Hard Work Has Earned Dani Carvajal His Place in Real Madrid's Team of Stars

In a Real Madrid team largely made up of players on whom 10s of millions of Euros were spent, Dani Carvajal stands out, not only as an academy graduate but also as a player who has had to work doubly hard to convince the club he is deserving of his place.

The full-back came up through the club’s youth system and captained the B team, Castilla, but he was sold to the German side Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 before making a single appearance for the first team.

Madrid did, however, include a buy-back agreement in the contract and following a season of buccaneering displays in the Bundesliga, they exercised that clause to bring him back to the Bernabeu a year later.

“I fought for a dream that today becomes reality,” he said at the press conference announcing his return, as per Goal.com. “Today I’m the happiest person in the world. I will give my all for this club.”

Carlo Ancelotti was another new arrival at the Bernabeu that summer and the Italian coach was quickly convinced of Carvajal’s merits. “I didn’t know him, he’s surprised me,” he said in July, as per Alfredo Relano of AS.

“I’m happy with the opportunities,” Carvajal told Hugo Cerezo of Marca. “But I’m ambitious and fight and train hard every day to be able to play more.”

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The Leganes native was rotated with Alvaro Arbeloa for much of the campaign—making 25 starts in the league and eight in Europe, as per Soccerway—but by the final months of the season it had become clear which of them was Ancelotti’s first choice.

Carvajal started both legs of Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final and semi-final victories over Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich and then took to the pitch in Libson as one of two cantera graduates—Iker Casillas being the other—to start the final against Atletico Madrid.

In helping the club to their 10th European Cup triumph, he followed in the footsteps of Ramon Marsal Ribo, Enrique Mateos, Juan Santisteban, Jose Maria Vidal, Fernando Serena, Ramon Grosso, Manolo Sanchis,  Raul and Casillas as Madrid-formed winners of Europe’s greatest prize.

And this season he has seen off the challenge of Arbeloa to become Ancelotti’s undisputed first choice. His first international caps have offered further reward for his efforts.

His touch may not be as sure as that of some of his team-mates, but Carvajal’s desire, energy and intelligence more than make up for that relatively minor flaw. He always looks to seize the initiative and never takes a backward step.

In a team whose attitude has at times been questioned by both the Madrid press and, as per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC, their own manager, Carvajal is one player who can always be relied on to give his all.

When Madrid take to the field at the Camp Nou for this weekend’s Clasico, they will face a Barcelona side that is likely to include as many as five youth-team graduates. In contrast, Carvajal will be the only outfield player in white to have come through the ranks at Valdebebas.

The 23-year-old said in the wake of the victory over Levante on Sunday that there is no favourite coming into what could be a title-deciding encounter. He also made it clear that Madrid would not be playing for a draw. “We’re going to the Camp Nou to win,” he told Canal+ (h/t AS).

While it was Madrid’s mastery of the midfield zone that drew most of the plaudits in the wake of their 3-1 victory over Barcelona at the Bernabeu earlier this season, the contribution of the two full-backs, Carvajal and Marcelo, was also key to their success.

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Neymar did skip inside Carvajal to finish for Barcelona’s opener, but that was the first and last time the Brazilian forward got the better of his direct opponent. Carvajal was excellent thereafter, matching him stride for stride while also showing good awareness to step forward and pressure the man in possession whenever Barcelona forwards took up good positions between the lines.

Per WhoScored.com, he made more tackles and interceptions than any other Madrid player.

Ancelotti will hope his home-grown full-back can impress again this coming weekend and help provide a platform for Madrid to take three points that would see them regain the initiative in a title race that they have allowed to slip from their grasp since the turn of the year.

If they do record a famous victory at the Camp Nou on Sunday, few will celebrate as fervently as Carvajal. The Madrid-man made good, he will relish the opportunity to put a dent in the title hopes of his club’s historical rivals.