Carlos Alcaraz – Racing’s intelligent box-to-box operator

Carlos Alcaraz has been playing football since the age of 4 as his father was also a professional footballer as he would join the Racing academy at the age of 15. The 19-year-old was born in La Plata as in the last two years as Racing have struggled with instability, he has been one of the key touchstones for the club amongst the playing staff as he became the youngest goal scorer for the club in the 21st century at 17-years-old, showed immense calm to score a penalty against Flamengo at the Maracana in the Copa Libertadores as well as putting in a strong performance at Boca Juniors in the same competition. Alcaraz has also been carefully guided in managing the peaks and troughs of professional football by Racing’s management staff and academy staff.

There were times where he would have liked to leave the club, especially after he was left out of the final of a youth tournament as his passing and short-temper at academy-level needed to be tampered. Sebastian Beccacece ‘s tenure proved to be fruitful for Alcaraz as the head-coach was informed about a highly talented youth player with behavioural issues as Beccacece took him under his wing, giving him starts with the first-team before sending moving him back down to the Reserva side as Alcaraz would perform well with both teams, earning a permanent promotion to the first-team. Once Fernando Gago was appointed, Alcaraz was an early fixture in his starting line-ups which led to improved performances, but the young manager would not include him in his starting line-ups at the beginning of the 2022 season, forcing him to earn his role which the 19-year-old did, to become an integral part of an upturn in form for Racing.

Alcaraz thrives as a box-to-box midfielder as his directional first touch in tight spaces allows him to drive into space and connect attacking moves together, either in counter-attacking situations or in approach play situations. He frequently receives possession with a marker in his midst, using his directional first touch to evade a marker or play a one-touch pass which facilitates quick attacking transitions. The 19-year-old is also a gifted ball-carrier, having the turn of pace and core strength to drive the ball forward, surging deep into the opposition half as he will need to improve his awareness of when and where to release the ball in these situations as he tends to lose possession in his ball-carrying sequences. Alcaraz is a fascinating midifielder as he can provide penetration with his ball-carrying, passing as well as his positioning in between the lines, moving into areas where he can receive deep passes and connect play in the opposition half. He is also in the early stages of developing as a goal scorer, constantly making intelligent runs off the striker when he moves out of the 9 space while making brilliantly timed runs into the box to get on the end of crosses as he can finish with his head and his feet.

In a Copa Libertadores home loss against Nacional, the then 17-year-old came off the bench to have a shot blocked by a teammate before receiving a lob to make a run in behind as he was unable to get a clean strike on the ball. He managed to have another shot blocked as the only foot he put wrong was making an errant pass in the build-up phase as he was good at receiving possession in between the lines, connecting with teammates and making late runs into the box. The defining attributes of his game were apparent as a youngster as he was already tall and physically imposing, having a moment where he held possession near the touchline to evade markers with his dribbling.

In the early stages of Gago’s tenure, it would become obvious that he would be a key player for the young manager as against Colon, at the end of the 2021 season, Racing would switch to a 3-2-5 shape with Alcaraz dropping closer to the six-space to receive possession, laying off a pass to the centre-backs before making a movement in between the lines towards the ball-far centre-back to receive a deep pass in between the lines, taking a touch and working a pass in between the lines to receive a lay-off and attempt a deep pass in between the lines which was too heavy. Alcaraz’ ability to provide penetration with his positioning in between the lines and movement was always bound to be a key component of Gago’s side as is his ability to drag markers out of position with his movement to create space for deep passes.

At home to Gimnasia, at the beginning of the 2022 season, he would receive possession in the 8 space with his back to goal, spinning that utilizing a phenomenal change of direction to skip past an opposition midfielder, driving the ball forward to attract markers before playing a brilliant pass to a teammate in space in between the lines to establish a counter-attacking move. In the attacking phase, he received possession in the deeper areas as he had a heavy first touch before turning away from a defender and switching a pass to the right flank before making a movement to the top of the box to receive a cut-back as the wide player cut inside and sent a shot wide. Another facet of his game that has showed immense growth under Gago is the authority in which he approaches counter-pressing situations as his team would lose possession in the opposition half for the 19-year-old to chase back, using his body to regain possession before driving the ball forward. Alcaraz had another counter-pressing situation as this time, he lost the ball himself, receiving possession in the right half-space, skipping past a man to twist and turn before attempting a through ball which was intercepted. He immediately pushed forward to close the opposition defender down, making a tackle and forcing his defender into the wide areas where the opposition player made an errant pass to force a turnover.

Away to River Plate, Alcaraz received possession in midfield to switch the ball to the right flank for a low cross as the 19-year-old is a master of bending switch passes with the perfect weighting and angling around the fullback and into the stride of the wing player to facilitate 1v1s and crossing situations. He had a moment where he drove possession from the edge of his own box to the deep areas of the opposition half as he attempted to take on the extra man instead of releasing the ball. With his directional first touch in tight spaces, he consistently allows the ball to roll across his body before spreading passes to the flank to instigate counter-attacking situations. In his game, there are moments when he can be too eager to dive into challenges and earn yellow cards as the number of yellow cards that he has been punished with is a concern early in his career. Even when his team were 2-0 down, he continued to take the game to the opposition as he is phenomenal in tight spaces, consistently managing to evade his marker with his first touch.

Away to Independiente, in an important derby game, he flicked the ball past two players with his first touch to send a shot wide of the goal as Alcaraz is incredibly nimble with the way in which he sets himself up to evade a marker or work a passing interchange with his first touch. He then twisted and turned in the six-space to switch a pass to the opposite flank as he was phenomenal in the centre of the pitch, receiving possession to work the ball out of pressure with one or two touches. The Argentine youngster was so good at receiving possession and shifting possession out of tight spaces with his distribution as at such a young age, he has an incredible level of comfort when he is marked. At home to Argentinos Juniors, he received possession in the eight space to lay-off for a teammate before the ball was switched to the right flank with Alcaraz making an intelligent run into the half-space to receive possession, evade a defender and cut-back a cross to Gabriel Hauche in the box for the attacker to send his opportunity wide.

In the second half, he doubled his team’s lead with a header from a corner that he headed into the ground and into the top corner of the goal. Away to Atletico Tucuman, his teammates would regain possession in a counter-pressing situation for him to drive the ball forward and thread a pass to a teammate in the ten space. He then dropped deep to regain possession at the top of his own box before striding past a sliding challenge, working a one-two with a teammate before earning a foul after another late sliding challenge. He received possession in between the lines to take a touch and play a penetrative pass to the wide areas for a crossing situation. He scored another goal in the second half, guiding an amazing free-kick past the goalkeeper from range.

At home to Sarmiento, Alcaraz would earn a yellow with a rash challenge in the first half as Gago kept him on instead of taking him off exemplifying their growing trust in each other. He worked a pass to the flank for a cut-back as Hauche sent a shot wide before the 19-year-old began to take up deeper positions, winning possession with timely interceptions while constantly showing awareness to cover markers and passing lanes. As Racing began to search for a goal, Gago would repurpose him as the deepest-lying midfielder as his positioning was sound to win possession with interceptions while he also exhibited a phenomenal passing range as in one instance, he made an interception and facilitated an attacker with a phenomenal switch ball. Gago would then take him off as he finished the game with 4/4 takeons. Away to River Plate Montevideo in the Copa Sudamericana, he began the game by surging forward before losing possession in the opposition half.

He then created an opportunity, playing a penetrative pass to Facundo Mura who had his shot saved. Against a more defensive opponent, Alcaraz’ positioning in between the lines was invaluable as was his ability to connect play with one or two touches as there was a situation where he received possession in the 8 space, taking a heavy first touch before lobbing a pass to a teammate who drove the ball forward to play through a Racing attacker to send a shot over the bar. Alcaraz can still have moments where he holds the ball for too long as these moments will become less and less as there are also situations where he can be quick and intuitive with possession as he received possession near the touchline, flicking the ball backwards to evade a marker before chipping a pass into the centre. In the final third, Alcaraz’ vision is also precise, threading a pass to Mura who was adjudged to have been offside, but a replay showed the right-back was onside. The 19-year-old then made a run in the final third to receive possession and have a cut-back opportunity blocked.

Not only does Alcaraz’ positioning provide penetration but also the runs he makes in the final third, be it darts into the box when his striker moves out of the nine-space or direct runs into the half-space when he identifies a pocket of space as this is the facet of his game that will allow him to develop into a pivotal chance creator and goal scorer in the final third. At home to Cuiaba in the Copa Sudamericana, he received possession in between the lines to work a one-two with a teammate before driving into the box where he was tackled. The 19-year-old made a run to receive possession in the box before having a shot on goal before he would play a pass to a teammate before pushing close to the nine-space where he dropped deep to receive possession in the half-space to work a pass to a teammate who crossed for a goal. Alcaraz’ runs and movement in the final third allow him to string together attacking moves while he is constantly providing options for deep early passes in between the lines from centre-backs.

In tight spaces, he understands when to allow the ball to roll across his body and when to take the early first touch, especially in counter-attacking situations as he is aware that his first touch and release of the ball is integral in connecting counter-attacking transitions. He would regain possession in the counter-press before receiving possession to evade a marker and find Mura with a pass. The 19-year-old threaded another lovely through ball for a shooting opportunity before he would regain possession with an interception, dribbling past two players before being fouled by a third. Alcaraz is also set-piece guru as he would place strike from a free-kick perfectly as the goalkeeper tipped the shot onto the crossbar for the ball to bounce off his back and into goal. The teenager finished the game with 3 chances created, ¾ takeons and a 92% pass succession rate in the final third.

He would start three days later against Union as it is intriguing how the youngster consistently orients his body to add continuity to attacking moves with his first touch as he allowed the ball to roll across his body before spreading possession to the opposite flank, moving in between the lines to receive possession and switch the ball once more. In another sequence, he allowed the ball to roll in between his legs before switching the ball to the flank as he would track back defensively to regain possession twice. Alcaraz received possession in between the lines before playing the ball to a teammate before he received possession once more to thread a pass in between the lines before he got on the end of a cut-back to have a shot saved. He dropped deep to angle a pass to the six-space before moving in between the lines to receive possession as he drove the ball forward before switching a pass to the flank.

Away to Patronato, he received possession to cut past one player before driving the ball past two players before switching a pass to the left flank. He then tracked back to regain possession in the counter-press as the opposition employed a higher and more proactive press with Alcaraz being immensely key in driving his team forward. The 19-year-old would spin out of pressure before playing the ball to the right while he was also constantly regaining possession in the counter-press to deny the opposition the opportunity to counter-attack. The Argentine midfielder played in a game where his ability as a penetrative box-to-box player reaped benefits as he received possession in the 8 space to turn and thread a pass to the nine-space before receiving a lay-off to lob a pass into the channels. He was constantly driving and playing the ball forward as there were moments where he lost possession, attempting penetrative passes to create opportunities.

At home to Newell’s Old Boys, he received possession in the left half-space and lobbed an accurate switch pass to the right flank. In a build-up sequence, he dropped deep to receive possession, dummying the ball for a teammate to receive possession in the next line as after a turnover, Alcaraz made an intelligent run into space behind a defender who was drawn towards the ball, receiving possession in between the lines to drive the ball forward and have a tame shot at goal. He dropped deep to regain possession and work a pass into the wide areas on the turn to facilitate a counter-attack where a teammate had a shooting opportunity. The 19-year-old dropped into the six-space to receive possession and play a progressive pass with the outside of his foot. He finished the game with 2 shots with 1 on target, winning 4/4 aerial duels, ¼ takeons and 6 ball recoveries.

Away to Cuiaba, he had a rough start as he was lucky to be on the pitch after a rough challenge as he was on a yellow card in the early stages of the game, walking a tightrope while constantly complaining to the officials. He continued to dive into challenges with a stray leg that made one fear that a second yellow may have been on the horizon. Alcaraz had a situation where he dribbled and worked a one-two to drive the ball forward as he started to get into the game, striding forward and threading passes in between the lines. He began to receive possession in between the lines and connect play as he was eventually taken off in what was a heated game with 10 yellow cards. A few days later, Alcaraz had a much stronger performance at home to Aldosivi in the Argentine Primera Division knockout phase, getting on the end of a cross to head in the opening goal of the match. He then doubled the lead and his goal tally when he received a cross to take a touch with the ball bobbling off a teammate for him to hammer home his second goal. He had an opportunity for a hat-trick when he had a header saved as his movement in the box was exceptional.

He was also integral in creating opportunities as he received a lobbed pass in the half-space to cut-back for a striker to have a shot blocked before receiving possession in between the lines to poke a through ball for the striker to send another shot wide. He finished the game with an 82% pass succession in the final third, 2 chances created, 3 shots with 2 on target and 2 goals while he had 7 ball recoveries in a performance that encapsulated his all-round game. At home to River Plate in the Copa Sudamericana, Racing were operating as a 2-3-5 in possession with Alcaraz receiving possession to have a good turn in possession to drive the ball forward and attempt a one-two to make a run in behind. The 19-year-old made a run in behind for a shot on goal from a crossing situation while he also played a lovely through ball to a striker who dragged a shot wide.

Alcaraz would be out for a few weeks with an injury as he recently returned with Gago easing him back into the first-team setup with minutes off the bench. Off the bench, he has continued to provide penetration with his positioning in between the lines as away to Central Cordoba, he connected play in the deeper areas during the build-up phase to make a run in between the lines before stopping and making a sudden dart to the near post to finish a low cross with aplomb. He then flicked a ball past a defender to drive into the box and have a shot saved as he took up many good positions in between the lines to receive deep passes from his centre-backs while his movement around the striker was phenomenal.

Alcaraz is in the top 30 for under 23s for touches in the opposition box as the only non-striker or wide attacker on the list while he also ranks in the top 30 for dribbles per game as the only non-striker or wide player once again. He also ranks in the top 30 for key passes per 90. It is integral to recognize that his metrics are affected by the fact that the youngster has been injured and has seen his playing time lessen since the beginning of the longer phase of the second-phase of the Argentine Primera Division.

Alcaraz is a box-to-box midfielder with a tremendous array of tools in his arsenal as he is a gifted ball-carrier, being able to drive the ball over long spaces as he will need to improve his decision-making in ball-carrying sequences, particularly being able to release the ball instead of looking to beat the extra man. In the deeper areas, he can drop into spaces to receive possession and connect play while also being able to play line-breaking passes, but his genius lies in manoeuvring in the 8 space. He picks lovely positions and makes intelligent runs in this zone to receive possession and ease transition, especially in a staggered midfield line, as he can also work connections and create shooting opportunities for himself and teammates. His passing range is exceptional as he can create opportunities with through balls as well as switching the ball accurately to the flanks.

He is currently developing as a goal-scorer as he is a set-piece threat, is a threat in the air while also having the penchant for intelligent movement in and around the opposition box. The 19-year-old knows when to hold his run and make a dart to the near post while he is also capable of making a circular move to the back-post to get on the end of aerial crosses as Alcaraz possesses the ability to be a threat from low crosses and high crosses. He can also work connections and make moves to the top of the box to receive cut-back opportunities as with increased game-time and experience, he will score more goals. Defensively, Alcaraz is astute in the counter-press as he is willing to cover ground to make timely challenges after his team loses possession while he will be the first to apply pressure when he loses possession. He will need to be more mindful of the rash challenges in his game as this could also lead to increased red cards in the future.

Alcaraz signed a contract till 2026 this year with a release clause in between €20 million and €25 million as Racing’s president, Victor Blanco seeks to ensure that his club accrues a large fee for their young prospect. AC Milan have been most interested as this price-tag would rule out most European clubs, especially in a COVID-affected market. Aston Villa with their use of a 4-3-3 under Steven Gerrard would be a good fit for Alcaraz in the future as he could learn from the former midfielder, especially with his all-round play as well as his ability to make runs into the box to get on the end of goalscoring opportunities. As a young player with considerable resale value, Everton under Frank Lampard would also be a good fit for the 19-year-old as they need young players of his ilk in midfield. He would suit Arsenal under Mikel Arteta as a different option to his current set of midfielders as a more natural 8 in a 4-3-3 rather than an out-and-out playmaker, especially with Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny aging in that position. Staying at Racing for the foreseeable future may not be a bad idea for Alcaraz under a talented young manager who has already been instrumental in his development.