How Real Madrid Can Get the Best out of Isco in 2015-16 Season

"Isco, Isco, Isco," was the chant that rang around the stands, the Bernabeu making it absolutely clear who had won its heart. From the notoriously hypercritical arena, it was a notable outpouring of adoration for the young Spaniard. But it was also more than that; it was the Bernabeu sending a message. 

That afternoon in Chamartin had been a divisive one. Real Madrid had defeated Espanyol, comfortably. But the mood was tense and uneasy following Real's consecutive defeats to Valencia and Atletico Madrid in the seven days prior. It was the day Cristiano Ronaldo fumed at Gareth Bale; the day the Bernabeu fumed at Gareth Bale. Even in triumph, it had been a day of whistling, jeering and dissatisfaction. Except in relation to Isco. 

"Isco has the Bernabeu at his feet," proclaimed Marca, stating the stadium's "love affair" with the 23-year-old was due to his willingness to cover "ground like a marathon runner" and put in "an effective shift defensively, all the while retaining his enviable creativity." Essentially, the Bernabeu, pointing at Isco's all-action display, was telling Bale and others it demands that. 

That sunny Saturday wasn't the first time the attacking midfielder had heard the famous ground bellow his name, either. After a sublime showing in the season's first Clasico against Barcelona—a game in which his furious running brought about Real Madrid's third and deciding goal—the same chant was heard when he was substituted late on for Asier Illarramendi. "Isco, Isco, Isco," roared the Real Madrid crowd, Marca saying he'd "worked his socks off." 

Never mind Ronaldo, Bale, Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Co.; Isco had become the darling of the Bernabeu.

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But twists unfold at a rapid rate in the Spanish capital. By April, Marca was stating that manager Carlo Ancelotti and Isco were "at loggerheads." By May, the Madrid-based daily was describing the Andalusian's "tipsy-topsy season." And by the end of the campaign, Isco found himself exactly where he'd started it: on the bench. 

"After so many months of playing everything and then out of the blue not even getting a game... How do I feel? I wouldn't say hurt, I'd say very unhappy," Isco said. "I thought I was doing a good job."

To almost everyone watching on, he had been. But the former Malaga star had become a victim of the subtle yet staggeringly influential brilliance of a team-mate—that of Luka Modric.

The Croatian's effect on Real Madrid from central midfield was extreme in 2014-15, and Isco, forced out of his natural position to cover Modric's injury-riddled absence, saw his stock take a hit because his game didn't allow him to replicate the metronomic and incisive midfield conduction belonging to his more experienced team-mate. 

As we explained here at Bleacher Report:

"

Whereas Isco is a player of dribbles, weaves, skips, shots and long runs, Modric's game is defined by its efficiency, the speed with which he moves the ball and his ability to render opposing formations helpless with one pass.

...

Essentially, without Modric, Real Madrid have more of the ball but do less with it. Their play becomes stagnant. The ball sticks to feet. Off-the-ball movement fades. Instead of pass, pass, pass, pass, shoot, it becomes: pass, dribble, pause, pass, stop, dribble. 

"

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Last season, Real Madrid had become so dependent on Modric's ultra-efficient distribution to find space that the prolonged use of the ball-carrying and dribble-happy Isco slowly ate away at the team's fluency. But that wasn't Isco's fault; it was the fault of the system and its fragile, delicate balance. And that is what Rafa Benitez needs to address in 2015-16. 

After a year in which one player alone—Modric—defined the two halves of Los Blancos' season, Benitez needs to make this Real Madrid outfit a better all-rounder, one with less emphasis on the skills of a particular midfielder. The Madrilenian needs to give Real the tools to score and win in a multitude of ways—by controlling possession and counter-attacking; by carrying the ball and swiftly passing it; by sitting deep and staying high. 

Such a task is far from straightforward, but it's necessary. The finest outfits package dynamism with variety, and Barcelona's ability to add a devastating, vertical edge to their possession-based method to capture a treble last season is a pertinent example. 

A positive offshoot from creating a more diverse, multifaceted outfit is that Isco's suitability for Real Madrid will increase. At 23, he's undoubtedly capable of moulding himself into a midfielder suited to a crisp passing game a la Modric, but Madrid also don't want to lose his ball-carrying abilities, the threat he poses running at heavier-footed defenders and his relentless intensity.

His all-action game of runs, sidesteps, shots, skips and weaves can perfectly complement Real's powerful front three provided the team can condition itself to play with open expanses ahead of it and not just tight spaces. Remember, that is precisely what allowed him to thrive in the first Clasico of last season. 

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Additionally, most expect Benitez to do away with Ancelotti's hybrid 4-3-3/4-4-2 next season and deploy his trademark 4-2-3-1. Such a formation should benefit Isco; he was brought to the Bernabeu to play the No. 10 role in exactly that shape after all, before a 4-3-3 hinging on Angel Di Maria's talents was crafted. 

Away from the unique, pass-centric demands of central midfield, Isco should enjoy greater freedom either behind the striker or out wide in Benitez's 4-2-3-1. Instead of standing as one third of a midfield three, when used he'll be one quarter of an attacking four. That's a significant difference for a player who's a No. 10 by trade. 

Thus, what Isco will hope is that a reworked Real Madrid will better cater for his strengths. And if that's the case, "Isco, Isco, Isco," will ring around the Bernabeu a whole lot more.