When the club signed Manu Sanchez back in the summer, he was expected to be the first choice right back for the season, a player who could contribute not only defensively but offensively as well. That said, very few people saw this coming.
Perhaps even more than his defensive play, Manu Sanchez’s goals have proved absolutely vital for the Albinegres this season in the fight for promotion. Often coming at critical moments and giving the team the three points, his offensive prowess, from right back, has been nothing short of spectacular.
The stats
12 games, 5 goals. Dani Romera is credited with one of them officially, but only because Manu Sanchez’s shot went in off him. It was going in anyway. The fact that most strikers would be happy with that stat line says a lot.
Four out his five goals have come from corners, but only one header, against Osasuna B. The rest have been second chance opportunities, being at the right place at the right time, and reacting faster. Any team not clearing the ball properly against Castellón risks Manu Sanchez losing his defender and finding a way to get the ball in the back of the net. The other goal, his latest against Gimnastic, was a long range cross/lob attempt which caught out the keeper.
The fact that Manu is such a threat from corners without necessarily having a height/aerial advantage is a testament to his ability to get unmarked and his timing, which have both been exceptional this year.
A poacher’s instinct
If you analyse Manu Sanchez’s movement and reactions on corners and second chance balls, it’s quite easy to understand why he’s had so much success this season. It’s Inzaghi-esque at times. Take his goal against Amorebieta.
In anticipation of the ball being headed back into the danger area, he moves into the empty space around the penalty spot, and to make things worse the defender that was covering him before also drops back to cover the goal line. The result is that he’s totally alone to volley home, and the defender on the line is out of place to block the shot.
It’s the same story for his goal against Intercity. He starts his run from the penalty spot, is able to drift off the back of Emilio Nsue, and after the ball isn’t cleared by Intercity, it falls to him all alone to open the scoring. Although the former Premier League player should have done better, Manu Sanchez got himself into space, and anticipated where the ball was going to bounce faster than anyone else.
The clutch factor
Beyond his poacher’s instinct, Manu has the clutch gene. Every time he has scored this season, it’s been the opening goal of the game. In all but the last game against Nastic, Castellón went on to win those games. More importantly, both Amorebieta and Intercity were 1-0 wins for Castellón, and the Albinegres had some difficult spells in both games. If it weren’t for Manu Sanchez, those games would have been draws or worse.
Combined with a dangerous attacking trifecta of Fabricio, Dani Romera, and Raul Sanchez, not to mention Kone, Manu Sanchez’s impact from right back has been a huge part of Castellón success so far this season. His knack for getting on the scoresheet has been a pleasant surprise for Castellón fans, and the goals themselves have come in big moments. The man from Osuna will be someone important for the club to keep hold of long term, regardless of what division it is playing in next season.