Isco was perhaps the happiest man at Real Madrid when Julen Lopetegui was announced as Zinedine Zidane’s replacement.
The two share a special bond which can be traced back to 2013’s Under-21 World Cup, a tournament which Spain won with Isco as main man and Lopetegui as head coach.
That same duo were prosperous at senior level. In the Lopetegui-era, Spain were virtually unbeatable and Isco emerged as one of Europe’s finest playmakers.
Naturally, the 2018 World Cup qualifiers were navigated with ease and the pair were justifiably credited with their success.
The key was in allowing Isco a free role to attack space high up the pitch. He was given a licence to stretch play, drop deep or move centrally if required and La Roja’s play was geared toward getting him on the ball.
Isco thrived with the responsibility and so when Lopetegui took the Madrid job prior to the World Cup, it was assumed he would be the poster boy for a new-look Madrid.
With Cristiano Ronaldo departing the club for Juventus, it would be Isco who could help fill the void.
Zidane was never really his biggest supporter and at times he was often ignored by the Frenchman, yet now he was being afforded the opportunity to thrive as the leading man. This season demanded he embrace that accountability, but who better to coax the best out of Isco than Lopetegui, right?
Curiously, he was actually deployed as a left-sided attacker under the now deposed boss. To his credit, Isco adjusted because his versatility across the forward line is what makes him one of the more unique talents in Europe.
And in further support of his influence, Madrid’s sharp decline domestically and in Europe coincided with his spell on the sidelines with appendicitis. He could only watch on as a blunt Madrid attack went on one of the worst droughts in the club’s history.
In his absence, they were humiliated 3-0 by Sevilla, struggled to a 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid, beaten 1-0 by CSKA Moscow in the Champions League and also lost to La Liga’s surprise package Alaves.
Strangely, however, his return to fitness did not bring about an instant revival. Levante snatched all three points at Santiago Bernabeu and even European lightweights Victoria Plzen were able to land a blow in the Champions League.
In that game, Isco was substituted ahead of El Clasico and it was for that fixture they so desperately needed him to be on his game. The XI was built around him and he failed miserably, managing only two key passes from his 78 touches – the second highest for Madrid in that 5-1 demolition.
Results would indicate Isco is the difference maker, after all they failed to win a single game when he was injured and won five when he was in the starting line-up.
Yet, you get the sense he is still operating nowhere the level he’s produced for the national side. Ultimately, Isco is in two teams which have been built around him, but for one he’s not been able to display the same level of authority and freedom.
With Gareth Bale struggling for form and fitness and Marco Asensio not progressing in the way envisaged, Isco simply has to fill the creative void for interim boss Santiago Solari.
He can start, by helping to swat aside Viktoria Plzen when they travel to the Czech Republic on Wednesday night.
