The Spanish La Liga often succeeds in producing potential world great stars. The tiki-taka 4-3-3 system that succeeded in making Barcelona successful in the 2008-2014 era, has become the blueprint for the Spanish national team in all age categories. Two Euro titles and one World Cup title are proof that the upgrade of total football is suitable to be used as a curriculum base at academy level.
The La Masia Academy, Real Madrid Castilla and so on never stop producing the best players, not only from Spain, but also from all corners of the world. Now we know Takefusa Kubo as Real Sociedad’s mainstay to qualify for the last 16 of the 23/24 Champions League. But even further back, he was a product of La Masia, before being recruited by Real Madrid in 2020. The competition among academy players was also so fierce that Take Kubo had to give up 2 years of returning to the Japanese League before moving to Los Blancos.
However, not all academies produce players who suit tiki-taka patrons. Clubs apart from Barca, Madrid, Atletico and Valencia also develop young players with physical and clinical characteristics. Inaki Williams and Nico Williams are examples at Athletic Bilbao, as is Yeremy Pino who was supposed to be a classic winger at Villareal. Barcelona also this season produced an “anomaly” product in Marc Guiu, a pure number 9 striker.
Far from the hustle and bustle of big club players, Manuel Pellegrini, the senior coach who now manages Real Betis, provided the red carpet for a young man born in Ndongane, Senegal, named Assane Diao.
Assane Diao was born on September 7 2005, and is now 18 years old. At the age of 3, he and his family left his native Senegal to live in Spain. He has a twin brother, Ousseynou Diao, who is currently in the Cadiz Youth Team. Cadiz became a place for the two brothers to hone their football skills, until an offer came from Real Betis for Assane Diao in July 2021 to join the fellow Andalusian club.
It only took him one year to play for Real Betis Youth, until Manuel Pellegrini was finally promoted at the start of this season (2023/2024) when he was still 17 years old. September 21 2023, he made his debut for Los Verdiblancos in the inaugural Europa League match against Rangers in Glasgow, which unfortunately ended in a 0-1 defeat for the green and white team. On Friday (15/12) early this morning, Assane Diao et al suffered another defeat against the Scottish representatives, causing them to be eliminated from the Europa League 23/24. His debut in La Liga took place in the 7th Jornada, when Real Betis visited Granada. Playing 81′ minutes, this wing striker managed to score his debut goal in the second half, when his left foot shot crashed heavily into the left of Andre Ferreira’s goal. Unfortunately, the hosts managed to equalize at the end of the match.
This season (23/24), up to Jornada’s 16th, he has made a total of 16 appearances and 4 goals in three competitions in which Real Betis participated. In La Liga, Pellegrini’s side are still stuck in 7th place, while in the Copa del Rey they managed to qualify for the third round. Unfortunately the European stage is over for Diao, as a 2-3 defeat to Glasgow Rangers put Real Betis in third place in Group C.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) seized the opportunity to include Assane Diao as an asset for the Spanish National Team. Diao received a call to the Spanish national team for the U18, U19 and U21 age categories with a total of 10 appearances plus contributing 2 goals. Most recently, he became the mainstay of the Spanish U-21 National Team to qualify for the U21 Euros. In Santi Denia’s squad, Diao is the youngest member and gets quite a lot of playing time, even though he has not scored a goal in his 4 appearances.
Regarding nationality, the 1.85 meter tall player still has two choices between the Spanish national team and the Senegal national team, his family’s native country. The Spanish Federation itself does not seem to be in a rush to add him to the senior squad like they did with Lamine Yamal, because both parties are aware that competition for the Spanish national team’s attacking position is very tight. It is also worth considering the steps taken by Inaki Williams from Bilbao, who chose Ghana as the country he played for, instead of choosing Spain where he lives.
If he plays for Senegal, he will get the privilege because his position will practically directly replace the country’s legend, Sadio Mane. He can get many caps in the squad coached by Aliou Cisse. His playing style is also more suited to
Senegal’s game, because for the Spanish National Team there were many physical players who failed to match their formation blueprint. Adama Traore, Diego Costa, Mikel Oyarzbal and Rafa Mir always have difficulty with being “forced” to play with short Spanish-style balls. It is also worth waiting to see whether De La Fuente, as coach of the Spanish National Team, has a different view of Assane Diao.
Assane Diao initially played as a central midfielder at academy level, but changed positions when he played for Real Betis Youth. Even though he can be placed in three front positions, his favorite position is the left wing with a typical direct attack. His strongest foot is his right foot, but on many occasions he looks fluent with his left foot in dribbling and shooting the ball. Players who can be used as the focus of the game are Wilfried Zaha, Ivan Toney, Sadio Mane and Inaki Williams.
It didn’t take long for him to decide to enter the penalty box instead of thinking about the vision of passing a short ball. So, he will be able to be a mainstay in a direct type team like Chelsea, Manchester United or Liverpool, rather than a team that likes to control the ball like Manchester City or Arsenal. The ball at his feet is at great risk of being lost, but once he manages to bring it forward, there will be disaster for the opponent’s defense.
His physique is also very good with a height of 1.85 meters plus a muscular body. He does not hesitate to carry out a body charge when fighting for the top ball or the second ball. His responsibility to defend is also greater, considering his young age. Toney, Zaha and Mane often look “lazy” to defend, but Assane Diao is more than capable if he has to play the number 7 or number 11 position in a 4-4-2 scheme. The reason is more because he is originally a central midfielder.
There are two things that can still be improved in terms of its capabilities. The first is related to his playing vision, where he is exactly the same as most African talents who are a bit “grasak-grusuk”. He will definitely develop under the tutelage of Pellegrini, one of the pioneers in shaping Manchester City’s game. With the young Spanish team, he will also gain a wide range of knowledge about the European style of game-of-play which now tends to involve fewer touches on the ball. There is still plenty of time for him at the age of 18 to learn with colleagues like Isco, Guardado and Guido Rodriguez at Real Betis.
The second thing that can be improved is his goal scoring instinct. Direct-attacker players seem to always be judged on goal contributions. As his matches progress, he will become more clinical in front of goal. Ivan Toney can be a benchmark for him, where a touch, either from the foot or the head can start something big in attack.
ASL
