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15th Apr 2013

Star Player profile: Jordi Alba

Our star player series so far has been all about attack-minded midfield players so it’s time to give a defender some credit. An attack minded defender that is...

Conor Heneghan

Our star player series so far has been all about attack-minded midfield players so it’s time to give a defender some credit. An attack minded defender that is…

Few would argue that the current Barcelona team has been the best in Europe over the last five years or so and that in the majority of positions, they have had players who were up there with the best, if not the best, exponents of that particular position around.

Dani Alves at right back, for example, Xavi and Iniesta in midfield, Messi up front, Messi out wide, Messi in midfield… you get the idea.

Ever since Eric Adibal’s health problems, however, the one position that posed a problem for former Barca’ boss Pep Guardiola was at left-back, where the likes of Adriano and Maxwell filled in but never really made the position their own.

So in the summer of 2012, Barca went out and bought arguably the best left-back around and paid what now looks to be a bargain price of €14million for the services of 23-year old Jordi Alba (he turned 24 last month), who, if everything goes to plan, could be the resident left-full at the Nou Camp for the best part of the next decade.

It hasn’t taken him long to settle in Catalonia, but that is hardly a surprise when his attacking game suits his new side so well. With Barcelona’s midfield trio remaining fairly narrow for most games and their forwards drifting between positions up front, Barca rely on Dani Alves and Jordi Alba to provide width and they are more than happy to oblige, having both played in advanced positions in the past.

Considering how much possession Barcelona usually have and the high defensive line they like to implement, both Alves and Alba often spend more time in the opposition half than in their own and they are more than comfortable there, as Alba illustrated so splendidly with his goal against Italy in the final of the Euro 2012, the modern day equivalent of Carlos Alberto’s famous strike for Brazil in the 1970 World Cup final against the same opposition.

So far, Alba has managed an impressive five goals for Barcelona this season – not bad for a full-back – and all of them have been in pretty important games, such as a 5-4 defeat of Deportivo La Coruna, in Champions League games against Celtic and AC Milan and in the Copa Del Rey against Real Madrid.

His pace, boundless energy and ability in the final third make him a potent attacking threat but he’s well able to handle himself in one-on-ones against opposition wingers and although Barcelona have looked very shaky at the back this season, it is more down to their risky attacking set-up as opposed to individual errors on behalf of Alba and company at the back.

If we have a gripe with Alba, it is that he has enthusiastically signed up to Barcelona’s often evident policy of time-wasting, play acting and haranguing of the referee, but he’s still young so hopefully it can be ironed out sooner rather than later.

For now, however, we’d rather pay tribute to his contribution to Barca’s inevitable La Liga success and their run in the Champions League to date; something tells us he’ll make his presence felt in a very meaningful way between now and the final next month.