Robinho rediscovers magic touch

(CNN) -- There is an air of expectation at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid are currently enjoying their best start in a long, long time.

But, more importantly, the defending Spanish champions may finally have discovered a player capable of injecting a dose of the sort of flair and invention into the club's performances that has been missing since the golden age of the "Galacticos" -- Zidane, Figo and Ronaldo.

"An elephant hunter couldn't even have stopped Robinho yesterday," was the considered verdict of Spanish newspaper As after the little Brazilian scored twice and created another goal in a 4-3 win over Mallorca at the weekend which kept Madrid a point clear at the top of the table. "The Brazilian creates panic in rivals. He's on fire."

"Robinho looks more and more like Pele," concluded Marca with no less enthusiasm. "He was as hungry as a killer and brought out the best of his repertoire to unleash bedlam in the Bernabeu."

Robinho of course is hardly a new face in Madrid, which makes his transformation from cameo king of the stepover to the driving force behind Real's title defense all the more remarkable.

The 23-year-old from Santos arrived at the start of the 2005-06 season with a $30 million price tag weighing heavily on his shoulders, dazzled on his debut and then faded badly, struggling to hold down a first team place.

In his second season, he found himself regularly overlooked by Fabio Capello, a strict disciplinarian and rigorous tactician who was never likely to be impressed by Robinho's more playful and easygoing approach to life, training and football.

Capello's departure over the summer and replacement by Bernd Schuster, amid suggestions that Real's senior management felt it was time to restore some of the luster to the club's playing style, initially seemed to bode well for Robinho as he started the season as a first choice.

But his Bernabeu career appeared to be going backwards again last month when he returned late from international duty in Brazil amid reports of wild partying with other squad members -- Robinho was spotted leaving a nightclub at 5 a.m. when he should have been on a plane back to Spain -- and he found himself dropped as Real slumped to their first defeat of the season at Espanyol.

Many Madrid fans may have thought they had seen the last of the Brazilian. Instead, Schuster restored him straight to the side and has been rewarded with Robinho's best form in a white shirt: one goal in a 3-1 win over Deportivo Coruna, another in Real's 5-1 demolition of Valencia at the Mestalla, two in a 4-2 Champions League win over Olympiakos, and finally (leaving aside Real's 2-0 defeat by Sevilla) that breathtaking display against Mallorca.

Having tested the coach's patience so publicly, Robinho has wisely credited Schuster with his return to form: "The coach understands me. He speaks candidly with me because he's been through these situations. He always gives me good advice. Schuster allows me to play with more liberties on the pitch, and that's how I can develop my football."

And while Robinho's talent has never been in question, it appears he has now acquired the drive that could yet see him rival Kaka and Ronaldinho as Brazil's most successful footballing export among the current crop of players.

"We have to take it slow. We're in good form, leaders of the league, and first in our Champions League group," says Robinho. "I would love to win the Champions League. Every player here is excited about our chances. We're going to work hard in order to achieve great things." E-mail to a friend