Player Focus: Does Kaká Have A Place in the Same Side as Özil?

Real Madrid's 5-0 win over Espanyol on Sunday night was unremarkable in many ways. It was Real's 12th win in 13 home league games and the 14th time they've scored four or more goals this season, but one standout point was the fabulous performance of Kaká.
 
The Brazilian playmaker hasn't had the best of times since arriving in the Spanish capital in the summer of 2009. A spate of injuries have restricted his participation and disrupted his ryhthm, but on Sunday he looked back to his best with a trademark dash past Dídac Vilà and cute finish for the fourth goal, as well as two sumptuous assists to help Gonzalo Higuaín refind his goalscoring touch.
 
The goal took Kaká's tally to six in all competitions this season and his six assists in the league are good enough to put him joint eighth on the list of La Liga's goal creators, alongside Xavi and ahead of the likes of Andrés Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and Ander Herrera. So why has the former World Player of the Year's contribution been so overlooked this campaign?
 
There are a number of contributory factors, but the two most obvious answers are Mesut Özil and Ángel di María. Kaká's return of six assists from 1039 minutes on the field is impressive, but Real's real creative force has, along with Alonso from a deeper position, come for Özil with 12 assists and Di María with 13.

The Argentine's own recent troubles with injury have allowed Kaká more playing time but that has also forced Özil to play from a wider position on the right where his productivity and influence are diluted. Indeed, many of Kaká's better performances this season have come either when Özil hasn't played at all or to a lower level than average.

 
However despite the obvious qualities that Kaká offers, at this stage of his career it is Özil's skill-set that brings more to the team as a whole. The German has outperformed Kaká in key passes per game (2.5 to 1.3), pass completion percentage (87% to 85%), number of passes (47 to 29) and, even one of the Kaká forte's of the past, successful dribbles (0.9 to 0.7).
 
The only downside of Özil's involvement is his relative lack of goals. His solitary league strike this season came in the 3-1 win over Zaragoza last month and his 19 attempts on goal at an average of 0.8 a game is well below that of Kaká on 1.3 per game and Di María on 2.3. However, with Jose Mourinho's men hardly struggling in this department having scored 123 times in 40 matches in all competitions this season, the greater flow that Özil brings to their play is more important.

Di María meanwhile has been outstanding in almost every aspect. Allied to being the league's highest assist maker, he has also contributed five goals in just 15 appearances and his average WhoScored rating of 7.65 is behind only the Ballon d'Or nominated triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi.
 
Moreover, on the one occasion that Di María had the opportunity to play as the central player of the three in Madrid's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation against Sevilla in December he was sensational, scoring once and setting up two more in a 6-2 rout.
 
What does all this tell us? Well, despite Kaká's recent flickers of his best form it remains likely that, assuming everyone is fit, when the crunch games in La Liga and the Champions League come around the pairing of Özil in the middle, with Di María to the right remains the best option.

However, it is also a glimpse into the staggering depth on offer for the Portuguese coach to choose from. How many other contenders to the Champions League crown can afford to leave a £56 million player on the bench?

Whether or not he is to be a decisive player in Real's march towards the title and challenge for their illusive 10th European crown, it is just nice to see one of the greatest footballers of his generation to some degree rekindle the form that made him so special.