Spotlight: Eric Garcia stars for Spain in draw against Greece

Luis Enrique has, ever since the start of his managerial career with Barcelona B, been a propagator of attacking possession-based football. His Barcelona team has so far been the peak of his managerial career. The amalgamation of individual expressionism and collective efficiency seen in that team is matched by few in history. The next challenge of Luis Enrique’s managerial career; La Roja.

The system

Spain faced Greece in the first matchday of the World Cup Qualifiers on 25^th March as part of the International Break. Coming into the matchup, the former were strong favourites thanks to a strong squad, a clear game plan and plenty of depth. With a strong midfield three consisting of Rodri as the anchor with Sergio Canales and Koke in front of him, the Spaniards had no problem controlling the game.

On the wings, Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo are players that can offer both incisiveness and width as required, while Alvaro Morata acted as the pressing forward. In defence, the full-backs Jose Gaya and Marcos Llorente were essentially attackers, with Greece allowing Enrique’s side plenty of possession. In front of goalkeeper Unai Simon, the indispensable leader Sergio Ramos was partnered by the leader of Spain’s next-generation, Eric Garcia.

The 20-year-old centre-back was the youngest player among both starting XIs. Under Pep Guardiola’s guidance at Manchester City, Garcia has added a unique ability to his arsenal, which was visible throughout the match — active problem-solving.

Improvisation and intelligence

Spain were trying to build-up from the back from the start. Greece would allow them space in their own half and, to an extent, even in Greece’s half. However, John van‘t Schip’s side aimed to suffocate the supply of passes to midfield. When Rodri would drop back, a Greek striker would follow him and cut passing lanes.

This was seen often as the ball would be circulated between the four defenders for a while, the team patiently looking for passing options. To counter this, Koke and Canales would drop into space besides Rodri. This was one of the few ways the ball was progressed. Another way was through long-balls. Sergio Ramos would be the one switching play often.

During the initial ten minutes, Eric Garcia was attempting no risky passes. It was turning out to be a very conservative performance from him. However, as the match progressed, the La Masia graduate was seen being very vocal and leading the team from the back. Though we don’t exactly know whether it was all thanks to him figuring out the tactics or simply acting as Enrique’s connection to the players on the field, he was dictating the majority of the play on the right when building-up.

Taking into account how Greece were marking Rodri, Garcia would patiently wait for him to drop back. This would drag a Greek striker with him, and Garcia would drive forwards. From here, he did extremely well acting as a base to build up from. Alvaro Morata would usually be too far off to present a clear passing option, but Garcia played some line-breaking passes towards him, which would eliminate the majority of the opposition’s players and allow the wingers and full-backs to receive Morata’s lay-off and advance.

In the second-half, Inigo Martinez was subbed on for Sergio Ramos. The 20-year-old would instruct him on when to move wide to receive, when to shift the defensive line and when to fall-back. Unfortunately, there will always be a certain amount of speculation when we see a player instructing another as we don’t exactly know what is being communicated. Even excluding that, Garcia’s performance was impressive.

With 117 passes successful out of an attempted 120, Garcia’s excellence in passing was clearly visible. He displayed his passing-range often. In the second-half, Koke would move higher up the field. The former Barcelona defender would then play a ball over the opposition to Ferran Torres and facilitate quick combinational play between the two and Marcos Llorente on the right. Out of 7 long passes attempted, he had a 100%  success rate.

Apart from this, Garcia defender won all of his duels, made seven recoveries and three interceptions. The match was one that Spain should have won. Greece’s defensive organization, however, was impressive. They were solid when defending as a collective and allowed few clear chances.

The penalty conceded by Spain was a highly controversial one. It was a situation where Inigo Martinez cleared the ball, and the follow-through hit a Greek player. A confident performance by Eric Garcia at the heart of Spain’s defence deserved a clean sheet and a victory, but it was not to be.

With Eric Garcia heavily linked to Barcelona, yesterday’s match further reinforces the fact that this is a player who can be a part of Barcelona’s defence for years to come. One of the most impressive qualities Garcia shows is his obsession with tactics and smart football. Apart from coaching Manchester City’s youth sides when possible, Garcia is thought of as a son by Pep Guardiola as a result of his always-inquisitive nature, which developed a strong bond between the two.

“Eric Garcia is like a son. He was a guy last season that after the lockdown was our best central defender. He never made a mistake and played in the quarter-final of the Champions League.”

Pep Guardiola

These kind of players, who are essentially the manager’s eyes and brains on the field, are a special breed. They can be counted on to be ever-reliable, make sure the team is functioning well as a whole, and convey small tweaks and changes to their teammates. In the mould of Philip Lahm, Sergio Busquets, Joshua Kimmich, even Eric Garcia looks set to have a great footballing-career. If Barcelona are able to get him for free, we might look back at it as some of the best business in quite a while in a few years.