Jordi Alba

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Jordi Alba Ramos (Catalan: [ˈʒɔɾði ˈalβə ˈramos], Spanish: [ˈɟʝoɾði ˈalβa ˈramos]; born 21 March 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Barcelona and the Spain national team.

He started his career at Barcelona, but was released after being deemed too small. After joining Cornellà, he moved to Valencia. In 2012 he returned to Barcelona, with whom he went on to win 14 major honours, including five La Liga titles, four Copas del Rey and one Champions League.

After winning 23 caps and scoring one goal at youth level, Alba made his senior debut for Spain in 2011. He was an integral member of the team that won the European Championship in 2012, and was also part of the squads at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and Euro 2016.

Contents

Club career[edit]

Early years[edit]

Born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia,[4] Alba started his career in the youth ranks of Barcelona as a left winger, but was released by the club in 2005 for being too small.[5] He then joined neighbouring club Cornellà and, after almost two years, departed in a €6,000 transfer to Valencia where he finished his football education.[6]

After helping the reserves earn promotion from Tercera División in 2007–08, Alba played on loan at Segunda División club Gimnàstic de Tarragona the following season,[7] where he made 22 starts.

Valencia[edit]

Alba playing for Valencia in 2011

After returning to Los Che, Alba made his La Liga debut on 13 September 2009, in a 4–2 win at Real Valladolid.[8] He then started in two consecutive UEFA Europa League group stage matches, against Lille and Slavia Prague (both 1–1 draws, respectively away and home).[9][10] Due to continuing injuries in Valencia's defence, he played much of 2009–10 as a left back, posting overall good performances. In that position, on 11 April 2010, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–3 away loss to Mallorca.[11]

In 2010–11, still with Unai Emery in charge, Alba was used almost always as a defender, battling for first-choice status with Jérémy Mathieu. He made 27 league appearances as the team again finished third, subsequently qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

In the following campaign, Emery began using both players on Valencia's left side, a strategy he had tested the previous season.[12] This proved an effective tactic as Alba and Mathieu frequently interchanged position and offered support for one another in both attacking and defensive areas;[13][14] ultimately, the player credited the manager as a "key man" in his successful transition to a more defensive role.[15]

Barcelona[edit]

On 22 June 2012, Alba signed a five-year contract with Barcelona for a transfer fee of €14 million.[16] He made his official debut on 19 August, playing the full 90 minutes in a 5–1 home win against Real Sociedad.[17]

Alba scored his first goal for the Blaugrana on 20 October 2012, the opener in a 5–4 win at Deportivo de La Coruña,[18] and scoring an own goal.[19] In the following game, at home against Celtic in the Champions League group stage, he found the net in the 93rd minute of a 2–1 win.[20]

On 12 March 2013, Alba scored his fifth goal of the campaign, scoring in the last minute to complete Barcelona's 4–0 home win over A.C. Milan in the Champions League round of 16 after a 0–2 loss, when his team was the first in the competition's history to overturn such a deficit.[21] He ended his first year at the Camp Nou as league champion, as Tito Vilanova's side regained the title from Real Madrid.[22]

On 2 June 2015, Alba agreed to a new five-year contract with a new buyout clause of €150 million.[23] Four days later, he started in the Champions League final, helping the club to its fifth win in the competition by beating Juventus at Berlin's Olympiastadion.[24] He made 38 appearances in all competitions, with one goal,[25]) as Barça won a treble.[26]

On 22 May 2016, Alba won the second Copa del Rey of his career, scoring in the 97th minute of the final against Sevilla after a through pass from Lionel Messi, in an eventual 2–0 extra time win at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.[27]

Alba missed out on 50% of the games in the 2019-20 Season, missing 12 out of 24 games, due to first a hamstring injury and secondly a muscle injury.[28]

On 11 March 2019, Alba agreed to a new five year contract with a new buyout clause of €500 million.[29]

International career[edit]

Alba celebrating his goal for Spain in the Euro 2012 Final

Alba represented the Spanish team at the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, as well as appearing in all four games as the nation won the gold medal at the 2009 Mediterranenan Games. He was also part of the squad at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.[citation needed]

Alba received his first call-up to the full side on 30 September 2011, for the last two UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Scotland.[30] He made his debut in the latter game on 11 October, a 3–1 win in Alicante in which his cut back from the left wing provided the assist for the opening goal, scored by former Valencia teammate David Silva.[31] His impressive debut confirmed his status as a strong candidate to be the long-term successor of Joan Capdevila as the regular left back for La Roja,[32] and he was also included in the under-23 squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[33]

Alba was included in Vicente del Bosque's squad for the finals in Poland and Ukraine, and played in every match for the eventual winners. He supplied the cross for Xabi Alonso to open the scoring in the 2–0 quarter-final victory over France.[34] In the final against Italy, after running onto a pass from Xavi during a counter-attack, he scored the second goal in a 4–0 win.[35][36]

Alba was also selected for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. He played four complete matches during the tournament, scoring twice in the 3–0 group stage win over Nigeria.[37]

Alba made Del Bosque's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,[38] making three appearances as the defending champions crashed out in the group stage.[39] He was also named in Julen Lopetegui's squad for the 2018 World Cup.[40]

Style of play[edit]

Alba is a diminutive, technically gifted, mobile, and fast attacking left-back, who can also be used as a left winger; he is known for his link-up play, positioning, movement, and his ability to time his attacking runs into space and get up the flank, as well as his ability deliver crosses into the box, which allows him to provide assists for teammates. Moreover, he is also a tenacious tackler; however, his defending has been cited as a weakness by certain pundits, such as Enrique Ortego of Marca, although he was able to improve upon this aspect of his game as his career progressed.[41][42][43][44][45][46] His pace and stamina allows him to be very involved in both his team's offensive and defensive plays, as he can get from one end of the pitch to the other very quickly, often pushing forward to get past players and score goals, or falling back when his team have lost possession.[47][48][49] Regarded as one of the best left-backs in the world in the media,[46][50] Alba has earned plaudits from former left-backs Joan Capdevila and Roberto Carlos over his playing style and ability.[43]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played 14 August 2020[51][52]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCopa del ReyEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGimnàstic (loan)2008–09[53]Segunda División35410——364Valencia2009–10[54]La Liga151209[a]0—2612010–11[55]La Liga272403[b]0—3422011–12[56]La Liga3228010[c]1—503Total745140221—1106Barcelona2012–13[57]La Liga292419[b]22[d]04452013–14[58]La Liga150504[b]02[d]02602014–15[59]La Liga2716111[b]0—4422015–16[60]La Liga310319[b]02[e]04512016–17[61]La Liga261606[b]01[d]03912017–18[62]La Liga332518[b]02[d]04832018–19[63]La Liga3626011[b]11[d]05432019–20[64]La Liga272305[b]01[d]0362Total2241038463311033617Career total3331953485411048227

  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i Appearances in UEFA Champions League

  3. ^ Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

  4. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España

  5. ^ Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup

International[edit]

As of match played 15 November 2018[65]

Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSpain20112020121322013932014902015612016110201782201890201930Total708

As of match played 15 November 2018. Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Alba goal.[65]

List of international goals scored by Jordi AlbaNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition11 July 2012Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine11 Italy2–04–0UEFA Euro 2012 Final212 October 2012Dynama Stadium, Minsk, Belarus13 Belarus1–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification323 June 2013Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil20 Nigeria1–03–02013 FIFA Confederations Cup43–056 September 2013Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland24 Finland1–02–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification65 September 2015Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo, Spain36 Slovakia1–02–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification711 November 2017La Rosaleda, Málaga, Spain57 Costa Rica1–05–0Friendly814 November 2017Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia58 Russia1–03–3

Honours[edit]

Barcelona

Spain U20

Spain

Individual

References[edit]

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  2. ^ "Jordi Alba:Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 22 June 2020.

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  4. ^ "Jordi Alba: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 22 June 2020.

  5. ^ Jordi Alba, la bala (Jordi Alba, the bullet); Marca, 2 June 2014 (in Spanish)

  6. ^ Jordi Alba, el lateral que se incorporó por sorpresa (Jordi Alba, the full back who joined by surprise); Sphera Sports, 4 January 2014 (in Spanish)

  7. ^ Jordi Alba ya es grana y Campano puede quedarse (Jordi Alba is already grana and Campano might stay); Diario AS, 26 July 2008 (in Spanish)

  8. ^ Villa stars in Valencia win; ESPN Soccernet, 13 September 2009

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  14. ^ Tactical breakdown of Valencia 2 – Barcelona 2 (Emery v Guardiola); 101 Great Goals, 22 September 2011

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  16. ^ Agreement with Valencia over Jordi Alba; FC Barcelona, 28 June 2012

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  43. ^ Jump up to:a b Rogers, Iain (8 September 2013). "Fullback Alba giving Spain added goalscoring value". Reuters. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

  44. ^ Waghorn, Jake (12 December 2017). "Jordi Alba Explains Why Barcelona Star Is Always a Target for a Pass". 90min.com. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

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External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jordi Alba.

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