Facundo Pellistri is an endangered species. For many reasons, too. The talented Uruguayan footballer is owned by Manchester United, who have chosen to cede him to a competitive team before he continued to hang out at the subsidiary. Thus, it has arrived at Deportivo Alavés in this winter market. The 'red devils' are aware of the talent they provide and have not minded: He will play for six months in Mendizorroza, but there will be no purchase option. Something natural, given the enormous potential that the former Peñarol has. As a result of his age, he still has a lot of room for improvement, especially in the field of consistency. His inexperience may be his Achilles heel, but in Vitoria they have been waiting for such a profile for a long time. In addition, the alignments of 'Pitu' Abelardo seem to indicate that he has a space reserved for him. It does not have much time margin, although it arrives with the desire to eat the world. How does he fit into eleven?
Based on the above, Pellistri is a jewel of those that hardly remain. Play extreme, in natural band. In recent years, the monopoly of the changed leg has reigned, to get inside or look for the shot in diagonals. The new Alavés footballer can also play on the left, although his natural position is on the right. Is right-handed, of course, one of the characteristics that explain the extinction process. It is more skillful than explosive. He's agile and fast, but he doesn't have a great stride nor is he a bullet. Attacks spaces well. Enjoy more driving with the ball attached to your foot than with the fleeting race. And it has a serious problem: production. He hardly scores goals nor does he sign assists. In his time at Peñarol, he did not even average one center per game. In Mendizorroza he must improve this statistic, since Joselu, Deyverson and, to a lesser extent, Lucas Pérez are great header or first-touch finishers.
A “scoundrel”
The qualifier, far from being offensive, is a compliment on the football level. Pellistri dares, receives, asks, faces, is not afraid with the ball at his feet. He could be compared to Bryan Gil, one of the sensations of LaLiga precisely because of its impudence. Such definition is the harvest of Juan Román Riquelme, when Boca's interest in the soccer player was rumored: “He is skillful. You can tell he's quite a scoundrel to play with the ball. That is important. There are not many players like him and I think you have to value that. “Another point in favor of talent is his commitment. With a physique still to be worked on and being an overflow winger, he could lack the strength to lend a hand. The new Alavés player, on the contrary, is involved in the pressure and folds back well to lend a hand to his teammates.
Returning to the definition of Riquelme, Pellistri is also accompanied by a high percentage of effectiveness in dribbling. His technique allows him to be victorious over more than half of those he tries, according to the data collected during his time in Peñarol. What's more, it has even more merit for the number of times it tries. In Uruguay he did it 3.5 times per game. That is, with his skill alone he completed almost two per night. He is one of those who ask for the ball at the foot and start from there, also like Bryan Gil. In this way, it would oxygenate the attack of Alavés, which has not been characterized by fluidity in the first section of the season. Further, He has great ball control, essential to start with an advantage against his opponents. Another aspect to improve, typical in footballers of that profile, is the decision after the overflow. It happens, without going any further, to Vinicius: he starts the play well, but loses steam at the moment of truth.
Headline or revulsive?
Headline. The winger is a specialist in breaking closed defenses, for his fantastic handling and his ability to dribble. The problem is that Alavés is not defined as a team that has long possessions of the ball and tends to wait longer in the rear. Even so, Pellistri imposes more as a threat from the first minute. He can stir a game, but his characteristics mean that he is a troublemaker in minute 1 or 90. By not having so much explosiveness, obviously he could give another air to his teammates as an alternative in the second half, although his main virtues do not give him any more guarantee in the final minutes. As a reference, Vinicius is ideal to hustle a game in the second half. However, Bryan Gil knows how to ruffle every possession from the eleven and may not even exploit his resources better when the opponent is more tired.
How do you fit in at Alavés?
The new Alavés de Abelardo plays with a 4-4-2, a scheme that he already used in his day in his first stage. The coach wants a compact team that defends very together in defense and that comes out in transitions with special prominence to band football. Yes, Pellistri seems to respond perfectly to what the coach wants. It's more, it seems that eleven there is a position that bears his name. The newly signed fits into the right wing. Luis Rioja, another natural winger, plays on the left. But in the right lane, he has been a starter in the new stage of the babazorro club Martin Aguirregabiria. A converted right-back.
Martín is one of the most promising players on the team, he is a youth squad and has not performed badly in the position. But when one of the most famous talents of Uruguayan football arrives and the team is so in need of points and freshness in the attack … Everything indicates that it will have opportunities. Abelardo is aware that he has received a promise and must take advantage of all his resources. Of course, his physique leaves doubts, since Alavés depends a lot on the perseverance of its players on defensive terrain. At the moment, at a press conference, 'Pitu' has defined him as a boy with great ball handling and has reaffirmed that what they needed most was to strengthen the bands.
Another aspect against their adaptation is pressure. Alavés are currently in relegation positions and each game is played as a final. There is no time to make mistakes and less if they count points. Iñigo Cordova, the other big slime booster in the winter window, is left wing natural, like Luis Rioja. It is possible that one of the two will change lanes so that they can coexist in the eleven. The former Athletic club knows the category well enough, another point in his favor. Facing Alavés-Valladolid this Friday, everything points to Pellistri starting from the bench. In the second half, who knows, he could start to take off in this new professional adventure.