Real Madrid's Lightning Rod: Athenea del Castillo
Real Madrid's Lightning Rod: Athenea del Castillo
Athenea has impressed this season and was a shining light in Real Madrid's loss to Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.
Real Madrid’s attacking endeavours have been blowing hot and cold lately, to say the least. Inconsistency has been the bane of David Aznar’s tenure so far this season, his team scoring five against Briedablik followed by none against Sevilla. The polarity of Real Madrid’s season has been as far across the spectrum as possible.
Om Arvind of Managing Madrid and Tactical Rant partly explains the reasons behind their attacking frailties.
Injuries to key attackers and midfielders more thoroughly exposed tactical deficiencies building to goal and Madrid's lack of creativity when attempting to disorder blocks. Mixed with the psychological effects of a disastrous league start and discontent with the manager from some quarters of the dressing room, it's easy to see why the team has struggled in hindsight.
The Champions League has been a welcome relief to the grind of Primera Iberdrola play so far, with Kharkiv and Breidablik failing to offer much of a test; hence, the discrepancy in attacking output between domestic and continental competition.
The doubleheader against Paris Saint-Germain was to be their toughest test yet. However, a 4-0 loss at the Parc des Princes was a humbling reminder of their infancy in this competition. Tonight’s game represents another chance for this side to shine but one player that has impressed so far is Athenea del Castillo.
Having said that, Real Madrid have a competent set of players, when fit, who have enough potential amongst them to become world-class players. Caroline Møller has already scored a hat-trick while Esther Gonzalez is a proven entity, and Kosovare Asllani brings the experience and endeavour from an illustrious career. Nahikari Garcia, Olga, Lorena Navarro, and Marta Cardona have all had their moments. Given all the talent Madrid have, Athenea stands out as arguably one of the best of the lot.
The Spanish attacker has shown a lot of promise as part of the new era dawning in the Spanish capital. The 21-year-old has been key to Madrid’s attack and is part of an exciting set of attacking talents that are far from fulfilling their vast potential.
In Aznar’s constant want to change the system, Athenea has registered plentiful minutes as a centre-forward and as a winger on both flanks. This is across a 3-5-2, 3-4-1-2, and 4-4-2 – all of which induce the forwards to have to counter-attack effectively and efficiently. Regardless of position, Athenea brings a youthful vibrance, aggression, and most importantly a directness with her dribbling and running. The way Real Madrid have approached games has largely been based on the type of opposition, which itself could be a hint at what they’ve been able to do more effectively.
There is a concentration of attacks originating from the wide areas, whether it be from the full-backs pushing or the wide players receiving and playing it into the interior channels through runs or passes. Athenea’s core strength is her ball-carrying ability and she thrives in space like most wingers, but she also has the potential to operate in tighter spaces. Her intelligence both on and off the ball is the foundation of her electric play style which encourages and validates the on-field relationships.
This heat map of Athenea’s current season portrays a lot of activity stemming from the side areas. Given that most of the season has seen the Spaniard play out wide, it’s safe to assume her striker play style is better suited to playing in a pairing rather than in a lone-striker system where she can pull wide and dictate play. Regardless, this indicates that most of her work comes when she’s in possession in the wide areas. Being able to pick up possession and drive down the flank is key before Athenea looks for the final pass.
Against Briedablik here, Athenea wants to drive towards the full-back who, in spite of marking her closely, is beaten. This allows the Spaniard time to press forward and make use of the allocated space.
What is most impressive is the speed of transition from standing up to the defender to taking a touch and driving by her to make a cross. Though the cross is defended, the speed at which the winger converted the opportunity from possession to a chance was remarkable.
So far, Athenea has averaged 9.06 dribbles per 90 minutes with a healthy 44% success rate. Couple that with 2.91 progressive runs, and you have a dangerous winger with a high frequency and turnover rate. This is good enough to rank her first for total dribbles and fourth for dribbles per 90. Equally, her crossing frequency comes in at third with 18 so far this season and third overall in accuracy. All of these statistics point towards an extremely potent player going forward.
Not only is she a formidable force in possession, but she’s as equally intelligent. The winger does make good decisions before attempting her next move though maybe not always consistent. There is some creativity in her game that enables Athenea to synergise with her attacking teammates. Take Møller as an example of a player who is extremely versatile in her movements and enjoys working the channels. This sort of player not only thrives on long, over-the-top passes or whipped-in crosses, but also on line-breaking passes into space as shown below.
This passage of play rather sums up the potential Athenea has to offer. The counter-attacking move is led by the Spanish winger and begins with her customary progressive run, followed by a sudden drive into the box. Athenea then makes the intelligent move of playing a pass back to the edge of the box for the waiting Møller.
What typifies and sums up Athenea is her incredible willingness and work rate out of possession. The evidence of her intelligence without the ball is clear but Athenea’s pressing abilities and want to close down opposition players makes her a stand out player in the forward areas.
This has been extremely potent and useful in games where Real Madrid have needed to sit back and absorb pressure - namely Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
However, it has to be said that her youthful exuberance does come with a need to improve in certain areas of the pitch. Many of her aforementioned strengths still require some degree of fine-tuning – especially when it comes to her end product and final ball. So far, she’s provided us with an insight into her vast potential, but there have been moments that have shown her inexperience.
Athenea averages 0.7 shots per 90 with an Expected Goals (xG) of 0.09 this season. Those numbers don’t justify her impact on the side, but they do partly give us an indication that she needs to improve her skills in the final third. So far, there have been no goals and assists but her build-up play induces positive actions though it’s that final decision-making and end product that requires constant improvement.
Here in this counter-attacking example against Kharkiv, Athenea gains possession in acres of space to drive forward and put Real Madrid in a threatening position. The decision she faces here is to either drive down the line or come inside quickly and bring the central players into play. She gets caught in two minds and ends up losing the ball. It’s situations such as these where Athenea needs to improve upon. A little bit of quick thinking and better decision-making can make the difference.
There is no doubt that Athenea can become one of the premier wingers in world football and the start Real Madrid have had in their short history so far bodes well for her future development. There are signs of improvement by the team being shown as a whole, even though there have been inconsistencies lately. Real Madrid were thrashed 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain one week ago but a few tweaks could make the tie a lot more competitive. Athenea’s rawness could be the catalyst to springboard the team into besting the elite and showcase her talent on the biggest European stage.
(Photo By Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images)