Real Madrid's ostracised star faces the chance of a lifetime
From a player on the verge of departure to Mourinho's trump card
Raúl Asencio came close to leaving Real Madrid this summer. Three tempting offers landed on his table, two from the Premier League with Chelsea and Liverpool, and another from Turkey. Yet he chose to stay, convinced that hard work and patience would earn him a fresh opportunity. That moment has finally arrived.
Dean Huijsen's red card in the derby, coupled with Ibrahima Konaté's injury on France duty, has thrown Asencio back into contention at centre-back. The timing could hardly be better for a player who hasn't kicked a ball since the season began.
Real Madrid had signed Konaté after a long hunt for a new defender, and that pushed Asencio's name up the list of players who could be sold to bring in some cash. He held firm, though, turning down all three offers and choosing to wait for his chance.
The call was far from simple, especially having been frozen out of José Mourinho's plans for spells, but Asencio backed himself to fight for a starting berth. So he kept working and waited for the right moment, refusing to read the arrival of a new defender or the offers from abroad as any verdict on his future.
Circumstances may now prove him right, with Real Madrid short of options at centre-back, according to the Spanish newspaper "Marca".
Off the pitch, Asencio endured a complicated summer of his own. He was cleared in the case relating to the leaking of secrets, then found himself back in the headlines over a drink-driving incident.
Tests showed his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit fourfold. The player admitted his mistake and was fined 14,400 euros, with his driving licence suspended for eight months.
None of it went unnoticed inside Real Madrid. Mourinho was keen to send a public message to Asencio, stressing that a Real Madrid player represents the club at all times, and that his conduct off the pitch reflects on the image of the team.
The Portuguese coach said: "We all make mistakes, but an accumulation of mistakes is a different matter. I am not satisfied." Even so, Mourinho had previously praised Asencio's professionalism at the club, describing him as an "exemplary player" and noting that he is among the first to arrive at training and the last to leave, especially during his period of recovery.
The ball now appears to be in Asencio's court. He has recovered from his physical problems and is working to regain his fitness and his place in the side, though his physical condition, particularly the leg injury, remains one of the most prominent matters requiring monitoring.
He has yet to feature in a single match this season, alongside Thiago Pitarch and Lunin. But Huijsen's dismissal and Konaté's injury may change everything, handing the Real Madrid defender a long-awaited chance to prove he belongs at the Santiago Bernabéu.
