Martin Ødegaard has flown under the radar over the past few seasons. The Norwegian midfielder was the talk of the town in 2014 after being signed by Real Madrid at just 16 years old but has since been loaned out to two different teams in the Eredivisie and deemed irrelevant to many Madrid fans, who see Dani Ceballos, Vinícius Jr and Rodrygo as the future of the club.
While many of the fans may have lost interest, Real Madrid clearly sees potential in the 20-year-old, as this season it decided to loan him out to a mid-tier LaLiga club, Real Sociedad, to give him some top-level experience.
Since joining Sociedad, Ødegaard has been a revelation, completely dictating Sociedad’s midfield and netting two goals in his first five games. Many have gone as far as to say he’s been one of the best players in LaLiga so far this season, and I’ll admit I was skeptical of this take until I saw his performance Thursday against Deportivo Alavés, in particular this absolutely ridiculous assist he made to Mikel Oyarzabal.
Ødegaard's assist from last night was RIDICULOUS, for those who haven't seen it yet...@martinio98 @RealSociedadEN pic.twitter.com/klSn33IFMT
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) September 27, 2019
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I have only seen three players in my life make passes like that: Lionel Messi, Xavi and Juan Román Riquelme, and that is pretty incredible company to be sharing. The ball cuts through the midfield, the defense and the goalkeeper and lands right on Oyarzabal’s foot for a wide-open tap-in. It wasn’t just the assist though; Ødegaard’s confidence with and without the ball at his feet had Deportivo terrified all game. Not only is his football IQ high, he seems unafraid to attempt passes and dribbles that even the league’s top players would hesitate to make.
Sociedad would go on to win the match 3-0 thanks to a diving-header goal from forward Willian José and a second goal for Oyarzabal, which came from a penalty. With this win, Real Sociedad climbed to second in the league, just one point off Real Madrid. Given Real’s injury issues and Barcelona’s poor run of form, I think one can make the claim that Real Sociedad, with its three-headed monster of Ødegaard, Oyarzabal and Willian José, has to be considered legitimate title contenders. The only major obstacle in its way is its lack of depth, which could hurt it later on in the season if it makes any big cup runs or experiences any serious injuries.
Sociedad's next match is against Sevilla, a side that will look to rebound from a brutal late collapse to Eibar in a 3-2 loss. While Ødegaard may make winning the season harder for Madrid this season, all this young talent should keep fans optimistic. Real needs to revamp its midfield, as it is clear Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are past it. With Ødegaard and Ceballos playing the way the are on loan, Madrid may not even need to spend money this summer to improve the squad (but we know it will anyway).
