Scout Report: Ruben Pardo

Real Madrid have had a busy summer, signing the likes of Gareth Bale and Isco in high profile deals. Perhaps one signing that hasn't been as glamorous, but important nonetheless was Asier Illarramendi. This has had repercussions at his former club, Real Sociedad where pressure has grown on young midfielder Ruben Pardo. Comparisons have been drawn between the two as they can both play as deep lying playmakers, and whilst Illarramendi has been drafted into Madrid to be the replacement for Xabi Alonso, the domino effect has been that fans and pundits alike have now begun to look at Pardo as Illarramendi's successor at Sociedad. Interestingly, the 20 year old has quashed comparisons between the two- perhaps trying to relieve some of the pressure off himself, stating "While everyone says it, I do not consider myself a replacement for Illarramendi. I'm working to try to play every possible minute. I'm young and I want to do my best and try to help as much as I can." With his ability to drop deep and spray passes across the pitch, Pardo had himself been linked with a move to Madrid as a possible replacement for Alonso, but the youngster will have to wait his turn, and perhaps positively for his career can gain more experience and more first team action at Real Sociedad, for the next season at least.





The youngster featured heavily in the Spanish U-19 side that won the European Championships in 2011 and has also notched up two apperances for the U-21 side during this years European Championships, no mean feat considering this is a team that blitzed their way through the competition with a side featuring the likes of Thiago, Alvaro Morata and Isco.




Pardo plays mostly as a 'regista', or deep lying playmaker, but can occupy a more advanced role if possible. Despite the comparisons made between himself and Illarramendi, the current Sociedad man does not quite have the same defensive abilities. He is usually accompanied by a more defensive player in the pivot to make up for his lack of aerial ability and defensive prowess. He is, however exceptional at spreading the ball and his lofted through balls are something of a trademark. The 20 year old made 25 appearances last season and notched up four assists. This may not seem like a lot, but considering he plays fairly deep and only managed 10 starts, four assists is actually quite healthy. Pass accuracy has become the statistic of choice for many a football fan, and whilst statistics have to be taken with a pinch of salt in case of spurious correlation, Pardo averaged an impressive 82% pass completion rate last season, compared to Illaramendi's, which is around 80%. Of course, this is unfair considering the latter played more games, making it harder to keep up his average, but considering many of Pardo's passes are long, raking balls this statistic is quite impressive. He has kept up his exceptional statistics even without the support of Illarramendi, managing 60/69 passes (86%) in Real Sociedad's last game, against Sevilla. As this StatZone dashboard shows he also ventured forward, taking a couple of shots as well as managing 17/24 successful passes in the attacking third. Despite questions over his defensive ability he recovered the ball for his team more times than any other player (10), whilst intercepting the ball 3 times (compared to the highest, 5) showing his intelligence on the pitch despite his young age.

Despite, interest from clubs around Spain, including Athletic Bilbao, Pardo has recently signed a contract that will keep him at the club until 2016 with a reported buyout clause of €30m. He seems tied to Sociedad for the foreseeable future, which will give him time to develop as well as inavaluable Champions League experience this year, and perhaps a chance to earn more international caps. With his vision and majestic passing range, Ruben Pardo seems to be one to look out for in the future.