DBasia.news – The Madrid derby in the continuation of the LaLiga match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid is important in the race for the league title, but it is not crucial to determine the winner later. The central role of midfielders in the struggle for midfield is also important.
Atletico and Madrid have different styles of play. Atletico tried to be more efficient in creating opportunities and scoring goals, without the need for a lot of ball possession.
Meanwhile, Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid have more control over the ball and minimize the opponent’s possession as much as possible. Their game will be tested by Diego Simeone’s Atletico who are strong in defensive and dangerous from the counter-attack.
In this duel between two different philosophies, the struggle for the ball in midfield is very important, as crucial as the strength in the back line, sharpness in the front lines, and the alertness of the goalkeepers.
In this regard, there are two midfield generals with crucial roles, they are Koke (Atletico Madrid) and Toni Kroos (Real Madrid). The two key duel will be inevitable.
Hardworking Koke, Elegant Toni Kroos
Koke (29 years old) is a product of the Atletico academy who has been defending the first team from 2009. The Spanish midfielder should be a flexible player in the position of attacking midfielder to wing midfielder.
His movements are difficult to predict with the ability to pass the ball and have good vision. Under the direction of Simeone, Koke has undergone a transformation from a midfielder who roams a lot of space into a defensive midfielder.
The Atletico captain defended more deeply and played a regista role as an attacker in midfield. According to Marca Koke has no objection in rarely touching the ball as long as it can maintain the strength of the midfield and guard the area. He can do it because he has good stamina.
It is different from Toni Kroos who is the center of Madrid’s game with Luka Modric and Casemiro. The job that Koke did was taken on by Casemiro in Madrid.
Kroos (31 years old) played a more central role as a divider and at the center of the transition to play. That can be seen with his 400 more passes than Modric this season. His passing accuracy also reached 93%.
No doubt Koke’s duel with Kroos will be a key duel for the Madrid Derby. Kroos has met Atletico 23 times, with more meetings than any other team, with a record of seven wins, nine draws and lost seven.