Today’s player to watch comes to us courtesy of Valencia CF in the Spanish Primera or La Liga(Liga BBVA) if you prefer. With all the talk recently of Juan Manuel Mata leaving the club for England, the recent departures of David Silva and David Villa, Barcelona and Real Madrid’s dominance, and Malaga’s spending, there has not been much talk of positive things at the coastal Spanish club. When you look deep into their roster, and look closely at how some of the players played last year in the absence of Silva and Villa, you will see some shining stars among the group.

Jordi Alba, 22, a Catalonian by birth, has been a shining, young star for Valencia and looks to be the future of the club. For those of you who have never heard of Alba, or had the pleasure of watching him play, you should know that he is among the most versatile players in European football. He is naturally a quick, pacy, tricky winger, but last year was forced back the touch-line to play full back, and excelled when doing so. It’s not very often that you find a player with the ability to play any three positions up the line, let alone the willingness to do so. When filling in last year in defense, he played more of a wing-back, but with the evolution of full backs in the modern game, it’s not so uncommon to see a team rely on its center backs to carry most of the heavy lifting in defense.

With Juan Manuel Mata likely leaving Valencia for Arsenal this summer, look for Jordi Alba, along with a few others, to really stand out next year. He will be among one of the most exciting players in La Liga(not named Ronaldo or Messi) to watch. Also with Joaquin’s departure, Alba will have more of a major presence on the field with the likes of Ever Banega(if he stays) and Pablo Hernandez.

Check out the video below for some great highlights from Jordi Alba’s 2010/2011 season – Courtesy of VCFCentral.

Tim Herb – Senior Writer