Vigo, Aug 27 (EFE).- Signed as a central defender in 2022, Óscar Mingueza is making a huge impact as an all-rounder at Celta, a team in which he has become, alongside Iago Aspas, the most unbalanced player.
Last season he scored two goals and provided two assists in the 38 league games he played, figures he has already equalled in the first two league games of this season. “He is a great player, I think he can do much more, we demand a lot from him on a daily basis because I think he has a brutal level of play. He needs to play, have continuity, feel important,” said Aspas about his teammate after the victory against Valencia.
Celta’s sporting management praise his professionalism, even when he was not playing as much. Last season, he was the only outfield player to play in all 38 games of the championship, alongside Munir El Haddadi.
Mingueza is one of the Celta players who has been resurrected since Giráldez’s arrival, although his position has changed. Rafa Benítez’s replacement has turned him into an “all-rounder”, capable of linking up on the inside and creating a lot of danger on the outside.
During Benítez’s brief spell at Balaídos, Mingueza had already started to play closer to the opponent’s penalty area than his own. The former coach of the Celta team used him as a midfielder-winger in the resounding victory at El Sadar, where Iago Aspas had been left without minutes for the first time in the last three years. However, it was under Giráldez that he really exploded. The numbers prove it.
The former Barcelona player has improved his numbers in terms of defensive duels won (64.2 compared to 56.54 under Benítez) and recoveries (7.33 on average per game compared to 5.78). His greatest contribution, however, is in the progressions with the ball (9.04/5.35), in the passes to the final third (11.14/6.22) and in his goal-scoring contribution (0.15/0.07). Here he doubles the figures he had under Benítez.
With him, Giráldez looks for a good foot to get the ball out. Mingueza is very sure in passing (84 percent) due to a technique honed during his time at La Masía. Added to this is his tactical intelligence and his speed of thought. Only Aspas is as decisive in Celta’s attack. Both form a partnership that some in Vigo already fear could fall apart before the transfer market closes. “They would break us up,” they confess in the dressing room.
David Molds
