Name: Asier Illarramendi
Club: Real Socided
Nationality: Spanish (Basque)
Position: Midfield
Who is he?
Born in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Illarramendi (pictured to the right of Andres Iniesta) came through the academy of Real Sociedad who are based in the city of San Sebastian. Sociedad who are on the verge of Champions League qualification for the first time in a decade, were responsible for producing talented midfielders like Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta.
But back in the 2009/10 season, the Basque club were set to seal their return to La Liga after a humbling three year spell in the Spanish Second Division. And that was the backdrop for Illarramendi’s senior debut.
He made his first appearance in the final game of that season with Sociedad already promoted to La Liga.
Achievements
Illarramendi then made his La Liga debut in January 2011 and since then has established himself as one of the best young players in the Spanish top flight. This season he has made 28 appearances in a team chasing Champions League football which has seen him linked with a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Although he has yet to receive a call up for the Spanish national team, he has been a regular for the U21s since 2011 and was part of the Spain team including David De Gea, Bojan Krkic and Ignacio Camacho that reached the final of the U17 World Cup in 2007.
Attributes
Illarramendi is one of the most promising defensive midfielders in Europe. Playing directly in front of Sociedad’s defence, he partners Markel Bergara in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
The comparisons to Xabi Alonso are a result of his distribution and vision and he has the same rate of accurate through balls as the Real Madrid midfielder this season, ranking 21st in La Liga from his deep-lying base.
His pass completion rate is 81 per cent, while he plays at least four accurate long balls per game and has notched two assists. One of those assists came against Barcelona in a 3 – 2 win which was the Catalan’s first defeat of this season with Illarramendi setting up the second goal for Chori Castro (you can watch that assist and other highlights from that game below).
But it is defensively that he stands out. A formidable tackler, he has the ninth best tackle success rate in La Liga and one of the highest for a midfielder, while his excellent positional sense means he is able to snuff out danger with timely interceptions.
Potential
Illarramendi is likely to feature for Spain soon, perhaps in upcoming friendlies. But he should be wary of links to Barcelona or Real Madrid, particularly the latter.
The 23-year-old is at an important stage of his development and would be best served by staying at Sociedad especially if they achieve Champions League qualification for 2013/14.
Although, Real Madrid may have earmarked him to succeed Xabi Alonso who’s contract is running down, the capital club have a reputation for stalling young players’ careers regardless of whether they are Spanish or foreign.
However, he does have a contract until 2018 which means any prospective buyers will likely have to dig deep after a breakthrough season.
Plays a bit like…the comparisons to Xabi Alonso exist because they both came through Real Sociedad’s youth academy but Illarramendi is more defensive in terms of style.
