What Spain just taught Jose Mourinho about Marc Cucurella

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente gave some praise to Marc Cucurella after his performance against Croatia in their win on Tuesday night. Cucurella was once again really good for Spain, as he always is, and he showed the level for which Real Madrid paid so much money in the summer. 

He just went on to show that, for the system that de la Fuente has created for him, Cucurella works perfectly in it. He always tends to lock the right winger down whenever he's playing against one for his national team, and it just looks like he is the most consistently good international defender in the world.

For Real Madrid, he has not been able to perform at his best, but despite that, he always gives good performances for Spain, which is something that De la Fuente also talks about.

He said, "Cucurella is sensational. With us, something happens that we see with many players: when they join the national team, they transform. Sometimes they show a level far superior to what they show at their club, perhaps because they feel very comfortable here, because our style suits them perfectly."

Marc Cucurella is a much better player for Spain than for his club

It might actually be true for Cucurella, but hopefully for Real Madrid, it is not. Obviously, Cucurella plays a lot better for Spain than he did for Chelsea during his time at the club, and now he has had more good performances for his national team than he has for Real Madrid. However, the club will hope that, at some point, that will also change, because just like the way the stakes are really high for the Spanish national team, they are also really high for Real Madrid.

Cucurella has been brought in to make a huge upgrade on that left-back position. After years of inconsistencies, injuries, and lack of quality, Cucurella would also need to up his game to a more consistent level for Real Madrid. If that means changing the system a little bit to make him feel more comfortable, then Jose Mourinho simply has to do that. That's because Cucurella is, on his day, the best defensive fullback in the world, and Real Madrid will consistently need that when they play against the best right wingers in the world.

If, for example, Cucurella goes up against Lamine Yamal or Michael Olise, he would need to be at his absolute best. For that to happen, obviously, he would need some support from his left winger as well as his left central midfielder. That is exactly why Mourinho needs to make sure that he feels as comfortable as possible, so that he's able to churn out more amazing performances, just like he does for the Spanish national team.