No Eric García, No Problem: Alejandro Francés Is Here to Stay for Girona
Alejandro Francés is my unofficial litmus test for Spanish football interest. Two types of people clicked on this article: those with serious La Liga ball knowledge who already knew about him, and those with who are not familiar, but are passionate enough about Spanish football to want to learn. Whichever of those people you are, welcome!
In this article, I’ll be highlighting Francés’ profile as a young defender, how he might fill the gap left by Eric García, and why he’s so crucial for Míchel’s tactical plans for the 2024-2025 season.
First, a bit about his background. He was born in Zaragoza, and up until signing for Girona this summer, he had never played a competitive match for a team other than Real Zaragoza. He made his Segunda División debut in the later stages of the 2019-2020 season, and spent the next four years becoming one of the best, young, under-the-radar center backs in Spain.
On August 29th, Francés started his first La Liga match for Girona in a 4-0 dismantling of Osasuna, and has started the ensuing two matches. Unfortunately, we cannot derive too much from a statistical standpoint on the back of just three games, so for the next portion of the article, I’ll be using his stats from last year on Real Zaragoza, but putting them in the context of Girona’s defensive structure.
Alejandro Francés’ Data Profile
Alejandro Francés has one of the most complete data profiles for a center back making the jump from the Segunda División to La Liga that I can remember.
He ranked between the 80th and 92nd percentile for Segunda División center backs for the major passing and progressive action metrics, and was above average for defensive actions, defensive duels, and defensive duel win rate.
The passing and progressive marks will be addressed further down, but I want to discuss the defensive metrics first. While Real Zaragoza finished 15th, they did have 50.3% of the possession in their matches, so Francés’ numbers are not possession-induced. He is genuinely an above average ball winner, which is key to his success as a central defender, considering he is only 5’11” (180cm).
He is not a player that will willingly engage in aerial duels, as evidenced by his 23rd percentile aerial duel volume mark. That said, he is what I would refer to as selective, but not incompetent in the air, as his aerial duel win rate is above the 50th k-th. Often, you will see smaller center backs with a median rate of aerial duels, but a very low win rate.
This is due to an inability to judge when they might realistically be able to win the challenge. Francés has the opposite disposition, which allows him to be intelligent about when he attempts an aerial duel, allowing him to better position himself on the ground for the result of the duel loss, rather than being out of position after losing in the air. But let’s get to the good stuff – how Francés fills a void left by one of Girona’s best players last season.
Alejandro Francés vs. Eric García
Instead of the radar chart, I almost just used the Spiderman pointing meme for Francés and García.
These two are genuinely so similar… above average duel winners, not super aggressive in terms of defensive action volume metrics, but both are out of this world in terms of their ability to progress the ball.
Both players were in the 85th+ percentile for progressive pass and carry volume, as well as prg. pass accuracy in their respective leagues last season. It is far more common for center backs to have passing as their preferred method for advancing possession, which makes sense. They’re often afforded both the time and space to pick out forward passes.
The aspect that sets both of these players apart from most is their willingness to progress possession through carrying as well.
Looking at all center backs from La Liga (yellow) and the Segunda División (black), Francés profiles exactly like both of Girona’s two starting center backs for the majority of last season. I included Girona’s other regular center back (David Lopez), as well as Alejandro’s partner at Real Zaragoza (Jair Amador) to highlight that his progressive stat marks are a product of his abilities, not the result of a tactical system.
Míchel’s Subtle Tactical Change
Towards the end of last season (around the beginning of April), Míchel altered the starting eleven, moving Eric García out wide to a right back position, which pushed Yan Couto forward to more of a right wing position (he would also come on as a sub in this role).
After an initially incredible run to begin the La Liga season (1), Girona was averaging 2.5 points per match and a +0.42 xG differential every match. Then, as the season wore on, their form dipped (2). Perhaps teams started to figure Girona out, perhaps the rigors of a long season in the top flight began to grind the team down. Regardless of the reason, over that stretch, Girona declined to an average of 1.11 pts/match and a +0.38 xG differential.
Time for a counter-punch. Insert Míchel’s idea to move Couto further forward and put a natural center back at right back. From this point on, Girona ended the season with 2.29 pts/match and a +0.57 xG differential.
Alejandro Francés as a Right Back
Given the uptick in form, it makes sense that Míchel would stick with a more defensive-oriented right back this year. Francés did not feature in either of Girona’s first two matches (a draw vs. Real Betis and a resounding loss at the hands of Atleti), but has started each of the last three (six points from these).
He currently leads the team in interceptions per 90 minutes (1.72), and has won the most ground duels on the team with 8 (and a 72% win rate). In my estimation, he still has some work to do in terms of adapting to the pace of La Liga, but so far, he is settling into the role admirably.
While it remains to be seen if this is temporary, or if the plan all along was to bring in Francés as a right back, I can say for certain that he is a player worth watching. While the lights were a bit too bright against Barcelona, the same can be said for most of the squad.
Alejandro Francés gives Girona the same qualities that Eric García provided, and he will be a crucial piece to how Girona follows up the best season in club history.
By: Spencer Mossman / @fc_mossman
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA / Getty Images