This week we feature Isaías in our match day programme, ADLUNITE. To read the full piece, make sure you get a copy at #ADLvCCM!
The Perfect Pass
There’s a certain elegance with a perfect pass – that you cannot deny.
Let’s be clear, we’re not talking about a casual ten-yard pass in the middle of the park to an unmarked teammate because, at the end of the day, that’s achievable by anyone and is the most basic prerequisite in football at any level.
We’re talking about a 50-yard through-ball that smacks a winger clean on the boot and allows him/her to continue their stride and forward momentum. We’re talking that beautiful, round football sailing through the air with the ultimate height and speed with all factors taken into consideration. It’s that pass you know is going to hit its target the moment you see it leave the lush, freshly cut turf.
Distance isn’t always the defining factor when it comes to the perfect passes, though. If you can slide that football along the deck, between two central defenders, and into the path of your striker, who has made a textbook diagonal run, well, that’s perfection too.
Good passes make your opponents look stagnant; perfect passes make them invisible.
These are the type of balls that drive a stake into the hearts of your opposition’s fans, forcing them to bury their face as far into their hands as possible.
But what do they do for your own supporters? They make them weak at the knees, they make their faces gleam with joy, and they make grown men collectively shriek with excitement.
Given such a simple facet of the game can evoke such strong, emotive responses, we will surely agree that it is art in its purest form. And, like any form of art, it is something that comes from deep within one’s self.
Sometimes it can take time to master before it can break free and thrive, but once it manages to escape, the world must behold its beauty.
And for the last three seasons, Adelaide United supporters have been spoilt in this area of the Club’s football after a smiling Spaniard from Catalonia arrived in South Australia in 2013 and instantly claimed the title of the Reds’ passing maestro.
“Football with lots of passes and movements has always been the type of football that I have loved to play,” Isaias said.
“Sometimes I don’t know how I make the passes I do. When I have the ball at my feet, I try to keep it as close as possible so I can give it off quickly, but it cannot be my only focus.
“Of course, you need to know where the ball is at all times, but it is just as important to understand the possibilities around you, otherwise you won’t use the ball positively.”
The full version of this feature is available exclusively in the ADLUNITE match day programme available at the game between Adelaide United and Central Coast Mariners.
Adelaide United will face Central Coast Mariners in Round 25 of the Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season on Sunday, 27 March at Coopers Stadium. Kick-off is at 4.30pm ACDT.
