The Art of Spain's Attacking Full Backs

A flurry of Spanish left and right backs have emerged over the last decade. Performances from Jordi Alba and José Gayá in the last La Liga match day showed their attacking value particularly, as they both pick up assists in their victories for Barcelona and Valencia.

The previously rather uninteresting position of full back has dazzlingly developed into an exciting position with many versatile and more offensive players. A modern day full back doesn't now make you think of constant defending.

Spaniards who have reinforced the idea of an attacking-minded wingback consists of José Gayá, Hector Bellerin, Sergio Reguillon and Jordi Alba. This abundance of quality that they all share has been significant in the progression of their sides.

A praised factor of these four is their ability to link up with the forward line and deliver delightful crosses or critical short passes to set up goal-scoring opportunities. The demanding job of supporting attacking plays is the vital role of tracking back which is demonstrated as we see some Spanish full-backs almost top the list for distance covered. Their fast pace to overlap or move dangerously into a position is also a modern requirement. We even see Jordi Alba sometimes sprinting up the pitch to the striker position to press or support the attack more like a traditional left-winger.

Additionally, Jordi Alba, who turned 32 last weekend, has greatly influenced the evolution of footballing sensation Lionel Messi. His partnership with The Flea has undoubtedly been one of the best in Europe and almost reminiscent of Leo's one with the prime Dani Alves. Assisting Lionel Messi on several occasions throughout his career, with his spectacular composed pass to Messi in the last second of El Classico in 2017 being the pick of the bunch. The majority of his assists have been to Messi and he himself said, "Whenever I have the ball, I always look to see where Messi is."

Underlaps from Bellerin and sprints up and down the field from the likes of Gaya contrast exceptionally to 20th century football. Often these essential forward movements trigger central midfield players to drop in. At Arsenal, we see Granit Xhaka cover to the right back position to maintain possession as Bellerin adopts a near winger role.

While crucially defending, full-back has become a key position as we see Spanish left-back Jose Gaya been elected as captain of Valencia as he sends in staggering crosses. Spanish full-backs have popularised the desire to get forward and support the attack enthusiastically rather than negatively playing deep relying solely on defending and aggression to individual keep your place.

What Full-Backs feature in the most recent Spain Squad?

Alba who makes his first appearance for Spain since 2018, and the shining 25-year-old Gayá from Valencia have been selected by Spanish National Team coach Luis Enrique for the first instalment of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers.

Spain play Greece, Georgia and Kosovo where we will see the two in form Spanish left-backs fight to assist their fellow forwards. 

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