So the last soldier standing surrendered. At this summer’s Confederations Cup, Roberto Soldado was the only member of the Spain squad not playing for Real Madrid, Barcelona or abroad. Now, he too has gone, joining Tottenham Hotspur for €30 million – the amount stipulated in his buyout clause.
The dominance of the big two continues. If Spain’s best players wish to compete, they have a choice: join Madrid, join Barcelona or leave. Roberto Soldado, whose name translates as Robert Soldier, tried Madrid once before.
“Madrid,” he had complained, “develop good players but then put their faith in foreign signings,”
Although born in Valencia, he began his career with Madrid and scored four in 17 games in his season with the first team while also playing for the Castilla, the B team.
Thirteen in 43 games at Osasuna on loan then gave him another chance, but his return to the Bernabeu was a fleeting one. In 2007/’08, Soldado played just eight games. He left Madrid for Getafe and then Valencia – and now he is leaving the country.
Other clubs
Now, not one of the players in la seleccion play for any of Spain's other clubs. Not that Soldado is a guaranteed starter for Spain: he was the top-scoring Spaniard in La Liga in 2012 but did not get included in the squad for the European Championships – something he admitted he found hard to take.
He was immediately included in the squad after Spain returned from Ukraine and scored the 86th-minute goal that rescued a victory in Georgia in September.
But even this summer, after scoring against Ireland in New York, the coach Vicente del Bosque admitted to having doubts, despite being the man who had brought Soldado to Madrid’s youth system in the first place all those years earlier.
“It wasn’t hard to see that he was going to make it. It was obvious he would reach the elite,” Del Bosque said of the young Soldado.
“Our uncertainty resides in his irregularity,” Del Bosque said of the current Soldado.
The temptation to play with a false nine lingers. Soldado responded: “I hope to change his mind; to make it so that he does not think there are no decent No9s in Spain.”
The accusation of irregularity is a long-standing one: his 20 in 32 and 13 in 34 over two seasons at Getafe were marked by hot streaks followed by goalless spells and he was capable of missing great chances as well as scoring great goals.
His handful of goals for Spain include a hat-trick against Venezuela and he depends on service.
Three seasons
But Soldado is determined and focused, strikingly single-minded, and over the last three seasons at Valencia he has been remarkably consistent. His record reads: 30 in 46 games, preceded by 27 in 51 and 25 in 44.
The determination, in particular, is clear. Soldado’s game is based on mobility and intelligence, on his sheer relentlessness, on the belief that opportunities will reveal themselves if he seeks them. He pushes defenders back, always on the shoulder, constantly looking for space.
There’s an enjoyment in finishing first time, efficiency over aesthetics, even if he can lay claim to some of the most remarkable goals in La Liga last season, even as his game evolves to become more complete, more involved.
Mala leche, bad milk, is a theme that he returns to often. It means edge, nastiness and he says he inherited it from his father, who was a talented amateur player.
Soldado picked up 10 yellow cards last season, mostly for confronting referees, and admits to verbal sparring with centre-backs. "You say some really terrible stuff that you later regret," he told Cayetano Ros in El Pais.
Off the pitch it is a different story, but the focus is unshakeable, the drive to improve. Competitive edge ultimately forced him to change country.
He talks too about a striker's advantage; the defender can be on top all game but the one time the striker wins out is the moment that truly marks a match. Soldado's best moments have marked many of them.
Guardian Service