The Primera División Femenina, now known as Liga F, is home to the arts of multiple midfield maestras. From Barcelona’s ephemerally divided trident of Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí to the likes of Sandie Toletti, Maitane López or Nerea Eizagirre; the plethora of talent is considerable. But when glancing beyond the more established and acclaimed names, one will also discover significant quality and potential. Here are three deeper-lying midfielders to look out for.
Anna Torrodà
Valencia CF
A mainstay and strategic centrepiece of Valencia since joining the team from Espanyol in 2020, Anna Torrodà may be among the league’s most gifted players in possession. Nominally the left or right part in a double pivot, Torrodà usually acts as the deepest midfielder in build-up, creating a rhombus shape with goalkeeper Enith Salón and centre-backs Berta Pujadas and Maria Molina.
In this role, the Catalan is quite literally pivotal. She will shuttle towards the flanks to offer the often sought wide players options to combine with or a route back inwards but without moving too spaciously in order to remain present as the central lynchpin. As such, she creates connections and dictates Valencia’s rhythm, guiding their game like a compass.
Torrodà can calm and maintain the tempo through patient circulation or accelerate with her progressive flashes. One asset of hers are quick, low-driven passes between the lines and into the channels where skillful winger Macarena Portales in particular can serve as receiver.
In addition, Torrodà’s movements sans ball are just as elemental. Given her structural importance and quality, she is often targeted by the opposing press and accustomed to binding at least one player in the center. This can lead to her being unavailable whilst needing to play clean lay-offs under pressure and with her back to goal.
However, the former Barça youth player is acutely adept at escaping cover shadows and offering her colleagues a passing option — courtesy of constant scanning and alert positioning. That way, she permanently has a clear overview of space and situation.
Her intelligent body orientation and agility benefit the midfield architect as well when it comes to dismarking, receiving and distributing. The Catalan often takes first touches with her far foot, shielding the ball from pressure and gaining dynamism while facing forward. By maintaining an upright stance, Torrodà can flexibly turn into different directions through her hips and pass away from the direction she seems to face which makes it tougher to anticipate her actions.
This combination of positioning, coordination, technique and the finesse to disguise her intentions constitutes Torrodà’s prime press-resistance.
Said awareness is also important from a defensive mindset. While it is true that the key strengths of Torrodà lie on the possession side, her role requires nous against the ball. Torrodà is more protective than aggressive, her abilities to close passing lanes, anticipate and intercept are generally solid. That includes her follow-up actions after regaining possession. And in the right context, she is very capable of covering depth, for example when one of the centre-backs steps up or drives forward.
Torrodà has set-pieces in her locker too and can help out as centre-back, if needed. The 22-year-old was also called up to the latest Spain squad, although that obviously should have happened under different circumstances and with another manager being in charge.
At Valencia, there is intriguing talent in the form of the league’s youngest squad and manager Andrea Esteban. Following the development of Torrodà and them could be fun.
Irene Oguiza
Athletic Club
In a long line of ingenious Lezama midfielders, Irene Oguiza is amid the latest to stand out. Under the guidance of Iraia Iturregi, Athletic possess one of the clearest playing identities in the division. Difficult to break down in their defensive block, they like to progress through direct combinations and fast wing-play which also makes them a menace in (artificial) transitions.
Oguiza is a pertinent pivot for this philosophy. As one of the defensive midfielders in a narrow 4–2–3–1, she will shift attentively out of possession and screen the space in front of her defensive line. Highly observant, Oguiza also offers support and cover when a teammate has to jump, for example by tracking opposition runs into the interval between fullback and centre-back.
On top of that, the 22-year-old is a tidy ball winner. She already recognizes and anticipates situations with a very promising consistency before neatly recovering possession. Usually, Athletic are well-organized as a whole but Oguiza’s positional instincts are nonetheless impressive.
Passes into central zones are often swept up by the Basque midfielder who is also reliable as part of the Leonas’ rest-defense in case they are the ones running into a counter. If necessary, Oguiza also appears to have an affection for sliding tackles.
For all her defensive vigilance, she shows promise in possession too. Though she can interchange with her midfield partners, Oguiza recurrently operates as the deepest pivot in build-up. In these instances, she has encouraging moments of finding space between the opposition’s first two lines to receive and connect the dots.
A solid progressive passer and relatively strong, Oguiza is proficient at retaining the ball but can also distribute at a higher risk when the situation calls for it. Athletic like to work with switches from deep and dynamically spreading the play out to the wide areas is just as vital to those attacks.
In addition, the Athletic number 12 is very aware of her surroundings and possesses notable balance and coordination. Therefore, one can often observe Oguiza escaping pressure through mindful positioning and swift body feints.
At 183 centimeters, the Lezama youth product is among the league’s tallest players too. Her aerial prowess can contribute defensively and also makes the 22-year-old a threat on set-pieces. Had it not been for repeated ligament injuries, she would already have played more than the 45 league appearances she has today. Overall, Oguiza is certainly a talented midfielder who will continue to make great strides.
Andreia Jacinto
Real Sociedad
At the heart of this article and the rhythm of her teams, Andreia Jacinto is starting to settle in San Sebastián. The 20-year-old arrived at Real Sociedad this summer after being a structural key player for Mariana Cabral’s Sporting, her home club. And although an injury ruled the Portuguese international out of Euro 2022 and made pre-season harder, she has so far looked very much in tune with the Txuriurdin’s symphonies.
When performing as the pivot, Andreia can be the metronome for her side and set the tempo. Through superb positional awareness, she will be open to her teammates on most occasions and conduct play.
Moreover, her sublime coordination and serenity on the ball mean that Andreia is greatly resilient to pressure. If covered tightly, she also possesses the intelligence to move as a decoy and create passing lanes to others. Through her passing range and vision, Jacinto is a divine distributor as well.
Her first minutes as a pivot for La Real came in the opening leg of UWCL qualification against Bayern München where she shone in the second half.
However, that role as pivote can also be occupied by the all-so important Iris Arnáiz or even Maddi Torre. As such, Natalia Arroyo has already used Andreia as an interior this season which allows the more progressive facets of her game to spring.
In what is a common sight in La Real’s build-up, Andreia will still drop into the second line and form a double pivot to generate advantages. But from there, she can also channel her capacities as a carrier.
Beyond that, Jacinto will engage in combinations, receive between the lines or arrive in the box. Her movement between touches to enable one-twos or offer as third player and therefore facilitate progression must be praised and pointed out. Said role also enables Andreia to filter lovely throughballs into the surging off-ball runs by Amaiur Sarriegi and company.
Not everything has worked out as desired for La Real in a very distinct start to the season. Yet, Natalia Arroyo’s sophisticated possession side remains an exciting group with clear ideas, ambition and talent. And finding the right rhythm will not be an issue when Andreia Jacinto is there.
