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Soldado: Why his poor form in England matters little to those in his native Spain.
Soldado came from sunny Spain to play at White Hart Lane, but has now returned to Spain. Again. For one reason or another it simply didn’t work out for the likeable Spaniard and after arriving for a hefty £26m he left last weekend for a paltry £7m. So what did go wrong for Bobby over in England? Was it the physical nature of the English game? The weather? Did someone put gravy on his potato bravas? Here’s the view from Spain on Soldado’s two-year stint in London.
While the British media were quick to label him “one of the biggest flops in Premier League history” the reaction is in his native Spain has been much kinder; almost friendly in some cases. It’s true that his woes haven’t made many national newspapers – or local ones – but his reputation as a natural goal scorer remains fully in tact. All this despite him notching a rather disappointing 7 goals for Tottenham since his move there in the summer of 2013.
The main argument seems to be regarding the physicality of the defenders in England compared to their Iberian counterparts. Most of the play is on the floor in La Liga so there’s a greater emphasis on the defence being comfortable on the ball, not panicking under pressure. This suited Soldado’s game as he didn’t need to play with his back to goal and, against similar-sized centre halves, he was actually quite good in the air.
However, in England you’ll find most centre backs are tall, strong and not particularly good on the ball; preferring to boot it up field as opposed to work themselves a yard of space and see what their options are. Soldado is a hard worker but he can’t grow 10cm taller or add 10 kilograms. Asking him to win headers against them, or shield the ball was a recipe for disaster.
You won’t find a sane Spaniard who likes the British weather. Come to think of it, you’d be hard pressed a find a Brit who likes it either. This isn’t a reason for a player being successful or not in the Premier League, nor is the food, especially if they live in London. I can’t imagine Soldado sat at the bus stop, rain pouring down around him, looking sad as he reluctantly tucks into his fish n’ chips.
Soldado wasn’t the only big name striker who had been a success in Spain to flop in England either. Radamel Falcao found the physical side of the game here much more difficult to master. Similar to Soldado he found himself relegated to the bench for most of last season and when they came on, it was clear confidence was lacking. These were seasoned goalscorers who suddenly couldn’t convert bread and butter chances. They snatched at opportunities as doubt crept deeper and deeper into their mind; chances they’d previously polish off without a second thought.
Torres before them had suffered a similar fate. I think once a player believes a manager no longer trusts them it becomes difficult to pull them from out of that rut. Suddenly home doesn’t seem like a bad idea any more. The adventure starts to become a nightmare, you start to think of the famous Sopranos quote: “Every day is a gift. It’s just, does it have to be a pair of socks?” You get tired of socks. Or missing chances. To be fair to Soldado, he’s often been his own biggest critic. It would have been easy for him to hide behind the classic ‘adjusting to a new country’ line but he refused to. Even after personal tragedy struck less than 6 months into his stay here he wouldn’t allow people to use that as an excuse for his performances on the pitch. I suppose it was that kind of honest attitude, coupled with his determination to improve which endeared him to most Spurs fans. The ovation he received at White Hart Lane when he scored at Everton made your hair stand on end. It felt like a turning point in his Tottenham career. It wasn’t though and the failed pass against Fiorentina ended up being the final nail in the coffin.
For all the ups & downs he suffered in England it appears to matter little in Spain. It’s if some giant Men in Black style memory-wiping pen has been held over the country and reset it to 2013. Defences will fear Roberto Soldado as much as they did prior to his brief flirtation with the English game and the strange thing is, you wouldn’t rule him out scoring 15-20 goals for Villarreal next season, would you?
