Bellingham living up to hype with Real Madrid

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This article was published 27/10/2023 (1060 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The King should not expect a friendly welcome when he arrives in Barcelona. Nevermind that the monarchy is deeply unpopular in these parts. This particular sovereign happens to not only hail from hated Madrid, but is also lord of the biggest football club in the world – one with a crown atop its crest.

That he’s English only rubs imperial salt into the wound.

Not coincidentally, the visit of El Rey de Madrid has been timed to accommodate Saturday’s Clasico (9:15 a.m., TSN2), as he’ll wear the uniform of Los Blancos into battle against La Blaugrana. His has so far been a merciless reign, with Braga, Berlin and Naples already defeated, Bilbao brought under heel and a recent foray into Catalonia successful at upstart Girona.

“El Jefe,” The Boss, as some are calling him, was wounded in Portugal on Tuesday, though his office insists he’ll be fit to lead the charge on Montjuic, the broad, picturesque hill overlooking the Mediterranean where Barcelona was founded. Such will be the spectacle that 38 cameras — increased from the usual 25 — will capture the event, one on a crane and several of the cinematic variety, with film texture and a broader frame.

El Clasico might be the occasion, but the central figure of the action will doubtless be Jude Victor William Bellingham I, crowned June 14 in the capital upon his €100 million ransom from Borussia Dortmund.

Admittedly, some Madridistas greeted his ascension — marked symbolically by the revival of Zidendine Zidane’s number 5 — with some skepticism, or at least the generosity of patience. Surely no one, not even a prodigy who scored on his home debut as a 16-year-old for Birmingham City, could have immediate impact in a team just 15 months removed from winning the Champions League.

Then again, no one, whether in ability, intelligence or self-confidence, is Jude Bellingham. Not right now, anyway.

Retired midfielder Guti, who won the European Cup alongside the majestic Zidane, and who knew well those previous Kings of Madrid, Fernando Hierro and Raul, on Thursday declared Bellingham to be the best player in the world.

“He’s not only competing with midfielders,” Guti analyzed, as part of the El Chiringuito de Jugones programme. “Right now he’s competing with the best forwards, too.”

While an all-around midfielder with a knack for finding the back of the net is certainly a novelty, a non-forward who leads a major league in goalscoring is a rare thing indeed. Michel Platini did it three times in a row for Juventus in the mid-1980s; Flamengo’s Zico twice accomplished the feat in the Brasileiro earlier the same decade.

Bellingham possesses qualities reminiscent of both those playmaking potentates, and what he might perhaps lack in elegance he more than makes up for in strength. At 20, he can still fill out, although he’s already added more bulk than the German prince, Lothar Matthaus.

He also has a rare and consistent sense for the dramatic — something that serves to focus the royal spotlight on himself, both freeing up his teammates and intimidating the opposition before the inevitable has even happened.

It always happens.

Of his 11 goals so far this season, six have been game-winners, and he’s assisted on an additional decisive strike. He also notched the determining tally for England against Scotland last month, and last December he scored in the first half of his first World Cup match. More recently, he was hailed by Gareth Southgate for “controlling” the national team’s triumph over Italy that sealed qualification to Euro 2024.

“Just the way he carries himself and the way he plays on the field… plus the power in his play — that gives us something when you’re in tight situations and he can suddenly wriggle out of things,” the Three Lions manager told the BBC. “He’s had that since he walked through the door, frankly.”

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The continent will be there to be conquered at the Euros, beginning next June 14, but for now Bellingham has his sights set on subduing Barcelona, always a thorn in the capital’s side. Do it, and his rule will only further resemble those mighty ages of the past.

“Bellinghamania” is how A Diario presenter Raul Varela has described the public’s infatuation with their La Liga leader. In Madrid, at least, there is joy in the land.

Viva Jude Bellingham! Larga vida al Rey!

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