Alba Redondo is an international Spanish forward whose contract with Levante expires this summer. Therefore, she will be waiting for offers to choose from and make a decision about her upcoming destination, which can be in Liga F (most probably Barcelona or Real Madrid) or abroad in one of the top European leagues, WSL, Division 1 Féminine, Serie A, Frauen-Bundesliga. It is also probable that Redondo opts for an even farther destination if she receives offers from NWSL clubs.
Therefore, in this tactical analysis and scout report, we will be reserving a section discussing Redondo’s most suitable team choices after getting to know her profile extensively. The analysis will explore her main attacking traits and possible positions as well as her importance to Spain and Levante’s tactics so far.
To sum up Redondo’s value and impact on her teams’ results, it is very important to mention that she was ranked 61st on the Guardian’s 2023 list of the 100 Best Female Footballers in the World and won the Pichichi award for being the top goalscorer in the 2022-23 Liga F season. This already tells us a lot about Redondo’s attacking value and her goalscoring abilities.
Moreover, Redondo’s key participation with Spain in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup has surely made the Spanish forward a more experienced and valuable player. She not only won the World Cup while starting the final match against England but also made seven appearances during this World Cup, scoring three goals and being a very useful attacking weapon for Jorge Vilda’s side back then.
Prior to this highlight in Redondo’s footballing life, she played at Fundación Albacete’s B team from 2009 to 2012 before getting promoted to Fundación Albacete’s A team and staying with them until 2019, when she attracted the interest of Levante. She had a few excellent seasons with them while getting a few chances with Spain, but she was not lucky enough to be selected in the final squad for Euro 2022 or the 2019 World Cup.
Following her success in the 2023 World Cup however, Redondo confirmed her worth within the Spanish team, and it is very expected to see her more often during continental and international tournaments with the Spanish jersey, especially if she makes an adequate team choice this summer and succeeds in keeping her excellent run of form and remain attackingly dangerous.
Possible positions and general traits
Redondo proved on numerous occasions that she can be considered a versatile attacking player who can be useful in each of the attacking positions. She mainly plays as a left winger and sometimes as an advanced playmaker at Levante. She was used mostly as a right winger during the latest World Cup with Spain and a few times as a striker or a second striker. This means that Redondo has the experience needed for each of these positions and can cope well with the duties required for each mentioned position without being confused. This is very important for Redondo and for the teams looking for attacking players since it makes Redondo a very desired player whether the concerned team is in need of a winger, advanced playmaker or striker.
Redondo has been a great finisher from the left wing for Levante as she moves intelligently without the ball and usually exploits the gaps within opposing defences well since she is a quick player with a very good sense of positioning, especially inside the final third. This helped her score numerous goals for Levante per season, and it justifies the award she received for being the top Liga F goalscorer in the 2022-23 season.
Although her physical strength is not that excellent compared to other players in her position, she is a player who often wins duels and has a fairly remarkable endurance during her battles with defenders. Also, being a speedy winger helps her a lot in getting away from marking and in dribbling quickly past players, knowing that her dribbling success rate equals 50.2%.
Goalscoring and passing
In terms of goalscoring, her statistics actually show that she scores 0.49 goals per game and shoots 2.76 times per game, with 46.2% on target. These numbers can surely be improved if Redondo keeps her excellent run of form going and works even more on her finishing.
This graphic shows her latest 75 shots and highlights the number of shots scored, the shots on target, and the misses. What we can conclude from this graphic is that the number of misses needs to be reduced by working further on shooting on target. The positive thing is that Redondo’s shots on target are often dangerous, and that’s why many of these shots end up inside the net.
Another very impressive trait that Redondo was able to showcase, especially during the World Cup, is her excellent decision-making inside the box and her ability to dribble past defenders and goalkeepers without really being hesitant or stressed. This was especially seen during her beautiful goal against Zambia when she was able to cover the ball with her body to prevent her marker from getting to it first while dribbling past the opposing goalkeeper and finishing with her left foot.
Another goal scored against the same opponent showcases the player’s ability to score using both feet and still have great control of the ball. This goal action, in particular, highlights Redondo’s excellent decision-making in terms of shot timing and knowing how to feint opponents and confuse goalkeepers since she was able to control the ball with her chest, pretend to shoot to confuse defenders, and then touch the ball once again to find a better shooting trajectory and score.
Moreover, Redondo has been able to score important goals using headers despite the fact that she is not very tall or physically strong. More importantly, she has shown on numerous occasions that she fits the striker position very well, as she executes most of the duties required from strikers in an excellent way, including volleys and half-volleys.
Executing this type of shots not only needs the mastery of volley movements or the body coordination and timing but also the ability to free herself from marking and moving without the ball to a spot that enables her to execute the needed action. Redondo showed on more than one occasion that she can anticipate her teammate’s passes/crosses and move without the ball in the direction of the cross to create some space for herself and avoid defenders’ tight marking.
This example highlights one of these well-executed volleys from Redondo against Australia. What was remarkable in this action was Redondo’s movement towards the near post when her teammate was about to cross the ball in her direction. That enabled her to find the time and space to execute a beautiful volley and score a goal.
Redondo can also score some unexpected goals from tight angles at times, and what is even more impressive is that she does this using her left foot sometimes, and this stresses the fact that her right foot and left foot accuracy are both excellent. This goal against Ukraine was scored from a tough angle while Redondo was running fast. Yet, she could still put an adequate impact on the ball and send it to the opposed angle, which was unexpected for the goalkeeper.
Regarding passing and assist-making, Redondo equals 73% in terms of passing accuracy in general and 54.5% in terms of accurate passes towards the final third. She has the ability to provide excellent passes, especially when she plays as a left winger and penetrates from the wing. She uses her dribbling skills well to exclude defenders and then provides key passes towards one of the players waiting inside the box.
She did that in this example against Valencia when she dribbled past her opponents and provided a key pass while excluding three defenders from the action. Her ability to dribble well in tight spaces, especially on the wings, increases her chances of succeeding in providing key passes towards the box most of the time.
And once again, mastering shooting and passing using both feet represents a huge advantage for Redondo as she is also able to cross with great accuracy using the right or the left foot from both wings, and this makes the chances of preventing Redondo from crossing very low for defenders. This cross against Zambia was executed using her left foot on the left wing because she was disturbed and obliged not to cross using the right foot. As a result, Redondo’s left-footed cross was accurate despite the disturbance, which proves the player’s ability to find fruitful solutions to complicated situations instead of failing to resist disturbance.
Most suitable destinations
Logically, Redondo’s most reasonable next destination would be one of Real Madrid or Barcelona as these two teams are the leaders of Liga F and represent a very suitable option for Redondo as it would enable her to save a lot of time and energy, knowing that she knows most of the players playing at these two teams and is already accustomed to playing in Liga F and will not be required to learn a new language or lose time in getting accustomed to a different playing style and footballing mentality.
Nevertheless, she should monitor the offers she receives very well before making a decision because it would be fundamental to know whether these teams will need her as a backup option or as a starting player (if they send offers).
In other words, Real Madrid and also Atlético Madrid would most probably represent a more suitable destination for Redondo than Barcelona as she is more likely going to have much more playing space in one of these two teams than in Barcelona, who already have plenty of world-class attacking players who would make Redondo’s playing chances lower. With names such as Mariona Caldentey, Caroline Graham Hansen, Fridolina Rolfö and Salma Paralluelo playing regularly at Barcelona, Redondo would have to battle regularly and consistently to win a starting spot.
However, if Redondo likes adventures and needs a little bit of change to gain more experience, there are plenty of teams outside Spain who would need Redondo’s services urgently and for the long term. Keeping an eye on big WSL teams such as Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as the attacking players departing from these teams this summer, would help Redondo understand if it would be suitable for her to join one of these teams since she has the ability to perform well in the WSL.
In Italy, Redondo can find herself comfortable with Roma Women. She can help them become even more competitive in the UWCL since they are already excelling in Serie A and playing regularly in the UWCL.
At the same time, the Spanish international would most probably break her own goalscoring record if she joins the NWSL since their league is very different and would suit Redondo, especially if she works a bit harder on her physical strength. What is certain, however, is that Redondo will surely be “wanted” by numerous NWSL teams as most of them need a dangerous all-round attacking player like Redondo.
Conclusion
Alba Redondo is undoubtedly going to make a positive impact on her new team next season, no matter what choice she makes since she has the abilities needed to shine with any team. However, she must think intelligently about her next move in order not to fall into the trap of getting insufficient playing time and, therefore, risking her participation with Spain in the upcoming big tournaments.
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