The third of this week’s articles focusing on the best youngsters from Europe’s top five leagues last season sees us turn our attention to La Liga. As it’s Spain, we considered mirroring Barcelona and playing a 4-3-3 but the solidity offered by both Javi Martinez and Sergio Busquets in the central of midfield persuaded us to go with a 4-2-3-1, with a better balance offered to our more attack-minded trio behind the lone forward. Here’s our XI.
Goalkeeper
David De Gea, Atletico Madrid. Age 20. 38 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 6.90
Man United’s new £17.5m summer signing has plenty of experience already- De Gea played every one of Atletico’s 38 league games last term. The 20 year-old chalked up 11 clean sheets and conceded 53 goals on his way to helping the club finish fifth, proving himself as the best young keeper in La Liga.
Full Back
Jose Angel, Gijon. Age 21. 26 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 6.93
Michel, Almeria. Age 21. 31 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 6.67
Angel made his first start for Gijon in late September and never looked back. Great going forward, strong and solid in defence, it’s little wonder the left-back has been snapped up this summer, with Roma taking him to Serie A on the back of some stand-out performances. Michel was one of relegated Almeria’s more dependable players in a season that saw them finish bottom of La Liga. The Brazilian played mainly at right-back for Almeria, though his versatility allows him to fill in at centre-half, too.
While Michel’s defensive stats are eclipsed by Angel, nothing should detract from his performances- 2.7 tackles, 2.9 interceptions and 2.1 clearances per game is impressive, though Angel’s fantastic 3.6 tackles, 3.4 interceptions and 3.3 clearances highlight a real quality at the back.
In possession, Michel edges it in pass accuracy (74% to 69%) though this is partly down to the fact that Angel delivered significantly more crosses, with 1.3 per game to Michel’s 0.8- once again, still impressive for a full-back, particularly in such a struggling side. Both have a creative streak to their game, too, with Angel making 1.1 key passes to Michel’s 1 per game.
When it comes to beating an opponent, Angel is once again eye-catching, with 1.3 successful dribbles per game fantastic for a full-back. With 0.9 shots per game in addition, Angel is clearly a prodigious all-round talent and the stats suggest Roma have a real prospect on their hands.
Centre Half
Mateo Musacchio, Villarreal. Age 20. 31 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 6.72
Alberto Botia, Gijon. Age 22. 28 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 6.63
Botia joins Jose Angel as the second Gijon player in our back-four and is partnered by Mateo Musacchio of Villarreal. Playing the vast majority of each of their respective teams’ league matches, there’s plenty of first-team experience in the heart of our back-four. The only real downside is the pair’s tendency to pick up bookings- Musacchio received 9 yellow cards last season, while Botia picked up 12.
Botia edged it for most of the defensive stats here over Musacchio- 2.4 to 2.2 tackles, 4.8 to 4.2 clearances and an impressive 0.9 to 0.5 blocked shots per game, though Musacchio’s 3.1 interceptions highlights his skill in nipping in and breaking up opposition attacks.
Both could do with upping their goal threat- just 0.2 shots per game from Musacchio and 0.4 from Botia; for centre-halves, they should be threatening more from set-pieces more than they currently do. Musacchio is by far the better of the two in possession, with a 85% pass accuracy demonstrating his tidiness on the ball- Botia’s 73% is considerably lower but with his defensive stats superior, the pair look a nice complement in the heart of defence, though their aerial success -45% and 44%- needs to be improved upon.
Central Midfield
Sergio Busquets, Barcelona. Age 22. 28 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 7.41
Javi Martinez, Atletico Bilbao. Age 22. 35 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 7.09
A central midfield pairing of Sergio Busquets and Javi Martinez highlights just how strong Spain’s options are at international level, with such top quality available at an early age. Busquets has the intelligence and discipline to allow Xavi and Iniesta the freedom to play their more attacking game in the Barca midfield three, while Martinez was the main man for Bilbao last season- with 15 of his 35 appearances coming in defensive midfield, he is as capable defensively as he is going forward.
Busquets made 2.3 tackles and 2.9 interceptions but Martinez exceeds his defensive work, with 2.5 tackles and a fantastic 4.1 interceptions per game. Both offer our XI plenty of graft in front of the back-four but their qualities don’t just end there.
The incredible pass accuracy of Busquets (92%) is indicative of his intelligence in possession, though with 75%, Martinez could improve. Both are capable of beating a man when in possession- Busquets made 0.8 successful dribbles per game, with Martinez just edging it on 1.
There’s not too much creativity on offer here, with Busquets making 0.8 key passes and Martinez, surprisingly, a lowly 0.3, but the chief creators in our XI are further up the pitch. Martinez also has an eye for goal that saw him grab 4 goals last season and Busquets, despite his deep position, still assisted 3 Barca goals in 2010/11.
Attacking Midfield Three
Mezut Ozil, Real Madrid. Age 22. 36 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 7.45
Diego Perrotti, Sevilla. Age 22. 31 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 7.09
Iker Muniain, Bilbao. Age 18. 35 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 6.85
Our three attacking midfielders are a highly-skilled trio, capable of leaving the best defenders in their wake. Mezut Ozil takes his place behind a lone front man for his superb debut season at Real Madrid, with the adaptable Diego Perrotti to his right. The Argentine played in four different positions for Sevilla last term but his inclusion on the right allows us to field Atletico Bilbao’s teenage prodigy Iker Muniain wide left.
All three have exceptional pass accuracy- Perrotti on 84%, with the other two on 85%, and a key factor in our XI’s ability to keep the ball high up the pitch. Rather surprisingly, Ozil has the lowest successful dribbles of the trio, with 1.2 per game. On the flanks, Perrotti (2) and Muniain (1.9) show the skills to beat a full-back with ease.
Ozil is our key creator, and with a brilliant 3.3 key passes per game, much of the team’s play would run through him, though Perrotti, on 1.6, adds another creative presence. Muniain, with 1 key pass per game, is still learning- he is only 18 after all, but such prodigious a talent proved impossible to leave out.
The three are very similar for shots per game- both Perrotti and Muniain average 1 shot, though Ozil’s 0.8 is more indicative of his tendency to pick a pass rather than attempt to score- a return of 17 assists last term illustrates this. Nevertheless, all are capable of finding the net in addition to laying chances on for others- Ozil grabbed 6 goals, Muniain 5 and Perrotti 3.
Front Man
Jose Salomon Rondon, Malaga. Age 21. 30 appearances. WhoScored.com rating 6.90
The tenth top scorer in La Liga last season, Rondon grabbed 14 goals, or 26% of his side’s 54 goals. The Venezuelan made a total of 30 appearances and with 2 coming as a sub, scored 14 goals in 28 starts. With a total of 63 shots, he scored 1 goal per 4.5 shots, a perfect illustration of his finishing.
Averaging 2.1 shots per game, Rondon also made 0.9 key passes and 1.1 successful dribbles per game, showing his game is more than just putting the ball in the net. He also won 44% of aerial duels and is more than capable of putting himself about for the sake of the team. A great target man to top off our La Liga XI and someone who would thrive off the service provided from the flanks and Ozil just behind.
