Borja Sainz – Alaves’ attacking wunderkind
Borja Sainz comes from a lineage of Basque footballers as his father, Inaki Sainz played for Eibar in the Spanish Second Division in between 1991 and 1994 while his uncle, Carlos Garcia was central to one of the best Athletic Bilbao sides in recent years, spending an illuminating 11 seasons at the Basque giants. Borja came through the Athletic cantera himself as he began playing football at the age of four in his native Leioa after being encouraged by a close relative. He then made the leap to Lezama where he made it to the Cadet A side but did not see starting possibilities for himself as he decided to move to Alaves. That choice has borne fruit as he became the first Alaves player born in the 2000s to debut in the first team as he looks to nail down a starting place under Pablo Machin after being crucial in their survival efforts after the restart last season.
It is worth noting that Athletic intended to keep Sainz at the club, offering him a seven-year contract including three years as a youth player, two years at Basconia, two at Bilbao Athletic as the Basque side looked to retain the option to break the contract whenever they wanted. The teenager’s family looked to have the contract shortened to a couple of years as Sainz felt unimportant to his side, sharing minutes with Alejandro Ibarrondo as he was rotated constantly and rarely enjoyed any continuity in the side. Him and his family wanted to retain the ability to seek opportunities elsewhere as a fellow Biscayan in Mikel Gonzalez had just been appointed as Alaves youth director at the time. He appreciated the youngster’s speed, verticality and bravery according to El Correo as he decided to entice Sainz into joining Alaves.
His family have constantly sought to facilitate the developments of his career by surrounding him with a good structure as at Alaves, he constantly played in the higher age-groups while the club developed a specific development plan for him. His parents have continued to live in Bilbao while Sainz resided in the village of Armentia as he made his debut in the final 23 minutes of a match against Espanyol at only 18-years of age at the beginning of last season. The teenager would also play for Spain at youth level while continuing his progress at Alaves as he was a regular for Asier Garitano at the end of last season and now has to prove himself for Machin who has already abandoned his trusted 3-5-2 shape.
He came on away to Real Sociedad in September last year to add some zest to attack, linking up with Oliver Burke for counter-attacking opportunites as he forced Ander Guevara into making a challenge in the box to prevent him from having a shooting opportunity. The 19-year-old meshed his immaculate close control and dribbling ability with Burke’s pace and directness as Sainz weaved into the box on two occasions as in one situation, he cut inside, skipped past a defender and hammered a shot off the crossbar. It was quite the outing for the 18-year-old as it did not lead to him having increased opportunities with the first team as he spent majority of last season, watching his side from the bench.
He then won a start in the away match against Real Sociedad when he gave so much of himself defensively, pressing Aihen Munoz and regaining possession in the defensive phase while his first touch from balls in the air was exquisite as he cleverly manipulated his body position to regain and keep possession. He played in a side that did not have much possession as he had to focus on his defensive duties while when his side did have possession, he would make clever runs to the back-post or the central areas to get on the end of crosses, but deliveries rarely came his way. The 19-year-old has a compact and well-built physical stature while maintaining a low centre of gravity, allowing him to shield the ball from opposition defenders in congested areas before using his quick feet to find solutions as he worked intelligent connections to move the ball forward.
In the second-half, his hard work would be rewarded when he prodded a cross into the goal to open his account in professional football as the teenager became the bedrock of Alaves’ attacking moves. His first touch was exceptional as he laid a long-ball off, then received the ball on the flank to stand up against his fullback and cut back for former Arsenal and Deportivo La Coruna striker, Lucas Perez to cannon a shot off the crossbar. He continued to lead the counter attacks for his side, weaving past swathes of Real Sociedad defenders into the opposition half before he had another moment where he received possession and worked a pass for Perez on the break.
Sainz’ body stature and physique allow him to exude influence in the offensive and defensive phase of the game as he can support his fullback by making crucial challenges while he can win 50/50s by nudging defenders out of possession in the pressure phase. He loves to play on the front foot as a pressing player, making interceptions to burst forward on the counter or recognising pressing triggers to latch onto loose passes or opposition defenders mis - controlling the ball to regain possession.
The Basque teenager can also muscle past defenders as he can twist and turn on a dime, shielding the ball and waiting for a teammate to create a passing option for him. He can also hold off opposition defenders in shoulder to shoulder challenges, driving the ball forward before using his pace to burst away from challenges while he can change direction in an instant to leave defenders lying in his wake. His sharp turns and changes of direction are crucial in the box as he can drive defenders to the by-line to turn in instant to leave his marker on his backside before attempting a shot on goal or he can drive his marker to the by-line before cutting back to work a cross or dribble further into the box.
His short stature doesn’t limit him from being a threat in the air or from set-pieces as last season, when the ball was on the far flank, he would ghost into the box at the back-post while he has the jumping power and ability to hold his marker off to redirect crosses at goal. As an attacker, he is at the age where his long-term position is undetermined as he can move into the central areas to receive possession in between the lines and work one-touch combinations to create shooting opportunities. He also has the passing range to work switch balls to the opposite flank before making runs to the back-post to get on the end of crosses. He has the ability to play as a winger who can play closer to the touchline, drive to the by-line and cross to the back-post or as a more inverted wide-player. He can also dovetail the central striker, receiving possession to work connections and make runs off the striker.
This season, Machin gave him a start away to Villareal at La Ceramica as in the third minute, he received the ball on the break to take touch past a defender and burst forward to switch the ball to his stronger right foot and attempt a switch ball. In the 17th minute, his side was initiating a 4-4-2 press as he kept his marker in his cover shadow while possession was worked to the opposition fullback who tried to work a pass forward for Sainz to make a tidy interception. He then had another interception as his ball-near striker was beaten by his man then his ball-near midfielder pushed forward as Sainz had to decide to mark his man in the wide areas or his midfielder’s marker as he shuttled to the wide area to win an interception, drive forward, prodding the ball forward on the outside of his left boot before cutting past a defender and having a shot on goal. The 19-year-old regained possession again before playing a pass into the Perez in the nine-space as he was skilled in winning ball recoveries in the pressing and counter-pressing phase.
The 19-year-old showed his ability in delivering the ball with his stronger and weaker foot as in one instance, he received the ball in the left half-space to cut inside and work an accurate switch to the weak side before moving back to the back-post. His fullback then pushed forward before the ball was played to him on the left touchline to drive the ball forward and switch the ball to his weaker left foot to cross into the box for Deyverson to volley over the crossbar. His ability to drive to the by-line and cut-back to his stronger right foot to cross or drive to the by-line and cross with his weaker left foot makes him a multi-faceted winger who can play high quality deliveries out of a variety of situations on the flank. Last weekend, he came off the bench to tap in and score on the break to seal a 2-0 victory away to Real Valladolid as Machin may not be able to justify leaving him on the bench for much longer.
Borja Sainz is well-suited to the high intensity and constant turnover environment of modern-day professional football while off the pitch he is said to be an introvert as on the pitch, his hardworking nature is said to have endeared him to last season’s coaching staff. Asier Garitano picked him for a match against Real Zaragoza in pre-season last year while him and his coaching staff worked closely with the youngster that week. His rise at Alaves has been meteoric as he joined the B youth group after his move from Athletic’s Cadet A before moving to the first team under the orders of Garitano. His current manager, Machin respects hardworking and multi-functional players as shown in his previous stints at Sevilla and Girona, so it is a matter of time before Sainz becomes a first team regular. He will also look to progress into the Spanish U21 side after playing with his National Team at U17 and U21 level.
