Our round up of the top ten Key Passers for each of Europe’s main five leagues last season continues as we turn our attentions to La Liga. Despite finishing as top for assists in the division, there’s no place for Lionel Messi here, though Xavi make it with some outstanding passing displays. Atletico Madrid are the most represented team, with two players in our featured ten. Here’s the rundown on those key creators:
Mesut Özil’s debut season for Real Madrid was an unqualified success; in all competitions, he scored 10 goals and picked up 25 Assists, the highest number of assists of any player in Europe’s top leagues in 2010/11. Özil made 36 La Liga appearances under Jose Mourinho, scoring 6 Goals and making 17 Assists, second only to Lionel Messi (18) in Spain’s top-flight.
The German was head and shoulders above any other player in La Liga when it comes to Key Passes per game, with Özil’s 3.31 over 0.5 per game more than the next best player, Jose Reyes. Chief creator in Spain’s top-scoring team (Madrid bagged 102 league goals) Özil made a total of 119 Key Passes and with 17 Assists, this means he picked up 1 Assist for every 7 Key Passes, with the likes of Ronaldo and Benzema benefiting from his creativity more than most.
Playing in the hole behind a lone forward in Madrid’s 4-2-3-1, also recorded 1.2 Successful Dribbles per game as he carved apart opposition back-fours with more than just his passing. In possession, he averaged 40 Passes per game, with a 85% Pass Accuracy, though a lowly 0.8 Shots per game perhaps illustrates an unselfishness, looking to find a killer pass rather than taking a shot. Ozil’s 6 Goals came from just 29 Shots-his average of 1 goal per 4.83 Shots indicates a clinical edge to his finishing.
Making 34 appearances, José Antonio Reyes played mainly on the right flank for Atletico and his stats stand out amongst our top ten; Reyes is second for Key Passes (2.68), top for Successful Dribbles (2.4) and also best for Shots per game, with an average of 2. While Sergio Aguero grabbed the goals, Reyes, averaging 39.3 Passes per game, supplied the creativity- with Simão leaving in January, Aguero was next best for Key Passes for Atletico but with just 1.2 per game, it’s easy to see just how reliant they were on Reyes.
A total of 91 Key Passes over the season brought Reyes 7 Assists, an average of 1 Assist for every 13 Key Passes he made. His distribution showed plenty variety; 1.5 Crosses, 3.9 Long Balls and 0.8 Through Balls all relatively high stats for their respective categories and with 6 Goals, Reyes was third-top scorer for his club in a storming season for the ex-Arsenal man.
Simão’s decision to quit Atletico and head for Beşiktaş in January was a definite blow to the club. With Reyes on the right and Simão on the left wing, Atletico had a natural balance to their side, with 4-4-2 the preferred formation, and Simão’s departure saw the club lose a major creative presence.
In 16 appearances, he averaged 2.63 Key Passes per game and, with Reyes on the right, offered Atletico a real danger down both flanks. His 1.6 Crosses pipped Reyes’ 1.5 but Simão’s 0.7 Successful Dribbles per game is relatively low for a winger. Great in possession (Pass Accuracy 82%) Simão made 33 Passes per match, just a shade less than Reyes and posed less of a goal threat, too, with 1.4 Shots per match bringing a return of 4 Goals. His 5 Assists from 42 Key Passes saw Simão pick up 1 Assist for every 8.4 Key Passes made.
Injury caused Duda to miss the start of last season, with the midfielder finally turning out for Malaga in late November. Playing wide left in a 4-2-3-1, Duda fired in 3 Crosses per game, the highest of our top ten and his delivery from the flank -in addition to set-piece duties- helped him on the way to 2.6 Key Passes per game for the eleventh-placed side. His low 0.4 Successful Dribbles indicates his tendency to cross rather than take a man on and he also posed a goal threat for Malaga, with 26 Shots over 20 appearances producing 3 Goals. Duda’s 6 Assists means he averaged 1 Assist for every 8.66 Key Passes played, a similar ratio to Simão.
As expected, Xavi’s stats are incredible; 110 Passes per game with a 94% Pass Accuracy shows his role at the heart of Barca’s play, with rarely a wrong pass to show for his exertions. No other player comes close to these levels of distribution. His 7.4 Long Balls and 0.8 Through Balls per game highlight his promptings from deep, though 2.42 Key Passes per game, while still impressive, show just how much Xavi is happy just to keep possession, probing patiently for an opening.
1.3 Successful Dribbles also shows his tendency to take on opponents and move forward with the ball on occasion- with so much time on the ball, he has plenty of options. He offered just 3 Goals last season, averaging just 0.9 Shots per game and in total, made just 75 Key Passes and picked up a mere 7 Assists over the La Liga campaign.
In our top ten players, aside from Xavi, Gabi saw most possession with 61.1 Passes per match for Zaragoza. He missed just two matches last season, playing in the heart of midfield and dictating play for the side and his contribution proved crucial as they beat the drop by a mere two points.
Gabi scored more goals (10) and made more Assists (6) than any other Zaragoza player and his summer move to old club Atletico will be a huge loss to the club. His set-piece duties helped Gabi on his way to 2.33 Key Passes per game, for a total of 84; this works out at 1 Assist per 14 Key Passes, an indication of the side’s frustrating failure to find the net with any regularity. His 4.3 Long Balls is second only to Xavi here, indicative of 28 games played in the double pivot of Zaragoza’s 4-2-3-1. Gabi also offered 1.6 Shots per game, comfortably the best for his club; while Zaragoza may struggle to fill the void created in his departure, Atletico will be delighted for the injection of some much-needed creativity.
Plucked from second-tier UD Las Palmas in the January transfer window, Alvaro Cejudo made the step up to La Liga seamlessly. The right winger made 13 starts for Osasuna, helping them to a ninth place finish last term, as he ended the season with 2 Goals and 2 Assists.
Cejudo averaged 2.31 Key Passes, the eighth highest tally in La Liga, with his Crosses (2.5) in particular, impressing- the tally is the highest in our top ten. He made 24.1 Passes per game, when, considering the number of Key Passes, shows his effectiveness in possession. Only 0.9 Successful Dribbles suggests he doesn’t feel the need to take on a player before delivering a cross, and a healthy 1.8 Shots per game, second best for his side and an indication of how well he settled in Spain’s top division.
Juan Mata played 33 games for Valencia, starring both wide left and through the middle as the club finished third last season. With 44 Passes per game, only Valencia’s two double pivot players, Ever Banega and Tino Costa saw more in terms of distribution, an indication of his role as Valencia’s key attacking creator. With 2.24 Key Passes per game, Mata made 74 Key Passes over the season and picked up 12 Assists; this was 1 Assist per 6.16 Key Passes, the most efficient ratio of our top ten.
Mata’s brilliant 86% Pass Accuracy is second here only to Xavi and his 1.6 Shots per game (second to Roberto Soldado for his side) brought Mata 8 Goals as he finished the season as whoscored.com’s top-rated Valencia player, on 7.2 per match.
Outside of Barcelona and Real Madrid players, no one made more La Liga assists last season than Xabi Prieto. Despite Real Sociedad finishing just two points about the drop zone, Prieto excelled in his role wide right in a 4-2-3-1, making 81 Key Passes, an average of 2.19 per game. This means he managed 1 Assist per 6.23 Key Passes, the second highest conversion rate of our featured players.
Prieto made 42.9 Passes per game, more than any other Sociedad player, illustrating just how much he’s at the heart of their play, despite a role out wide. He fired in plenty Crosses (1.4) and Prieto’s 1.1 Successful Dribbles show he’s able to vary his play in possession, with a willingness to take on the opposition when an opportunity arises. His finishing was also superb; Prieto grabbed 7 Goals from just 22 Shots, scoring 1 Goal with every 3.14 attempts.
An ankle injury plagued much of Jesus Navas’ season, with only 15 appearances to the Sevilla man’s name. Navas played in his typical right wing role as well as central in a 4-2-3-1 for Sevilla and despite taking part in less than half a season’s worth of fixtures, his stats show just how much Navas was missed for the seventh-placed side.
Navas averaged 38.9 Passes per game, producing 2.13 Key Passes per game, 0.3 better than any of his team mates. His Crosses (2.1) and Successful Dribbles (1.2) proved the undoing of opposition defences, as Navas created 32 Key Passes, culminating in 4 Assists. He posed one of the greatest goal threats from Sevilla, but despite 1.7 Shots per game, he only scored 1 Goal over those 15 games.
