Iker Bravo is a Spanish striker who plays for Udinese in Serie A and is becoming a reliable player within Kosta Runjaić‘s team.
Bravo was formed at La Masia of Barcelona and was then transferred to Bayer Leverkusen, where he played with the U17 and U19 teams.
In 2022, he was loaned out to Real Madrid B team until the end of the 2023/2024 season to be signed by Udinese.
Bravo’s move to Udinese last season did not cause much fuss, as the player is not very well known and his abilities were not yet confirmed at a big team.
Moreover, Lorenzo Lucca‘s presence at Udinese attracted the attention of Bravo, as Lucca’s presence and impact were more noticeable and impactful overall.
Bravo had played alongside and behind Lucca at Udinese and was able to make the difference on a number of occasions.
Still, he was not totally reliable as a main striker in the presence of a more confirmed one like Lucca.
With Lucca’s departure during this latest transfer window, Bravo is finally getting the chance to showcase his abilities.
Relying on him will be pivotal this season, given that there is no bigger name to rely on attacking-wise.
In this Iker Bravo player analysis and scout report on the Spanish striker, we will explore the player’s finishing attributes, focusing on how he can become a more crucial finisher and why he is not yet attracting a lot of attention within Serie A.
The analysis will also study how to use him in the best possible way by identifying which roles he can interpret convincingly.
Iker Bravo Style Of Play
Bravo is a striker with limited experience at the top level, as Udinese was the first team he played for in one of the top European leagues.
His past experience mainly includes youth teams and Real Madrid’s B team.
Therefore, it was very logical for him to get some time for adaptation last season while waiting for his breakthrough as soon as possible.
What is positive with Bravo for now is that he played in 29 Serie A matches last season and was reliable despite being a newcomer.
That said, his goalscoring numbers were not that great, as he only scored two goals and provided one assist throughout the season.
But as mentioned above, it was understandable and expected for a player at his age and with his lack of experience to spend the first season in Serie A learning and adapting to the new playing style.
Bravo is a player who copes well with various attacking positions, including the second striker, the main striker, the left winger, the right winger and the advanced playmaker behind the striker.
He has already been used in all of these positions, but he is more comfortable with the striker or behind-the-striker roles.
Those roles keep him closer to the opposing goal, where he can perform better and be more valuable.
According to his performances in the first season in Serie A, Bravo still has a lot to prove from a goal contribution standpoint, as this should be his breakthrough in this aspect.
In fact, Bravo has previously shown that he possesses the shooting techniques and finishing quality needed to score many more goals per season, while also providing more assists, as his passing is not bad at all.
Iker Bravo Stats
The graphic highlights Bravo’s high number of dribble attempts per game, with a 51.6% success rate last season.
This represents a remarkable trait within Bravo’s attacking abilities.
He is a striker who not only strives to score goals but also plays for the team, dribbles to extricate himself from complicated situations, and knows how to protect the ball well so that it does not get lost easily.
But in terms of key passing or dangerous passing, Bravo needs to work further on this aspect.
He has the potential to become much more useful from an assist-making perspective, but is not utilising his passing abilities as effectively as he should.
Bravo has the advantage over many other strikers and can succeed in Italy mainly because he is physically powerful.
He can battle defenders in one-on-one situations with ease and without getting impacted, as he is also very balanced and grounded, even when accelerating.
This favours him in complex duels or when getting tightly marked, since Bravo uses his physical strength well to avoid disturbance and marking.
More importantly, having been formed at La Masia helped Bravo learn the basics of the game and the techniques of shooting and passing in an outstanding way.
This limits the number of inaccurate shots or passes and helps Bravo know exactly when to shoot and when to opt for passes.
In other words, as soon as we watch Bravo play, we can easily notice that he is very technical and knows exactly how to deal with the complex situations he is put in.
Bravo should utilise this asset with the help of Runjaić to become a more crucial part of the team’s goalscoring efforts and a more valuable asset in attacking combinations, thereby increasing his overall goal contribution statistics.
Bravo’s adequate support through dribbling and passing will be fundamental for Udinese to win points this season.
Iker Bravo Finishing Abilities
Bravo is gradually becoming one of the best talents in Serie A thanks to his attacking ability and his ability to progress with each season.
The hopes are high that he will achieve some high goalscoring and assist-making numbers in comparison with last season.
To assess his goalscoring skills, we will start by looking at his goals with Udinese to evaluate his Serie A adaptability for now.
Iker Bravo Second Balls’ Finishing
One aspect that Bravo masters and needs to work on improving and exploiting even further is the second balls.
Bravo was already able to open his goalscoring journey this season with a beautiful goal against Pisa, after waiting for a pass and then leaning backwards to exploit a deflected shot that came near him, finishing with remarkable power and an accurate trajectory towards the bottom right corner.
Bravo’s sense of positioning and continuous movements without the ball helped him benefit from that confusion within Pisa’s defensive line.
This highlights the fact that Bravo follows what happens around him intelligently and is very reactive when such situations occur.
Iker Bravo Exterior Finishing/Trivela
As the title of this section suggests, Bravo is a striker who likes to diversify his shooting techniques depending on the situation and angle of shooting.
He is not limited to one or two types of shooting but to many, knowing that the same applies to passing and crossing, as Bravo often uses various techniques in this regard.
The following goal against Venezia showcases the Spanish player’s goalscoring talent and, more importantly, the unpredictability that his unorthodox shooting techniques can add to Udinese’s front line.
Succeeding in scoring with a Trivela shot using the exterior part of the foot despite having a player close the trajectory for him means that Bravo does not shoot for the sake of it, but usually finds the best possible way to make his shot reach the net, like he does in this complicated action.
Iker Bravo Ball Progression Threat
Bravo can finish with one or two touches, progress with the ball, and finish with shots from distance, using explosive runs and powerful shooting abilities to leave no time for goalkeepers to save his shots.
Scoring this goal from outside the box adds to the variety of Bravo’s goalscoring solutions and highlights his dangerous ball progression attempts.
That said, Bravo does not often attempt such ball progression efforts and needs encouragement to do so by retreating outside the box and accelerating with the ball.
That would add some alternation to Bravo’s movements and would help him eliminate marking as well.
Since he succeeds in scoring from distance, Bravo should aim to shoot from distance more often, especially since his powerful shooting abilities help him score against any goalkeeper.
Iker Bravo Abilities In The Air
Furthermore, Bravo is not the best in aerial duels as he is not as tall as Lucca, for instance (Bravo is 1.84 m).
However, he has proven on some occasions that he can jump high enough to score goals and has some excellent header techniques that allow him to score headers anytime.
Udinese are known for relying heavily on physical strength and aerial combat, and that’s why Bravo needs to adapt to the team’s philosophy and continue working on improving his headers to score goals with headers this season and be on the receiving end of crosses.
Bravo showcased his heading abilities while playing for Real Madrid B (Real Madrid Castilla).
He scored a beautiful header against Barcelona B and jumped very high to catch the ball and orient his header to the upper-right corner with power and success.
Intensifying his attempts to score headers at Udinese, whether at training or during games, would make Bravo an even more useful striker for the Friulani.
Their attacking plans are often based on a lot of crossing that needs to be well-exploited.
Iker Bravo Against Inter Milan
Another positive aspect that must be focused on with Bravo is his powerful personality.
He is a player who does not fear duels.
He relies on dribbling and physical strength to outmanoeuvre opponents, and he does not hesitate to shoot from a distance.
More importantly, attempting such actions against big teams confirms that Bravo’s character helps him be unpredictable and unorthodox in many situations, including the one shown below.
In this action, Bravo gets the ball and progresses until he faces two Inter Milan players and decides to dribble past them, going between them.
Afterwards, he continues his run and shoots from outside the box, but his shot lacks accuracy.
With more body coordination and more concentration, Bravo can be much more successful when attempting such solo efforts because he has the potential and the abilities that allow him to succeed in hurting opponents, thanks to such attempts, especially when facing tough defences like that of Inter Milan, which needs to be surprised with such unexpected actions.
Conclusion
Bravo has not yet been considered among the top strikers in Serie A.
Still, the Spanish player has the potential to become among the best in a couple of years, especially if he succeeds in making his breakthrough during this season.
Hard work, consistency, concentration, and a desire to improve his performances and goalscoring rates will be fundamental for him to succeed in his journey with Udinese.
