Three La Liga players who could have breakthrough seasons in 2020/21: Part One
In La Liga's roster of undiscovered gems, this player is someone who you should keep en eye on in the 20/21 season.
One of the most exciting things about football is having great faith in an unestablished youngster and watching him make it to the very top. In this article, we take a look at three such youngsters who could make it big very soon. In fact, this could very well be their breakthrough season as the title suggests. This is part one of a three-part series, in which we profile Valencia’s Hugo Guillamon.
Note: I have decided not to include players such as Pedri, Kubo, or Rodrygo. These players are among those who are already pretty well known, not only to those who watch La Liga, but throughout the world. On the other hand, two of the players we take a look at are not well-known even to most La Liga followers, and the third and final player is someone who has been well-known only to those interested in Spanish youth football for a few years now.
Around a year ago at the Mestalla, as four of Valencia’s most exciting players stood in front of the Los Che crowd of almost 50,000, the future was bright. Kang In Lee, with the trophy for the best player of the U20 World Cup, Carlos Soler with the U21 Euro medal, and Ferran Torres alongside Hugo Guillamon with the European U19 Championship medal. Looking at the club now, the state of it is very unfortunate, especially off-the-field. It has been a year of very few highs, with constant lows for the Valencia faithful. There have been some positives though. And among those few positives, one shines brighter than the others; Hugo Guillamon.
Making his debut on 22 February 2020 against Real Sociedad to replace the injured Mangala, Guillamon was back where he was born, this time as a player of Valencia CF. He was born in San Sebastian, the coastal city which is a part of the Basque region. At the age of two, his family moved to L’Eliana, a municipality in the Valencian Community where he grew up and played for the Valencia youth sides.
At the start of the year, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding his future. He was unhappy about the fact that there were barely any first-team chances given to him, though he was capable. Many teams including Barcelona were said to be keeping an eye on him. However, it’s a completely different situation now. The 20-year-old has played three consecutive full matches, and six 90s in total this season, which is already more than his last season’s total.
After Moukhtar Diakhaby’s injury, Guillamon finally got his chance at the stage that he wanted. Playing alongside Gabriel Paulista where he acts as the left center-half despite being right-footed, Valencia always employ a back four, with the full-backs moving up a bit, and Carlos Soler dropping deep to be the immediate passing option.
Valencia try to build-up from the back, but it hasn’t been as non-negotiable of a style of play as it is for teams such as Barcelona or Real Sociedad. Guillamon is a right-footed defender who likes to keep the ball on the ground rather than attempt aerial routes. His passing is something that is one of his strongest assets, similar to many Spanish central-defenders. In fact, his ability to build-up from the back has been impressive since his youth days, when he played a few matches as a pivot.
Valencia’s build-up doesn’t discourage players from playing more direct passes. As a result, Guillamon has played most of his passes covering around 15-30 yards. Out of these, he has completed 93.7% along with his 76.6% long-passing success rate. The Spaniard is the kind of player who when you see with the ball at his feet, there is poise and elegance visible. He is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and likes to progress with the ball whenever possible, though he is yet to show that for the first team.
In terms of pure defensive ability, Guillamon combines solid positioning with quick and accurate tackles. Very composed and rarely brash (though a mistimed tackle cost a penalty against Alaves), the Spaniard doesn’t lunge into tackles unnecessarily. Looking to block when possible rather than charge, he already has 10 blocks this season out of which 7 are blocked shots. Guillamon personifies what Maldini said when he said,
“If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake.”
To cap it off, Guillamon is quite capable aerially. In the same match in which he gave away a penalty, he headed the ball into the goal with some clever positioning, avoiding his marker towering over his 182cm height which is not very tall for a defender.
Unfortunately, as good of a player he is, there are definite drawbacks to Guillamon’s game. He doesn’t anticipate when to move forward to intercept a pass to his marker, and he’s not that capable against dribbles. He doesn’t possess the kind of incisive progressive dribbling we see from players such as Pau Torres, but that may not be a drawback for teams that don’t expect the same from their center-backs.
Unfortunately, the start to the season has been average from him. He has looked nervous and somewhat too cautious at times. This could still very likely be his breakthrough season as he is the backup center-back to the first two, has got a fair amount of opportunities so far and, the quality he showed for the Spanish youth teams is undeniable. The main problems he has encountered this season have been in translating the quality shown in the youth ranks to a higher level; which I am sure won’t be the case after getting experience at this level. Hugo Guillamon is still just 20, and this season shows all the potential of him announcing himself to La Liga.