10 years ago
Martin Odegaard, 16, with short hair, jeans and a black and white sweater, looks like a student on the streets of Madrid. But this is not an ordinary teenager. 10 years ago, Odegaard arrived in the Spanish capital to be introduced as a £3.5 million rookie of Real Madrid, a team that beat a host of other big players to land one of the brightest prospects in world football from Stromsgodset, Norway.
With Madrid's communications director standing next to him, Odegaard sat silently for more than a minute while the camera's sound was constant. Not knowing where to look, what to do with your hands or whether to wear a headphone or not? It was a 15-minute press conference with the world media.
Odegaard was not informed in advance about the event he would attend. After getting off the plane, there was no stopping at the hotel to listen to the summary, no club uniforms were provided before arriving at the Bernabeu, and there was a chair with a microphone in front of it. Odegaard's educational background and personality make him not overwhelmed but it seems that up to now, it is unimaginable that Real Madrid would not have prepared more carefully for a young player with such an experience.
Perhaps people think that image makes him a potential teenager, while a five-pointed figure is at risk of being "packaged" into the next Galactico. But that is the situation that speaks to the hardships and obstacles when Odegaard rises to become the star of the present. But not Real Madrid, even though they have been there for 6 years.
Journey in Madrid
Odegaard's name began to be mentioned in newspapers across Europe in 2012. He is only 13 years old but has trained with the first team of Stromgodset. Odegaard's father revealed that there were more than 30 official requests sent. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool are on the final shortlist.
Madrid's famous captain, Juni Calafat, "banned" Odegaard. Calafat later continued to put Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham on radar. Odegaard is one of Calafat's first signings and the club's offer included an offer to ensure he would be trained with the first team. They are also the only team among the four candidates with a B team, coached by legend Zinedine Zidane.
Odegaard chose Madrid and immediately joined an unusual combination plan. He practiced with Carlo Ancelotti's first team all week, along with Marcos Llorente and Borja Mayoral - two of the club's other highly rated young talents. It was not until the final training session of the week that Odegaard was transferred to the Castilla team to compete in the Third Division.
Odegaard did not have a good start, playing 45 minutes on a muddy pitch and was believed to have only touched the ball twice. He is often a regular for the B team but has only scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 11 appearances. The attention of the media and the nickname of a child were not always accepted by his teammates in Castilla.
21-year-old Jorge Franco Alviz, also known as Burgui, was asked to help Odegaard adapt because he was very shy. He has improved over time but tends to avoid big groups and likes to interact with only 1 or 2 teammates. Odegaard and Hans' father even left the role of coach of Lillestrom club to move to Spain with his son and was assigned to coach Madrid's U11 team.
By the end of that first season, Ancelotti was still not very interested in using Odegaard - he did not include him in any squad until the last match of Liga. In his 2016 autobiography "The Silent Leader", he recalled that, despite being treated with the same respect as any young player, "Odegaard was hired for the future, for other coaches after my time".
However, Odegaard has remained a part of Ancelotti's tenure, making his debut in the 58th minute of a 7-3 home win over Getafe at the end of May, replacing Cristiano Ronaldo. It was a strange match. The score is crazy, but the atmosphere is gloomy because this is the season Real Madrid did not win the title. Ancelotti left at the end of the season.
Rafael Benitez took over but was fired in the middle of the next season and was replaced by Zidane. However, Odegaard did not play a minute in the 2015-2016 season and was only registered on the list of 1 match. The midfield options still include: Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric, Isco, James Rodriguez and Llorente. Odegaard lost, because it was too young, still could not compete or achieved the same speed of Team 1.
shin in the national team and when lending
But while Odegaard plays in the Spanish Third Division, he is a regular starter for Norway. They have benefited from Odegaard's long-term investment in talent, as they seek to build a team around him. Odegaard has played 23 Norwegian First Division games since his debut at the age of 15 years and 118 days. And became the youngest player of the National Team 4 months later, by March 2016 he had played 9 times when he was only 17 years old.
In Madrid, Odegaard is a bit introverted but a very good teammate and a coaching professional. However, there was a feeling that he was stuck between the two and his development was stagnant. Some members of Real Madrid share the same feeling that even the Castilla team is a step forward too quickly. Odegaard is not ready like Rodrygo or Vinicius Junior in the future.
With no chance in the first team, Odegaard joined Heerenveen in the Netherlands on loan in January 2017. He spent 18 months there and another year - also on loan, at Vitesse Arnhem, playing 82 matches and becoming the most creative U21 talent in any major tournament in Europe.
When he returned to Madrid in the summer of 2019, he was still not considered ready for a breakthrough. So he was loaned to Real Sociedad for 1 season. He affirmed that he was ready for La Liga, helping the Basque team finish 6th and win the Copa del Rey championship, notably starting and scoring the first goal in the 4-3 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the quarter-finals.
No regrets
The prospect of extending their time in San Sebastian seems reasonable when Sociedad has a ticket to the European Cup. But Madrid lure Odegaard back with the promise of a first-team role he has been searching for for for five years, despite Zidane's less structured football style and less inclined to take possession. Isco and Marcelo are two victims of that, and people believe Odegaard is the same.
As promised, Zidane started Odegaard in the first two matches of the season but he was substituted after a half-time break with Real Betis, when he was 2-1 behind. Isco replaced and Madrid reversed the game to win 3 - 2. Odegaard was left out of the squad and suffered two injuries, allowing him to play just one more Liga game and two Champions League games. By December that year, Odegaard had turned 22 and had played just 489 minutes for Madrid for nearly six years.
At Arsenal - from a loan to an official contract, despite taking time to integrate, 4 years later, Odegaard made 174 appearances for the North London club. Not only that, he became the captain and inspiration for the playing style that Mikel Arteta built.
Odegaard did not regret the decision to come to Madrid because he considered this as the best education in the world football industry at that time. There were moments during the journey, he did not know he would come or go but the lending times made him stronger. Entering a lot of different changing rooms with the weight of my name hanging on my head is not easy but has built the leadership quality in the current Odegaard.
