While most of La Liga’s oxygen was consumed by the first El Clásico since Jose Mourinho returned to Real Madrid, another rivalry clash put Alex Freeman in spotlight position.
Or quite a few positions, as it turned out.
While not among the most storied derbies in Spain, Valencia v Villarreal has grown into a regional contest with considerable teeth since billionaire Fernando Roig bought Villarreal rather than following his brother, Paco, as the head of Valencia.
For Freeman, who came off the bench in a midweek Champions League loss to Liverpool, his first taste of the rivalry on Saturday came in a somewhat unfamiliar position – left back. Freeman largely looked the part away from his usual spot on the right, living up to Mauricio Pochettino’s praise of his reading of the game from the United States’ most recent international window.
Freeman had a good chance to test the efficacy of his left foot, creating a pair of chances before Valencia opened the scoring from the penalty spot. It seemed Villarreal’s best chance at an equalizer would come through a set piece, but instead it came from the run of play – and Freeman was there to finish it.
The Orlando City product switched back to his usual station at right back after some 65th minute substitutions, asked to provide proactive width as a right midfielder subbed off. It quickly proved a wise adjustment. Villarreal worked down the left wing in the 69th minute, lopping a cross to Freeman just inside the area. Freeman prodded the ball through a thicket of Valencian bodies, finding the narrowest of windows between the goalkeeper and his last defender to score his first goal in La Liga.
Freeman was later moved to a third station, moonlighting at right midfield as Iñigo Pérez brought on another defender. While not directly involved in the last-gasp winner, Freeman kept his run down the flank even as Villarreal worked up the left and center to keep the defense laterally stretched. Most Villarreal players collapsed to their knees as the final whistle blew. Not Freeman, instead walking around and congratulating his teammates on a shorthanded comeback.
After the game, Pérez lauded Freeman as one of four “top-level” fullbacks available to him that “are fundamental, vital to developing my vision of football.”
“We need them to be very versatile, and in this case, Alex is a super player,” Pérez added. “He can easily play center-back, full-back, left-back, further forward, wing-back; he’s even played on both flanks for his national team. Therefore, this versatility and dynamism, combined with his skill level, means that, for a coach, the confidence to field him in any position or ask him to do things that might surprise him makes me bolder, and, as you’ve seen, he’s able to play with astonishing composure.”
Named man of the match for his efforts, it’s easy to forget that Freeman hasn’t even spent a year in Europe. Freeman only officially left Orlando on 29 January, and Villarreal looks downright pennywise for signing him before his star-making turn at the World Cup, securing his future for an initial rate of $4m.
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His next move may require an extra digit, though there are still elements to be refined. Valencia’s veteran forwards found it too easy to use their guile to get better positioning to beat Freeman to aerial distribution, planting firmer in their stances and reading angles a half-second quicker than the Orlando City homegrown. Some of that could come down to playing on the opposite flank from his usual spot, but it’s still an adjustment one can expect him to make with increased playing time. He has previously struggled to use his dribble to create extra space from his defender, although he did have a few valuable upfield scampers before Villarreal’s red card.
It was the latest strong shift for a player who Pochettino has long seen as having world-class potential.
“He is so humble, he has an amazing profile, he always listens,” Pochettino said after Freeman scored in the group-clinching win over Australia on 19 June. “You really enjoy being with him, coaching him, and is an amazing player. For me, [he has potential] to be one of the best players at his position in the world.”
All-told, Freeman is already something of a rarity for US men abroad: a defender who can change games for a Champions League-level club. No player has built a brighter star since Pochettino arrived, and he’s only just getting started.
