Special Report: La Liga’s Wonderkids
November 1, 2011 2 Comments
Alvaro Vadillo
17 years old
Real Betis
AM R
Value: £7.5m
Rating:
Young winger Vadillo is the latest on the Betis production line of academy graduates, having seen Ezequiel and Joaquin shine during their time at the Estadio Manuel Ruíz de Lopera. He is held in high regard by the Real Betis management having impressed for both Spain and Betis’ youth sides, scoring and creating goals left right and centre.
The 17-year-old is similar to Joaquin as he is more conventional and likes to take it past his opponent rather than try to humiliate them with his superb technique.
Vadillo has made a few cameo appearances this season for Betis, often injecting energy and pace to a slow team, and this prompted coach Pepe Mel to include the starlet in his starting eleven against Real Madrid.
However, just 17 minutes into the game, Vadillo had been causing world-class defender Sergio Ramos all sorts of problems. Frustration grew for the right-back, and a strong tackle from 25-year-old Ramos saw Vadillo coming off far worse in their collision, wreathing on the ground in agony. And their worst fears were confirmed when the club confirmed he had suffered cruciate ligament damage, ruling him out for the season.
This hasn’t, however, put Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson sending scouts to watch him, and wishing him well in his recovery, something he also did with Steven Defour when he was injured while being targeted by United. Sir Alex is said to be impressed with Vadillo and there are pundits who compare the talented winger to Cristiano Ronaldo (right) due to his devastating combination of blistering pace and a powerful frame. And if he fully recovers from his injury, he faces an exciting challenge of trying to emulate the 26-year-old former world player of the year.
Isco
19 years old
Malaga
MC, AM C
Value: £8m
Rating:
Valencia’s academy has seen the likes of Jordi Alba, David Silva and Paco Alcacer break into the first-team. However, Isco, was not quite so lucky.
The 19-year-old playmaker was kept out by the sparkling form of Juan Mata last season, and although the Spanish forward departed for Chelsea, Isco decided enough was enough, and sealed a £6 million move to Malaga this summer, signing a five-year deal to highlight another coup for the Andalucian club.
Scoring 15 goals for Valencia B, Isco is reminiscent of Joe Cole in his younger days, with his quick movement, outstanding ball control and the way he drops into space. He plays just behind the front two, and despite being 5ft 8, Isco has a good sense of balance and therefore is quite a strong and agile player.
Despite signing Argentinian playmaker Diego Buonanotte from River, the Malaga management see Isco as more of a pivotal part to Malaga’s long-term plans to dominate La Liga. At just 19, he has time on his side and has already played in six of Malaga’s 10 games this season, helping them to 6th position.
It’s only a matter of time before Isco receives his first senior call-up, having represented Spain right through from U-16 to U-21 level, scoring twice in three appearances for the latter. Despite an array of attacking talent in Spain’s midfield, Isco can unlock defences just like Cesc Fabregas, Iniesta and David Silva. So while he may need to be patient in waiting for his debut for La Rojas, he is being tipped to lead Malaga to glory.
Alvaro Vazquez
20 years old
Espanyol
ST
Value: £10m
Rating:
Pundits usually say that a local lad will always give their all of their boyhood club, and Alvaro Vazquez is no different.
He joined Espanyol at 14 years of age, and just four years later after impressing in the academy, he was a regular in their B team, scoring 8 goals in 18 games. His performances weren’t going unnoticed, and soon Espanyol manager Mauricio Pottechino bumped him up to the senior squad, where he made his debut in the 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid back in November 2010.
Just five days after, Vazquez turned heads with the only goal of the game against Osasuna, meaning that he kept his place in the squad as back-up to the in-form Pablo Osvaldo. And while he was forced to play reserve to Jose Callejon, Sergio Garcia and Osvaldo, Vazquez now has the opportunity to shine in 2011/12 after the departures of Callejon (Real Madrid) and Osvaldo (Roma).
Vazquez is very much a player in the mould of Real Madrid legend Raul. Standing at 6ft, he’s not the fastest of strikers, but has a truly outstanding eye for goal. His quality of finishing surpasses his age by many years, and many have dubbed him ‘Catalonia’s Raul’ for his sheer poise in everything that he does on the field.
He made a name for himself at the U20 World Cup (see ‘Portfolio’ section for report) by finishing joint-top in the scoring charts, levelling with Brazil’s Henrique on 5 goals apiece, including a stunning hat-trick in the 5-1 demolition of Australia. It was even speculated that Spurs boss Harry Redknapp sent his scouts to run the rule over Vazquez, while Real boss Jose Mourinho is also said to be looking for a new striker.
Gerard Deulofeu
17 years old
Barcelona
AM RLC
Value: £10m
Deulofeu is a player that Pep Guardiola would probably take to training himself if he had to. Why? Because the Spanish tactician believes that Deulofeu has the ability to become as good as Lionel Messi.
Another gem uncovered from the famed La Masia academy, Deulofeu has already made his first-team debut despite being just 17 and belonging to a club with a team full of world-class players.
Deulofeu joined Barca aged 9, and managed to work his way up through the youth sides to the B team, despite being registered with the youth side, and made his debut in March. Such was the rapid rise of the youngster, he was included in Barcelona’s pre-season tour this summer, and played in the 4-1 loss to Guadalajara.
Deulofeu has also made many appearances for Spain’s youth teams, largely playing from the left hand side, where he cuts in on his favoured right foot and causes havoc for the right-back with his pace and dribbling ability.
Deulofeu represents a mix between Ronaldo and Messi, purely because he is not as small as the little magician from Rosario as he is 5ft 10, but has the same playing style. When striking the ball, Deulofeu is identical to Ronaldo. He manages to get under the ball to get a lot of swerve and dip on the ball, causing the opposition goalkeepers a massive problem and you can’t take your eye off him. Just ask Chelsea’s Nathaniel Chalobah, who was outpaced by Deulofeu in their 2-0 defeat last year in the U19 clash.
Deulofeu was largely expected to follow Jon Toral and Hector Bellerin out of Barcelona, with Chelsea and Arsenal both keen to snap up the exciting prospect. But if Barcelona can hang onto him until he is 18, they will have kept a player with massive potential, and he could be breaking into the Spain and Barcelona team by the time Brazil 2014 comes around.
Jese Rodriguez
18 years old
Real Madrid
MC, AM RLC
Value: £5m
If the likes of Juan Mata and Roberto Soldado are anything to go by, if Jese Rodriguez doesn’t get into the Real Madrid first-team it won’t be the worst thing in the world.
The only notable youth products in the current Madrid team are Iker Casillas and Esteban Granero, as Madrid like to buy overseas talent such as Raphael Varane and Mesut Ozil.
But Rodriguez could be the next in line for some first-team action after some stunning performances from Real Madrid’s Castilla team, netting 4 goals and creating 7 in 13 appearances for the ‘B’ team, which has alerted Jose Mourinho to the 18-year-old’s talents.
A player compared with Cristiano Ronaldo due to his playing style and dribbling, Jesé is a very exquisite player and has been tipped to be a major gem in Real Madrid’s cantera. He made his debut against Guangzhou Evergrande in pre-season, and made an instant impact 20 seconds after coming on, getting on the end of Angel Di Maria’s cross.
A pacy, versatile midfielder who can play on both wings, Rodriguez could see himself on the teamsheet for a few Copa del Rey games along with Alvaro Morata, who is also shining in the Castilla team. But Real Madrid fear they may lose Rodriguez, as he is yet to sign a professional deal, with Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and AC Milan all circling to sign the talented youngster.