Pedro Porro: Girona’s sparkling young star

The level at which young Spanish talents need to impress season upon season in La Liga is increasing at an exponential rate. The modern era of football’s never-ending craving for the next big star is an unquenchable thirst. But Girona, the small Catalan side still a junior member of Spain’s top-flight, might just possess one of the latest in Pedro Porro.

Porro, a 19-year-old right-sided wing-back, has caught the attention of many a La Liga viewer for his eye-catching play down the right-hand side of Eusebio Sacristan’s Girona team. For a player of Porro’s age, the confidence and consistency have been the key outstanding traits of his game.

Porro is often tasked with unlocking the defensive faults of the opposition’s left-hand side and testing the back line with accurate curling efforts into the box. The effectiveness with which Porro completes these tasks is what makes him the focus of this piece.

Porro begun his youth career before the age of 10 with Gimnastico Don Benito, the local team in the town of his birth, before being signed by Rayo Vallecano. Girona quickly snapped up the Spaniard just before his 18^th birthday. Porro had been approached by the likes of Real Madrid, city rivals Atletico and Bayern Munich. However, Porro made the choice to sign for the part-City Football Group owned Girona, likely due to the higher chance of first team football imperative to his development.

Porro was given opportunities at Girona’s daughter side Peralada, a club recently connected to Girona to be an effective feeder club for the top-flight side.

Under previous manager Pablo Machin, Girona deployed a back-three system with full-backs pushed further up, transforming their game into the fashion of a wing-back. Manchester City loanee Pablo Maffeo occupied the right-sided position and did so excellently. When Maffeo returned to City before being sold to Stuttgart, Girona lost a huge asset to their attack.

Not only that, Girona had lost Machin to Sevilla after a fantastic season in La Liga, former Real Sociedad manager Eusebio Sacristan was drafted in and preseason began in earnest. This is where the stage for Porro was set.

The crossing talents of the teenager are multi-dimensional. The ability to drive at a back line and cross an in-swinging ball into the opponent’s box is the most typical style we see in the modern era of football. The more technical ability to receive a pass into the body to take a first-time cross, reversing the direction of the ball, separates the average wide player from the aces.

As displayed in Girona’s comprehensive preseason thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur, Porro begins to impress Sacristan and display the technical crossing abilities of a senior experienced wide man. Receiving the ball to feet the first-time cross is timed perfectly and is put accurately into the danger area.

The cross was met by the Girona attack for Tottenham back-up goalkeeper Paolo Gazzaniga to tip over well. Sacristan would see this trait and confidence in Porro and it would be these showings of ruthless chance-taking from the Spaniard which would solidify his starting position in the season to come.