Jairo Concha – Alianza Lima’s spirited playmaker
Jairo Concha was a fan of Universidad San Martin as he joined the club as an 11-year-old, coming through the academy and playing for the reserves before he would ultimately join Alianza Lima. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder is taking the same route that through Alianza Lima as his current teammate, Jefferson Farfan took to European football while he was a significant part of the team that won last season Peruvian Liga Betsson. He has also earned minutes with Ricardo Gareca’s Peruvian National Team as he seeks to include more young players like Concha to facilitate a generational change.
The 22-year-old playmaker has developed into one of the leading players in Peru as Statsbomb data found that his attacking progressions, expected assists and dribbles were above the tournament average. This perfectly encapsulates the player that Concha is as he is deployed as an attacking midfielder in a 3-4-1-2 shape, dropping into space to receive possession, utilizing his body and low centre of gravity to shield the ball as he can manoeuvre out of tight spaces with the ball glued to his feet, skipping past defenders. He has the vision to play through balls while being confident in linking play in the final third as his first touch and passing in between the lines is exceptional while he also has the intelligence and press resistance to play as a deeper-lying midfielder in the future.
Concha’s first-touch in between the lines has made him a highly proficient attacking midfielder as away to Alianza Atletico last season, he would take an amazing first touch with his back towards the opposition goal to control a high ball before using his second touch to flick the ball into his stride and swivel before threading a pass past two players into the nine-space. He then received possession in a deeper area to play another line-breaking pass to the nine-space. He dropped into the 8 space to receive a pass from the right flank to turn and switch the ball to the left flank as he received possession to take a touch and thread a pass to then ten space before receiving a lay-off to instigate passing connections on the left flank. Concha’s first touch also allows him to be a proficient ball-carrier as he took a directional first touch with the outside of his right boot to surge forward to direct the ball away from his closest marker before holding off another marker to stride forward as he cut past a third defender to work a pass to the left flank.
Concha is his side’s main outlet of transition as he is capable of receiving possession in the deeper areas and driving the ball forward with his distribution and passing as the 22-year-old would utilize both facets of his game in a sequence, taking a touch in the six-space to skip past a marker to drive the ball forward and work an outside of the boot through ball to a runner in behind as the goalkeeper had to leave his goal to clear the opportunity. The Peruvian playmaker created another opportunity when he regained possession and threaded a pass to a teammate on the left flank to have a shot deflected wide from inside the box. He finally accrued an assist when he curled in an in swinger from a corner for a teammate to head in Alianza Lima’s second goal of the game. When Concha receives possession in between the lines, he uses his low centre of gravity, turns of pace as well as twists and turns to shield the ball and draw fouls which allow him to facilitate transition. He would intercept a pass in the defensive phase, using his body to shield the ball from two opposition players to drive the ball forward before cutting past two players as he was driving the ball forward to play a back-pass.
The 22-year-old would then cut away from an opposition defender to lob a switch pass from the left half-space to the right half-space to facilitate a crossing opportunity. After a deflection from an opposition cross, he received possession outside his own box to roll the ball back before threading an accurate line-breaking pass to the nine-space to instigate a counter-attack. After another turnover, he received possession to thread another pass to his striker on the half-turn as he is phenomenal in linking play in between the defensive and attacking phases. At home to Melgar, he exhibited the importance of his directional first touch on his dribbling ability as he received possession on the half-turn, guiding the ball from his closest marker and into the stride of a teammate.
He received possession in a tighter space in a congested midfield zone to use his first touch to spin away from a marker and play the ball to a teammate to facilitate a switch out of pressure. Concha also possesses a lot of defensive responsibility in both the pressing and defensive phase which has made him a well-rounded young player as he would intercept a pass and play the ball to the nine-space. His ability to hold possession as well as move the ball at pace makes him an efficient playmaker as once he receives possession, he has a great awareness of space and his teammates positioning to distribute the ball efficiently for his team to create opportunities. He received a lobbed pass with his back to goal to turn and loft a pass to the right wing-back to send a shot wide from the top of the box. The 22-year-old would score a goal of his own when he received possession in the ten space to take a measured touch and fire a strike past the keeper at his near post from range. In the defensive phase, he won a tackle to regain possession before playing the ball to a teammate.
Away to Sport Boys, Concha showed his transitional ability, scanning with a subtle look over his shoulder after a receiving a deflection outside his own box to receive a pass from a teammate, surge past two players to drive deep into the opposition half before threading a pass with the outside of his right boot to the right flank for a teammate to have a shot on goal. He dropped deep to make an interception before holding possession and playing a deep vertical pass to the nine-space to instigate a counter-attacking move. He had a chance of his own when he received possession in the right half-space, laying off the ball before a lobbed pass was played ahead of him while Concha made a run into the half-space to receive a flick-on to surge into the box, taking one errant touch to drive the ball away from goal as he had his shot blocked. If he drove the ball straight towards the goal, he would have had a better angle to apply the finish.
One of Concha’s favoured routines would be swivelling with possession and surging forward to play a through ball after a dribble as he would employ this routine when he received possession in the six-space to allow the ball to roll across his body which allowed him to skip past his man and stride forward to angle a perfectly weighted through ball for a teammate to drive into the box. The regularity with which he moves the ball from one end of the field to another in a short amount of time is phenomenal as he is so unique as a playmaker because he has the ability to create high quality opportunities without seeing much of the ball. He played yet another through ball with only three touches of the ball, using his first touch to control the ball and evade a marker who nearly brought him down as he used his second touch to steady himself before threading a curled through ball to the left flank for a crossing opportunity.
The 22-year-old is phenomenal in receiving possession in congested zones as he received possession in the nine-space, to drive the ball out of congestion before spinning back to evade a marker who could only stick out his arm to attempt to grab him before switching a pass to the right flank. Alianza Lima would lose possession in the opposition box for Concha to regain possession in the counter-press as he drove the ball to the left flank to work a one-two with a teammate in the half-space before cutting back a cross with his weaker left foot as his teammate dummied the ball instead of taking the shot. He created another opportunity when he received possession in the ten space to work a one-two with his right wing-back before lobbing a cross into the box for a teammate to send a shot wide. He would use his first touch to control a high ball to play a one-touch pass to a teammate in midfield.
He attempted to create another opportunity when he lobbed a pass in behind which took an unfortunate bounce to roll into the arms of the goalkeeper instead of into his striker’s stride. The 22-year-old navigated another congested zone when he received possession in between two opposition players to poke a pass to a teammate before receiving possession to work another one-two to find space on the right flank before he switched play to the left as Concha is one of the most intriguing transitional players in South America. He received possession in the deeper areas to thread a pass to the ten space. This season, at home to Sporting Cristal, Concha would create an opportunity with two touches, receiving possession in the ten space to control the ball with his right foot before working a pass to his right wing-back with his weaker left-foot to have a shot on goal.
He would combine with his right wing-back when he demanded possession in the ten space to play a one-touch through ball to the right flank on the half-turn to instigate an attacking move. In the defensive phase, the 22-year-old made an interception and played the ball to the right flank in order to string together a counter-attacking move after forcing a turnover. He managed to create a shooting opportunity for his side when he received a lay-off from a goal-kick to thread a pass to a teammate in the ten space before continuing his run into the box for his teammate to send a shot wide. Concha’s ability to be efficient with possession in tight spaces with only one or two touches may not make him one of the more entertaining playmakers in South America to watch but it does make him effective at creating shooting opportunities in the final third. He received possession in the opposition half to take a touch as an opposition defender was baring down on him before he played a pass to the wing-back on the flank.
He was involved in the creation of a high-quality opportunity when he received possession on the right flank before switching possession to the opposite flank for a teammate to flick on as Alianza Lima had a high-quality opportunity on goal from inside the six-yard area. The attacking midfielder then received possession in the ten space to take a touch, swivel and spread play to the right flank for a crossing opportunity. He had a crossing opportunity of his own when he received possession on the left flank to loft an accurate cross across the face of goal as an attacker was not able to meet the spectacular delivery. The 22-year-old received possession in the final third as he used his body to shield possession before angling an accurate pass to a teammate in the ten space as Concha was hauled down for a foul.
The attacking midfielder is a highly efficient creative player who is instrumental in receiving possession in the deeper areas and taking charge of the transitional phase with his ball-carrying and distribution. Concha could deputize as a deeper-lying midfielder with his passing range, occupation of space and dribbling ability giving his team a press resistant figure in the engine room while defensively, he is phenomenal at covering space and making tackles and interceptions. As an attacking midfielder, he is able to occupy spaces in the final third to receive possession and connect play as he has phenomenal vision for through balls while he can create opportunities from crossing situations in the wide areas and half-spaces. He is a high-level creative midfielder because he can create opportunities from any area of the pitch in a possession-based attacking side as well as in a counter-attacking side without needing much of the ball.
His contract expires at the end of this year which would make him a bargain in the summer for most clubs in the summer transfer window. Mainz would be an intriguing move for him as he would suit their high-pressing vertical system as he would also be an intriguing option for Celta Vigo or Real Vallodolid. In the Liga MX, he could be an intriguing player for Club America after they lost Sebastian Cordova while if Noa Lang leaves Club Brugge, Concha would be tailor-made for their system with his experience at his current club . If Eintracht Frankfurt are looking for a replacement for Daichi Kamada then Concha would be a phenomenal replacement as teams like PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord and Basel could be a significant step up for him. Fulham, who are likely to gain promotion to the English Premier League could also utilize his creativity while the Portuguese Primeira Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 would also suit the 22-year-old stylistically. In the MLS, the Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls would be an ideal fit for Concha who is certainly ready to make the next move of his career.
