Luciano Ferreyra – Rosario Central’s playmaking prodigy
Rosario Central is establishing a lineage of developing high-level creative talent as Giovanni Lo Celso and his brother Francesco Lo Celso came through the academy of the side from Rosario. However, manager, Kily Gonzalez has been giving opportunities to an 18-year-old playmaker from Roque Saenz Pena in the Chaco Province named Luciano Ferreya as the teenager impressed in the Copa Diego Maradona. He has grown into a reliable starter before his 19th birthday later this month as he has worked his way up through the academy and has also been a favourite of Argentine U17 coach, Pablo Aimar.
The 18-year-old playmaker more affectionately known as ‘Pupi’ grew up with a football at his feet as the game was his great passion as a child as he took his first steps in the game with his local side, Club Olimpo while honing his skills on the pitches around his neighbourhood as well as playing futsal. He arrived at Rosario Central as a 13-year-old in 2015, moving into the Casa Infantino Juventil at the Ciudad Deportiva which was more than 700km away from his family. He made the sacrifice as his dream was to don the blue and white of the Albiceleste and embark on a fruitful career in football as he rose through the ranks at Rosario Central as the top scorer in the AFA Inferiors in the Eighth Division with 16 goals in 28 games.
However, 2019 proved to be a year of immeasurable growth for the Argentine youngster, being called up to the Argentine U17 squad by Aimar as his side won the South American Championship in Peru while he was also called up by Lionel Scaloni for training games against the Argentine National Team before the 2019 Copa America. He would also sign his first contract with Rosario Central before playing with the Reserves as he began to accrue minutes with Kily Gonzalez’ first-team side. As he was progressing with the Reserve side and scoring goals, the pandemic would provide a startling halt to his upward trajectory as he would have to return to his native Chaco before participating pre-season with the first team side.
He would start against Union in pre-season as he played 19 of 24 games for the reserves and scored 2 goals, partnering or replacing Joel Lopez Pissano in midfield. For Kily Gonzalez, the teenager will normally play on the left of Rosario’s 4-4-2 diamond formation with the ability to tuck inside and receive possession in the half-space or the central channels. Early on in his career, he has stood out as a talented dribbler and ball-carrier while possessing the ability to play progressive passes from the left flank as the potential to grow into a highly talented crosser in the future.
In a 1-0 away victory against Aldosivi, the youngster would receive possession from an opposition corner to weave past Joaquin Indacoechea and drive into the opposition half to lead a counter-attacking situation. He is deployed wider, so he can work connections with Emiliano Vecchio in the ten space as well as his overlapping fullback, so his side can create opportunities from the wide areas. The 18-year-old would then cut inside from his flank to send a speculative through ball for a teammate in the box as he was acting as a wide-midfielder/winger hybrid. When he received possession and held possession on the flank, this would give his fullback the opportunity to overlap allowing the youngster to cut inside to work combinations and look to create opportunities from the central spaces.
The teenager would also show the ability to construct counter attacks with brilliant drives into the opposition half as he broke into the opposition half to release the ball to an attacker in space before moving in between the central lines to receive possession again and thread a pass to an overlapping fullback. His ability to construct counter-attacks with sharp running and quick link-up play is what has made him an effective player in Gonzalez’ system as him and his Head Coach have developed more trust with each other. Against Defensa y Justicia, he had a moment where he controlled a switch ball elegantly with his first touch to cut inside and have a shot at goal saved. The 18-year-old would cut inside off his flank again when he worked a combination before switching the ball to the opposite flank for a teammate.
In the Copa Diego Maradona Division Play-off against Lanus, he would continue to prove to be a high-potential player in Argentina. The youngster would receive possession in the left half-space to take a brilliant touch with his right foot before turning and hitting a tame shot at goal. The 18-year-old would also receive possession on the break to cut back onto his stronger right foot to thread an intelligent pass to Vecchio in the ten space who switched the ball to the weak side for a high-quality crossing opportunity.
‘Pupi’ would then show an intelligence in his movement and combinations as he received possession as he was hugging the left touchline to thread a pass for a teammate dropping into the central space after a teammate in the half-space made a dummy run. Ferreyra would then veer around the player in the half-space to move into the central pockets as the player in the half-space would drag the fullback out of position for the 18-year-old to make a run to the flank to receive possession for a crossing opportunity. Ferreyra would receive possession from the deepest-lying midfielder in the left half-space with his fullback overlapping to cut past one man and drive into the opposition half before releasing his fullback for a crossing opportunity.
In a 3-1 home loss against Velez Sarsfield, he put in an exemplary performance as his ability to distribute effectively from the left-flank was impressive, constantly creating opportunities by providing cut-backs for shooting opportunities or threading passes in between the lines to the central spaces. He also had the ability to work elegant one-twos to put his side in breaking situations as he always sought to find avenues to attack the centre. He proved his potential to be an exceptional dribbler and ball-carrier by receiving a pass on the right flank to work a one-two to receive possession again in space before threading a through ball to a teammate on the break to receive possession again to beat a man cutting inside as he was barged out of possession.
The 18-year-old would then run onto a flick-on before cutting the ball back to his right foot and lobbing a pass to a teammate in the box who teed up a shot at the far post. Ferreyra’s abilities as a ball-carrier allow him facilitate switch balls to the opposite flank for his side to switch the point of attack while he is also a willing participator in the defensive phase, working to regain possession in the counter-press. The 18-year-old would then set his side on the break again to create a great opportunity for himself as he chested down a deflection from an opposition corner to thread a pass for a teammate to burst forward as the youngster would move into the nine space to receive possession on his weaker left foot to set himself up to poke an opportunity at the keeper with harmlessly at the keeper with his right.
He would receive possession on the break before cutting the ball back to his left foot to play another accurate cross into the box for his teammates to fail to get the shot away as the 18-year-old was putting together a commanding performance on his flank. Francesco Lo Celso would then work another opportunity for Ferreyra to hammer a shot over as the duo would link-up again for the 18-year-old to have a cross blocked. It was intriguing to see the teenager tuck inside when the ball was on the opposite flank, moving into the box to get on the end of deliveries to the back-post as he frequently gets himself into shooting situations with his movement in between the lines.
Ferreyra is lithe as he avoids 1v1 physical challenges by being quick and shifty on the ball, receiving possession on the flank to stand his marker up before looking for a passing option. He is such a good ball-carrier because of his change of direction and turns of pace as he can muscle past a defender if his marker is lacking balance due to un-set feet or over committing to one side as the youngster will drive away on the break. His ability to move and receive the ball in between the lines, especially as these situations are limited because he is positioned on the left flank, is brilliant as he can set himself up with his first touch to create shooting opportunities for himself. His youth coach, Ricardo De Alberto described him as a ‘very unbalancing player, very daring and apart from his technique, he has a lot of sacrifice’. This description is apt as he is very clever in passing interchanges as he is normally tasked with receiving possession by the touchline as he uses passing manoeuvres to cut inside and operate from the centre.
He will need to improve his strength if he eventually moves into a central position as this could add variety to his game, especially in receiving possession in between congested central lines in the opposition defensive shape. He will need to improve his finishing as he gets into high quality goalscoring situations in the box, but his finishing can let him down as he rarely places shots, finishing hastily instead of taking more care to place the shot into a certain area of the goal. He also manages to dribble into shooting positions when cutting inside from the flank as he can send tame shots straight at the keeper. Improving his game with his weaker foot could also greatly add to his game as with more training exercises, he could develop into a two footed playmaker as having the option to go either side of marker would be transformational for his dribbling and develop his already immense ability as ball-carrier. In his current role, he would also be able to drive opposition fullbacks to the by-line instead of constantly looking to cut inside.
The 18-year-old signed a contract until 2023 as he should be a player to keep track of in the Argentine Primera Division as he continues to develop into a high-level creative player. At the moment, he is still finding his feet in the professional game as he should be given more time to evolve as a player as he possesses immense potential. He may need to continue on the left flank with Vecchio the starting central attacking midfielder while Lo Celso is second-choice as it could be a while before Ferreyra moves into the centre as his current position, can only improve certain facets of his game to prepare him for a central role. Ferreyra’s progress should be very intriguing to keep track of.
