Sergio Gómez was once one of the most promising playmaker talents in Europe. The Spaniard is now 21 years old and has not been able to fully live up to the high expectations of the past few years. Last summer, a change of club and position made for a positive turn.
FC Barcelona’s youth academy is one of the most prominent in the world. In La Masia, stars like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta or Pep Guardiola educated. At the age of ten, Sergio Gómez moved from the youth ranks of RCD Espanyol to the city rivals’ prestigious talent factory and progressed through all the Blaugrana youth teams. On stages like the Youth League and the U-17 World Cup 2017 the slight offensive player moved into the international limelight for the first time. Gómez impressed at the tournament in India and was voted the second best player of the tournament. A defeat against England U-17s in the final was the reason why they didn’t achieve a big triumph at team level.
At that time, Gómez was a strong offensive talent who was used both in the tens and on the wing positions. The strengths of the technically adept Spaniard came to the fore particularly in tight spaces. With flat passes, he served better positioned teammates or sought the conclusion himself after skillful dribbling.
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Gómez was being courted by top European clubs at the time and made his men’s debut at the age of 17 with the Catalans’ second team. Although promising approaches were recognizable, there were no first-team appearances. In January 2018 there was a change to Borussia Dortmund. Those responsible for BVB paid the fixed transfer fee of three million euros and prevailed against numerous well-known competitors in the courtship for Gómez’s services. as confirmed by Michael Zorc.
At Borussia Dortmund, the newcomer should be carefully integrated and gained game practice in the U19 and the second team of BVB, which played in the Regionalliga West. The first Bundesliga minutes followed in April 2018. The head coach at the time, Peter Stöger, brought him on in the final minutes of the games against VfB Stuttgart and Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
In the summer of 2018, BVB signed Lucien Favré a trainer. Gómez may have made his Champions League debut under the risk-averse Swiss when he came on as an injury-time substitute in a group game against AS Monaco, but failed to make it big. The four minutes of action in the away game in Monaco should be the last for Gómez in the jersey of the BVB professional team.
While the young talent celebrated winning the European Championship title with the Spanish U-19 national team, his career at club level stagnated. This was mainly due to the different level of opponents. With a height of 1.71m and a slight physique, the Spaniard often seemed overwhelmed in duels. Compared to the youth field, the defensive players in the men’s field are usually much more robust, agile and simply smarter.
In August 2019 it seemed that Gómez was still not ready for appearances in BVB’s first team and an agreement was reached with him SD Huesca on an initial one-year loan deal. The club from eastern Spain managed to get promoted to the Primera Division in the 2019/20 season. The then 19-year-old played in 37 of 38 games and was one of the top performers. Gómez was regularly used on the offensive wings and occasionally in the centre. Due to the positive development, everyone involved decided to extend the loan by one year.
After promotion in the debut season, relegation followed in the following season. The young professional made 29 La Liga appearances in the relegation season, but only played one full-time game. Gómez still hadn’t found his place in professional football. The loan deal between the Spanish relegated team and BVB expired on June 30, 2021. Despite the not entirely convincing development, the RSC Anderlecht interest at Borussia Dortmund last summer and signed Gómez for just over two million euros.
Gómez transfer to Anderlecht: innovation is rewarded
While Gómez was considered a failed talent in his home country at just 21 years old, a new approach came into play in Anderlecht. Trainer Vincent Kompany planned him neither in the offensive center nor on the wing. The Belgians put Gómez exclusively as left-back one. That may seem paradoxical at first – after all, it was physical deficits, among other things, that caused the career to falter. Contrary to many expectations, the Belgians’ innovative approach should be rewarded.
Heatmap of Sergio Gómez in the Jupiler Pro League 2021/22 |Source: Sofascore
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After only a few games, the doubts disappeared and it became obvious that the scouting department had done a good job in the Gómez case. Seen as a whole, RSC Anderlecht under Kompany usually forms a back four on defense, while there are frequent changes and variations on offense. On the left side of defense, Gómez has quickly become a mainstay.
Despite the fundamentally deeper positioning, Gómez’s strengths on the offensive come into their own with all regularity. It is still the case that the Spaniard has the understanding of the game, the overview and the technical skills to ideally solve situations under pressure from the opponent. In this way, the trained offensive player manages to gain space on the flank for either himself or his teammates. Advances and a controlled offensive urge are part of the Spaniard’s style of play, who acts as an advancing provider of width at his new club.
Furthermore, Gómez has an excellent understanding of the game, which can be seen in his freewheeling behavior. The 21-year-old manages to time his runs ideally and maneuvers himself into open spaces on the flanks or in the half-space with ease. If he has the option of flanking, he often chooses this variant. Crosses and crosses are an integral part of RSC Anderlecht’s style of play this season.
Among other things, the physically present strikers are responsible for the utilization of the crosses Christian Kouame and Joshua Zirkzee, who measures a height of 1.93m, responsible. The passes to the center often arrive flat and precisely in the opposing penalty area. In addition to the strikers, the advancing midfielders are responsible for an optimal occupation of the penalty area. With 50 goals, RSC Anderlecht currently have the most dangerous offensive in the Jupiler Pro League, tied with the leaders from Saint-Gilloise. With 11 assists and five goals, Sergio Gómez underscores his status as a key player in third-placed Belgium.
In the Anderlecht game system, the qualities of the 21-year-old come into their own almost perfectly and weaknesses are cleverly concealed. On the defensive, the Spaniard rarely shines with physical presence in duels, but with positional cleverness and willingness to run. If the opponent has possession of the ball, he defends the spaces in a structured manner in consultation with his defensive colleague and thus rarely gets into trouble. Only two yellow cards and 0.8 fouls per 90 minutes show that he is not completely overwhelmed when it comes to defensive work.
Trend of the 2010s: Playmakers on the wing
An interesting development has been observed in the full-back position over the past decade. Started at Bayern Munich Pep Guardiola to change the role profile – depending on the situation, full-backs like Phillipp Lahm or Joshua Kimmich began to move into central midfield and thus had an even greater influence on their own game. A few years later, the 3/5 hybrid chain, in which the full-backs also play an essential role on the offensive, celebrated under Antonio Conte a renaissance. The role profile of the full-back became correspondingly more demanding and diverse.
In numerous teams that play with a back four, it can be seen that at least one full-back, despite the fundamentally deeper positioning, intervenes as planned in the team’s offensive game. For example, defensive players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Raphael Guerreiro and Alphonso Davies also play a key role in their clubs on offense. The same applies to Gómez, who has once again attracted the attention of top European clubs with strong performances in recent months.
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