Real Madrid’s fullback crisis explained.
Real Madrid have a huge problem, a problem that is affecting every aspect of play. One of the most important positions in football is the fullback, and for a club of Real Madrid’s stature and aspirations, that role has a whole different level of importance. We saw during the “Threepeat” era how crucial and devastating fullbacks can be. Playing largely without natural wingers, Marcelo and Carvajal acted as the primary creative threats from out wide, while their athleticism, combined with some incredible defensive work from the likes of Casemiro, Ramos and Modrić, helped them keep things at the back safe and stable.
After Marcelo had a pretty steep drop off in the 18/19 season, Ferland Mendy was signed from Lyon to be the new starting left-back. In his first 2/3 seasons, Mendy was an absolute rock at the back, and was almost unanimously considered to be the best defensive fullback in the world. However, even during those years he had a clear weakness in his game; his offense. Offensively, Mendy was heavily criticized by fans for his almost non-existent output and lack of support for the winger ahead of him. These issues were likely looked over due to his incredible performances on the other side of the pitch.
On the right-back side of things, fans clamored for a new right-back for 4/5 years due to the consistent decline of Dani Carvajal. Names like Reece James and Pedro Porro dominated the rumour mills, but the club chose to stick with Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez, and they were vindicated for their decision as Carvajal had an incredible resurgence in the 23/24 campaign and had arguably his best season ever.
However, things came tumbling down quite fast, and the old issues returned, and became far, far worse than the club had expected. Carvajal went down with an ACL injury, and is now expected to return in June if all goes well. Ferland Mendy on the other hand, has been on a consistent decline since the 21/22 season, and is going through his worst run of form as a Real Madrid player. Lucas Vazquez, who is Carvajal’s replacement on the right, has declined physically quite a bit, and is playing out of position as well. At 33, Vazquez’s decline is normal, but also an issue for the team.
The weaknesses in attack and defense of the two fullbacks have been catastrophic for the club this season. Extremely prone to losing 1v1 duels, both Mendy and Vazquez have been constant targets for speedy, skillful wingers, and the likes of Fede Valverde, Camavinga and Jude have had to help them in almost every game. This creates another issue, which is that opposition teams have found it extremely easy to disrupt Madrid’s structure and dominate in midfield, as the midfielders have to be concerned about wide threats. If the team chooses to close central lanes, Mendy and Vazquez are left exposed, and if the team tries to double-up on opposition wingers, the midfield is wide open. This creates a dilemma with no clear solution, as allowing constant 1v1 duels out wide is suicidal, but doubling up out wide asks far too much of both the CBs and covering midfielders.
Mendy, even when he was elite at defending, had a huge issue of misjudging when to step out and when to tuck-in, an issue that is perfectly encapsulated by the goal Leroy Sane scored vs Madrid last season. While he was still athletically phenomenal, Mendy used his strength and speed to make up for any lapses in judgement. However, that is not a real possibility anymore. Mendy ranks in the 25th percentile for all fullbacks in tackles won, and in the 18th percentile for interceptions, truly abysmal figures.
Lucas Vazquez has similar issues. A natural winger playing out of position, Vazquez struggles with keeping fast, skillful wingers, in check, getting dribbled past almost once per game. A larger issue with Vazquez is his positioning. Vazquez struggles especially with tracking runners into the far post, something that can be understood and expected as he is not a natural defender. Regardless, attackers slipping past Vazquez at the back post has been a huge issue that has not been solved, and will likely not be solved until a personnel change occurs.
The offensive side of things has been just as dire, if not more. A very poor crosser who neither overlaps or dribbles well, Ferland Mendy has been a huge issue for the attack, and Vinícius Jr. in particular. Without an overlapping fullback to offer support and draw away defenders, Vinícius is constantly in 1v2 and 1v3 situations, which are extremely difficult to navigate even for a player of his caliber. Ferland Mendy ranks in the 1st percentile for fullbacks for crosses into the box, and in the 2nd percentile for passes into the box. These are numbers that are truly unbelievable for all the wrong reasons. To put some more context into these numbers, Mendy averages 0.03 croses per game and 0.35 passes into the box. With a winger like Vinícius on his side, Mendy should constantly be creating overloads and exploiting the gravity of Viní, yet his attacking game is nearly non-existent. The biggest issue with the Mendy is his downright lack of involvement in attack, something that is more than reflected in his numbers. Just for touches in the attacking third, Mendy ranks in the 6thpercentile, and ranks in the 24th percentile for take-ons attempted, painting a truly disastrous picture. Leaving Vinícius isolated all the time, the Brazilian is asked to do far too much on his own, and defenses have benefitted hugely from this. A modern, attacking team, cannot succeed for a long time without attacking fullbacks, and this has been made quite clear by Real Madrid this season.
Mendy’s lack of overlapping also causes structural issues for the attack. Without a fullback to help the winger or to stretch the play, other attackers have to move to that side to create overloads, and Mbappé and Rodrygo have done this. Yet, the problem that arises with this is that the attack becomes increasingly lopsided and becomes very easy to defend against. Both Viní and Mbappé on the left means no real target in the box to occupy the center backs. In essence, it leads to no real target to create for. If Rodrygo chooses to move more centrally for this, the far-side is empty and defenders can simply crowd the left without fearing a switch of play. Just the lack of an offensive fullback creates a plethora of consequences that completely ruin offensive shape.
On the right side, Vazquez is not as poor as Mendy. Ranking in the 82nd percentile for passes into the box, and 45thpercentile for crosses, his numbers are considerably better than Mendy’s. Also ranking in the 92nd percentile for final third touches and 74th for take-ons attempted, Vazquez is far, far more involved in attack than Mendy is. A decent crosser and a good dribbler, Vazquez offers far more threat and support on the right, but this does come with its downsides. A relatively slow player with positional issues, Vazquez’s forays into attack leave his side very vulnerable to counter-attacks. While this is an issue for many offensive fullbacks, they have the recovery speed to make-up for this, which Vazquez does not, and their overall offensive contributions are better than Vazquez’s. His weaknesses also ask an awful lot from Fede Valverde, who is on the verge of burning out.
Both Mendy and Vazquez have been great servants to the club. Part of many, many successes in the clubs recent past, both have more than etched their names into the history books of Real Madrid. However, it is becoming more and more salient that their time as starters is at its very end. The team are suffering on both sides of the field due to individual weakness, and structural issues caused by said issues only compound the team’s problems. A huge summer awaits for Real Madrid for the fullback positions.