Ansu Fati: A Romantic Fairy Tale, Or Much More?
August 31, 2019 // It is the 51st minute at El Sadar, when the away fans erupt into cheer. At 1–0 down, a wiry 16-year old, about 5’8” tall, makes a direct run into the box and heads away an equaliser after coming on just six minutes back at the start of the second half. He had finally arrived on the scene for FC Barcelona, and looked ever so comfortable in this setting. The Blaugrana club eventually went on to draw 2–2 with hosts CA Osasuna, but they had unearthed a potential diamond in the guise of a young, excitable boy from Guinea-Bissau — Anssumane Fati.
Bursting Onto The Scene
A week before the match against Osasuna where he became Barcelona’s youngest La Liga scorer, Fati had made his first team debut in a 5–2 drubbing of Real Betis — coming off the bench for the last 15 minutes of action. As the final whistle was blown, Fati was seen overcome with emotions, as he waved out to his family in the crowd before making his way back to the tunnel. As embraces go around, Fati finally finds Lionel Messi, and the two share a bear hug — the image of which went viral across social media platforms.
Fati bypassed playing for the reserves team, Barcelona B, and became the youngest player to debut for the club’s first team in La Liga since 1941. The draw against Osasuna proved his pedigree to the world, with him making some dazzling, direct runs, and taking on defenders with his skill apart from just scoring a goal.
In the absence of an injured Leo Messi, Fati was awarded with his first start in the subsequent fixture — a home clash against Valencia — a tricky opponent even for the most seasoned players. Starting on the left wing in a trio alongside Antoine Griezmann and Carles Perez, the then 16-year-old made an instant impact — scoring in just the second minute as he made a brisk run into the box to tuck away a Frenkie de Jong through ball with a first-touch finish. Five minutes later, he returned the favour to assist de Jong after bamboozling solid Argentine defender and World Cup finalist, Ezequiel Garay. The Camp Nou was witnessing the rise of a very special player indeed.
As the season progressed, Fati became the youngest debutant for the club in the Champions League, and also became the youngest goalscorer in Champions League history after he netted the winner against Internazionale within a minute of coming off the bench in the 85th minute. By the end of the season, he had made 33 appearances including 15 starts, scoring 8 goals and assisting another.
Playing Style and How He Fits In At FC Barcelona
Ansu Fati provides Barcelona something it has lacked over the last few seasons — width and the ability to play a more direct form of football. The teenager’s ability to stay wide out, and also cut inside to combine with other attackers and midfielders in advanced positions is what makes him so versatile and dangerous for oppositions. Blessed with good pace, a penchant for dribbling that foxes even the best of defenders, and an exceptionally good knack of scoring goals, the Bissau-born winger has all the goods to become the next big thing.
A look at Figure (1) shows how Barcelona was typically set-up in the 2019/20 season, and the role Fati played when he was on the pitch. With Messi having a tendency to cut in to central areas from the right, Suarez occupying similar central positions in and around the penalty box, and the central midfielders playing short passes with each other and the attackers also in positions that are more-or-less central, their attack and interplay in the final third tends to be narrow and compact.
With the club’s core philosophy of playing quick, short passes to break down opposition defences and pull them out of position, having players to ‘expand’ and open up the pitch in wide areas is imperative, which is something that the club has struggled with in recent years. Marquee signings the club has made since the departure of Neymar in Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann don’t necessarily provide that much-needed width. While Dembele can function well as an out-and-out winger, he has spent a lot of his time nursing a plethora of fitness concerns and injuries. Besides, the Frenchman is most effective on the right flank — a position that Messi understandably monopolised as his own.
This is where Anssumane Fati comes in. At his most effective when functioning as a genuine winger on the left flank, he helps plug the hole that the club has had troubles with. He hugs the touchline in the second third of the pitch, while Jordi Alba — the other player tasked with providing width — plays slightly more inside to combine with the midfielders and centrally positioned forwards. In the final third, Fati’s role changes up, as he cuts inside to take on his marker, and play off other centrally positioned players. Alba now drifts wider and exploits the space opened up by Fati who drags the fullback and centre back with him — and often provides a diagonal ball or a cutback to Messi or Suarez to finish. Fati not only provides width and creates space while cutting in, but also has a mean shot, which when coupled with his acute footballing intelligence and eye for goal can prove to be lethal.
With Ronald Koeman assuming control of the first team for the 2020/21 season, Barcelona has transitioned to playing a 4–2–3–1 system, with a number of changes to the squad. Based on the two official matches played in this season thus far (a home clash against Villarreal), and subject to availability of every player, Barcelona’s preferred starting XI is likely to be the one showcased in Figure (2). Of course, there could be some changes like Sergi Roberto playing instead of Sergino Dest, Miralem Pjanic playing in the double pivot alongside Frenkie de Jong, or Francisco Trincao or Ousmane Dembele starting ahead of Antoine Griezmann, based on how the Frenchman adjusts to his new role on the right flank.
Ansu Fati’s role on the pitch would be akin to that of his 2019/20 season, albeit a lot more important, now that he has officially been promoted to the first team, and has the management showing a lot of faith in him. With Philippe Coutinho playing as a No.10 in the hole, and Messi operating as a False 9, a lot more dynamism and quick one-twos can be expected from Fati. By working on his final ball, there is a lot of potential for him to find Messi in the box, or even Griezmann who would often move centrally and into the box when Messi drops back to a more deeper position in order to fashion key chances.
Fati may be most comfortable on the left flank, but his skill makes him more than adept to function on the right flank, or even as a centre forward if need be. This adds to the dynamism and versatility of Barcelona’s attack this season with every attacker able to function in at least two, if not three positions. The potential arrival of Memphis Depay will add to this as well, and the outside possibility of Dembele’s exit won’t hurt the club in this regard either.
With the added responsibility on his shoulders, and functioning in a position and role that suits him and the playing style of the club, Ansu Fati could well and truly establish himself as one of the mainstays in the Barcelona attack for years to come. All the signs point to exactly that, and with the right support and guidance around him, there is no reason why he cannot develop to his full potential.
The Future
FC Barcelona’s recent years have been a rollercoaster ride for all the wrong reasons, what with a corrupt board, lacklustre on-field performances and a botched transition to blood a newer generation of players. Set against this backdrop, the emergence of Ansu Fati as a wunderkind and potential world-beater is a hopeful ray of sunshine on the darkest day for the Barcelona enthusiasts. You could almost see the baby-faced 17-year old emerge from the rubble, standing with his chest puffed out, arms on his waist, and wearing a fluttering cape of blue and red. Superman wears blue and red too, remember?
But as romantic as it all may sound, therein lies the problem as well. While Fati has shown incredible promise and potential, he is still a 17-year-old at the end of the day. Media and fans are already likening him to the second coming of a certain Leo Messi, and while few players surely flourish under such intense pressure and expectations, there are way more who crumble and collapse upon themselves. At this stage of his career, Fati should be given the freedom to play his game, and the guidance to hone his skills. While hoping for a return on this investment is only fair, he needs to be afforded the time and space to become the best version of himself on the pitch.
Fati’s emergence and potential can prove to be a strong and much needed reminder to the club of the potential of its academy, La Masia. The academy which has given the world some of the best footballers it has seen, has suddenly been overlooked, and with a string of failed transfers and a worsening financial condition — which only took a bigger hit with the Covid-19 pandemic — this might be the best opportunity the club has to get back to its roots and promote players from its own youth ranks. Fati’s entry into the first team and his breakaway success among the big boys can be the symbol and guiding star that FC Barcelona bases its transition on, and a lot of its success and failure in coming years could be attributed to it.
Anssumane Fati is just 17, but he has already taken the football world by storm, and if his pedigree and potential is anything to go by, this baby-faced assassin is hopefully here to stay for a long time. With sweeping changes long pending and imminent at FC Barcelona, Fati could well become the cornerstone on which the club is rebuilt, and only time will tell if he can prove to be a strong foundation, or just become another romantic fairy tale.
