Luca Before You Leap: de la Torre at Celta Vigo

Heracles holding their own vs first place Ajax. ESPN+ game in the US. Playing like they believe they can steal this, LDLT and midfield friends conceding more possession but containing Ajax well - nothing easy.

 

Decent game, by Luca. He was poor in the first half but played well in the 2nd.

 

Uhm, no.
In the first half he covered the longest distance of all players on the pitch, 6.8 km.
This was key to contain Ajax midfield from deploying their combination football, ripping opponents apart.
Heracles is one of the fittest teams in the Eredivisie and LdlT is an example of this.

 

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Highlights start from the 40th min of the game. He had a much better 2nd half.

 

I watched some of it and was impressed by the improvement in his game since the u20's. He has very good concentration and can make a decision.

 

LDT has been grinding in the Eredivisie and it has worked out for him for the life of me I can't figure out why Novakovich couldn't do the same..

 

Heracles – Ajax 0-0
Ajax: Pasveer 7; Rensch 5,5 (78. Schuurs -), Timber 6,5, Martinez 6, Blind 5,5; Alvarez 5, Gravenberch 5; Antony 4,5 (71. Neres -), Berghuis 5 (63. Klaassen -), Tadic 5; Haller 5.
Heracles: Blaswich 8; Bakboord 6,5 (83. Polley -), Fadiga 7,5, Rente 6,5, Knoester 6,5, Quagliata 6,5; Kiomourtzoglou 6,5, Vloet 6,5, De la Torre 7; Burgzorg 6, Sierhuis 6 (78. Azzaoui -).
Scheidsrechter Manschot: 5,5.
Man of the match: Een paar weken geleden was Utrecht-doelman Maarten Paes nog de sta-in-de-weg voor de onverslaanbaar geachte landskampioen Ajax. Nu was Heracles-keeper Janis Blaswich de keeper die door de steraanvallers van die club niet kon worden gepasseerd. Hij bezorgde zijn club er een punt mee.

 

One factor is the coach, who was the head of youth development of the DFB.

 

He has really quick feet…especially one and two touch passing and shooting.

I hated playing against guys like this. Big guys can deal with dribblers, but those guys who get the ball off and pass/shoot quickly you just can’t do much about because they get the ball off before you can get your body positioned.

 

Starts:

⚫️⚪️ 𝗫𝗜#tweher pic.twitter.com/UGAAOevgke

— Heracles Almelo (@HeraclesAlmelo) November 5, 2021

 

Started in friendly:

⚫️⚪️ 𝗫𝗜#f95her pic.twitter.com/xVWDFZPJKB

— Heracles Almelo (@HeraclesAlmelo) November 11, 2021

Started 2nd half:

De opstelling bij het begin van de tweede helft:

Bucker, Polley, Rente, Knoester, Roosken, Kiomourtzoglou, De la Torre, Vloet, Laursen, Sierhuis, Burgzorg.#f95her | 2-0

— Heracles Almelo (@HeraclesAlmelo) November 11, 2021

63. Vijf verse krachten komen binnen de lijnen.

➡ Les, Sierra, Ibrahimoglu, Agca en Bakis
⬅ Knoester, De la Torre, Vloet, Burgzorg en Sierhuis#f95her | 2-1

— Heracles Almelo (@HeraclesAlmelo) November 11, 2021

 

Maybe LDLT is just a little bit better than Novakovich? Club situation and fit always matter, but until Nova can prove it at a level higher than a good second division, it might just be that's his level as a professional footballer.

LDLT had a tough fit situation at Fulham - not quite as good as the other midfielders a yo-yo club could get at that age. Now a little older, he's proving he's at minimum a solid Eredivisie player.

 

Starts:

⚫️⚪️ 𝗢𝗽𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴#herfor pic.twitter.com/1nAzoz6YMj

— Heracles Almelo (@HeraclesAlmelo) November 20, 2021

 

Made it in this week's Team of the Week of "de Telegraaf"

 

Hey feyenoord, what do u think his upside is/if any, and what league do u think gives him the best chance?

 

What his upside is I've no clue, really. Would like to see him in an Eredivisie team that plays in UEFA cup competitions to see how he fares with different playstayles of opponents.
To me he's more suited to BuLi or La Liga play. Not epl with their physical demands with brutal fouls on technical players.

 

I feel like Serie A or La Liga, would be a good league for him.

 

Yup. We saw Miazga’s weakness’s when he played Europa w Vitesse.
I’m hoping he can step up to a bottom half big 5 team and contribute.
Yeah, EPL is out.

 

Does he have a Spanish passport?

 

Yes. His father is Spanish, so he held a Spanish passport when he joined Fulham back when Britain was in the EU.

 

Top clubs from those leagues have a close eye on clubs like Heracles in the Eredivisie. It's where the gems for a bargain are snapped up.

 

How about a first: all American midfield at Venezia (Busio, Tannerman and Luca)

 

Why would he go to such a lousy team?

 

Haha.....swapping mid-table Holland to mid-table Italy is not a move UP?

Don't let Ajax success fool you...it is still a move UP