Real Madrid’s decision to sell Claude Makélélé to Chelsea in 2003 signalled the beginning of the end of the first Galacticos era for the club. Florentino Perez opted to cash in on the Frenchman that saw now Real Madrid Castilla manager Zinedine Zidane ask: “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?” Los Blancos failed to win another major trophy for four years following Makélélé’s departure having sold, arguably, their most important player.
Someone to sit in front of the defence to break up play and recycle possession - the Makélélé role - has since become must have for any team, though the role in question has developed somewhat since the Frenchman retired. Rather than sit back and wait for the opposition to encroach on the penalty area, deep lying midfielders are now tasked with pressing higher up the pitch to force players into errors that sees them sacrifice possession, utilising their expansive energy levels to do so.
One who has done this with aplomb at the World Cup is Brazil’s Luiz Gustavo. While the focus was on golden boy Neymar, Gustavo has done a fine job shielding the defence and allowing the more offensive-minded Brazil stars to press forward and attack. Only Neymar (8.25) and Oscar (8.04) have a higher WhoScored rating than Gustavo (7.89) of every A Seleção player this summer, reinforcing his importance to the team. While Paulinho has underwhelmed alongside him, Gustavo gives the team the much-needed steel in midfield to limit the goalscoring chances on Brazil’s goal.
However, they will be forced to make do without their key man in the middle of the park in Friday’s quarter-final meeting with Colombia. Gustavo’s yellow card in the second half of Brazil’s encounter with Chile at the last-16 stage means he is suspended for the match, which could be decisive.
Colombia have been carving teams open in Brazil, steered by tournament top goalscorer James Rodríguez (5). Only Netherlands (12) have netted more goals than Colombia (11) ahead of the four quarter-final match-ups and Luiz Felipe Scolari will have been distraught when he saw Gustavo booked on the hour mark against La Roja.
A player of Rodríguez’s quality can open up any defence at the drop of a hat, while his volley against Uruguay was a testament to his ability to net from distance. The Brazil midfield will need to remain tight to the 22-year-old if they are to limit his impact and it’s fair to say Gustavo would have done that better than anyone in the squad. No player in the Brazil team has won possession more times in the defensive and midfield third combined than Gustavo (29), so rather than allowing a player of Rodríguez’s ilk the time to control, turn and shoot, the Woflsburg star may well have read how the situation was evolving and acted accordingly to deny the chance.
In fact the possibility of a predicament even reaching that stage could have been minimised had Uruguay had a player of Gustavo’s calibre on the field. The 26-year-old has made the most interceptions (19) at the World Cup, highlighting his impressive reading of the game and anticipation to ensure a goalscoring move is pre-emptively halted before it’s too late.
It’s proof that Gustavo’s ability to break up play is of the highest standard, but like any good holding midfielder, he needs to be able to recycle possession in order to not only limit attacks, but possibly instigate them, and he has proven he can pick out a teammate as impressively as he can deny the opposition. Only Fernandinho (92.1%) has a better pass success than Gustavo (90.5%) of every Brazil player, while only Dani Alves (54.8), Marcelo (51.3) and Thiago Silva (49.3) are averaging more passes per game than the tough-tackling midfielder (47.3).
In the humidity of Brazil, retaining the ball is of the utmost importance and Gustavo does this to a very high standard. Not only does this help limit the opposition from creating chances and tire them out quicker as they work harder to get the ball, but it means he is able to pick out marauding full-backs Marcelo and Alves with ease when they bomb forward on the left and right, respectively.
Even if teams look to bypass the midfield to heap further pressure on the defence, Gustavo is able to counter the aerial threat. No player is winning more aerial duels per game (4) than the midfielder of every Brazilian, with Gustavo clearly capable of handling the opposition, be it with the ball on the deck or in air.
As mentioned though, holding midfielders now need to use their energy to win the ball back from the opposition upfield. While the Brazil star has done this in defensive positions, he has also exhibited this quality higher up the pitch. The best example was for Neymar’s opener in Brazil’s 4-1 thumping of Cameroon, where Gustavo won possession in the attacking third on the left before picking out his compatriot with a perfectly-weighted cross for the striker to set A Seleção on their way.
Gustavo has played every minute of Brazil 2014 and his loss will dent their aspirations of lifting their 6th World Cup. Fernandinho is expected to start once more, with one of Paulinho, Ramires or Hernanes set to come in alongside him in midfield, though it’s fair to say none can match the exploits of the Wolfsburg ace.
With WhoScored strengths of 'passing', 'tackling' and 'concentration', Gustavo boasts the necessary attributes which have seen him impress for the hosts. His suspension though will hamper their chances of overcoming Colombia on Friday evening and should Brazil crash out of the competition, it’s likely to be because they were without their midfield lynchpin for the quarter-final encounter.
How do you think Brazil will fare against Colombia in the absence of Luiz Gustavo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
