Real Madrid's Raphael Varane Is a Genuine Galactico

Where there’s one galactico, another is surely close by. Gareth Bale’s apparently inevitable absence from Real Madrid’s mouthwatering week of action, taking in a Champions League trip to Liverpool and hosting Barcelona in the season’s first edition of El Clasico (covered here by AS in English), is a shame.

While La Liga’s most internationally celebrated occasion will always be billed as the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi show in this era (and with reason), the Welshman’s absence is a blow. Given his far superior physical condition compared to this time last year, it was unthinkable that he would have cut such a peripheral figure as on his debut in the fixture at the Camp Nou last October.

No matter. Others will step up from the supporting cast, but unusually in a culture that puts the individual on a pedestal, there is an increasing possibility that our eyes will be drawn to a defender.

Raphael Varane is no clasico greenhorn—in January 2013’s Copa del Rey semi-final first leg, he became the second-youngest foreigner to score in the fixture after Lionel Messi, after heading home Mesut Ozil’s cross—but his early-season form suggests he may take centre stage.

With Sergio Ramos a fitness doubt, the France centre-back could be thrust into centre stage. The growing, and mind-blowing, complicity between Messi and Neymar will take some stopping, and that’s before we even get to the threat posed by the returning Luis Suarez.

Varane, slated to start alongside Pepe at Anfield too, is unlikely to be fazed. This most calm and elegant of centre-halves has already laid down a marker for excellence this season. With country rather than club, in fact, during his defending masterclass against teammate Cristiano Ronaldo when France faced Portugal.

Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

This week is a real chance for him. His class is in no doubt but having been hindered by knee problems over the past year or so, he is yet to convince Carlo Ancelotti that he should be part of the first-choice central defence, ahead of Pepe and Ramos.

Fitness aside, it is perhaps a surprise that Ancelotti has not been completely won over yet. Jose Mourinho was conquered fairly quickly after Varane arrived from Lens in 2011 as an 18-year-old. Though the Chelsea manager's suggestion himself as a serial gambler on youth in an interview with Gary Neville in Saturday’s Telegraph needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, his leap of faith with Varane was real enough.

Mourinho deserves credit for not loaning him out immediately, which had been the assumed next step for the player within the club. Instead, the Portuguese wanted his chance to see Varane train and then take it from there—at which point, he decided he wanted to hold onto him.

Perhaps Mourinho’s compatriot, and Varane’s teammate, Ronaldo is an even better cheerleader for the defender. On the day after the France match, Portugal’s captain told reporters (recounted here by RMC) that Varane has “everything to become one of the best in the world in his position."

He should know. Ten days ago, Varane all but had Ronaldo in his pocket as Les Bleus defeated Portugal at the Stade de France. If ever there was an instance of this understated but wholly authoritative player sending a message to Ancelotti, then this was it, loud and clear.

Varane is no loudmouth, and he doesn’t do brash public statements. His assurance (informed by genuine ability, rather than arrogance) speaks volumes for the self-confidence that saw him accept the move to Madrid when many in France suggested a more modest step forward might be in order.

This extraordinary piece of skill, witnessed in France training before the Portugal match (as per Bleacher Report), perfectly captured the assurance that goes with the ability. Two high-quality performances this week, of which he is more than capable of, would do all his talking for him.