Player Focus: Cazorla the Shining Star of Malaga's Spending Spree

A vast summer spending spree - backed by the millions of club owner Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nassar Al-Thani - may have brought nine new acquisitions to Malaga, but there was never any doubt as to who the jewel in the crown was. The capture of Santi Cazorla from Villarreal for a fee in the region of 21m euros was a real statement of intent, bringing one of the most sought-after talents in La Liga into Manuel Pellegrino’s team, as the cash-rich club looked to fast-track their way into the upper echelons of Spain’s top flight.

There’s no question he’s been an instant hit. After fifteen rounds of fixtures, Cazorla has helped propel Malaga to sixth in the table, only 6 points behind third-place Valencia and, given they finished just 3 points off relegation last time round, Pellegrino’s side are rapidly heading in the right direction.

A look at the top-rated players in the WhoScored rankings shows Cazorla is the only outfield player outside of Barcelona and Real Madrid to make the list of the top fifteen best players in La Liga thus far. With this in mind, we analyse his performances, comparing them to his final season at Villarreal in order to ascertain his progress…

Passing

Cazorla sees as much of the ball this time round, averaging 52.3 passes for Malaga compared to 51.9 last term but there’s a crucial difference. At Villarreal, Bruno (69.8) and Borja Valero(59.4) saw much more possession in midfield but Malaga ensure Cazorla is at the hub of their attacks, getting the ball to him as much as possible. He’s been fielded in all three of the attacking midfield positions in Pellegrino’s preferred 4-2-3-1, though has played wide left more often than not - at Villarreal, he played wide left, wide right and through the middle in equal measure.

Playing on the left clearly suits him; Cazorla makes more than double the number of successful crosses, 1.4 compared to 0.6, and is top here for Malaga - at Villarreal, they relied on Valero (1.1) for a superior supply. Cazorla also plays more long balls in Malaga’s system, with 7.1 to last term’s 5.1, while in possession, his accuracy is roughly the same, 85.1% this season to 84.2%.

Offensive

Cazorla has maintained the same level of consistency when it comes to creating goalscoring opportunities, with 2 key passes per game over the two seasons. At Villarreal, though, he picked up 10 assists over his 37 appearances - so far, he’s returned only 2 at Malaga, though the teams are fairly similar in goals per game. Malaga’s 20 goals in 15 games is an average of 1.3, whereas Villarreal scored 54 in 38, or 1.4 per game.

His goal threat has dropped just a notch, down from 2.5 to 2.3 shots per game, though Cazorla has already found the net 4 times this season, only 1 less than his total for the 2010/11 campaign. His finishing, therefore, has improved substantially - last season, Cazorla found the net with every 18.4 attempts, compared to a goal every 8.5 attempts this time round.  His successful dribbles are almost identical (1.5 to 1.4) and he’s been dispossessed 2.1 times per game at Malaga, in comparison to an average of 2.2 the season before.

Defensive

There has also been a notable increase in Cazorla’s work-rate and one that has been fundamental to his overall jump in the WhoScored ratings. At Villarreal, he was eleventh best for tackles, with an average of 1.6, accompanied by 1.9 interceptions per game - 0.9 dribbles on average also beat him. 

His stats at Malaga are much more impressive. Pellegrino’s team average 25.1 tackles per game - the fourth best in La Liga - and Cazorla has upped his defensive output, now averaging 2.5 tackles - only five Malaga players have made more. He has also chipped in with 2.3 interceptions and has been beaten by just 0.5 dribbles per game, almost halving last season’s amount.

Overall

An average of 7.59 in the WhoScored ratings is the sixth best in La Liga over the 2011/12 campaign according to the La Liga Player Statistics, with Cazorla’s all-round game proving crucial to his lofty ranking. Last season he managed 7.39, the best for Villarreal and just edging out Giuseppe Rossi (7.33).

So far, only Lionel Messi has picked up more WhoScored man of the match awards than Cazorla in La Liga. Cazorla’s 5 is the same number as Cristiano Ronaldo, summing up his importance to Malaga and demonstrating just how quickly he’s integrated into his new surroundings. Given that he picked up 6 over the entirety of the previous campaign, as he helped Villarreal to a fourth place finish, he’s arguably more influential to his new club already.

21m euros may very well be a significant outlay but – as Malaga attempt to chase down Valencia in the race for that automatic Champions League slot - Cazorla’s displays are already making that figure look like a canny piece of business as the season starts to pick up pace.