Real Madrid Should Consider Leaving out Toni Kroos Rather Than James Rodriguez

Real Madrid continue to be a club in a constant state of upheaval. Just when things were seeming rosy following a win in El Clasico over the planet's best club, Barcelona, they go and put in a completely opposite performance in Europe, losing in the UEFA Champions League against Wolfsburg, arguably the weakest side left in the competition.

Manager Zinedine Zidane took responsibility for the defeat, per ESPN FC, saying he was "proud of his players" and that he, as coach, was to blame.

It's a defence mechanism to protect his players, but in private, the boss must be particularly irked at certain members of his side. Few changes to the side have occurred since Zidane took over from Rafa Benitez, but one of those is James Rodriguez appears to be even more on the fringes of the team than he was under the Spaniard, something the national press criticised Benitez for at every opportunity.

While it's true the Colombian hasn't been anywhere near the peak of his powers this term, he is far from the only one in white who could have the same accusation levelled at him. And needing to go for broke, it is James to whom Zidane must turn. To fit him into the side, there's a particular candidate, previously a set-in-stone first choice, who should make way: Toni Kroos.

James, Sidelined

Injuries played a big part in James not earning a starting spot under Benitez, though it's overlooked he was in the former manager's first-choice XI. Coming into pre-season late, it was understandable the 24-year-old didn't begin the campaign in the team, but he started La Liga's second game of the season and played the full 90 minutes, scoring twice and setting up one.

Then he departed for international duty and injury struck again, forcing him to miss eight league games and three in the Champions League.

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During that time, Real didn't lose a single game, so it wasn't as though he was integral to the good start. It took until early December for James to complete his second 90 minutes of the league season, but he did start every league game between his return from injury and Benitez's last game in charge, at Valencia in early January, when he left James on the bench.

Since Zidane's arrival, James has played 90 minutes in La Liga just once, at the end of January, and he has only started one of the last five games in all competitions, amassing just 109 minutes on the pitch in that time, per WhoScored.com.

He doesn't fit ideally into the 4-3-3 attack and, with Casemiro getting the nod in a revamped midfield, has had to watch from the bench.

Summer Plans

There have already been plenty of rumours about what Zidane will do to restructure the team in the summer, and James is frequently part of the gossip columns.

The Mirror recently reported that Real Madrid were willing to sell James, with a £60 million price tag set.

Isco and others, including parts of the famed front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema have also been mentioned as possible departures. The club will need to raise funds for another spending spree this summer, but it's debatable whether clubs would pay the aforementioned figure, which is what Real paid for James, overpriced as he was after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Kroos, Marginalised

Back before signing for Real Madrid in 2014, Toni Kroos was one of the finest No. 10s in world football.

Playing an advanced midfield role for both Germany and Bayern Munich, his through passes, low shots from the edge of the box and ability to play one-twos with either foot made him a scheming genius, an energetic and hardworking attacking presser when required and a reasonably regular threat on goal; he recorded seven, nine and four goals in his last three seasons in Germany.

Coming to the Santiago Bernabeu, he immediately became the holding player at the base of midfield. He had more time and space to play in, but he was much further from goal to cause damage. His set-piece delivery is still a threat, but he instigates play from deep rather than fashions chances in the final third, as well as being responsible for far more defensive work than previously.

Needless to say, not being a natural protector, there are times he fulfils the requirements less than adequately.

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Partly to counterbalance that, Casemiro has been redrafted into the Real Madrid XI of late, being more of a destroyer and freeing Kroos to play a little further upfield. While he certainly gets on the ball in the opposition half more often, the German is playing far below his best level and has been all season long.

Kroos plays at a low tempo with no real aggression or incision to his game. Playing deeper has seemingly removed that from his methodology on the pitch; Real Madrid have stripped back his instincts and left him, at present at least, a mere filler in midfield.

Lack of Balance

The front three, when its components click, can be unstoppable, but the BBC needs service from deep. The game against Wolfsburg showed up Real Madrid's failings this season in a harsh light: The defence was wide open and exploited by diagonal passes and runs behind the full-backs, while the attack was disconnected, lacking invention and entirely blunt.

Real had all three big guns—Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo—in the initial XI, then added Jese, Isco and James (extremely late on) from the bench, yet they yielded just three shots on target all game long.

There was pointless midfield possession, hopeful balls into the box from deep that were easy for the goalkeeper to claim and frustrated appeals for set pieces outside the area because the front six couldn't find any better way to break down the mid-table Bundesliga outfit.

Luka Modric works tirelessly and helps enormously with transitioning the play from the central third to the penalty box, but he cannot do it alone.

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With Kroos out of sync and Casemiro holding, it's James who should be incorporated in the middle to provide a thrusting presence from the second line of attack, not just joining up play but actively breaking past the striker into the box—something none of Real's other midfielders do regularly—and looking to exploit space between the lines.

James has much to prove this season, particularly if he wants to remain in place beyond the summer.

Real Madrid have everything to gain and nothing to lose in the second leg; they need someone who can make a big impact. That has to be James.

Zidane

The familiar 4-3-3 of Zidane's Real Madrid didn't work at Wolfsburg, and everything rests on Tuesday's second leg. They have to go big and take the win, which certainly isn't out of the question given the German team's deplorable away record this term and Real's own capacity to score three or four times in a match.

The simple switch of James for Kroos opens up the possibility of greater delivery and penetration in the final third using the same system, but there may be an alternative approach forced upon the manager.

Benzema came off injured in the first leg with a knee problem and faces a race to be fit, which would necessitate a change in personnel anyway. Rather than shoehorn everyone back into the 4-3-3 in different roles, Zidane should take the opportunity to move to a 4-4-2, using James from the flank cutting inside, likely with Bale on the opposite wing but potentially seeing a squad player such as Jese also involved.

It's time for Real to gamble. Their season depends on it; despite winning El Clasico, they're still well out of the title race (seven points behind leaders Barca) and only the Champions League remains a viable trophy for them.

James is the player Zidane needs to turn to in order to prolong Real's season. If the Colombian is as emphatic and determined as he is capable of being, it could also prolong his stay at the club beyond what is sure to be a turbulent summer.

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