Celta Vigo
- April 24, 2018
There are a lot of exciting young players in Europe right now, some are already well-known whilst others are about to announce themselves in their respective leagues. On top of that, several rising individuals are prepared to do anything to achieve the opportunity of going to the World Cup.
In Spain, the production line of youngsters being promoted from the youth academy to the first team or are brought for cheap from elsewhere and are developed effectively, remains consistent season by season. This is one of the huge factors to why Spanish football will always be superior.
Here are the four youngsters that are having a wonderful season at a personal level in La Liga...
Unai Nunez – Athletic Club
Athletic Club have proven to be a side that produces many talented individuals and a team that can keep hold of their valuable gems for longer than expected. For sure, Inaki Williams, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Yeray Alvarez are a few - October 18, 2017
18th October 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
Manchester United's Europa League knockout tie against Danish side FC Midtjylland in February 2016 marked the arrival on the senior stage of then 18-year-old Marcus Rashford, as the young England striker made his professional debut in the second leg, scoring a brace and launching a career that has since seen him become established as a regular feature for club and country.
But Rashford wasn't the only youngster to make an impression when the two sides met in Europe's secondary club competition. Danish international attacker Pione Sisto scored in each leg and was a constant thorn in the Red Devils' side, contributing heavily to the Premier League team's humiliating 2-1 loss in the first encounter at the MCH Arena in Herning and then giving Louis van Gaal's men a fright at Old Trafford by handing Midtjylland a shock lead.
Though still far from a household name outside of Denmark, the Uganda-born winger's profile increased dramatically - September 05, 2017
5th September 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Despite losing their fantastic manager, Eduardo Berizzo, in the summer, who chose to fill the vacancy left by Jorge Sampaoli at Sevilla, the project at Celta Vigo still looks like one full of excitement.
Bringing in Luis Enrique's assistant during his time at the helm of Barcelona in Juan Carlos Unzue as manager, plus a slew of fascinating new signings, the Galician outfit have moved forward in an ambitious manner. The captures of Stanislav Lobotka from Nordsjaelland, Maximiliano Gomez from Defensor and permanently acquiring Jozabed Sanchez from Fulham were all tidy additions, but with transfer deadline day fast approaching, the club still had some business left to do.
Snapping up Emre Mor from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth a reasonable €13 million was a sterling way to compliment their squad and end their window. Wanting more game time and with new BVB coach, Peter Bosz, not seeing him as an indispensable member of his - March 31, 2017
31st March 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Not many would've predicted at this stage of the season that Iago Aspas would be in the top five in the La Liga goalscoring charts, ahead of some of the league's biggest stars in Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema and Neymar.
Aspas' sensational 15 strikes see him currently sitting in fourth place in the Pichichi race behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, in what's arguably been his finest season at the professional level. His form's been so impressive that Julen Lopetegui even handed him his debut for the Spanish national team back in November of last year. Indeed, his La Roja bow went onto to be a real fairytale occasion for the 29-year-old, as he scored after coming off the bench to instigate Spain's comeback 2-2 draw with England at Wembley.
In Celta Vigo's hotly contested Galician derby clash with Deportivo La Coruna, the Moana born star achieved another notable landmark by bagging the all-important winner, - February 06, 2017
6th February 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Securing the signature of Fabian Orellana on deadline day from Celta Vigo was definitely a shrewd piece of business by Valencia.
Following a fiery dispute with his manager at Celta, Eduardo Berizzo, that was reportedly due to Orellana trying to force a move away from the club without advising the club or his coach, this left his relationship with the Galician outfit in tatters.
While Berizzo never officially disclosed the reason for his subsequent decision to no longer pick the wantaway Chilean, his actions and words spoke volumes over his dissatisfaction towards his once loyal charge. "I decided to leave out Orellana because of an unacceptable lack of respect towards me," Berizzo fumed.
"My decision is firm and I told the club, who are in agreement. As long as I'm here, he will no longer be a part of this team. One thing is discipline and another issue is disrespect. He has not apologised but it doesn't matter. I have - October 10, 2016
10th October 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
"When Barcelona don't have the ball, they're not Barcelona. And every robbery was an automatic attack," explained a delightful Eduardo Berizzo after his Celta Vigo side had just defeated Barcelona 4-3.
In what was one of the matches of the season, Berizzo's men adhered to his tactics of pressing Barcelona high up the pitch, and the man marking scheme attached it, beautifully, which allowed them to persistently dispossess and unsettle the Catalan giants. By applying such relentless pressure to Barca whenever they looked to pass out from the back, Celta ensured Luis Enrique's men found it hugely challenging to implement their usually effective passing game.
Berizzo's strategy was executed to absolute perfection by his troops, as they successfully managed to cut the supply line to pretty much all of Barca's passing options in