Barcelona never sleep and neither does their production line of top talent, regardless of what the media are trying to present. Even though Ronald Koeman claims the Catalans can’t compete with Europe’s best such as Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Chelsea, the truth is there is still a lot of talent in their ranks.
Continuing our LaMasia series, today we’ll do an analysis of a Juvenil A player, Jesús Alba Ramos, better known as Txus Alba. So this tactical analysis will serve as a scout report on the youngster, identifying some of his main traits within Barcelona’s tactics.
Player overview
Txus Alba is an 18-year-old midfielder currently playing for Barcelona’s U19 squad or rather, the Juvenil A team. His natural position is that of a left central midfielder or an attacking midfielder and his traits complement such an offensive role. Txus boasts excellent close control, awareness, vision and a vast range of different passing techniques.
Similarly, he is very aggressive both on and off the ball, often choosing to attack space or simply advance play either through passing or running in possession. All of these characteristics are very synonymous with LaMasia midfielders, and so is his stature.
But Txus is also unique in terms of his aggressiveness and proactivity. He will attack and exploit space, as we’ve mentioned, but is also a willing and accurate shooter. This tendency to make late runs from the deep or simply position himself around the edge of the penalty area for long-range shots is a very interesting weapon in his arsenal.
Now, this tactical analysis will dive deeper into some of his main characteristics.
Close control & technique
LaMasia youngsters, especially midfielders, are often defined by how good their technique is. Interestingly, analysing so many of them, it’s become apparent most are very similar in the way they control the ball. Usually, that will be in a sequence of one or two touches at most before a pass is released as Barcelona encourage rapid but short distribution when recycling possession.
This technique is ingrained in the youth categories so Juvenil A are no different. What makes Txus special is that he is extremely proactive on the ball and will divert the play forward with almost every move. When receiving possession, he will make himself open and position his body on a half-turn so he can immediately turn and face the play forward.
Above, you can see him drop deeper to receive and immediately turn once the ball reaches his feet. Notice how he turns by twisting his body and essentially letting the ball slide across it in one fell swoop. This allows him to use just a single touch to reposition himself and start running towards the opposition’s goal before releasing a pass that breaks the lines.
This is something we’re used to seeing with players like Riqui Puig or Gavi; young LaMasia graduates who have incredible technical and close control. Txus is no different and this half-turn has become a signature move of his over the years.
