In this match, SD Eibar was able to win 2-1 away from home against UD Ibiza. This match was hard fought and eventful, many bookings were made to pair with the three goals. Ibiza kept a 4-4-2 formation for the whole match, settling in it both on the offensive and defensive ended. They played inverted wingers and were comfortable to build up slowly. Mateusz Bogusz’s red card ended a night to forget for Ibiza, who fell apart in the second half, allowing too many chances in the box.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Suleiman Camara
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Spain
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 07/12/2001
- Club: UD Ibiza
- Career: Girona FC (Y)
- Position: Left Winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Suleiman Camara is a strong and imposing left winger that stands about 180 cm and played 64 minutes for Ibiza. He is a summer signing from Girona FC that has earned a starting place in Javier Baraja’s squad quickly, playing each of the first ten games and starting eight of them. Camara’s athletic profile is stunning, combining his physical maturity with excellent pace and quick twitch.
On the attack, Camara played the inverted winger role perfectly. He showed for the ball in space at the right times and when he received, he would burst inside with the ball and was quite technical dribbling the ball with both feet cutting inside. Camara mainly passed with his stronger right and it made the angles of passes he mostly made toward the inside slightly easier. The left winger had good accuracy and displayed good playmaker to keep possession advancing. Camara’s ability to cut into space and create chances cannot be understated. The flair and skill he showed when controlling the ball was beautiful and showed his power, too. He had packed power behind his lone shot when cutting inside at the top of the box, although it was blocked. He also displayed this strength cutting inside when warding off defenders with his body. Camara’s powerful style of play suits him on the inside and allows him to handle pressure well. This also affords him more time and space to make decisions, which helps a young player adjusting to senior football.
Although Camara liked to work inside with the ball, he did begin most possessions out wide. Out wide he took advantage of the defense on the counter by making curved runs in behind. His teammates could not connect on any of these but the burst and bend he displayed making them showed a lot of promise if he were to play in a counter-attacking squad rather than the more possession-based Ibiza side he played in on this day. Camara also tried to work his playmaking on the outside, but due to his poor left foot could not do as well. The angles that were there with his right inside were not there in these scenarios, leading to some mishit through balls despite the pass being a good idea in the moment. Camara also utilized a give and go in this match, but the pass from Nolito into the box was inaccurate.
Camara’s defensive duties were not as limited as most wingers. Not only was he an important component of Ibiza’s high press, but he came back on defense when it was settled, too. Camara utilized his high work rate, physicality, and excellent pace to combine for a pesty presser that used his aggression to frustrate the buildup. When tracking back into the defense, Camara was mainly used as an extra body in the way on the wing, cutting out passing lanes given the opportunity.
Rating – A2
Suleiman Camara put in a good performance in this match that reflected a player with high potential. Consistent performances like this are important at a young age, especially at the winger position, one of the more difficult positions to do well in. I have faith, though, that Camara has the ability to grow as a winger using his raw athleticism and technique. He may need a couple more years in the Segunda Division to do so, but Camara could be a La Liga level winger soon.
Miguel Azeez
Player Profile:
- Nationality: England
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 20/09/2002
- Club: Arsenal
- Career: Portsmouth (Loan), UD Ibiza (Loan)
- Position: Central Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
Miguel Azeez is a 180 cm tall central midfielder with an average build, and he played the full 90 minutes in this match. He is on loan from Arsenal and looking to prove he deserves first team minutes back home in England. Azeez used his rapid pace to fulfill his box-to-box roll well, although his work rate could improve. Azeez was caught walking or jogging at times, lacking hustle. The midfielder may not have been lazy, he could just lack the stamina right now for that role. Either way, it is something that needs to be addressed in his game.
When attacking, Azeez was mainly a right-footed player when dribbling, ball carrying and distributing. He worked in his left foot when dribbling and was largely confident in that aspect. Azeez also roamed the right middle and wide right areas when in the attack. He was a presence for attackers to fall back on when advancement to the box failed or in link up play on occasion. Azeez’s passing array included short passes mostly, but he mixed in a nice intermediate ball from his own box to advance into the middle third and played a through ball down the right with his right into the box. Aerially, Azeez was inconsistent but was willing to get up in the air and compete for the ball, although when he won headers, they were mainly inaccurate. It seemed like the Englishman still needs to find his place in the offensive tactics on the right side of midfield. He may also need to time gel with teammates, but hardly any of them played very well in this match.
Azeez showcased a lot more of his talent on defense against Eibar. He used his physical presence and quickness to press up and often forced a back pass or inaccurate pass away. In one press, he pressed an attacker from the center to wide areas all the way into the box, boxing them out to win a foul and possession. When Ibiza’s defense was settled, Azeez stuck to his line and held good positioning, open hips with good bend and a wide base, both to cover and close down if a pass came to his zone. In close downs into 1v1s, he would close space quickly to force passes and cause pressure. In one instance he put in a tackle to get the ball away and went after the loose ball with a slide but got booked. This yellow card did not seem to affect his defensive demeanor, though. Azeez was still out there going for interceptions in the midfield and trying to press for possession back but did allow too much space a few times. On the first goal for Eibar, he was responsible for affording too much space for the attacker to put in the cross that led to the rebound goal. Again, he allowed too much space when recovering and allowed a long shot. Azeez’s angles could have been better and that would have paired well with his positioning technique.
Rating – B2
Miguel Azeez must get better at this level before he can move up to a La Liga level club, based on this performance. He must train his conditioning and learn his loan club’s tactics to make an impact and show that he is worth a place in La Liga or on Arsenal’s first team bench next season. As of right now he is not impressing enough to do so, but Azeez has quite enough natural talent to turn it around.
Mateusz Bogusz
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Poland
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 22/08/2001
- Club: Leeds United
- Career: Ruda Slaska (Y), Ruch Chorzow (Y), UD Logrones (Loan), UD Ibiza (Loan)
- Position: Central Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
- Other Positions: Attacking Midfielder
Mateusz Bogusz is a diminutive 175 cm attack-minded midfielder who played central midfield in this match, subbed on in 64th minute. He did not complete the match, though, as he was booked in the 87th minute and sent off with a straight red card. This ruined a short and promising performance that first caught my eye early on into his introduction to the match. Bogusz made a strong spinning skill move at the right corner of the box after ball carrying from midfield and fired a powerful right footed shot that that missed past top right corner. The skill and athleticism he showed there stuck out a lot.
Bogusz mainly worked in the wide left areas when attacking and distributed the ball well with both feet. He dealt with pressure well and displayed good ball control, too. The Polish midfielder showed for the ball in space in order to get touches and distributed from there. Bogusz is naturally an attacking midfielder, so his role was mainly attacking during his short shift.
On defense, Bogusz had good positioning in the midfield line but was not too active defensively, his main objective he was trying to find a winner then leveler. He had a solid clearance but also got sent off with that challenge and caused an injury. Although not asked to do much defensively, Bogusz still played poorly.
Rating – C
Mateusz Bogusz had a poor short performance in this match but flashed potential to be a good attacking midfielder. He had moments of brilliance that if made more consistent could lead to some top performances this season if he earns more playing time. Bogusz must also avoid the bad character moments like the red card, of course. It was a poor team performance so that may have affected his play in this one. If Bogusz puts together the tools together, he could possibly work into Leeds United’s first team in a couple seasons.