Analysis: Sergio Vinatea | OneFootball

We’re back at it with a new chapter in the series where we analyze the talents of the different teams from The Academy. Óscar Parejo (Juvenil B) was first, Adrián Martínez (Juvenil A) second, and Guillermo Trujillano (Juvenil B) rounded out the podium. This time, we continue with the attackers to talk about a player who arrived at the club this season and is gradually making a name for himself: Sergio Vinatea, center forward for Atlético de Madrid C.

Sergio Vinatea (Santoña, Cantabria, 05/05/2007) came up through the youth ranks of Racing de Santander, the club where he is a youth product and a huge, huge fan. It wasn’t until the 2021-2022 season that he became part of the youth structure at Villarreal, joining CD Roda. The club, a Villarreal affiliate thanks to an agreement between both institutions, watched him grow from the youth categories up to Juvenil A, from where he made the jump to the main youth team. Before making the leap, he scored 12 goals in 27 División de Honor matches and played 3 games with the first team in the Tercera Federación.

Last season, he scored 16 goals between the División de Honor and the Copa del Rey, playing 2 matches with Villarreal C in the Tercera Federación… and from there, everything changed. He was considered one of the great gems of Villarreal’s youth academy and, in theory, the club had strong faith in him. But then Atlético de Madrid came along, having followed him for some time, and secured his services for 200,000 euros to play for their second reserve team.

His record so far is positive, considering this is his first full season in the senior category: 3 goals and 2 assists for Atlético de Madrid C, 2 goals and 1 assist with Juvenil A in the UEFA Youth League. In other words, 5 goals and 3 assists in 10 games this season. The Cantabrian arrived to stay, make a name for himself, and dream of going as far as possible in The Academy.

But... what kind of striker are we talking about? Well, honestly, because of his height and physique, you might think he’s a classic ‘number nine,’ a clunky target man who prefers to play with his back to goal, battle defenders, and operate in the box. Nothing could be further from the truth: Although he may seem a bit slow, the reality is that he’s much more mobile than people who have only seen him in pictures might think. He’s not the fastest in terms of pure speed, but he’s very intelligent at finding space in the final third, can play as a midfielder if needed—as we saw against Arsenal—has good link-up play with his fellow attackers, and most importantly: he has a striker’s instinct.

His brace on the opening day of the Tercera Federación against RCD Carabanchel is the best example of what Vinatea can offer: he moves like a fish in water all around the box, knowing when and how to attack the gaps between center backs or between center back and full back, he’s intense in duels, never holds back, and has technical skills when finishing that we should take into account.

His first goal was helped by his teammates, as Jesús Barrios’s individual play was exceptional and he received the ball unchallenged and finished precisely for the 1-0. But in the continuation of the play, it was a quick one-two in a tight space, making a decision in just a few seconds. In the second goal, we can better appreciate his offensive ability: with the tip of his boot, first touch, at the near post, and beating the marking of the opposing center back.

Against Arsenal, we saw a very interesting version of the Cantabrian that left no one indifferent: used to playing with a more traditional striker like Sergio Esteban both in the C team and in the Youth League, he’s responsible for stretching the defense and helping with the team’s build-up play. He perfectly understands when to speed up, when to slow down, always looking for the right space to attack with a pass, shot, or run to break the defensive line, and he has a lot of technical quality. I emphasize this because I think it’s something that’s in high demand in modern football, where we’re used to center forwards focusing solely on attacking the box, heading in crosses, and finishing quickly (which is also a feature of his profile).

The reality is that Vinatea couldn’t be more complete. That day he wore the number 8 shirt and, precisely because of the series of movements he made during the match, he fooled the Atlético fans to the point that they believed he was a midfielder. To the astonishment of many, of course, when they were informed that he is actually a center forward. Amazing.

What can we expect from Sergio Vinatea this season? That he keeps growing. It would be unwise to set a goal tally for him, no matter how good his form is right now. The important thing is that he continues to develop through minutes and effectiveness in the situations he gets both inside and near the box, and his contribution to the team’s play. So far, he’s been indispensable for Manel Ruano and Ángel Donato. Let’s hope it stays that way.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.