There is little doubt that Mason Greenwood (Bradford, England, 2001) is surprising everyone in LaLiga. The Englishman is one of the offensive leaders of a Getafe team settled in the noble zone of the classification. He arrived ‘bounced’ from England in the last hours of the last summer market after the Azulones overtook Champions clubs like Lazio. AND The former Manchester United player is surprising on the pitch.
Greenwood is Getafe’s best dribbler (19 in LaLiga) and a great generator of chances (19 passes that end in a teammate’s shot). But, above all, he is the one who shoots the most: 41 kicks excluding penalties. He is in the TOP-20 of players who test themselves the most in front of the rival goal in LaLiga. And here, at this point, One fact stands out: alternate both legs. He has shot 27 times with his left foot… and 24 with his right. He is a perfect switch-hitter.
Greenwood’s shot map since his professional debut.Driblab.
Greenwood’s double profile
However, this is not something new. Greenwood has been warning his entire career of his ability to finish plays with both legs. Although we see him more comfortable driving with the left, he ends up with either of the two. At the Coliseum he has taken corners with his right and left foot, in the same game. It depends on the launch profile. Against Sevilla, for example, he scored a penalty with his right foot… but his best goal (vs Almera) is with his left foot.
Mason Greenwood is the best finisher I’ve ever seen. He is ambidextrous. If he is in or around the area, he will always score.
Phil Foden
“Mason Greenwood is the best finisher I have ever seen. He is ambidextrous. If he is in or around the area, he will always score,” Foden already warned in 2020 about his teammate in the England youth team. ‘‘If the defender opens his legs, he takes a shot through them. If he closes them, he manages to shoot anyway because he can do it with both his left and right hand,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the coach who gave him his debut for United, also warned.
Map of Greenwood statistics this season.FBREF.
And this ability is something that the man from Bradford has been cultivating since his beginnings in football. ”When Greenwood reached six years old, he could use both feet with equal force. He was very quick when it came to acquiring new knowledge,” acknowledged Mark Senior, his coach in lower categories.
Something corroborated by Theo Richardson, Greenwood’s former teammate in the United academy, in ‘The Telegraph’: “From a very young age he could play with both feet. He took penalties with one and free kicks with the other.” Greenwood himself said in an interview that he made the decision to start shooting with his right after an injury he had. “I was playing against City… and I used to shoot left-footed all the time. It was an important game and I missed it, so I remember telling myself that from now on I was going to shoot right-footed,” were his words. .
From a very young age he could play with both feet. He took penalties with one and free kicks with the other.
Theo Richardson, ex compaero de Greenwood
Greenwood’s shooting map with the right leg. Driblab.
Greenwood’s left-footed shooting map. Driblab.
Although at Manchester United he left a warning of what he was capable of when it came to defining, at Getafe he has maintained this trend. Beyond the stopped ball and the crosses hanging into the area, the Englishman does not distinguish when looking for a rival goal. His heat map is clear (he starts mainly from the far right), but ends up played in both corners of the area.
And depending on the location of the shot, he uses one leg or the other to take advantage of the profile and position of his body. From the left side he hits with his right, with a changed leg; from the right profile, on the contrary. Shots that seek the long stick, with the goal against Almera being one of the jewels of the former United this season.
Cazorla’s example
But Mason Greenwood is not the first player in history to be considered ambidextrous. There is a long list… and of a high level. One of the most recognized is Santi Cazorla. “Being able to use both feet is something that came quite naturally to me since I started playing,” confessed the Spaniard. in an interview with the Arsenal media when he was in London.
Being able to use both feet is something that came quite naturally to me since I started playing
Santi Cazorla
Arsne Wenger, in fact, even admitted to the English press that he did not know which was the Asturian’s ‘good’ leg. Although Cazorla was ‘born’ right-handed, something similar to what happened to Greenwood led him to perfect his left-handed punch: an injury. “I once injured my right ankle and that’s when I started using my left foot a lot more,” he said.
I once injured my right ankle and that’s when I started using my left foot a lot more.
Santi Cazorla
Santi Cazorla, with Arsenal in a file image.IMAGO Sport.
However, it is evident, everything starts from a base that mixes work, sacrifice and dedication: “After training sessions I would stay another half hour and shoot the ball against the wall with my weaker foot over and over again to make sure it got stronger and better. “Players have to remember that everything comes from hard work.”
After the training sessions I would stay another half hour and shoot the ball against the wall with my weaker foot.
Santi Cazorla
Other great ambidextrous
There are many who are part of this ‘exclusive’ club. Simone Verdi, for example, is the perfect ambidexter. The Italian scored a free-kick goal with each leg during his time at Bologna… in the same match! But there is also Andreas Brehme, the most iconic… and ‘global’. In the 1990 World Cup final, played in Rome, he scored the winning goal from the penalty spot five minutes from time… but with a ‘surprise’. The German full-back took the penalty with his bad leg, the right one, to disconcert Goycoechea, the ‘penalty saver’ of the tournament.
Also Ivan Perisic, who scored a penalty in the ‘Calcio’ with each leg. As Ianis Hagi (now at Alavs) during his stay at Belgian side Genk. He was in a derby against Saint-Truidense. Pavel Nedved, The ‘Lion of Prague’ launched corner kicks with both legs depending on the kick profile.
And with them, a long list: Dembl, Forln, Sneijder, Rogelio Sosa, Hernandes, Barkley, Kroos, Rigoni, Marcial Pina, Movisyan, Luis Aguiar, Alberto Spencer… footballers to remember who cultivated the art of being a ‘double agent’.
2024-02-09 09:05:19
#Getafe #Double #agent #Greenwood #Brand
