With the arrival of Zinedine Zidane as the head coach of Real Madrid, it brought with it a turn away from the ‘Galactico’ signings with a view to buying and nurturing younger talents.
An ageing squad at the Bernabeu in combination with city rivals Atletico making waves with their youthful talents and title rivals Barcelona spending big bucks on French wonderkids, Real were not left with much choice but to join the teenage crusade.
However, this has not stopped some Castilla talents slipping through the net and leaving in search of first-team minutes.
One fine example is that of 23-year-old Mario Hermoso.
The Spaniard, since leaving and aiding in an Espanyol revolution, has been linked with Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and, rather ironically, former club Real Madrid.
Joining Real Madrid’s youth setup in 2005, at the age of just 10, Mario Hermoso was nurtured and developed through the age groups, impressing at each level.
Making his way into the C-side, his development accelerated, and a year later, a loan move to Real Valladolid allowed the Spaniard first-team experience in a senior team.
He played 31 league fixtures for the then Segunda Division side before returning to play another year in the division, but for Real’s Castilla side.
It was after this final year with Madrid that the decision was made that Hermoso’s time at Los Blancos would not continue.
Signing a 3-year deal with Espanyol in Barcelona would be a challenge for the youngster, but one which he would relish.
After just the first two fixtures of the 2017/18 season, Hermoso made his debut.
A trial by fire against Barcelona in the Catalan derby was the test, and Espanyol fell to a 5-goal deficit.
These games can be described as make-or-break fixtures, especially on your debut, but the Catalan underdogs kept faith in their new prodigy, and Hermoso went on to play 22 times in his debut season in La Liga.
A quiet, arguably underwhelming beginning to life in the Primera Division, so what makes this Madrid-born castaway turned Catalan defensive fulcrum so desirable now?
A ‘stonker’ of a start to 2018/19 so far, that’s what.
This season, his combination of confident, well-timed challenges, along with a broad and accurate range of passing abilities, has made Hermoso a noticeable threat both offensively and defensively from a deep position on the field.
Over the last couple of years, the idea of ‘ball-playing’ defenders has been an attractive prospect for many sides around Europe, particularly in Spain.
Typically, the confidence to connect the centre-halves to the pivot midfielders accurately has been a trademark passing link to begin attacks.
Hermoso though, is different.
Don’t get me wrong, his short passing is still a very strong attribute in his arsenal, leading to more than 87% pass accuracy; however, it is his long passing that has caught not only the eye of many La Liga fans but also that of the Spanish national team.
Below, you can see the typical space that Hermoso occupies, he will see the run of a winger on the opposing flank and due to his 53% long passing accuracy, he will regularly pick out the perfect ‘ping’ of a cross-field pass to accelerate Espanyol’s attacking wing play.
It is this synergy between his young confidence and passing accuracy that has earned him his first call-up to the Spanish national team.
The new dynamic of a more versatile passing defensive force, in contrast to the presence of players like Sergio Ramos and the recently retired Gerard Piqué, has been in desperate need in the years since Spain’s last international triumph.
