The pandemic has foiled all competition schedules across the globe, leaving behind a “new normal” that, for calendar purposes, promises to be frantic. Italian Serie A was one of the major leagues about which there was most uncertainty about its resumption. With the transalpine country as one of the main focuses of COVID-19 on the European continent, the possibility of returning to the playing fields seemed remote. However, the decision has been made that the ball will roll again in Italy.
Obviously, Serie A will not be foreign to the new football. In addition to empty stadiums, the most direct consequence will be a “express” final of the championship. There are 12 league days remaining that will have to be played in 40 days, which results in a devilish calendar that will take footballers to the limit of their physical abilities. In this situation, The breadth of the squad and the ability to compete in adverse situations like this will become vitally important.
In this context, in addition, players who know how to acclimate to situations both external to the game and directly linked to it aim to make a difference. Versatility is always a grade and more at a point in the season in which technicians will be forced to use many troops. It is in this sense that the figure of Luis Alberto, footballer who promises to be of vital importance for a Lazio who has left contestona. The blanquiceleste combined is curdling a sensational season and march second just one point behind Juventus, so it does not seem far-fetched that the monopoly of the Vecchia Signora in the Scudetto may come to an end.
The Spanish footballer arrived four years ago at the Roman team from Liverpool. After a discreet first season, Luis Alberto contributed, in the 2017/18 campaign, with 11 goals over 34 league games. However, It has been in this current season when he has established himself as a fundamental player for Simone Inzaghi. Not in vain, He is the biggest assistant in Serie A, he has done it up to twelve times; and he has participated in 25 of the 26 matches that Lazio has played in the league until the break.
Versatility is a degree
The added value of Luis Alberto The figures are not a few lines above related, but the different functions it can perform on the field of play. “No matter where I play, any position is fine for me, I only care about being on the field”, pointed out the man from Cádiz a year ago, and does not stop applying it regardless of the work Inzaghi assigns him.
The Spanish footballer has played indoors at many times in his career. Last season he was established as a hitch, as the only man behind the center forward of the Roman team, Ciro Immobile. And it is this ability to acclimatise that has made the coach of Lazio Consider a new position for Luis Alberto: the midfielder. This would allow to rotate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, undisputed pivot of the Blanquiceleste team, without his usual 3-5-2 undergoing too much tinkering.
Thus, the role of Luis Alberto seems fundamental, even more in this frenetic final sprint of the competition. The Spanish player feels important in Rome, so much so that he has announced his renewal until 2025. His unquestionable work and his ability to alternate tasks will continue to be one of the main arguments of a Lazio that, at least this season, has given up for rebelling.