Alan Velasco – Independiente’s attacking jewel
At only 18 years-old, Alan Velasco has established himself as one of the main prospects of Argentine football with some exceptional performances at Club Atletico Independiente. He has been likened to the likes of Arjen Robben and Sergio Aguero as a match winning two-goal outing against Argentine giants, River Plate has seen him accrue interest as it was prescient for his club to tie him down to a new contract at till 2023 at the end of last year with a $23 million release clause. His club are at a crossroads with a generation of highly talented youngsters forming the core of their team while Lucas Pusineri, their Head Coach was sacked as the club are looking at a coach with a more entertaining playing style such as Hernan Crespo.
Velasco joined Independiente in 2012 at only 8-years-old and rose through the academy as a captain at Under 15 and Under 17 level before making his debut in 2019 in the Copa Sudamericana against Colombian side, Rionegro Aguilas. Independiente are facing institutional and sporting issues as young players like Velasco are seen as youngsters who can save the club from itself by commanding transfer fees to replenish the club’s coffers. The suspension of South American U20 Championship that was set to take place in February and the U20 World Cup in Indonesia prevented the teenager from showing his talents on a larger stage but his improvement and consistently high level in the Copa Diego Maradona will continue to attract interest.
The shadow of former Independiente youth product, Sergio Aguero looms large as he was the last multi-faceted attacker to show such promise at such an early age. The comparison to Robben by his former coach, Pusineri is indicative of his ability to cut inside from the wide areas while a comparison to Aguero is much more apt. The two share the low centre of gravity and dribbling ability that allows them to weave into space in the box and create shooting opportunities for themselves while they also able to work quick combinations with teammates to generate shooting opportunities. Despite donning the number 9 shirt, Velasco mostly plays on the left flank as a winger and inverted attacker hybrid.
At home to Defensa y Justicia, Velasco constantly received possession on the left flank to cut onto his right foot and hammer shots at goal while he was a consistent threat on the counter, receiving possession in space on the flank, possessing the dribbling ability to weave into the centre to create shooting opportunities for himself or teammates. This is where the comparison to Robben applies as has become more effective dribbler and chance creator from the wide areas while also developing his all-round game. In a 1-0 home win against CA Fenix in the Copa Sudamericana, the 18-year-old proved to be a difficult player to mark, constantly weaving out of tight spaces with his dribbling ability as he can change direction or spin past a marker on a dime.
However, the youngster would tuck inside when central striker, Silvio Romero would roam as in one instance, he moved into the nine space, to receive possession and work a lay-off for a pass in behind for Romero to receive the ball in behind to score. He then cut in off the left flank to send a shot wide as a flurry of missed opportunities against Defensa y Justicia and against Fenix illustrated a need to improve his finishing after dribbling situations. He also created two opportunities from crossing situations as he would also venture to the right flank, but he thrived in receiving possession in between the lines and linking play in the final third.
In the second-half, he would tuck inside the left flank and connect play as in one situation, he worked a connection before moving to the right flank to back-heel for a teammate to have a shot blocked. Velasco would also receive the ball in the ten space to twist and turn out of challenges. The teenager would then receive possession in the left half-space to cut past a glut of opposition defenders to have a shot saved, showing his ability to create space for shooting opportunities with his beguiling turns of pace and shifty dribbling ability.
In a 0-0 away draw against Lanus in the Copa Sudamericana, he would continue to link-up play from the right flank and tuck into the nine space as he received a long-ball on the right flank to cut inside past two men and beat another with an ankle rolling dribble. The 18-year-old won aerial duels while he chipped a pass to a teammate who lobbed the ball over the keeper to have a shot cleared off the line. Velasco’s ability to charge at players while displaying the body control to halt his body while he is in full stride before rolling the ball past an opponent is wonderful while he also did brilliantly in receiving the ball in between the lines, using his strength to hold the ball and releasing it to a teammate. Another staple of his game is the ability to cut inside off the left flank and switching the ball to the opposite flank.
At home to Boca Juniors in the Copa Diego Maradona, he received possession from his left back by the touchline to turn, drive the ball forward and thread a magnificent pass past two opposition players to the ten space with his weaker left foot to instigate an attacking move. If he is positioned in the nine space or as a winger, he also has a knack for regaining possession with timely interceptions as against Boca Juniors, he won an interception to skip past a player by changing direction and prodding the ball past his opponent with his weaker left foot to drive the ball to edge of the opposition box to lay-off a pass to a teammate with his right foot before the ball was cleared.
The 18-year-old would then receive possession on the left flank during a counter-attack to drive the ball forward and slide a pass to Andres Roa who back-heeled a pass back for the striker in space to have his shot blocked inside the box. The teenager would then receive possession by the touchline to lob a brilliant delivery into the box for a runner from deep who would head the ball high and wide as he had his back turned to the opposition goal. Velasco would start the second-half playing in a central striking role as he did well in pressing the ball from the centre and regaining possession through clever interceptions in the centre. He had a lovely passage of play where he intercepted a pass as he was being marked by two players to execute an elegant flick off one of the opposition defenders and into his stride before driving into the centre of the pitch and playing the ball to the wide areas.
In a sequence, he chose to make a supporting run to Lucas Gonzalez rather than a run into the six-yard area as he then controlled a deflected cross to use a turn of pace to drive past two players to the by-line and have his cut-back blocked. He would then receive a high pass on a break to take a touch and thread a pass in behind for Roa who then sent his opportunity agonisingly wide in a 1v1 with the keeper. The 18-year-old showed an ability to play as effective central striker with his ability to recognise passing interchanges to press and regain possession with timely interceptions while he also has the ability to create chances with instrumental combination play which can also be utilized as a medium to create opportunities for himself.
Away to Argentinos Juniors, he used his combination play to create a high quality shooting opportunity for himself as he brought down a switch ball on the left flank with his outstretched right leg before nonchalantly cutting past his fullback to work a pass for Roa who played the ball back to him for Velasco to attempt to lob the ball over the keeper with his left foot but his opportunity was saved. He would then regain possession with an interception to drive the ball past two markers into the centre of the pitch before attempting to thread a pass through to the right winger which was intercepted. A switch pass was played to him on the left flank as he cut inside and threaded a pass to a teammate in the centre in space. He would score a goal by taking on a delivery in the wide areas of the box to drive a shot in off the keeper.
He would continue his routine of cutting inside and working connections against Arsenal de Sarandi when he received possession on the left flank to cut past two men to drive past two teammates and work a pass for Gonzalez who tried to lob a pass in behind for an attacker. The youngster would generate a shooting opportunity for himself when he would receive a pass on the break to work a one-touch pass to a teammate who would play him in behind to have a shot blocked. Velasco would then create an exceptional chance after regaining possession on the left flank to dribble past his first marker then win a fifty-fifty challenge as the ball bobbled over two players for Velasco to go in behind and cut back for a teammate to send a shot wide inside the box.
He would then intercept a pass before dribbling past an opponent with step overs before working a pass for a teammate in the centre before intercepting a pass in the pressing phase before nudging a defender out of his way and driving into the box to attract the keeper for a cut-back which none of his teammates were able to get on the end of for what would have been a certain goal. He would then score a leveller to tie the scores at 3-3, in what would eventually be a 4-3 loss, when he took on a pass on the break to finish an opportunity from a tight angle as the keeper got a weak hand to the ball.
Velasco has been playing on the flank which has been pivotal for his development and has seen him score 5 goals in 9 games this season as an 18-year-old. However, his future may be better suited to a central striking role with his ability to generate his own high-quality shooting opportunities through clever passing interchanges around the box. He also has that Sergio Aguero-esque ability to hold the ball for an extra yard or to beat an extra man in the box to create a better shooting opportunity for himself. His finishing has improved as the season has progressed as it will continue to improve while he has the ability to regain possession and use his dribbling ability to transition from a defensive situation to an attacking situation. His pressing and ability to regain possession when his team are in the defensive phase would be crucial in establishing counters and fast breaking situations. His ability to drop deep and connect play or move into the channels to create opportunities for teammates could make him a world class multi-faceted forward.
The 18-year-old would need to continue the upward trajectory with his finishing as his goals against Arsenal de Sarandi and Argentinos Juniors could have been a fault of poor goalkeeping while he has had situations where he has dribbled into high quality shooting areas to balloon strikes over the bar. He would also need to improve his ability to finish with his weaker left foot as his shots can be weak and tame if they are not on his stronger right boot. As he does not play as an out and out striker, it is difficult to analyse his aerial ability as he has not been in a situation where he has had to challenge two centre-backs for a cross from the nine space. If he played for the Argentine U20 side as a central striker, then it would have been interesting to see how he would fare in that role.
"Saving the distances, I see him as Robben, who is a player who can unbalance and has a goal. He is a very important appearance, he is indecipherable for the rivals," said his former Head Coach, Pulsineri after he scored a great goal against Colon.
Velasco has had a strong season at such a young age as Independiente could command a good fee for him while it would be interesting to see him play under a coach like Hernan Crespo whose system utilized multi-functional attackers like the 18-year-old and is geared at creating high quality opportunities for them. It would be interesting to see the youngster gain more experience in a central striking role for teams to better evaluate him before paying his $23 million release clause. MLS clubs could be priced out of a move for him as his current skillset would be better suited to Serie A football. The teenager is destined for great things as he has already had some mind-blowing performances this season.
