Real Madrid: Player-by-Player Guide to Their 2015/16 Liga Squad
Second in La Liga, beaten semi-finalists in the Champions League and losing in the last 16 of the Copa Del Rey—it's safe to say that 2014/15 wasn't a vintage year in the storied history of Real Madrid.
And when such "failures" occur at that club, changes have to be made.
Carlo Ancelotti has left and Rafael Benitez has come in, with the former Valencia, Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea and Napoli coach charged with restoring Real to what they see as their rightful place at the top of the world game.
Here's a look at the players he'll be seeking to do that with.
All players were part of the Real Madrid first-team squad at the time of writing, as per the club's website
1. Keylor Navas
1 of 25
Position: Goalkeeper
Date of Birth: 15 December, 1986
Real Madrid Appearances: 11
Real Madrid Goals: 0
Summary: Then at Levante, goalkeeper Keylor Navas shot to worldwide attention with his performances for Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup, where he inspired his side to the quarter-finals and caught the attention of Real Madrid.
A cut-price move followed, and after a year of largely being sat on the sidelines, Navas now becomes the first man to inherit the departed Iker Casillas’ Real No. 1 shirt following the veteran stopper’s move to Porto.
He’s got big gloves to fill.
2. Raphael Varane
2 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 25 April, 1993
Real Madrid Appearances: 117
Real Madrid Goals: 6
Summary: One of the very best young centre-backs in world football, Raphael Varane will be targeting an impressive season at Madrid as he gears up for the European Championships in his home country of France next summer.
An imposing presence and ball-playing defender, Varane has to be one of the most watchable youngsters in the modern game, and it’ll be interesting to see just how much game time he gets under Benitez, given the presence of more experienced defenders in the often pragmatic Spaniard’s squad.
3. Pepe
3 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 26 February, 1983
Real Madrid Appearances: 285
Real Madrid Goals: 12
Summary: Firmly established as one of world football’s great pantomime villains for almost a decade now, Pepe enters his ninth season in the all white of Real Madrid as the club’s newly installed “second vice-captain.”
Whether that will lead to many more histrionics from the 32-year-old that everyone seemingly loves to hate remains to be seen, but the Portuguese will again likely be a key figure for Benitez and someone the new boss will be relying upon to be a leader within the squad.
4. Sergio Ramos
4 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 30 March, 1986
Real Madrid Appearances: 445
Real Madrid Goals: 55
Summary: With Iker Casillas gone, Real were searching for a new captain, and there really was no better choice than Sergio Ramos—who has remained at the club despite almost constant links with Manchester United.
The Spanish World Cup and European Championship winner is seemingly getting better as he gets older and is adding even more goals to his game. He's produced seven strikes in each of his last two seasons—his best returns ever.
Revered as one of the key figures of Real’s Champions League triumph in 2014, Ramos will be as crucial as ever to both the club and Benitez, ahead of what could end up being one of the more impressive seasons of his career.
5. Fabio Coentrao
5 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 11 March, 1988
Real Madrid Appearances: 100
Real Madrid Goals: 1
Summary: Perhaps surprisingly still a Real Madrid player as he enters his fifth season with the club, left-back and utility man Fabio Coentrao is likely to again struggle for a place in Benitez’s team.
The Portuguese is clearly a useful man to have around the place given that he has been a fixture in Madrid ever since a move from Benfica in 2011, but after a 2014/15 season in which he was seen just 17 times in all competitions, another campaign of largely being on the sidelines surely beckons.
6. Nacho
6 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 18 January, 1990
Real Madrid Appearances: 57
Real Madrid Goals: 1
Summary: A peripheral member of the Madrid squad ever since graduating from the youth setup at the club, last season was Nacho’s best in terms of appearances, as he managed to feature 22 times across all competitions.
Having now taken on Sami Khedira’s old No. 6 shirt, the 25-year-old will be targeting even more action under Benitez as he seeks to improve upon his solitary Spain cap, which he picked up in 2013.
In reality, though, Nacho will likely have to bide his time and hope to feature in the club’s lesser matches across the season, with the plethora of defensive talent at the club keeping him in reserve.
7. Cristiano Ronaldo
7 of 25
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 5 February 1985
Real Madrid Appearances: 300
Real Madrid Goals: 313
Summary: As that frankly ridiculous goalscoring record above shows, Cristiano Ronaldo has been one of the very best players to ever grace the game of football, never mind the modern one.
The Portuguese icon can win matches on his own through incredible feats of skill, and his almost superhuman efforts will again be the backbone of Madrid’s efforts both at home and abroad, where defences still haven’t worked out just how to stop him.
Ronaldo has been the top scorer in Spain for two seasons running—the first time a Madrid player has done that since club legend Hugo Sanchez did so four times in a row in the late 1980s.
8. Toni Kroos
8 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 4 January, 1990
Real Madrid Appearances: 55
Real Madrid Goals: 2
Summary: Seemingly born with winning DNA instilled into him, it would have been a shock to Toni Kroos not to pick up a major trophy in his first campaign at Real Madrid following his move from Bayern Munich last summer.
He made that switch as a World Cup winner, and the impressive German—perhaps one of the most complete players in the world—took no time to settle into the midfield at the Bernabeu, where he has regularly controlled the centre of the pitch thanks to a seemingly telepathic understanding of the game going on around him.
He’ll be vital to Benitez, who’ll be counting on him from the start.
9. Karim Benzema
9 of 25
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 19 December, 1987
Real Madrid Appearances: 281
Real Madrid Goals: 133
Summary: Seemingly always overshadowed by some of his more glamorous teammates, France international forward Karim Benzema has nonetheless scored a hugely impressive number of goals for Real Madrid—finding the net 26, 32, 20, 24 and 22 times in his last five seasons with the club.
At most other clubs that would establish him as the standout forward in the squad, but with others around who make those numbers seem small fry, Benzema has taken on the curious mantle of a superstar forward without superstar billing.
He’ll be the brightest star in the France squad at next summer’s European Championships, and you can bet that he’ll have had a goal-filled club campaign before he gets there.
10. James Rodriguez
10 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 12 July, 1991
Real Madrid Appearances: 46
Real Madrid Goals: 17
Summary: Last summer’s World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez managed 17 strikes in all competitions for Real Madrid in his first season with the club, and plenty of those were spectacular.
The Colombian has quickly developed a reputation as one of the foremost attacking midfielders in world football and complements the other attacking talents in the Real team incredibly well.
He’ll again be a key figure as Real push for honours in the new campaign, as the 24-year-old seeks to add some team honours to his impressive personal one.
11. Gareth Bale
11 of 25
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 16 July, 1989
Real Madrid Appearances: 92
Real Madrid Goals: 39
Summary: Being the most expensive footballer on the planet isn’t an easy job, even if it is certainly a very lucrative one.
Gareth Bale enters his third Real Madrid campaign still holding on to the title he gained when Los Blancos paid over £85 million for his services two years ago, and the Welshman will certainly have grown as a character during what hasn’t been an easy time of things at the Bernabeu.
He’ll see the arrival of Benitez as a fresh start, and as one of the most destructive players in the game when in full flow, there can be few doubters of his importance to his club over the season.
12. Marcelo
12 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 12 May, 1988
Real Madrid Appearances: 320
Real Madrid Goals: 23
Summary: Real Madrid's new vice-captain has had a battle on his hands in order to be a success at the club, with Marcelo at times appearing ripe to be just another young player who came over from Brazil and failed to make the grade at a top European club.
But to the left-back's immense credit, he stuck at his task for long enough to become one of the very best players in his position in the world, with his goal in the 2014 Champions League final serving as the crowning glory of his time in the Spanish capital.
He'll be an attacking weapon to be wary of for opposition defences this season, but crucially, he'll never desert his own defensive duties either.
13. Kiko Casilla
13 of 25
Position: Goalkeeper
Date of Birth: 2 October, 1986
Real Madrid Appearances: 0
Real Madrid Goals: 0
Summary: Out goes Casillas; in comes Casilla.
It was the source of much enjoyment over the summer, but Real Madrid’s newest goalkeeper shouldn’t feel pressurised to fill the glove of his near namesake and club legend Iker, who, with 162 caps, has played for Spain 161 more times than the new man.
Kiko Casilla has made his way back to Madrid—where he was a youth-team player—after making his name over several seasons with Espanyol, and while it remains to be seen just how much game time he’ll get back in the Spanish capital, those Casillas comparisons are inevitable.
14. Casemiro
14 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 23 February, 1992
Real Madrid Appearances: 27
Real Madrid Goals: 0
Summary: A season on loan at FC Porto seems to have done wonders for Brazilian defensive midfielder Casemiro, who returns to Madrid a better player and one far more experienced in European football.
The former Sao Paulo man has had to be patient to try to make an impact at the Bernabeu, but with Sami Khedira having left for Juventus, he might feel that this will be his time to shine.
Time will tell on that front, but he’ll certainly be a useful player for Rafael Benitez should the new boss keep him around in his squad.
15. Dani Carvajal
15 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 11 January, 1992
Real Madrid Appearances: 87
Real Madrid Goals: 2
Summary: It’s never easy to make the grade at Real Madrid after coming through the ranks as a youth player, but as with so many others it was a season away on loan which helped Dani Carvajal do just that.
The Spanish right-back spent the 2012/13 season away at Bayer Leverkusen, and when he returned he was ready to out Alvaro Arbeloa from the team that would go on the win the Champions League in his first campaign back.
Regarded as the club’s first-choice right-back for the past couple of seasons, he’ll hope to go on and impress in the position for many seasons to come, while the addition to his four Spain caps also looks inevitable in the coming year.
16. Mateo Kovacic
16 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 6 May, 1994
Real Madrid Appearances: 0
Real Madrid Goals: 0
Summary: Real Madrid's latest acquisition has seen the talented 21-year-old midfielder Mateo Kovacic swap life in Serie A with Internazionale for a move to the Bernabeu, where he'll compete for a place in the team with the club's established midfielders.
The Croatian represented his country at the 2014 World Cup, and he was one of the standout young midfielders in Italy last season even though Inter generally disappointed.
He'll be joining up with international teammate Luka Modric in Madrid, and it is to be hoped that he'll be just as successful.
17. Alvaro Arbeloa
17 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 17 January, 1983
Real Madrid Appearances: 228
Real Madrid Goals: 6
Summary: Now entering his seventh season at Madrid after rejoining the club from Liverpool in 2009, full-back Alvaro Arbeloa is one player in the Real squad who will be able to tell his teammates all about Benitez’s methods. The 32-year-old defender worked with Benitez for two-and-a-half years on Merseyside—reaching the Champions League final in 2007.
A player who has wrung the very most out of his career given the talent available to him, the Spain international is a World Cup and double European Championship winner with his country, and although his is likely to be a backup in the campaign ahead, he would appear to be a good character to have around the squad.
18. Lucas Vazquez
18 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 1 July, 1991
Real Madrid Appearances: 0
Real Madrid Goals: 0
Summary: In another example of Real’s impressive use of the loan system and buyback clauses, winger Lucas Vazquez returned to the club this summer after featuring 38 times in all competitions for Espanyol last season.
He’s got some pretty stellar competition for a place in the team, but the 24-year-old former B and C team player has been determined to impress Benitez in pre-season, although another loan switch away from the Bernabeu might be a possibility.
19. Luka Modric
19 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 9 September, 1985
Real Madrid Appearances: 129
Real Madrid Goals: 7
Summary: An unqualified success story ever since joining Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, Croatian midfielder Luka Modric is the type of player a manager such as Benitez will love to get his hands on and install in the centre of his midfield.
An almost criminally classy operator, Modric combines a silky passing ability with a fine reading of the game, and he has come out on top in several midfield battles with plenty of the world’s top players.
He’ll be looking to do that again in 2015/16, when he’ll be central to Madrid’s plans in more ways than one.
20. Jese
20 of 25
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 26 February, 1993
Real Madrid Appearances: 56
Real Madrid Goals: 12
Summary: It is unusual to find a Real Madrid youngster who has progressed to the first team without the need to go and learn in his trade in a loan spell elsewhere, but forward Jese isn’t your usual player.
The prodigiously talented 22-year-old recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury to take his place back in the Real squad last season, and Benitez is likely to use him as backup for the “BBC” trio of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in the coming campaign.
Whether or not that is good enough for him in the long-term remains to be seen, but right now it is simply nice to see him back fit again.
21. Denis Cheryshev
21 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 26 December, 1990
Real Madrid Appearances: 1
Real Madrid Goals: 0
Summary: A regular in the transfer gossip columns this summer—where he has been linked to the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal—Russian winger Denis Cheryshev is battling to be a part of the Real Madrid squad after seasons on loan at Sevilla and Villarreal.
The latter spell was certainly the best one for him, but at 24 he would appear to be running out of time to make an impact in Madrid, where a solitary Copa Del Rey game in November 2012 remains his only official appearance for the club outside of friendlies.
It would be a surprise if he were to end this transfer window still at the Bernabeu.
22. Isco
22 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 21 April, 1992
Real Madrid Appearances: 106
Real Madrid Goals: 17
Summary: Switching from the No. 23 shirt to his favoured No. 22 this summer, Spanish attacking midfielder Isco has long been regarded as one of the brightest young talents in a game and a player upon whom the Spanish national team can build their future upon.
The former Malaga man has often had to be patient in trying to break into the Real Madrid team, but having now made over 100 appearances for the club he seems to be very much at home at the Bernabeu.
You can expect to see the 23-year-old’s scheming and shuffling behind the Madrid attack throughout the campaign, while he’s also capable of scoring fantastic goals.
23. Danilo
23 of 25
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 15 July, 1991
Real Madrid Appearances: 0
Real Madrid Goals: 0
Summary: One of the major summer arrivals at the Bernabeu, Brazil right-back Danilo arrives from the talent factory that is Porto, where he has honed his game and got used to European football over three seasons.
Strong and direct going forward, Danilo's arrival will ensure that he challenges Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Arbeloa for a place at right-back, but that is a battle that the 24-year-old will expect to win as he seeks to oust Dani Alves from the Brazilian national team over his time in the Spanish capital.
24. Asier Illarramendi
24 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 5 March, 1990
Real Madrid Appearances: 90
Real Madrid Goals: 3
Summary: A regular in the transfer gossip columns this summer, most notably being linked with Liverpool, Asier Illarramendi nonetheless remains a Real Madrid player for now, although it would be a surprise if it was to stay that way.
The classy Spanish midfielder joined the club in a huge deal from Real Sociedad two summers ago, but he's had to stand by and watch others such as Toni Kroos and Mateo Kovacic come in since, with his place in Real's plans now seriously under threat.
A move away would surely be the best tactic for him, with Liverpool an interesting destination.
- Lucas Silva
25 of 25
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: 16 February, 1993
Real Madrid Appearances: 9
Real Madrid Goals: 0
Summary: One of the younger members of Real’s first-team squad, Brazilian midfielder Lucas Silva managed to appear nine times last season after joining the club from Cruzeiro in January.
A classy operator in the centre of the pitch, the Brazil under-21 international certainly faces a lot of competition for a place in the team in his preferred position of defensive midfield, but he isn’t afraid to fight for it and will look to prove the form that saw him voted as the best defensive midfielder in Brazil last year if given a chance by Benitez.
However, since his No. 16 shirt has been given to new signing and fellow midfielder Mateo Kovacic for this season, a move away, temporary or otherwise, looks likely.
.png?w=600 "Who Will Panthers Take at No. 9 ? 🤔")
