The man in the way of Jose Enrique’s progression?

However, there is another, more experienced left-back who may feel slightly disgruntled by this sudden ascension. José Enrique, of Liverpool, has been delivering top-class, noteworthy performances in the Premier League not just this season, but ever since he arrived at Newcastle in 2007. Transferring to Merseyside during the summer – for a bargain price of £5 million – the man who, ironically, hails from Valencia has been ever-present as Kenny Dalglish continues to lead a new era of evolution at Anfield.

This poses a problem to Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque: does he stick with the prodigious talent, who has so far experienced a ‘lucky’ career, or does he instead go with the seasoned-pro? At 25, Enrique is three years the senior of Alba and entering the peak of his career; but if Alba can retain his place in the Valencia starting XI, there is no reason why he cannot stake a claim as Spain’s first choice left-back. In addition, Valencia, placed in Chelsea’s group, are undefeated in their Champions League campaign thus far, with Alba delivering a sterling performance as the west Londoners were recently held to a 1-1 draw. With Liverpool not involved in any continetal competitions, the European factor is a trump card for Alba. He does, however, need to avoid the play-acting, the dark under-belly of Spanish football that is quickly becoming synonymous with their players, which led to a booking for James Morrison.

But Enrique, equally, will keep plugging away. The loquacious Joey Barton has, despite having been involved in an on-pitch spat with the Spaniard, previously praised his former team-mate for his staunch professionalism, with the press also remarking that the Spaniard is known as one of the game’s “nice” guys. It is just unfortunate that, as soon as the level of his performances have come to the fore, the precocious Jordi Alba is delivering on a similar level, just on the lucrative Champions League stage as well.

Whilst del Bosque may be faced with a dilemma, the undoubted winner is the Spanish national team who continually have the luxury of having a plethora of options from which to bolster their all-conquering team.

This article was written by Theo Rowley and is courtesy of our partner website thisisfutbol.com. Read the latest news and blogs about European Football at TiF. – ed

Get Football, Rewards and More with a brand new free app Qustodian Sports. Click the banner below to download for free!