Many may be forgiven for not remembering how talented a footballer Isco is given how the past year of his career has transpired. HIs recent troubles have perhaps clouded people's opinion of him, but the Real Madrid legend deserves to be given his flowers.
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The gesture of giving somebody their roses and/or flowers is universally recognised as an acknowledgement of love and/or praise. The act is an expressive way of showing an individual affection, and given the past year of the Spaniard's career, he may need some.
What happened to Isco at Sevilla?
The Benalmadena native is now with Real Betis, but prior to signing with Los Verdiblancos last month, he played for their arch-rivals, Sevilla. The diminutive playmaker made his way to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan when he signed as a free agent to become Julen Lopetegui's new playmaker in 2022, but after a slow start to the 2022/23 season, things unravelled very quickly for record UEFA Europa League winners. With Isco and teammates struggling for results and the Spain international getting killed in the media, the 31-year-old has revealed why things did not work out while he donned the famous white of Los Nervionenses.
"What I am going to tell you is shocking. I told him [former Sevilla sporting director Monchi] that he was the biggest liar I had ever met in the world of football and he attacked me. He came towards me, he grabbed me by the neck, we moved apart and they had to separate us completely. As you will understand, after that, I did not want to continue there under any circumstances." the decorated midfielder told Marca.
The 38-capped international would consequently have his contract terminated at Sevilla in December 2022 and would cease to play professional football for the remainder of the season, leaving the playmaker's future in limbo.
Why does Isco deserve his flowers?
Ever since truly announcing himself to the world at the 2013 Under-21 UEFA European Championship, where he was one of the competition's standout performers, the Valencia academy graduate only continued to ascend in the world game. Prior to that tournament, he helped a Manuel Pellegrini-coached Malaga side to their first-ever top four finish in the 2011/12 LALIGA season, and the young star continued to raise his profile in the next campaign's UEFA Champions League as he and his teammates went as far as the quarter-finals in their debut showing at the tournament, ultimately losing to eventual finalists Borussia Dortmund.
Come the end of that 2012/13 season, and Isco was one of the hottest prospects in world football as interest from Europe's biggest clubs became more and more concrete. Couple his performances for Malaga with his showing at the U21 EUROS, and Real Madrid as well as Manchester City were the leading suitors in the race for the creative midfielder's signature.
It was Los Blancos who won the duel for the newly crowned Golden Boy winner, and so would begin a trophy-laden nine-year career with Los Merengues. While he would often need to make way over the years for arguably more talented players, the midfielder's quality was never in doubt when he donned the famous white of Real. Isco constantly dictated the rhythm and pace of games whenever he would get on the ball, while also illustrating his ability to thread a pass through the eye of a needle. Perhaps it was a shame he was born in an era when the likes of Andreas Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Luka Modric, David Silva and Toni Kroos were also prominent, but whenever Isco would deputise for the aforementioned stars for club or country, rarely would the standard drop.
Real are a club known for their ever-revolving door of managers, but having spent nine years at the club, every head coach Isco played under at the Santiago Bernabeu trusted the attacker even if they didn't start him regularly, perhaps no one more so than Zinedine Zidane. The French tactician is responsible for one of the most successful eras in the LALAIGA giants' history, and the former playmaker trusted Isco to deliver in a lot of the big games during his tenure, and deliver he did.
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What next for Isco?
The now-veteran has taken his talents to the Estadio Benito Villamarin, where he has reunited with his former boss Pellegrini, and after his debut for Betis against Villarreal on Sunday, which they won 2-1 and after which he was given the Man of the Match award, perhaps the manager-player duo of Isco and Pellegrini can lead the Spanish giants to their first UEFA Champions League campaign since 2005/06. Luckily, Isco's game has never been predicated on pace, and given his showing at the Estadio de la Ceramica on the weekend, it is evident that the one-time wonderkid can still be an influential figure in the Spanish top flight.
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