Now in his sixth season at Real Madrid, Eduardo Camavinga aims to secure a leading role in the team's midfield. His performance against Malaga could earn him that opportunity from Jose Mourinho.
Eduardo Camavinga is in his sixth season at Real Madrid, and like the club, he comes off a disastrous season in which fans loudly demanded his departure because of his poor performance in the second half of the year.
A situation that had its peak after coming on as a substitute in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Bayern Munich and getting sent off 24 minutes later, a numerical disadvantage that would end up costing the team its passage to the semifinals.
His bad season culminated in the news that France's then-coach, Didier Deschamps, had decided to leave him out of the 2026 World Cup, which surprised the player and made him reconsider his situation.
"He is having a complicated season. I don't question his potential, and I am convinced he has everything to be at the highest level. I understand that he is very disappointed and even that he holds a grudge against me, but that is how competition is," the French coach mentioned last May.
His absence from the World Cup allowed him to join José Mourinho's preseason early as one of the few (practically the only) available midfielders. This earned him the Portuguese coach's trust, so he started three of the four preseason games.
However, the Frenchman's impact in each game was inconsistent, with strong moments in certain periods of the match followed by mistakes or leaving plenty of doubt about the security he offers in midfield. However, that changed in the white team's last game.
Against Malaga, Camavinga started and offered one of his best performances in recent months, practically having no major mistakes and showing the quality that all Madrid fans have demanded of him. In response to this, Mourinho declared in the post-game news conference: "Camavinga, a boy who is not very loved, has played a great game. I am very happy with the response he has given."
Now, it is his opportunity to become one of Mourinho's trusted players, because if he continues to show a performance similar to the one he had against Malaga, the Portuguese could give him the regularity he needs to establish himself as an undisputed starter in the white team, something that simply seemed unthinkable until a few months ago.
