Because Martin Odegaard fought in Real Madrid and as he led him to Arsenal
Under Rafael Benitez the following season, his game time was even more limited.
In Odegaard he received 45 minutes pre-installation against Roma, “more by obligation than by conviction”, says Balague, adding: “His only other appearance under Benitez arrived in a friendly in Oslo, carefully planned to collect his popularity in Norway”.
Odegaard did not play only one competitive minute for the first team, making the bench only once a Levante in March after Zidane had replaced Benitez as head coach.
He also fought to have an impact for Castilla, with 22 of his 38 appearances from the bench.
“Despite the talented flashes, he has never convinced his coaches or found a rhythm,” says Balague.
“He also fought to accept a role on the margins. For a player accustomed to being the fulcrum, adapting to the bench was an emotional and professional challenge.
“Yet those close to him insist that Odegaard has always had an extraordinary ability to put to an extent.
“His mental strength, combined with a monastic devotion for football – including the periods of the high performance center of the Sierra Nevada to recover physical fitness and build resistance – meant that he has never lost sight of his goals.”
However, however, he was still a robust Odegaard mentally, he knew that his development as a player was stunted.
“With team B, I was not with them regularly, so I didn’t find that connection. In the first team, I was just a child who came to train,” Odegaard said in the players’ tribune.
“After a couple of years, I was not progressing.”
He started a game in the Copa del Rey, but in January 2017 Odegaard left for Heerenveen in a 18 -month loan and remained in the Netherlands for a further season with Vitesse Arnhem, winning their player of the year.
“Martin had some critics,” says Lund, speaking of his decision to join Real Madrid.
“I have heard a lot on Dutch clubs like Ajax and PSV, and they wanted it to go there before.
“But it’s very easy to say. When a sixteen year old can train with Ronaldo every day with the first team of Real Madrid … it is foolish for me to say that he has not chosen correctly.
“I am 100% who made the right choice. He didn’t have an agent, his father managed everything and when Real Madrid came to make an agreement, then they used an agent.
“Hans Erik has managed the whole process and if you have competent people around you, this is the best, because it has no financial intentions, it had only an intention and it is what is best for Martin.”
