'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Real Madrid are clearly in the market to upgrade their attack this summer. They are allowing Gonzalo Higuain to leave and in their pursuit of Barcelona in La Liga and Bayern Munich in Europe, they are focusing on upgrading on Karim Benzema. All reports indicate that they have zeroed in on Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani as their first two choices. Both are Uruguayan, both would cost £50m. So which one should Real Madrid choose? Who should be first choice?
Trending
Real’s initial focus centered on Luis Suarez which indicates that he is most likely their first choice. Suarez offers Real something that neither Higuain or Benzema do, and that is his dribbling ability and inventiveness. If there was a criticism, albeit very minor, of Real last season, it was that if they couldn’t use their devastating counter attacking abilities against teams, they would struggle to break them down. Real lost three times 1-0 away from home against teams who packed the defence and didn’t allow themselves to be counter attacked. Benzema is superb on the break and Higuain is a ruthless finisher. But they can’t make things happen from nothing.
Suarez is a sublime dribbler and is blessed with close control that is of the quality of Messi. He can drop his shoulder, drag the ball with him and completely change the point of the attack. Even if a team sits 10 men on the edge of the box, he has the magical ability to squeeze through tight spaces in an instant in a way none of the Real personnel really do at the moment. His clever and canny runs would also give Mesut Ozil and Luka Modric an option to pass to. The sight of Suarez slapping his side in frustration as one of his runs wasn’t picked out was all too common before the arrival of Philippe Coutinho at Liverpool, but Real Madrid have the types of players who can find him easily.
At Ajax, and later at Liverpool, Suarez also showed an ability and willingness to drift in to positions wide on the left. At Real Madrid, this would be an ideal way of keeping width and shape. It would allow Cristiano Ronaldo to come in to central areas and hunt the ball to get shots on goal and in the mean time, Suarez can slink out wide left. It would give Real a different shape and dimension. It would give them the kind of movement and fluency that Borussia Dortmund vanquished them with in the Champions League semi-final this season.
Edinson Cavani is a very different player to Suarez. Cavani is an all-round striker who excels as a focal point and as a finisher. He is fearless in front of goal and has an amazing conversion rate on chances. Where Suarez can be very wasteful – no Premier League player had more shots last season – Cavani is ruthless. He played in a Napoli side that created him far less chances than the litany of creatives at Real would make for him and still managed 29 goals in the usually defensive-minded Serie A. He will put away the chances Real make for him.
Cavani is at his best in the penalty box and Real need someone who can dominate in there. For all their quality, neither Benzema or Higuain really impose themselves on defences in quite the way that Cavani does. He is a big man, strong and quick, but also very technical. As part of a counter attacking team, he could be exceptional. It would give Real the opportunity to find him early and he could hold the ball up for the quick arriving support players before getting in to the box to finish chances off himself.
Probable new manager Carlo Ancelotti has experience using both types of players. At PSG and Chelsea, he had success with Ibrahimovic and Drogba, more like a Cavani, but at AC Milan he had great success with Shevchenko, more like Suarez. As such, he could adapt a system and style of play that maximizes the talent of either player.
Overall though, Luis Suarez is a slightly better fit. At Liverpool, he was used to having to do everything himself which possibly explains his occasionally poor decision making. It’s one thing turning down a pass to Stewart Downing or Fabio Borini, quite another to ignore Ronaldo or Angel Di Maria. He has the footballing intelligence to improve upon this and learn to use his quality team mates better. He’s shown he can do it for Uruguay. He’d be a good tactical fit and could help get the best out of the rest of the attack and give them a different point of attack away from home.
