3 Areas for Raphael Varane to Improve on to Become a Real Madrid Great

La Liga was just kicking off and Real Madrid were preparing to take on Sporting Gijon on Spain's north coast, when Marca made a declaration most agreed with: "It is Raphael Varane's year."

At the time it looked certain to be so. After four seasons of steady progression, the Frenchman who'd been lauded by Jose Mourinho, Didier Deschamps, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane appeared poised to grab hold of one of Madrid's centre-back posts for good in 2015-16, and when Los Blancos walked out at Estadio El Molinon to begin the campaign, there he was alongside Sergio Ramos. 

From the club and then-manager Rafa Benitez, it looked like a statement: This would be Varane's year. 

Except it hasn't worked out like that. Not at all. 

This has been a peculiar season for the 23-year-old. From the beginning he's battled with form and continuity, seeing him oscillate between in-favour and out-of-favour. The constant chopping and changing of Madrid's centre-back pairing due to the injury and form issues of Ramos and Pepe certainly hasn't helped, but still this has felt like a season of stagnation for Varane. 

This is, after all, the player Mourinho described as "the best young central defender in the world," but across the course of the campaign, Jose Gimenez at Atletico Madrid has looked more like the owner of that title. 

It's left Varane in a curious position. For so long he's been regarded as the next big thing, but here we are almost five years on from the day of his signing at Madrid, and still the "next" lingers. 

Here, then, we look at the areas in which Varane can make the biggest gains. 

Physicality Through Mentality

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When assessing Varane's indifferent season in 2015-16, it's interesting to reflect on a comment he made during an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche (h/t Marca) last year: 

"

During my second year at Madrid, Jose Mourinho gave me a kick up the backside. I wasn't doing well, I wasn't managing to do what he wanted me to out on the pitch. So he chided me, saying, 'Why don't you run in training?' My first reaction was to mutter, 'Oh come on...' But I knew he was right, I had more to give.

Mourinho doesn't need to give long speeches. He's direct and to the point. What he said to me was for my own good. Without regular pressure like that, I can tend to rest on my laurels.

"

Such a comment feels pertinent now. For much of the season, particularly recently, there's been a passive and somewhat casual nature to the Frenchman's game. Admittedly, his seemingly laid-back disposition can heighten such a sense to the viewer even if it isn't necessarily the case, but throughout 2015-16 there's been a lack of physicality and intensity from Varane, which is perhaps a symptom of the mentality he alluded to. 

Recent outings have illustrated the problem.

Against Valencia, Kiko Casilla was forced to make a fine save after Varane had made a casual and unconvincing attempt to challenge Rodrigo. Against Rayo Vallecano, the hosts' first goal came when the Frenchman made no impact on a contest with Miku on the edge of the six-yard box. Against Getafe, that bizarre free-kick from inside the area stemmed partly from Varane stepping out from his defensive line but failing to exert physical pressure on the ball. Against Levante, Deyverson's goal came after Varane's unassertive attempt at a clearance. 

Nitpicking? Maybe. But there's a common theme here. 

Each example involves a lack of physicality, the play moving past him too easily when there's an opportunity to kill the move with an act of force. As mentioned earlier, mentality plays into this—a mentality shaped by his extraordinary speed and recovery skills. 

Indeed, that confidence that he can always win a race, that he can always recover to clear, is perhaps hindering Varane, giving him a particular asset to rely on, but in turn making him somewhat one-dimensional. 

Of course, there's an elegance to the Frenchman that means he'll never be the Ramos type, but for him to go to another level, the grace needs to be complemented by a degree of grunt. 

Demeanour

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This could be considered an extension of the previous point, but it's worth addressing anyway.

Becoming a Real Madrid great is about more than simply being an excellent footballer. At the Santiago Bernabeu, reputations and legacies are shaped by a player's ability to inspire those in the stands, to light something within them, to understand and connect with them. 

To some this comes more naturally than it does for others, and though Varane probably sits in the latter category, finding a way to become more demonstrative and carry greater presence will be central to whether he fulfils his talent. 

Indeed, when you watch Madrid at the Bernabeu, it can be easy to simply not notice Varane. At times that can be considered the trait of a subtly brilliant defender, but it's hard not to feel that the home crowd would embrace the Frenchman to a greater extent if was able to exhibit added aggression. Ferocity. Outward emotion. 

It's not easy to just turn that on, but it might start from small moments: An intense celebration after a goal; a determined fist pump after a crunching tackle; the flashing of a menacing look at an opponent; an act to convey a feeling of intensity to the crowd. 

Dynamic with Sergio Ramos

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With Ramos now captain at Real Madrid and tied to the club until 2020, Varane's success in an immediate sense will be heavily influenced by his ability to form a stronger on-field understanding with the Spaniard—an understanding that sometimes seems absent altogether.

Indeed, though Ramos and Varane can be suffocating at their best with their ability to cover ground, at their worst (as a partnership), they can look like two defenders working completely independently of one another. 

A good example came on Sunday against Valencia, when the two centre-backs were drawn away from their line and into pressuring the same man in Dani Parejo outside the box, leaving a cavernous hole in Madrid's defence that Valencia somehow failed to capitalise on. 

An example of the same problem despite contrasting movement came during the first Clasico of the season in November. When Ramos stepped up to challenge Sergi Roberto in the build-up to Barcelona's opening goal, Varane retreated several yards, increasing the space Ramos had already left, and meaning the two of them could have been connected by a vertical line running up the centre of the pitch. 

Of course, these instances were hardly the fault of Varane alone, but they do serve to illustrate the sometimes-awkward dynamic that exists between the Frenchman and his captain. 

When alongside one another, they don't always operate naturally as a unit. Their movement can be disjointed. The holding of their line, their defensive shape, comes and goes. Their compatibility can look questionable despite the talents of each individual. 

Improving that dynamic or understanding will be key to Varane's growth.