Player Focus: A Month to Remember for Lorient's Guerreiro
It "came from nothing", in the words of Argentina coach Tata Martino. Portuguese sports daily O Jogo, meanwhile, remarked that it was headed in by "the shortest player in the team" and would "mark history." Raphael Guerreiro's last-gasp winner for Portugal against Argentina is a moment that he will never forget, and nor will his countrymen, as it authored a first win over the Albiceleste since June 1972 - over 21 years before he was born.
Don't let it be said that the 20-year-old let it go to his head, though. On Saturday, left-back Guerreiro was back on duty for his club Lorient, and scored again. His stylish strike against fellow strugglers Lens was the only goal of the game. For a side which had lost 8 of their previous 9 games and that had not won at home since August 30th (in a 4-0 victory over Guingamp), it was absolutely vital. "The goal will be talked about less in the media than his one against Argentina," wrote Sunday's L'Equipe, "but it is even more important."
Les Merlus' embattled coach, Sylvain Ripoll, certainly thinks so. In the sticky situation that Christian Gourcuff's successor finds himself in at present, he needs cool and calm heads, and he has one in his young full-back. Guerreiro has good experience for his age. Having debuted for Caen in Ligue 2 at 18 and played throughout the entire season, before sealing the relatively short move to Lorient during the summer of 2013 for a €3m fee.
Guerreiro's potential has never been hard to see. He played 30 times last season in his debut top-flight campaign, and made an impression. Standing at a modest 170cm, he is built like an archetypal old-fashioned full-back, and is as nimble and quick as his gait would suggest. His style echoes another of Ligue 1's rising left-backs, Layvin Kurzawa of Monaco. Neither is a big tackler in the mould of, say, Sylvain Armand (the Rennes veteran was always ripe for a conversion to centre-half), but prefer to nick the ball away. Guerreiro has a rate of 1.6 interceptions per match (down from last season's 2.6), and 1.3 tackles per match.
Yet while the elder Kurzawa - as discussed in last week's column - has worked diligently on the defensive side of his game, Guerreiro has been fully encouraged by Ripoll to make the most of his attacking gifts and his pace. The numbers are instructive, from the top downwards. He has 2 goals and an assist already this season (compared to no goals and 1 assist in 2013/14), which is a direct result of taking up more advanced positions.
In Saturday's match, only forwards Jordan Ayew (who set up the goal) and Valentin Lavigne occupied average positions further up the pitch than Guerreiro. He has been making the most of his freedom, getting away 1.2 shots per game, a healthy upswing on last season's 0.7. Only Lavigne and Ayew rate as more effective in attack for Lorient this campaign, and he is the team's highest rated performer (at 6.98), excluding the departed Bruno Ecuele Manga.
As well as having a nose for goal, Guerreiro has a taste for the big time too. The goals have been big ones, with his first of the campaign coming against Paris Saint-Germain at Le Moustoir. One could understand Martino's shock at Guerreiro's Old Trafford winner, an emphatic header at close range from Ricardo Quaresma's cross that Gonzalo Higuaín would have been proud of.
As he attempts to cement a place in Fernando Santos' Portugal squad having graduated from the Under-21 side, the offensive side of Guerreiro's game is not so much a bonus as a requirement. Fábio Coentrão is the undisputed number one choice at left-back for Portugal, but the injuries that curtailed the Real Madrid man's involvement in the World Cup and then took him out of the autumn matches with France and Denmark exposed As Quinas' desperate need for quality back-up.
Eliseu's presence in the starting line-ups for those games made clear that Santos wanted an attacking left-back to dovetail with Cristiano Ronaldo - as his friend Coentrão has done so successfully with Portugal - but the Benfica man's poor performances underlined that for all his qualities in the final third, he is not cut out to defend effectively at the highest level.
This led to Guerreiro's call into the XI for the home Euro qualifier with Armenia, and the start of a whirlwind nine days in the youngster's life. After that victory in Faro, Guerreiro followed up with his exploits in Manchester and then back at base in the west of France. Why Santos trusts him is clear. Though he has plenty to learn, he is dynamic, adventurous and has the pace (and the reading of the game) to get himself out of trouble when he loses possession.
In many ways, Guerreiro has a head start on Coentrão. The senior man learned his trade as a winger at Benfica, and in loan spells at Nacional, Rio Ave and Real Zaragoza, before being converted to full-back later on by Jorge Jesus. In contrast, Guerreiro was schooled in all positions on the left-hand side by academy coaches at Caen who quickly recognised the possibilities.
If there is work to do, notably on tackling that can be a touch approximate (only 1.3 of an average 2 per game work out) and on making the most of the ball in wide areas (he averages just 0.7 key passes per match), the raw material, including great temperament and willing, is there. As he has yet to master the Portuguese language, Guerreiro needs to continue studying hard in more ways than one. Yet the faith of those around him is making him grow up fast.
How impressed have you been with Guerreiro's performance this month? Let us know in the comments below
