Joaquin Indacoechea – Aldosivi’s midfield prodigy
At 20-years-old and in the infancy of his football career, few footballers or people have faced the challenges that Joaquin Indacoechea has faced. He faced a debilitating serious life-threatening illness but managed to recover and continue his football career as he is beginning to show promise for Aldosivi in the Argentine Primera Division. The tenacity and grit that he has shown in his life, is also exhibited on the pitch while he rarely takes a moment in his football career and life for granted. The young midfielder will be a player to watch in the coming years as his career is on the upward trajectory as a metronomic deep-lying midfielder.
Most aspiring footballers face a battle to make their debut at the professional level but as a youngster, Joaquin Indacoechea faced a battle to not only make his first team debut, but he also had to fight to save his life. On the 28th of September in 2015, 15-year-old Indacoechea went for a check-up as his doctor noticed that his neck was inflamed as it was suspected that he had mononucleosis. However, the tests proved negative but on October 2012, he would have to be transferred to Mar Del Plata to be hospitalized for three days while they operated on him to remove a tumour as the disease was unclear. The surgeon believed that his results were fine as on October 13th, he celebrated the good news with his family. On November 12th, the doctor would call his mother to inform them that this was not the case and that he would have to return to Mar Del Plata.
Him and his family were informed that he suffered from a rare type of cancer called Burkitt’s lymphoma and that 9 months of treatment would await him as he was about to embark on his end of year holidays as those plans were scrapped for chemotherapy and isolation in hospitals. His younger brothers Felicitas and Genaro would remain at home while his parents would accompany him to Mar Del Plata to care for him. With a renewed faith in God and the extensive care of his parents, he would beat his illness without complications constantly being inspired and energized by the photos of the ‘Virgin of Lujan’. His grandfather also made a promise to ride to the statue as once Indacoechea had finished chemotherapy and was given the all clear at the Posadas Hospital in Buenos Aires, that promise was fulfilled.
His grandfather bicycled 475 kilometres as the 70-year-old man did not let a heavy fall deter him from his goal as he expected his wife to meet him before they would return. However, when he reached his destination, he would unexpectedly find his beloved grandson, affectionally known as ‘Pipi’ and the rest of his family there to celebrate with him. This gave Indacoechea the confidence and motivation to restart his career with his beloved hometown club, Atletico San Manuel as in March 24th, 2016, the club played a benefit match against veteran players where the youngster scored a penalty, revelling in the moment and thinking of the months that got him to that point.
Over a year after his initial diagnosis and the news that he would be forced to leave his home to recuperate, Indacoechea’s father would pick up the phone for another call for his son to leave home for Mar Del Plata. This time, it was an offer to join the Aldosivi youth academy as the call came on a Thursday with the youngster asking the club to wait till Monday for him to give his answer. He would have to leave the family and friends that had stuck by him throughout the past year, but he decided to join the club to further his career as he fell in love with the city as he sought to adjust to the physicality and pace of playing at a higher level.
He would play with the B Team and have some strong performances before making his debut in 2018 before Aldosivi astutely tied him down to a five-year contract. This season, he has grown from one of the promises of Aldosivi to a regular starter as he has moved from being an attacking midfielder to a deeper-lying midfielder. He may be slight in size, but he is big in work rate and heart. He shuttles around the pitch closing down opponents while using his low centre of gravity and fleet of foot to connect play and instigate attacking moves.
Indacoechea’s past as an attacking midfielder shines through in his game as he his quick twitch as well as being clever and precise with his one touch passing. His quick feet and low centre of gravity allow him to receive the ball under pressure in tight spaces before releasing it to teammates by threading passes through tight lines of pressure or finding teammates in space. Against Rosario Central, he was tasked with dropping into the six-space to receive possession from the centre-backs to turn and release the ball. He once dropped into space to hit a magnificent pass on the turn to release an overlapping fullback to play a cross which was behind an Aldosivi attacker.
At times, when he is dropping into the six-space, he will play the most obvious pass which are predominantly back-passes to his centre-back which is frustrating as he has the skill to turn and play the ball into the next line. He is highly talented on the turn when he receives possession to quickly turn and drive passes in between the lines or regain possession to recycle the ball at pace. When he receives the ball in the opposition half, he is able to link play quickly while maintaining tempo and pace as he will receive the ball to take one touch and drill the ball to a teammate in the pockets or he will scan so he can work a pass to a teammate in space with his first touch.
His weighting of passes and body control to swivel out of pressure is highly developed and phenomenal, this allows him to twist and turn into an extra yard of space, so he can find the most accurate pass. In the final third, this allows him to turn into spaces where he can find runners in between the lines to add some penetration to his side’s play or in the build-up phase, this allows him to manoeuvre into space and create some press resistance to create better passing angles for himself. He can also earn fouls in crucial areas of the pitch by shielding the ball and drawing fouls.
Defensively, he is astute in covering his passing lanes and shuttling across to make interceptions or tackles in the defensive phase. He has the mobility to apply pressure and regain possession with well-timed challenges if he is tasked with moving forward to track a marker. Indacoechea has the ability to charge and win fifty fifty challenges to regain possession but can also be give himself up too early in certain situations as opposition players can glide past him to drive into the opposition half.
The biggest facet of his game which needs refinement is his long-range passing as he tends to lose possession from poorly directed switch balls or lobs into runners in behind. His game and distribution are very limited to passes to teammates within a few yards of him as if he improves his long-range passing, he can grow into a reliable box-to-box midfielder or deep-lying playmaker. He tends to drop into the six-space situationally as he can receive the ball and turn past pressure to play penetrative passes but his inability to play the long-ball means that he can lose possession or slow play down by working back-passes to his centre-backs or goalkeeper.
Indacoechea’s life and career to this point has been a story of endurance and perseverance, not just only in his life but in the lives of the family and people around him, be it his grandfather who motivated him in keeping his foot on the pedal despite hardship, his parents who cared for him and his siblings who supported him from afar. It would be difficult to count out someone who has come such great lengths and has shown such a considerable amount of talent. The 20-year-old would benefit from continuing to gain experience in the Argentine Primera Division to iron out the inefficiencies in his game before making a leap to a higher level.
