Since 1912, Athletic Club de Bilbao have employed a unique policy of only using Basque players. Players can be recruited from other Basque clubs, but most are brought through the ranks at Los Leones. As one of the three Primera División founding members that have never been relegated from the top division since its creation in 1929, their academy and Basque criteria continue to bear fruit.
Some players, like Kepa Arrizabalaga at Chelsea and Aymeric Laporte at Manchester City, leave the club in big-money moves, but most remain at San Mamés. Athletic Club are well-respected for their homegrown player development and loyalty. Captain Iker Muniain has been at the club his whole career, registering over 500 appearances. Goalkeeper Unai Simón thrived after Kepa Arrizabalaga’s departure and has since picked up 25 caps for Spain. Attacker Iñaki Williams is a Primera División record-breaker, appearing in consecutive games for over six years. However, the next crop of Basque talents are coming to prominence, with Nico Williams, younger brother of Iñaki, headlining.
Nico Williams, born in Pamplona to Ghanaian parents seeking asylum from civil war, is an exciting winger that has become an integral member of Ernesto Valverde’s squad. Registering two goals and two assists in the opening six games of the La Liga season, Nico has earned a call-up to Luis Enrique’s Spanish national team. He has appeared for Spain at younger age groups, but a call-up for the September international break was his first for La Furia Roja at senior level.
With Iñaki Williams recently choosing to represent Ghana ahead of 2022 FIFA World Cup, some have speculated that Nico’s call-up is a tactic from Spain to prevent the talented attacker’s allegiance to Ghana. However, this tactical analysis, in the form of a scout report, will identify why Nico Williams deserved this call-up to represent Spain.
Player profile
Nico Williams (181cm/5’11”, 67kg/147lbs) is a two-footed winger with a slim build. The Spaniard’s ambipedal ability is particularly effective when combined with his devastating acceleration. As a result, every full-back that faces Williams is troubled by his quality in 1v1s and when carrying possession forwards for Athletic Club. Nico’s threat in the final third is also developing with his time in senior football, with Los Leones’ 3-2 win against Rayo Vallecano being the first occasion both the Williams brothers scored in the same game.
Spain’s newest call-up has appeared on the left-wing before, but Williams is best, and most frequently, used on the right. The figure below displays his heatmap from La Liga so far this season, under Ernesto Valverde.
Nico’s emergence as a starter at San Mamés couldn’t have come at a better time with Valverde’s return to the club. After taking two years away from management after his time at Barcelona, Valverde returned to Athletic Club for a third spell. When he departed for Barcelona in 2017, he left a successful yet ageing squad needing an overhaul. However, since his return in 2022, Valverde has obtained a much younger squad with younger players trusted in crucial roles.
Employing an expansive 4-3-3 shape, Valverde has deployed 20-year-old Williams on the right wing. The wingers typically hold maximum width to stretch opposition defensive structures and expand the space between the lines for Iker Muniain and Oihan Sancet, another U23 starlet, to receive. Valverde’s decision to line up with Sancet and Muniain in central areas ensures Williams receives from high-quality creative players. The electric winger is a go-to passing option for the midfielders in structured attacks and in attacking transitions.
Despite often operating in the widest channel, Nico Williams also provides tactical flexibility and value in central areas. Valverde looks to be developing Athletic Club into a control-heavy, ball-dominant side without weakening their attacking prowess. This requires Los Leones to maintain the core responsibilities of positional play, in turn bringing Nico inside occasionally. Nico can come inside when the right-back operates as the width holder, but can also drift infield to facilitate Iñaki’s tendency to move wide before attacking central spaces.
In the image above, Nico left the widest channel against Cádiz due to right-back Óscar de Marcos operating as the right width-holder. Cádiz prepared to overload Nico by lining up with Alfonso Espino and Santiago Arzamendia, two left-backs, but de Marcos’ movement helped to create situations where Nico could face only Espino. This is an example of Nico drifting infield and drawing Espino between the lines, creating space to penetrate behind the Uruguayan defender. Williams can utilise his pace and dynamic superiority to burst beyond Espino and receive Mikel Vesga’s clipped pass in behind, with Nico winning a penalty against Espino for handball.
His acceleration from between the lines to then break in behind the opposition defensive line has proven to be useful at times already this season. When able to receive on the half-turn in central areas, he can be a threat in transition. However, the winger can struggle receiving with his back to goal with pressure from defenders, potentially preventing him from becoming a centre-forward long-term as Iñaki has become.
1vs1 quality
Nico Williams has displayed quality to face off with opposition full-backs and beat them 1v1 with overwhelming success. His pace is unmatched by opposition defenders with his ball-carrying profiting from the numerous impressive physical attributes in the Spaniard’s skill-set. Out of the 76 wide players and attackers to play over 300 La Liga minutes so far this season, Williams is top ranked for successful attacking actions per 90 with 7.54.
The figure below shows Nico’s penetrating carries so far in this La Liga campaign. We can see Nico receive a lot of possession by the touchline before driving at the defence. Typically, Spain manager Luis Enrique lines up in a 4-3-3 with the wingers making the pitch big and pinning the opposition full-backs, similar to Valverde’s set-up at Athletic Club. Comparing Williams to Spain’s other winger options, the Athletic Club youngster’s 1vs1 ability is unrivalled.
The likes of Villarreal’s Yeremi Pino can hold width or Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio can drift infield for central overloads, but neither possess the blistering pace that provides another option to break down opponents. Barcelona’s Ansu Fati and Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal can offer penetrative carries, but both have experienced recent injury struggles allowing Nico Williams to impress for La Furia Roja.
The figure on the right of the above image shows Williams’ capacity to beat his man on the outside and by cutting inside. There is a balance between the two to sustain his unpredictability when dribbling, not showing a particular preference for either. This is aided by his comfort using both feet. There is a uniqueness to Nico’s dribbling in that he often carries the ball with his left foot rather than his supposedly stronger right foot.
The Spaniard’s ambipedal ability is crucial for his dribbling success. Nico Williams ranks 5th for dribbles per 90 so far this La Liga season with 7.11, alongside an impressive success rate of 60.61%. Only Vínicius Júnior, Ousmane Dembélé, Raphinha and Valencia’s Samuel Lino have attempted more so far. Spain’s latest call-up also ranks 4th for progressive runs with 4.09 per 90.
In the image below, Nico has chased down a long punt upfield to relieve pressure from Athletic Club’s defensive third. He uses his sharp pace to keep the ball in play and then draws a sliding challenge from Álvaro García, which he skips past with ease. By beating García, Williams has attracted three more Rayo Vallecano players towards him before releasing the ball at the optimal time for Iñaki’s run in behind.
With his dribbling ability and pace being so threatening, Nico naturally draws in multiple opponents. Some opponents will attempt to create 2vs1’s against Nico, while others will tilt their defensive structure to provide additional cover on the right side of Athletic Club’s attack. This can help create space on the opposite flank for left winger Álex Berenguer, who has three goals and two assists in the opening six games of this La Liga campaign.
As opponents try to prevent their full-back from being isolated with Williams, the winger must make these opportunities count when he is able to face the defender 1vs1. In the figure below, Nico receives Oihan Sancet’s pass by the touchline, holding maximum width isolated against the Elche left-back Nicolás Fernández.
Upon Williams receiving, Fernández attempts to usher the winger down the line. However, when Nico takes a touch inside, the full-back spins and gets caught square, allowing Nico to burst past the left-back with a large touch into space. The Spaniard’s next touch is another large touch towards the byline, so Nico can utilise his pace to remain ahead of Fernández. Nico’s cutback was missed by Iñaki but the arriving Iker Muniain found the back of the net via a Berenguer deflection, who was in an offside position to disallow the goal.
His two-footedness can strike a resemblance to that of Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembélé, with their ability to create shooting angles in the final third but also their ability to progress possession through ball-carrying. Xavi’s Barcelona are very ball-dominant, with an average possession of 66.2% so far this season, but Dembélé’s individual dribbling is a regular option for progressing and penetrating opposition structures.
Both Luis Enrique’s Spain and Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Club take a more vertical attacking approach than Xavi’s Barcelona, but Nico Williams’ ambipedal ball-carrying can be used to help create gaps and penetrate opposition defences like Dembélé at Barça.
Final third impact
In La Liga last season, Nico Williams’ output was underwhelming, with no goals or assists in his 1,322 minutes spread across 34 appearances. The Spaniard provided three goals and an assist in cup competitions though, including a late winner in the Supercopa de España semi-final against Atlético Madrid. However, his data from the last La Liga season was quite promising, despite the glaring absence of goals and assists. So far this season, Nico’s statistics have improved further, with the addition of two goals and two assists.
The figure above displays the latest Spain call-up’s winger actions so far this season. Out of the 76 wide players and attackers to play at least 300 minutes in La Liga this term, Nico ranks seventh for crosses per 90 with 4.74. He ranks 11th for passes into the penalty box with 3.88 per 90, alongside a fine accuracy of 61.11%. The winger also gets involved inside the penalty box as well, often looking to attack the box for deliveries from the left wing. Williams ranks 11th for touches in the box per 90 with 4.74, also using his ball-carrying to enter the box.
An example of this can be seen below, also from Los Leones’ away win at Elche. Right-back Óscar de Marcos picks up the loose ball and spreads play to Nico wide on the right wing. Athletic Club midfielder Oihan Sancet begins to drift wide to provide a passing option but peels away alongside his marker Gerard Gumbau, allowing Williams to attack his opponent 1v1.
Williams executes a couple of stepovers to shift the ball into a crossing position before cutting back and facing up the opponent. From a static position, Nico showcases his tricky dribbling with two more fluid stepovers to unbalance the defender and power inside the box on his left foot. His next touch is to release a lethal left-footed strike into the top corner beyond Elche goalkeeper, Édgar Badía.
Similar to his dribbling, Williams has a balance of left-footed and right-footed goals. His ambipedal skill enables the Spaniard to attempt shots from various angles with conviction. He has also proven he can convert chances against settled defences and in rapid counterattacks, able to provide a solution and shooting opportunity against any type of defence.
The figure below is an xG map from Nico’s last two seasons at club and international level, for Athletic Club and Spain’s U21 side. We can see the winger’s ability to find the left corners of the goal, a common target for right-wingers cutting inside. The development of his left foot to match the strength of his supposedly stronger right foot allows Nico to perform these shots. Williams has also been a reliable penalty-taker for Athletic Club’s B team, converting into the bottom corners.
Conclusion
Nico Williams is an electric winger with exceptional 1v1 and ambipedal ability, flourishing in Ernesto Valverde’s expansive tactics and system at Athletic Club. Taking on important roles alongside other young players like Oihan Sancet, the Basque policy continues to produce and develop homegrown talent. Many Los Leones players, past and present, have turned out for the Spanish national team and Nico is the latest after his first call-up by manager Luis Enrique.
Nico could have partnered his brother Iñaki for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup this winter but has instead taken on the challenge of battling against Spain’s vastly talented player pool. However, Spain lacks Williams’ unstoppable 1v1 ability and extraordinary speed; as an exciting but effective ball carrier, the winger provides another dimension to the Spanish attack for Luis Enrique. With Nico also developing his attacking output this season, expect shouts for the Athletic Club star to be in the La Furia Roja squad for the World Cup if his form continues.
In this tactical analysis, in the form of a scout report, we have looked at Nico Williams’ game-changing attributes that have thrived at San Mamés to earn the youngster a call-up to the Spanish national team.
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