What Can Tottenham Fans Expect From Roberto Soldado? (Video)
At the age of 28 it is fair to say that Roberto Soldado has had to battle to gain the recognition that he deserves as one of the best strikers in Europe. After joining Real Madrid at the age of 15 he has not had an easy ride to the top and was never really given a chance at the historic club. But can Tottenham get the best out of him and make a genuine title challenge?
The last few years has seen Soldado regularly find the back of the net for Valencia, with a return of 59 goals in 101 games. He has also won call ups to the Spanish national side, although his opportunities have been severely restricted by Fernando Torres and the preference of Vicente del Bosque to play without any recognised strikers. Whether he continues to be a second choice will probably depend on whether Torres continues to under-perform for Chelsea, and if he can have a good debut season in the Premier League then he could claim the striking position for next summer’s World Cup.
The interest now will be whether Andre Villas-Boas decides to pair him up with another front man or whether he will play him on his own surrounded by attacking midfielders. He could form an effective partnership with Jermain Defoe, although the system used will depend a lot on the Gareth Bale situation. If the Welshman stays then he might be pushed into an even more advanced role, similar to Cristiano Ronaldo, in an attempt to give him even more chances to score and cause havoc in the opposition defence. If not, then Soldado could find the burden of goal scoring squarely upon his shoulders, although he is used to this responsibility.
His record is fairly good considering he has played for some of the less glamorous sides in La Liga. At Getafe he managed a goal every other game and at the end of the 2009/2010 season his 16 goals helped them to qualify for the Europa League. When he joined Valencia they were struggling financially and had been forced to sell David Silva and David Villa in order to try and balance the losses they were experiencing. Despite this, his form allowed the club to progress nicely even without their two stars that had been sold. This is what Spurs fans can look forward to this season.
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