Thursday 13 August 2015 17:15, UK
As Roberto Soldado's Tottenham career draws to a close, Adam Bate examines where it went wrong for Spurs' one-time record signing…
Any signing is a gamble. But when Tottenham bought Robert Soldado in 2013, they were acquiring a player of pedigree. Soldado had finished among La Liga’s top six goalscorers in each of the preceding four seasons. The only other men to accomplish that feat? Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. What followed was a two-year struggle. A career seemingly in decline from the moment he arrived.
There had been whispers about the fee given his age - Soldado was 28 when Spurs paid £26million for him - but few were disputing his quality. Some speculated that the archetypal poacher who favoured life on the shoulder would need a strike partner. And yet, he’d flourished in a 4-2-3-1 for Valencia with wingers cutting the ball back from the flanks and clever through-balls to latch onto.
It was service that was required. Soldado was used to the best. Indeed, his first European goal had been a late winner from a David Beckham cross for Real Madrid against Olympiakos in 2005. His former Real boss Vicente del Bosque later specifically told Soldado not to get involved for Spain on the proviso that the ball would reach him in the end. It didn’t work out that way at White Hart Lane.
That proved particularly surprising given that Andre Villas-Boas was thought to have pushed hard for his signature. Inverted wingers and Gareth Bale’s propensity for long-range shooting had reaped dividends in the coach's first campaign – Spurs scored more goals from outside the box than any other team in 2012/13 – but reshaping the side to get the best from a penalty-box predator proved tricky.
Valencia had averaged six through-balls per game during Soldado’s final season there – the best of his career – but that dropped to one per game at Tottenham. Perhaps the only man on the Spurs staff capable of picking those passes was Christian Eriksen and yet Soldado and the Dane started only four of the first 27 games of the 2013/14 season together. By that point, Villas-Boas was sacked.
The football field was not the only area of difficulty. Soldado, the human being, endured a tough time too. There were the routine strains – “as soon as you leave training you have a lot of things to sort out - school for the kids, a house” and then the more serious. In December 2013, Soldado opened up about his wife’s miscarriage that had added a tragic element to his new life in England.
Soldado is an articulate man. He’d been captain at Valencia. But with only a basic understanding of the English language, he’d been robbed of that dressing room influence at Tottenham. Frustration would have been understandable for a man who, in the words of Spanish football expert Graham Hunter, “loves to talk in-depth about his profession - and he’s terribly good at it”.
Despite the language limitations, he could not remain oblivious to the spotlight. And so his thoughts on his earlier move to Valencia, expressed in a 2012 UEFA interview with Hunter, proved prophetic. “When I came here (to Valencia) I was really conscious that if things didn't go well that tag was going to weigh very heavily for a long time – not just in my own mind but for the press and fans.”
As it was, Spurs supporters were remarkably supportive. Soldado retained the affection of the crowd to the end. There were still moments of quality too. His sumptuous volley against Fiorentina harked back to the one-touch finishes that had once been his trademark. But it proved to be his last for the club. One Premier League goal in his entire second season told the tale. Soldado failed to adapt.
He’d shown willing. The Spaniard had spoken of his admiration for Wayne Rooney and how he’d developed his game to add defensive qualities. “His game is growing,” Soldado had told Hunter. But he could not do the same, the subsequent success of Harry Kane only serving to emphasise his struggles. Kane’s physicality and hard-running highlighted aspects that were lacking in Soldado all along.
Guillem Balague has since argued that Soldado just didn’t have the tools to succeed. “The Spanish league can be very deceiving in some areas,” Balague told Shoot magazine. “When strikers come to England, they have to work harder, they have to play for the team, they have to lead and Soldado isn’t at that level to play in the Premier League.”
As a result, he leaves as an expensive disappointment but one whose efforts are likely to inspire sympathy from supporters rather than anger. Indeed, any frustration is likely to be directed at those responsible for a costly recruitment error rather than a talented player whose travails cost him a World Cup spot – and a lot more besides.
