Jude Bellingham: Defying surgery and criticism, England's go-to man rises again

When a 17-year-old Jude Bellingham left for Borussia Dortmund in 2020, Birmingham City retired his No. 22 shirt. As people smirked, the English club said it was a recognition of the teenager’s “talent, hard work and dedication”.Six years down the line, it seems the English Football League (EFL) club’s assessment of their home boy wasn’t too far off the mark.

A midfield general with immense potential, the beauty of the England star’s game is that he can fit into any role. From putting in the crunching tackle near his team’s penalty area to arriving late in the opposition box to nudge home the header, Bellingham treated fans to the entire spectrum in England’s brilliant 3-2 win against Mexico at the Azteca with 10 men last week.Bellingham’s two goals were a product of his ability to be at the right place at the right time, a striker in the garb of a midfielder. But what made the tireless workhorse stand out was his desire to cover every blade of grass of the historic stadium as his team fought to protect a fragile lead with 10 men against a home team that resembled a hungry pack of wolves. The clearance that he put in late in the first half to stop Mexico from making it 2-2 was the moment of the day for Jude, if you take away from the equation for a moment the glamour of goal scoring.

While England coach Thomas Tuchel had high praise for Bellingham’s work rate, it wasn’t too long ago that the Real Madrid midfielder wasn’t even the German’s No. 1 choice for the role in national colours. Tuchel had even said the player’s attitude was “repulsive” and for a period, it seemed Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers would take his place in the England playing XI for the World Cup.But Bellingham didn’t lose hope. He knew that the drop in form had a lot to do with the shoulder surgery that he had in June last year and the lack of pre-season training was hurting his game.

Additionally, Real Madrid were in turmoil and Bellingham’s role right through the season lacked clarity - he was used to plug holes all over the pitch. It was affecting his game for the national team and the frustration was growing.

But the talent of Jude was unmissable and Tuchel knew he had to find a way of fitting in the superstar, who has a few qualities that his hero Zinedine Zidane used to possess. The midfielder had taken the legendary Frenchman’s No.

5 shirt in Real Madrid upon his arrival in the Spanish capital in 2023. When in full flow, pundits refer to Bellingham’s runs as “driving with the ball” - something similar to Zidane’s - with his physicality helping him ward off the strong challenge of the opposition defenders.Bellingham’s ability to arrive late in the box to find the goal-scoring touch was a quality that was explored by the Italian tactician and now Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Desperately trying to find a replacement for Karim Benzema, who had left Real for Saudi shores, it was on the Italian’s instructions that he virtually became a striker, scoring 19 La Liga goals which included winners in two Clasicos.At that point though, he had Toni Kroos and Luka Modric providing him with the balls, which decreased significantly over the next two years as the two maestros left Madrid. An injured Bellingham, playing with a strapped shoulder that sometimes impeded him from going into aerial challenges, kept falling back in the midfield deeper and deeper, trying to feed Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. And somewhere the magic was lost, but for the occasional flashes.In an England shirt though, Bellingham doesn’t always need to play the sole provider. Elliot Anderson, Antony Gordon and Bukayo Saka are there to do that job and then, there’s the wily old fox Harry Kane leading the frontline. The Bayern Munich striker’s incredible ability to draw defenders towards him opens up spaces inside the box which Jude, who is more of a connecting link between the midfield and attack, can exploit, as he did against Mexico.Now it’s good old friend Erling Haaland and his Norway standing in the way. Bellingham, meanwhile, is on a yellow card and one more booking will see him out of a probable semis clash against Argentina. Will that restrict the 23-year-old, who is not shy of rolling up his sleeves when the going gets tough?Will Tuchel look to use him sparingly or see if he can get the job done without his midfield ace?Those are questions that are giving England fans sleepless nights as visions of “It’s coming home” after 60 years get brighter and brighter. It’s on Bellingham, who has grown up under this shadow of sustained failure, to stay unaffected and “drive along” in his quest of the promised land.