Zidane deposits his faith to see the rebirth of Isco

A starter at Mestalla, Camp Nou, the Madrid derby and in both Spanish Super Cup games. Zidane has deposited faith in the player and Isco is responding on the pitch.

2020 has seen the rebirth of Isco. It comes after a forgettable 2018-19 in which a row with Santiago Solari saw him practically disappear from Real Madrid's starting team. The return of Zinedine Zidane has meant good things for the Malagueño as the French manager has always shown a predilection for the attacking midfielder's style. The start was difficult and there were doubts but the last couple of weeks have erased those concerns. Isco has been a starter in four of the last five weeks in LaLiga, playing 271 minutes in 2020, 60% of the total.

It's a dynamic that started at the end of 2019 when he started at Mestalla against Valencia (1-1) and at the Camp Nou against Barcelona (0-0). In the first game of 2020, he started against Getafe in a game Real Madrid won 0-3. That continued at the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi
Arabia: he started against Valencia in the semi-final and the final against Atlético Madrid. Zidane has interspersed those starts with rest to ensure he remains at the top of his game and to give other players chances. Isco didn't play a single minute against Athletic Bilbao or Sevilla, both home games. In the Madrid derby, however, he returned to the starting XI but he was subbed off at half-time.

Zidane has chosen Isco as one of the pillars of his teams on big occasions but not a player to finish those games. He has been subbed off 12 times this season, which is more than any other player in the squad. Second on the list is Benzema, subbed nine times along with Fede Valverde. The faith shown by Zidane culminated in what was arguably his best performance of the season at El Sadar last weekend. He scored the equaliser after Osasuna had taken the lead and he shone
as the attacking central midfielder with Luka Modric, another player who started the season with doubts swirling about his place in the team. The 27-year-old continues to accumulate stats: he only has two goals in 1,068 minutes so far but he is climbing the charts and is now 13th on the list of most used players by Zidane this season. 

Euro 2020 with Spain remains an objective for Isco

Isco is eyeing a return to the Spain team after last appearing in June 2019 in the Spanish shirt. His physical issues at the start of the season and his problems getting up to speed forced Robert Moreno to leave him out of the squad in September, October and November. But fortune shines on the Malagueño and Luis Enrique is has returned to the bench. The Asturian has always liked Isco. Under him, he played three full games out of four in the Nations League and the only one he
missed was because he was suffering from appendicitis. The list for March's internationals will clear up any doubts about Isco's future in the national team. The objective is very clear: Euro 2020.