Valverde's hunger, sacrifice and goals should have Madrid confident -- and Bayern fearful

The last time Federico Valverde played Bayern Munich, he had a pretty average tie and his team came within seconds of elimination from the 2024 UEFA Champions League semifinal.

In Valverde's last outing at the Santiago Bernabéu, a fortnight ago, he was red carded, left his team with 10 men in the Madrid derby but had previously scored and, eventually, watched Los Blancos beat Atlético Madrid 3-2.

However, the last time the Uruguay international played Champions League football at Real Madrid, he produced the match of his life, arguably the performance of the entire European season. Valverde produced a genuinely stunning, stuff-of-dreams 22-minute hat trick against Manchester City on March 11 to give Álvaro Arbeloa's team a 3-0 win, by far the best result of their season.

Because of that domestic suspension as a result of the derby dismissal, the 27-year-old wasn't available for Madrid's damaging defeat on the island of Mallorca at the weekend. No Valverde, no victory.

Now he's back. Immense responsibility on his shoulders, the prospect of goals in his boots (eight of them plus 12 assists this season) and the No. 8 on his back.

Last time he faced Bayern, Valverde's squad number was 15.

The change signifies two things: Toni Kroos, the all-time Madrid (and Bayern) legend, has retired, leaving vacant not only his shirt number but huge amounts of brainpower, inspiration, match control and authority. Valverde, in the darkest of times for the squad, has stepped forward, grabbing both the number and the responsibility.

"I spoke to my wife about how I didn't want to wear that number out of respect, more than anything, for the previous owner, who was Toni," Valverde told me earlier this season. "Had it been up to me, anyone who achieved so much, and left his mark on the club, deserved to have his number retired, like they do in the NBA -- for that number to be revered forever and for Toni to be the last to wear it.

"My wife made a strong case to convince me I had to wear it ... that I deserved it. Then when Toni also gave me his blessing, I obviously felt more relaxed about it and told myself that it was 'my' moment and that I should enjoy it every day when I go out to train wearing that number on my back. Just to treat every game like it was my last. Obviously, it was tough at the beginning, but it was worth it."

Kroos, perhaps alongside Xabi Alonso, is the alpha male of those who've represented both Bayern and Madrid.

In five and a half years with Bayern, Kroos won everything. Then, he doubled down: more seasons, garlands, appearances, goals and trophies with Los Blancos, concluding his career by winning the 2024 Champions League with a victory over Dortmund in the final -- following their ultra-dramatic added-time defeat of Bayern in the semifinals, which marks the last time the two clubs met.

During this rematch buildup, in which Vincent Kompany's team is viewed as the favorite by many pundits, Kroos has his eye on his friend, former teammate and successor in the No. 8 shirt as the wild card.

"In what had been a mediocre season for Real Madrid, Fede was able to carry the team on his shoulders a bit," Kroos told Sport Bild. "Things weren't perfect for him either, but neither his momentum, nor that Man City performance, are coincidences for me, because he's simply a guy who has not only quality but also the right mentality. Since then, he's been flying all over the pitch. It's truly incredible the level Fede's producing at the moment. I hope it lasts a long time."

A statistical grab of that form Kroos is talking about would be the seven goals and five assists in Valverde's past 12 matches. It's by far the creative form of his career.

But if you're a football fan, the evidence of your own eyes will serve you better. He will, literally, play blindingly well in four or five positions across big matches, excelling at his own job and saving his teammates if they're overwhelmed -- numerically or athletically. It's awesome to watch.

Our protagonist didn't particularly enjoy parts of the spell when Alonso was in charge -- largely because he was asked, repeatedly, to deputize at right back. He's willing, he's able, but it's quite simply not the place on the pitch he most enjoys himself.

What would have happened to Valverde's scoring and assist stats if either Dani Carvajal or Trent Alexander-Arnold had been fit in the early part of the season? Who knows? But since the turn of the year, often wearing the captain's armband, Valverde has grabbed the season by the scruff of the neck and decided that Madrid might still have a say in where the big trophies land.

He explained to me his willingness to put team before self, whether things are going well or not.

"Sacrifice is something that characterizes most South Americans, but I think it's a little bit more notable among Uruguayans," Valverde said. "I always talk about sacrifice; my dad is the one who instilled this in me. I could see it in my mom and dad when they went to work. Sometimes they wouldn't eat so that I could instead. That's sacrifice.

"I always try to imitate what I saw when I was a child. Now, it enables me to sacrifice myself for the team. I try to instill everything I've learned in all of my teammates because this is what makes the team more united, develops team spirit, and makes the institution of Real Madrid grow."

Valverde came up with the word "fighter" when I asked him for the defining Uruguayan characteristic. Again, you can see it in every scintilla of his competitive spirit. He's got the right stuff.

When Valverde lines up in the raucous, frantic Bernabéu on Tuesday, he will think of how his father cried when news came in that Madrid wanted this promising young kid. He'll think of how he had to live three to a bedroom in the Peñarol first team. He might even remember, by his own admission, that when he first arrived at Real Madrid, he let himself get a bit overconfident, a little bit carried away with himself.

That's long gone, almost too distant a memory to feel credible.

I liked the way he described what will be going through his mind when he prepares to try to send Bayern home defeated. He described what those tense final moments in the stadium tunnel before trotting out to the pitch are like and how he feels.

"Firstly, I'm happy. I walk out happy and proud to play for the badge on my chest. I think the shirt makes you feel bigger and stronger," Valverde said. "Obviously, I don't feel too nervous after so many games. You forget all the pain in your legs when you walk out and see all the people from the tunnel, when you hear the Champions League anthem, when you hear the Real Madrid anthem. It's a combination of a lot of emotion, a huge honor; you walk out onto the pitch with this hunger to give everything."

It's not as if Bayern Munich will have failed to look at copious videos of Valverde in order to prepare themselves tactically, but if they read these words of his, they can consider themselves well warned. Valverde wants victory. And as he has made it evident, he knows how to achieve it.