Toni Kroos is King: Assists in the Zidane Era

Toni Kroos reigns supreme in the Real Madrid locker room when it comes to assisting his teammates in the Zidane era. Going back to the 2015-16 season up to the latest match the team played prior to the suspension of the current campaign, the German has delivered the most passes directly leading to goals in all competitions. The below is a dynamic chart charting the pace at which the top assist men got to their present totals.

There is a replay button (and other controls) at the bottom left hand corner of the visualization.

The midfielder maestro has recorded almost half a century of assists. He was in a close race with Ronaldo to be the top passing marksman but never looked back once the Portuguese left for Italian shores at the end of 2017-18. Ronaldo being tied for fifth just signifies the incredible attacking influence of the forward as he will remain deeply entrenched in Real Madrid’s record books for a long time. In fact, his tally of 12 assists in the Champions League in the period considered is still the highest in the team even though he hasn’t played for Real Madrid for nearly two seasons.

Looking at other players, Benzema mounted an impressive late surge into second place while the top five is rounded off by Marcelo, Vazquez and Carvajal. This further reinforces the importance of the fullbacks to the team where the attack almost became dependent on how well the two played. Vazquez’s impressive numbers is symbolic of the player’s critical role in the Zidane era.

In terms of the rate at which players are dishing out final balls, James Rodriguez somewhat unsurprisingly comes out on top. The Colombian’s vision is one of his best qualities and he has always shown an incredible eye for killer passes dating back to when he was at the peak of his powers under Carlo Ancelotti. The fact that he doesn’t rank higher in overall assists reflects his decreased prominence in the Zidane era as the manager has preferred different players to form the core of his midfield.