you can’t buy that and you can’t learn it. It’s just somehow built into you, innate.”
2023-10-17 22:13:33
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