Player Focus: Soldado Rediscovering Best Form Following Return to Spain

Roberto Soldado’s Tottenham career will forever be remembered as a failure. The Spaniard may have made a relatively bright start to life in England, but he ultimately failed to live up to expectations at White Hart Lane. His form for Valencia convinced Spurs to splash the cash on the striker in the build up to Gareth Bale’s inevitable move to Real Madrid, but it was certainly not money well spent by the North London side. 

As a result, a move back to Spain was always on the agenda this summer. His departure leaves Spurs short of attacking options following the close of the transfer window, but his exit has certainly benefitted his new team. Villarreal have made a strong start to the new season, taking four points from a possible six, and they have Soldado to thank for that. The Yellow Submarines have netted four league goals this season, with Soldado having a direct hand in all four, with two goals and two assists to his name, with each figure unbeaten in Spain's top tier this term 

Only a handful of players in Europe’s top 5 leagues have been directly involved in more goals than Soldado this season. A move away from England was the only way to reinvigorate the Spaniard’s career and while much was made of his presentation, punting footballs into the empty stands at the Estadio El Madrigal to the amusement of many on social media due to the lack of accuracy shown from the striker, his early season form has helped endear himself to his new supporters. 

Only former Premier League duo Gareth Bale (8.65) and Thomas Vermaelen (8.51) have gained a better WhoScored rating than Soldado (8.50) in La Liga so far this season. Under Marcelino, the 30-year-old appears to be rediscovering the form that made him such a potent offensive threat during his Valencia days. Of course the main reason for this is a change of system to which he is better suited. During his time at Valencia, Soldado was often deployed as the lone frontman, a role he excelled in. However, as he aged, the spark of pace that rendered him such an effective forward deserted him and, as such, limited his impact to perform a similar striking duty to full effect during his time at Spurs. 

Morever, the North London side’s approach differed significantly from Valencia and Villarreal, with Spurs favouring a more patient build up style. As such, Soldado’s main asset – waiting on the shoulder of the last defender to help find the back of the net – was wasted, especially with the deployment of inverted wingers limiting his impact. Soldado thrived on early crosses into the box, but this just did not happen during his time at White Hart Lane. 

With Villarreal, though, the system is near perfect to help Soldado thrive. In the opening two league games of the season he has been partnered with Leo Baptistao, who prefers to drift wide, dragging attention away from Soldado who is then free to do what he does best. A free-flowing 4-4-2 formation, where widemen Nahuel and Samu Castillejo are given the license to push forward and tasked with putting the ball into the box at the first opportunity, suits Soldado’s game to a tee. 

Furthermore, Marcelino has adopted a more fluid approach, allowing Soldado to enjoy a fine return to Spain in the process. An average of 47.5% possession ranks among the bottom 10 teams in La Liga and while it’s a very small sample size, it provides an insight into the difference between Villarreal’s gameplan and Spurs’. Comparatively, the latter are averaging 53.1% possession this season and while it’s a relatively negligible difference, the Yellow Submarine are keen on moving from defence to attack as swiftly as possible in order to score, something Spurs struggled to do during Soldado’s time at the club. 

This has seen Villarreal gain a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘counter attacks’ and having scored four goals from just 22 shots this season, Marcelino’s side have developed a strength of ‘finishing scoring chances’, with Soldado crucial to both aspects. While his departure leaves Spurs short in attack, his style of play certainly didn’t suit Mauricio Pochettino’s high-pressing game. In Spain, though, Soldado is beginning to find his best form once more as Villarreal look to better their 6th-placed finish from last season and progress in the Europa League. 

The striker finally looks to be enjoying his football once more after a disappointing two years in England. Marcelino has implemented a system that brings out the best in Soldado, with the frontman repaying the faith shown in him from the 50-year-old manager. Having quickly developed an impressive understanding with fellow summer arrival Cedric Bakambu, Villarreal have started the season commendably with Soldado spearheading the attack. Given the calibre of creative personnel in a system ideal for the striker, there’s no reason why he cannot maintain this form after the international break.

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