Following his stellar performance against Manchester City, Federico Valverde has suddenly found himself in the spotlight as never before. The Uruguayan is a worthy successor to Toni Kroos – even if his style of play is quite different.Rarely has the question of who was the “Man of the Match” been so easy to answer as it was after the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 between Real Madrid and Manchester City. Real captain Federico Valverde (27) had led his team to a 3-0 victory with three goals in a single half, giving the Spanish record champions an excellent starting position for the return leg in Manchester on Tuesday (9pm). Just how historic the evening at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu was was demonstrated by one of the first to offer his congratulations: shortly after the final whistle, Valverde posed with José Martínez Sánchez (81), better known in Spain as Pirri, a former Real Madrid midfielder and current honorary president. Pirri, to whom Valverde promptly handed the trophy for the souvenir photo, was the last Real midfielder to score a hat-trick in the Champions League 58 years earlier.There were also congratulations from a former Real Madrid manager. Carlo Ancelotti, who now manages the Brazilian national team, revealed in an interview with *Marca* that he had sent his former player – who was born in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo – a joking text message after the match, saying: “It’s a shame you don’t have a Brazilian passport”. One of the three goals, the 3-0 in the 42nd minute, did indeed have a Brazilian feel to it. Just as the great Pelé once did in the 1958 World Cup final against Sweden, Valverde nonchalantly lifted the ball over his opponent Marc Guehi and then struck a crisp volley into the far corner. To compare Valverde – who had previously scored just three goals in his 75 Champions League appearances – to one of the greatest of all time would certainly be a bit of a stretch. However, his teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold also had a superlative ready immediately after the final whistle: “I’m lost for words. He is without doubt the most underrated player in the world,” said the Englishman on TNT Sports.In fact, the Uruguayan has rarely been in the spotlight in recent years as much as he was last week. This is also down to his versatility and commitment to the team. Valverde is a textbook all-rounder, possessing both great attacking and defensive qualities, and always putting himself on the line for the team within Madrid’s star-studded squad. He doesn’t churn out highlights like the ones against Man City on a regular basis, but in reality he has hardly any obvious weaknesses. The 27-year-old is dynamic, technically gifted, aggressive in one-on-one situations and simply gets so many things right on the pitch. Moreover, as vice-captain behind Dani Carvajal, he is now also demonstrating leadership qualities. “If there is one player who embodies the spirit of Real Madrid, it is Fede; he can simply do everything,” enthused coach Alvaro Arbeloa after the gala performance against Man City. A move from a good six years ago, which did not lead to a goal but prevented one, was emblematic of his team spirit and unbridled will to win: Back then, in extra time of the Spanish Super Cup against Atlético Madrid, the young Valverde accepted a red card in the 115th minute to prevent Álvaro Morata from equalising – for which he was subsequently even praised by the defeated Atlético coach Diego Simeone.The 27-year-old has enjoyed a steady rise to prominence. Almost ten years ago, shortly after making his professional debut for Atlético Peñarol in Uruguay, he was signed by Real Madrid. Unlike other South American talents such as Vinicius Júnior or, more recently, Franco Mastantuono, however, he did not receive much hype. Valverde first had to find his feet, playing for the reserve team for a year before being loaned out to Deportivo La Coruña for a further season. He has been part of the first-team squad since 2018, learning from midfield greats such as Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro. Back then, the slight youngster was still nicknamed El Pajarito (the little bird). Now – symbolic of his development – he is called El Halcón (the falcon).The retirement of Toni Kroos in 2024 also marked a step towards greater responsibility, as he took over the number 8 shirt. At the time, the German called him a “worthy successor” and offered him this advice: “Fede has no upper limits.”Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingValverde described Kroos as his idol, whom he has “admired all his life”. However, he is a different type of player – more of a tireless runner, less of a strategist. Otherwise, Xabi Alonso would hardly have thought of frequently deploying him at right-back this season in the absence of the injured Dani Carvajal and Alexander-Arnold. The player, who is normally so committed to the team, felt out of his depth in this position, although he had already found himself in this situation several times under Alonso’s predecessor, Ancelotti. “I wasn’t born to play right-back,” he said publicly in the autumn. He had stepped in to help out in an emergency, but did not feel comfortable there. Although Valverde emphasised, following much commotion over his comments, that he would always give his all for the team regardless of his position, his relationship with Alonso is said not to have been the best for this reason either. Spanish media even speculated that, alongside Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, he had been a driving force behind Alonso’s dismissal.The fact that the Uruguayan is currently performing so brilliantly is, however, also down to Alexander-Arnold. Since the right-back – like the regular captain Dani Carvajal – has returned from a long injury lay-off, Valverde has been able to play predominantly in midfield again. Whether he plays in the centre or comes in from the wing, the 27-year-old can be found all over the pitch during a match. Given the many absences at Real, which recently included Kylian Mbappé (who could, however, make his comeback in the return leg against Man City), Valverde is currently being called upon to take on even more responsibility – and that is exactly what he is doing. Even before the clash with Man City, the midfielder – who is rarely injured and usually plays the full 90 minutes – had scored in the 2-1 win against Celta Vigo. At the weekend, he followed that up with a stunning curling shot into the top corner in the 4-1 win against Elche. It almost seems as though the team-oriented Valverde shows his goal-scoring threat to best effect when many other stars are absent. Former coach Ancelotti had already noted that he possesses more attacking potential than he sometimes shows. “I bet him that he had to score ten goals in a season. I told him that if he didn’t, I’d hand back my coaching licence,” the legendary manager had revealed during Valverde’s most prolific season to date, 2022/23, in which he scored a total of twelve goals. That record is under threat this season; the Uruguayan currently has seven goals (and twelve assists) across all competitions.If Valverde continues in this vein and leads Real to one or even several titles in what is supposedly already a botched season, it would be a significant milestone in his career. And there is suddenly speculation about another one: after the first leg against Man City, an Italian TV reporter at Prime Video, amid laughter from the studio, promptly handed him her mobile phone with a photo of the Ballon d’Or. The real thing is still a long way off for Valverde – though if he carries on like this, it’s not out of reach either. Especially as, thanks to him, Real have the best chance of going far, at least in the Champions League. And that is, as we know, a major factor when it comes to the biggest individual award in world football come winter.Real Madrid wurde am 6. März 1902 gegründet. Der Verein trug zunächst den Namen Madrid Football Club. Den Zusatz "Real" erhielt der Verein erst 1920 durch König Alfons XIII.Real Madrid hat keinen einzelnen Eigentümer, sondern gehört als eingetragener Verein seinen Mitgliedern, den sogenannten "Socios". Aktueller Präsident ist Florentino Perez.Das Stadion von Real Madrid heißt offiziell nur noch "Bernabeu". Der frühere Name "Estadio Santiago Bernabeu" wird zwar weiterhin verwendet, ist jedoch nicht mehr die offizielle Bezeichnung.In das "Bernabeu" passen rund 85.000 Zuschauer (je nach Veranstaltung). Bei einem Heimspiel von Real Madrid liegt die zugelassene Kapazität meist bei etwa 83.000 bis 84.000 Plätzen.Real Madrid hat insgesamt 103 Titel gewonnen. Der Klub triumphierte neunmal in der Champions League sowie sechsmal im Europapokal der Landesmeister. Hinzu kommen 36 spanische Meisterschaften und 20 Siege im spanischen Pokal. Außerdem gewann Real Madrid 13-mal den spanischen Superpokal und sechsmal den UEFA Super Cup. Auf internationaler Ebene stehen zudem zwei UEFA-Cup-Siege, fünf FIFA-Klub-Weltmeistertitel, ein Titel im FIFA-Interkontinental-Pokal sowie drei Weltpokalsiege zu Buche. Abgerundet wird die Titelsammlung durch zwei Erfolge in der Copa Eva Duarte.Real Madrid ist mit 36 spanischen Meisterschaften alleiniger Rekordhalter und damit der erfolgreichste Klub in La Liga.Der Spieler mit den meisten Spielen für Real Madrid ist Raul Gonzalez. Er absolvierte 741 Pflichtspiele für die Königlichen.Der beste Torschütze in der Geschichte von Real Madrid ist Cristiano Ronaldo. Er erzielte 450 Tore in 438 Pflichtspielen für die Königlichen.Für Real Madrid haben im Laufe der Geschichte zahlreiche der größten Stars des Weltfußballs gespielt. Zu den bekanntesten zählen Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Ronaldo Nazario, Alfredo Di Stefano, Raul, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, Luis Figo, Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Roberto Carlos, Xabi Alonso, Michael Laudrup, Ferenc Puskas und Clarence Seedorf.Real Madrid wurde im Laufe seiner Geschichte von zahlreichen berühmten und prägenden Trainern betreut. Zu den bekanntesten zählen Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane, Vicente del Bosque, Jose Mourinho und Fabio Capello. "Los Blancos" ist der Spitzname von Real Madrid. In Deutschland nennt man sie auch "Die Königlichen".