Orri Óskarsson: Real Sociedad’s New Icelandic Striker
There are trends that often come and go with forwards depending on how the best teams aim to set up and score goals. For instance, in the 2013/14 Premier League season, the top-scoring strikers were Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero, all of whom are under six-foot tall.
By 2016/17, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were all in the top five goal-scoring strikers and all over six-foot. The likes of Heung-min Son and Mohamed Salah then took centre stage as inside wingers became the in thing, until Erling Haaland came about and all-action target men became the type of forward everyone was looking for.
Since Haaland’s emergence and subsequent storming of every league he has played in, the likes of Alexander Isak and Rasmus Hojlund have followed in his footsteps to create a trend of Nordic strikers who are as physically imposing as they are tactically intelligent and instinctive in the penalty area.
Twenty-year-old Icelandic international Orri Óskarsson is another in that category who has the potential to explode in Europe’s top five leagues, and a move from FC Copenhagen to Real Sociedad this summer could be exactly what he needs to get there.
Much like the aforementioned trio, Óskarsson is well-rounded in his overall play and clinical enough in front of goal that in the right environment, there is no reason why he can’t reach the level where he is capable of scoring 20+ goals in a LaLiga season.
Does that mean we should expect to see that right away? Of course not, the weight of joining a club with huge expectations for immediate success isn’t yet on his shoulders. Instead, he has moved to a team with a proven recent track record of developing young talent including Takefusa Kubo and Martin Zubimendi, as well as Isak and Martin Ødegaard in previous years, but that isn’t to say he isn’t capable of dealing with pressure.
At times last season, he was a clear standout figure in Copenhagen’s team, popping up with important goals in big games and contributing consistently, including a hat-trick in a 6-3 victory in a Champions League qualifying match against then-Icelandic champions Breidablik.
What was particularly special about this game was that Copenhagen’s opponents that night were managed by Óskarsson’s father, Óskar Hrafn Thorvaldsson, who gave his son his senior debut at Icelandic club Grotta when he was just 13 years old.
Martin Zubimendi: The Metronome at the Heart of Real Sociedad’s Midfield
From his father to the many representatives of the clubs he has been at, there have been many vehement backers of Óskarsson from a very early age, and he has continued to strive in order to prove them right and ensure their hard work in helping him has paid off, even if that means knocking his own dad out of the Champions League.
Where he will end up at the height of his career is a question that is still a long way from being resolved, but one thing about Óskarsson’s trajectory from Parken to Anoeta is that it lends itself to an easy transition into a top team.
This is because a lot of the matches he has featured in are within a system that strive to have the majority of the possession and territory, meaning opposition defenders don’t relinquish tons of space in behind and instead force the centre forward to drop deep or run the channels to get involved before having to get in and around the box in order to fulfil his duties.
As a result, the 20-year-old striker has developed the ability to be patient in these situations, moving from central areas to make himself useful on occasion, but not so much that he isn’t an alert presence in the penalty area when his team require him to be.
The balance between being involved in general play whilst also being in position to get on the end of crosses or through balls to take goal-scoring opportunities is what strikers often struggle with at big clubs. For all his good work so far, Rasmus Hojlund hasn’t quite nailed this yet at Manchester United.
In most games, there will be one or two crosses that he doesn’t reach as a consequence of having to arrive from deep. Whereas Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland are examples of Nordic strikers who have the positional instincts and explosive speed to do both more often than not.
Javi López: The Long-term Solution at Left Back for Real Sociedad?
Right now, Óskarsson leans more towards the latter side of that spectrum, but it remains to be seen whether he can replicate the form he produced in Denmark within a top five league, and he will know as much as anyone that there is a lot to be done for him to succeed in the level he is at currently and beyond.
For example, in transition Óskarsson has a tendency to get the ball stuck under his feet or take a loose first touch if a teammate plays a pass which isn’t into his running path, but he can be devastating in his control and decision-making on the run if he is able to take a pass without breaking stride.
Despite his clunkiness when receiving sub-optimal passes, he uses his body well to maintain and recycle possession, so whilst he may slow down an attack from time to time, he still manages to bring others into play. As is the nature of football, by and large, we typically see the level of urgency, or panic if you will, of actions increase when it comes to the final third.
This could be a snap shot that goes wayward for a player who hasn’t had loads of chances in a match, a mistimed pass which is intercepted despite numbers advantage in favour of the attackers, or an overhit cross when a level head was required for all three. These are common weaknesses for a lot of players, particularly those around Óskarsson’s age, that he doesn’t seem to struggle with too often.
Of course, playing in a dominant team such as FC Copenhagen lends itself to increased volume of these scenarios and higher confidence as a result, but that doesn’t take anything away from the striker’s supreme composure for a 20 year old.
When it comes to shooting, you can see that his power and placement are both well thought-out. Even in a split-second, he often knows when to optimise one or the other by being aware of the time and space he has available, how far from goal he is and where the keeper is standing.
Made in Morocco, Flourishing in France; Is London Calling For Nayef Aguerd?
This is also true of his competence in wide areas or during link-up play through the centre, where he operates with a combination of decisiveness and calmness that is seen much more often by smaller players who know they have the agility and speed of footwork to work space and make the right decision to get themselves out of crowded attacking areas.
These qualities also help Óskarsson in one-on-ones with the keeper, where it looks as if to him, the scenario is no different to taking on a defender in the middle third of the pitch with a lot of space in transition and little risk.
His awareness of his surroundings and the positioning of the keeper means he can either execute the weight of his touch to go around him or produce multiple different types of shot to score. Whichever way he beats a keeper, it is often done with the conviction and composure of someone much more experienced.
The next year will be an interesting one for Óskarsson’s development, his minutes are being managed well thus far to ease him into a more technically advanced footballing environment in Spain. Expect him to grow into the season and contribute more to the team as Sociedad juggle LaLiga and Europa League fixtures.
From there, it will be about consistency in order to make that number nine spot his own. The ability is clearly there for the Icelandic international to do so, and if he manages to take that next step in one of the big leagues, he could well be onto even bigger and better things.
By: Brad Jones / @bradjonessport
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Angel Martinez / Getty Images