Borja García: The Answer To The Glory’s Creative Woes?
Perth Glory have been missing a playmaker for a long time, ever since the club declined the opportunity to renew Diego Castro’s contract heading into the 2021/22 season, a decision that I strongly supported.
We needed to move on from El Maestro as despite his skill and grace, he wasn’t getting any younger and the Glory had to go in a different direction.
Failing to bring in a playmaker in that horror show of a season last year was arguably one of the big reasons why season 2021/22 ended the way that it did.
A lack of supply for the forwards to profit on was so clear, as we didn’t create or score anywhere near enough goals that season.
This season, while it hasn’t all been doom and gloom, it shows that the Glory are still lacking behind many teams in the competition in several key areas.
Currently, the West-Australian outfit finds themselves 12th for Expected Goals (7.1), Big Chances Created (3) and Accurate Crosses per Match (2.9).
Now, young-gun Keegan Jelacic has impressed over the last few games, as his silkiness on the ball, as well as his contribution from a creative viewpoint in terms of key passes and chances created, has been excellent.
But having said that, I’ll go back to one of the points that I made at the start of the season regarding Jelacic.
I was told by many people that he has the potential to be a top player and I firmly believe that, as I made the call a few weeks ago that he could be Diego Castro’s successor.
What is needed, arguably, to enhance his chances of reaching that level is having an experienced playmaker in the side to pass down knowledge to Jelacic to help him grow and develop.
Don’t get me wrong, he has looked really good in recent times and I have been impressed. But I think looking both short and long-term we need a player with a fraction more experience and know-how.
This brings me to why I believe the club should look to use the final visa spot, which recently became available due to the departure of Israeli striker Ben Azubel on Girona playmaker Borja García.
I did a piece yesterday on the A-League Wrap-Up looking at potential playmakers the Glory should target and García, at this moment in time, is my number one choice.
If part of the criteria for looking for a replacement for Diego Castro included the player scoring a goal against Real Madrid, well the Glory would be in luck as García scored a fantastic goal against them in the 2018/19 season.
The 32-year-old midfielder began his career with Rayo Vallecano when he was 16 years old, progressing through their academy, making his debut in June 2009 while still a youngster against Real Zaragoza.
He spent a season with Córdoba in the 2011/12 season, staying in the second division in Spain where he scored 17 goals in 38 games.
The following season saw García continue to stay in the second division though he made the move to Real Madrid Castilla, Los Blancos’ B Team. He scored 11 goals over his three-year stay with them.
In 2015 he made the move to Girona, where he really began to make a name for himself, making 177 appearances before making the move to Huesca in 2020 and then moving back to Girona in 2021.
Borja García has yet to feature for Los Blanquivermells this season, as he was out for a few months with a pretty nasty ligament injury.
He has since worked himself back to full fitness and is likely to feature for Girona against Rayo Vallecano in tonight’s game, but the predicament for him is that many of the players playing in the positions he would typically feature in are doing really well.
The likes of Aleix García, Yangel Herrera and Oriol Romeu have looked really good for Girona thus far and it’s difficult to see either one of them leave the side for García.
With his contract expiring in June next year, I would implore the Glory to look at trying to bring him in as soon as possible.
Now, in terms of what kind of player Borja García is, he’s a technical playmaker who typically operates in areas in and around areas on the left of the pitch.
This is seen through him operating as a left-sided central midfielder in a 3–5–2 system or operating on the left of a 4–2–3–1 system, which would make him a good fit for the Glory’s 3–4–3.
His best attributes would include his ability to play through balls, holding onto the ball as well as making a solid defensive contribution each game.
It’s a fair assessment to state that García is reliable when on the ball, as this can be seen through how he doesn’t lose the ball that frequently each game.
On average last season, he lost the ball 8.7 times per game, whereas Castro as an example in his final season with Glory lost the ball 16.8 times per game.
In terms of dribbling, he doesn’t do it as often during the game but when he does, it’s usually to a great effect as he completed 73% of his dribbles last season.
Ground duels, which are any duels over the possession of the ball where one player wins the ball (that isn’t in an aerial contest), is also an area where García excels as he averaged 3.4 ground duels won per game (winning 62% of them) in the prior season.
When in more dangerous positions in the final third, particularly in areas close to the 18-yard box, the opposition is usually on high alert.
Quite a few of García’s goals have been scored from outside the box, as he drifts into little pockets of space and often unleashes a powerful strike on goal.
He’s got an excellent technique when it comes to striking the ball, which allows him to put enough curl and power on the ball to beat the goalkeeper.
Take his goal scored against CD Mirandés in the 2016/17 season. He’s taken up a great position, with his hands outstretched ready to receive the ball on the half turn.
Prior to receiving, he took a quick glance behind him looking to see if he would be immediately under pressure and then took an excellent touch with the ball just in front of his stride.
He then unleashed an absolute rocket that left the goalkeeper stranded, that flew into the top left corner.
When it comes to scoring goals, sometimes it isn’t about power. On some occasions, it’s about composure and intelligence.
Two very important goals that he scored against big clubs respectively, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid highlighted both of those qualities.
Against Real in the 2018/19 season, he showed a great level of composure to score his goal.
The ball was in a wide position, as García was making his way into the box.
The shot from that area deflected off of Nacho Fernández, and as the ball went to García he shaped up to shoot with his left foot.
However, what instead happens is García sends Casemiro for an ice cream, cuts the ball back onto his right foot and then sends the ball into the top right corner.
The goal against Atleti was perhaps one of the closest instances of Borja’s style of play and Diego Castro’s.
Now, the two are not identical by any stretch, but there are elements of their playmaking ability that are similar.
He received the ball in the midfield and attacked the space, sending one of the Atleti midfielders the other way with his momentum. García then laid the ball off to an advancing central midfielder.
Constantly scanning, he held his run as he made his movement to the box, looking to ghost in at the last second.
He then used his experience and in turn his composure to place the ball past the goalkeeper, a goal that sent Girona through to the next round of the Copa del Ray.
Now, while his statistics may not look amazing, it’s important to note the level of quality that Borja García would be competing against every week, whether it be in the first or second division in Spain.
Bare in mind that Diego Castro, prior to his move to Perth Glory, scored a combined total of 4 goals in the prior two seasons.
I feel that García would offer a lot to this Glory side, should the club look to make the move for him.
His playmaking ability, as well as his technical class and experience, would not just make him a great mentor for someone like Keegan Jelacic but also a massive piece to the puzzle for the Glory to potentially return to the finals.
