As evident from the country’s UEFA EURO 2024 victory, Spain possesses a lot of footballing talent.
In the Tercera Federación, the fifth tier of Spanish football, youth categories from prominent La Liga clubs like Rayo Vallecano, CD Leganés, and Atlético Madrid compete, showcasing the development talent of these top-flight teams.
In that sense, Tercera RFEF’s Group 7 at Madrid is home to a plethora of talent.
Atlético de Madrid reached an alliance agreement with CUC Villalba, which is now like an Atlético de Madrid “C”.
Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano and Leganés have their second teams in Tercera RFEF.
This scouting report presents a recruitment analysis focusing on five promising profiles from the youth teams of the three aforementioned clubs.
These players have shown the potential to become La Liga talents and take the next step toward breaking into their respective first teams.
Etienne Eto’o Scouting Report
- Age: 22
- Club: Rayo Vallecano “B”
- Height: 1.91 m
- Preferred Foot: Right
- Positions: Centre-Forward
Etienne Eto’o is the only dual nationality on the list – Cameroonian and Spanish.
He has played at Mallorca, Baleares, Real Oviedo, Guimaraes (Portugal), Poblense, and CUC Villalba and now plays under Jorge Vallejo at Rayo Vallecano “B.”
Also, he made his professional debut with a goal in Copa Del Rey against Villamuriel.
Son of the legend Samuel Eto’o, Etienne is a quite different type of centre-forward than the former Barcelona star.
Etienne is a target man with physicality and finishing quality.
He is a killer in the box and a tank in other parts of the pitch.
Close to the box or even far from it, Etienne uses his body well to retain with his back to goal.
He uses his arms and large legs to hold up the ball.
In every category, it seems like Eto’o can demonstrate his physical superiority in aerial and ground duels.
Figure 1 shows that he can use his arms to win space and impose himself in the air.
His heading ability is great as well.
In the fifth division, he tends to win aerial duels against centre-backs of every age.
That is why RFEF categories are fantastic proof and practice for players like him.
He uses the same resource when holding up the ball in ground duels.
The forward is a great tool for Rayo’s playing model, allowing them to retain possession, combine, and establish themselves in the opposition’s half.
He can complete assists by using his body and completing short passes for a player in front of a goal, even to activate a third-man play.
Etienne’s strongest case for being considered a future La Liga striker is his exceptional goalscoring ability.
He is a killer inside the penalty area.
His right foot is stronger than anyone in the league, and he can complete shots from various angles, from near to or far from the goal.
He is currently the second-highest scorer in the tournament with seven goals, and a season ago with CUC Villalba, he scored 11.
Etienne Eto’o Shots Map
His most common way to shoot is by hitting the ball low, where the goalkeeper cannot act quickly.
In that sense, he was born with a pure striker’s instinct.
He understands the game better than most centre-forwards of his age and experience.
He knows where to appear at the exact moment and can be fed by crosses or ground passes.
Even his speed is not bad, considering his size.
He can run in behind if the rival’s pressure is high, although he is less comfortable than in other contexts.
Juan Ybarra Scouting Report
- Age: 20
- Club: Rayo Vallecano “B”
- Height: 1.74 m
- Preferred Foot: Right
- Positions: Attacking Midfielder (AM), Left Winger (LW)
Etienne Eto’o is not the only one shining at Rayo Vallecano “B”.
Juan Ybarra is another superstar of Tercera RFEF’s Group 7.
He is the soul of Jorge Vallejo’s team, with protagonism in the rival box, but mainly in creating spaces with off-the-ball movement and his long-passing range.
He is a weapon to break low blocks.
In all Tercera Federación, finding a player with a similar sensibility to touch the ball, drive it, and dribble in tight spaces will be difficult.
In Jorge Vallejo’s positional proposal, Juan Ybarra has the freedom to switch positions according to where he thinks he’s most useful.
This season, he always starts as a left-winger.
Still, he is a ‘10’ or advanced ‘8’, so he tends to spend much time in central channels, dropping deeper if needed as the architect of the possession or working between the lines because his hip spin is absolutely awesome.
The fluidity of his movements is fantastic.
He is close to the ball, asking for participation, and he is prepared to change the rhythm/direction if his mark arrives.
Nevertheless, he can still improve his shooting power.
He is accurate at passing to complete switches in possession or risky through balls, but shooting from outside the box would be a great addition to his football and would make him a threat from another level.
He is also a perfect tandem for Etienne Eto’o, who works from deeper positions to progress and assist.
This one does not need to engage in physical duels to make the difference, while Etienne’s best skill is his physique.
Iker Bachiller Scouting Report
- Age: 22
- Club: CD Leganés “B”
- Height: 1.69 m
- Preferred Foot: Left
- Positions: Left Back (LB)
Let’s go with the second team in the list and the third player.
After being at Atlético Madrid Juvenil, AD Alcorcón “B” and CD Illescas, Iker Bachiller signed for Leganés “B” this season.
Iker is a peculiar left-back.
Like Ybarra, but from the backline, Bachiller can play in outer and inner channels, always starting from the left.
Being 1.69, the most interesting part of his physique is his speed.
He is really fast when going back or attacking.
His pace allows him to make overlaps or underlaps according to the context and complete progressive runs or dribbles as the ball rolls quickly, while his resources in the final third are class.
Iker Bachiller Ball Progression
His left-footed ball-striking is top-class.
He is also capable of being a set-piece taker.
However, his most remarkable ability is his in-swinging cross in the last meters of the pitch.
As a modern full-back, Iker’s most attractive detail in terms of role is that he can be an inverted or maximum-width full-back in possession.
He played a lot at Illescas, even as a wing-back.
Now, under José Sánchez Capdevila at Leganés “B”, he tends to move centrally to reinforce the strong side of the possession.
Defensively, Iker still needs a solid ecosystem to be a sustainable full-back after losing the ball.
He recovers fast from his position, but he is a profile designed for pressing higher and anticipating more than receiving constant duels or defending his box.
Nevertheless, Bachiller is more than a full-back and will soon become a first-division talent.
David Muñoz Scouting Report
- Age: 19
- Club: CUC Villalba (Atlético de Madrid C)
- Height: 1.78 m
- Preferred Foot: Right
- Positions: Advanced Midfielder (AM), Central Midfielder (CM)
We are close to the end with CUC Villalba (Atlético de Madrid C).
First from CU Collado Villalba is David Muñoz, the youngest on our list.
He arrived at the “colchoneros” in 2019 from Burgos.
David is the most representative picture of a ‘box-to-box’ in this division.
However, due to his aggressiveness, intensity, and stamina, he has been playing closer to the first pressure line at CUC Villalba.
Those three may be the best words to describe him.
A perfect player for a team which is looking for a high-intense pressing style.
He’s a physical machine with a very powerful lower body that allows him to complete accelerations with the ball or strike from a distance.
David Muñoz Defensive Territory Map
The volume of his defensive actions is high for a midfielder, and he understands when to jump or when not to force big mistakes on defenders or goalkeepers.
He is a physical beast.
He runs more than anyone with stamina until the 90’ and makes every effort in each intervention.
While having the ball, his ball carrying is excellent once he made his first step.
He possesses the most powerful lower body on the list and maybe in the tournament, being the youngest here.
Sometimes, he overaccelerates, but he does not tend to commit many mistakes.
His long shot is another remarkable resource to consider if he makes another step at Atlético de Madrid.
He shoots with power if he has a little space from central zones at the top of the box, and he is also usually the set-piece taker at CUC Villalba this season.
Diego Messoussi Scouting Report
- Age: 21
- Club: CUC Villalba
- Height: 1.72 m
- Preferred Foot: Right
- Positions: Left Winger (LW), Attacking Midfielder (AM)
Going with the last player on the list, Diego Guerrero Messoussi is a pure winger, a former Coslada, Sanse and Colonia Moscardó player.
What makes him a potential La Liga talent is easy to detect: He has outstanding dribbling ability and the personality to show it.
No matter the mistakes or ball losses, he is constantly looking for duels and overloading his side of markers.
In a positional model, he should be the winger with maximum width.
Once he starts the turnover with fast footwork, there are two things that you do not know.
The first one is when it will end.
And the second one is his direction.
When the ball is rolling slowly and doing his turnover, he can accelerate in every direction without a pattern, and you will not predict which one.
Nevertheless, Messoussi can also have an impact from central positions.
Diego Messoussi Touch Map
As Figure 10 shows, Diego is comfortable being in the centre.
Once again, his dribble makes the difference there.
In tight spaces and situations on the limit, Messoussi is never afraid of dribbling, running, or making individual plays.
For now, his reading of the game should improve.
His decision-making should improve over time.
Thanks to his work, he should become a more associated player and use his frequent double-markers to send the ball to other parts of the pitch that are opened.
Conclusion
With the rise of positional football, even in the strangest corners of Spain, many players have a tactical reading of the game based on a positional philosophy.
They see the pitch as a matter of space.
And the best academies in the country, like those in Madrid, have a lot of potential top talent in their squads.
It will be satisfactory to watch these talents develop.
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