Jordi Alba's great World Cup performances are being eclipsed by Isco
The Barcelona full back is enjoying a wonderful tournament in Russia, despite his teammates errors, but isn't getting the praise his performances deserve
Jordi Alba is probably Spain's fittest player at the World Cup so far. The full back is the only one of the backline who has maintained a high level of concentration and hasn't committed an error. His World Cup has been excellent but he isn't getting the credit he deserves because he finds himself on the same side of the pitch as Isco, the man who has been the standout performer for Spain at the tournament.
Alba is like a motorcycle down the left hand side of the pitch. In the three Group B matches the footballer has ran an average of 10.2 km, a very high average and one difficult to keep up. The intensity and effort from Alba is unrivalled with his continuous runs in behind the opposition's defence and, at the same time, rushing back to cover for his teammates.
However, the willing runner isn't receiving the ball as much as his forward runs deserve. Isco starts from the left but loves to be involved in the central areas of the pitch. A similar situation to when Neymar was at Barcelona. The Brazilian's need to be involved in everything was to the detriment of Alba's attacking abilities. At Barcelona, with Neymar now at PSG, we're seeing the best version of Alba again as the wing belongs solely to him.
Fernando Hierro still has time to take advantage of what Alba can bring to the side. For example, if Isco is moved into a more central area, a la Messi, Alba's movement will be more noticeable. However, the coach is unlikely to make any big chances to the way the team plays ahead of their match against Russia in the Last 16.
