Liverpool target Raphael Guerreiro is versatile almost to a fault
By Michael Yokhin
One of the happiest days of Raphael Guerreiro's career came on Nov. 18, 2014. The youngster was making only his second appearance for Portugal when he took the field in the second half of a high-profile friendly against Argentina at Old Trafford. He was rewarded for a decent personal performance by scoring the injury-time winner with a glorious diving header as his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, watched from the bench with appreciation.
That was a dream scenario, but it sounds a bit weirder if you take into account that Guerreiro is a diminutive left-back, who is in fact a Frenchman and barely speaks Portuguese. Such apparent contradictions sum up his story so far. As Liverpool are
reportedly considering signing Guerreiro from Lorient this month, Jurgen Klopp must certainly know that the multi-talented 22-year-old has been experiencing a sort of identity crisis for a long time now. Nobody really knows whether he is a left-back or a midfielder, and he has been frequently switched between the two positions at his club this season.
It all started when Guerreiro was mostly used as an attacking player at the famous Clairefontaine academy. He impressed Caen scouts, who signed him in the beginning of 2008, and the deal went through that summer even though the rising star broke his leg prior to the move while, ironically, playing against Caen's Under-16 side.
Guerreiro's youth coach at Caen, Philippe Tranchant, was delighted with his protege's versatility, claiming: "He can play almost anywhere, from left winger to left-back." Eventually, the reserve team preferred to develop his skills in defence, and Guerreiro joined the senior squad in 2012 as a full-back.
Caen were playing in Ligue 2 in those days, and coach Patrice Garande has always implemented very attack-minded style, contrary to most teams in the division. That is why he was especially delighted to unleash Guerreiro as a marauding left-back, who frequently ran forward, supplied a lot of crosses and shots from distance, and was not shy to cut inside as well. When the team failed to win promotion in his maiden season, Guerreiro was quickly snapped up by Lorient in the summer of 2013. Caen initially demanded €5 million for their prodigy, but eventually settled for half of that amount.
At Stade du Moustoir, Raphael met the veteran Christoph Gourcuff, a local legend responsible for nurturing promising young players throughout his long tenure. Just ask Laurent Koscielny, who arrived as a relatively anonymous stopper from Tours in 2009 and moved to Arsenal just a year later. Under Gourcuff's guidance, Guerreiro made a seamless transition to Ligue 1 and impressed fans and pundits alike with his blistering pace, sound technical skills, tenacity and dedication.
His second season in the top flight started even better, and he became a true revelation. That is when Portugal coach Fernando Santos was convinced to give him a chance. Guerreiro initially chose the homeland of his father, a fervent Benfica supporter, as his national team at Under-21 level. Now, with the senior team calling, it was time to decide on his international future once and for all. The choice was rather straightforward from the sporting point of view, because Portugal had little coverage for injury prone Fabio Coentrao, while France are enjoying a very good generation of left-backs, with Lucas Digne and Layvin Kurzawa waiting to inherit the place of Patrice Evra.
There was a significant twist in the tale, however. Just as Guerreiro was about to make his debut for Portugal, Lorient's new coach Sylvain Ripoll, who replaced Algeira-bound Gourcuff in the summer of 2014, decided to move the youngster into midfield.
With newly signed Vincent Le Goff considered more solid and stable defensively -- even though much less spectacular on the ball -- there seemed to be some logic behind the switch. In his very first game in the new position, Guerreiro scored a nice goal against Paris Saint-Germain. He finished the 2014-15 season with a very impressive tally of seven goals and four assists, and his play was quite spectacular at times. And yet, it hasn't always been the case. Despite the stats, there were some doubts about the tactical development.
That might have been the reason why PSG, heavily linked with Guerreiro a year ago, eventually chose to sign the much more expensive Kurzawa from Monaco. Arsenal -- almost inevitably when it comes to young French talents -- were also mentioned as a possible destination in the summer, but nothing materialized.
"Raphael was especially good in the first half of last season, but less impressive in the second round. He is less decisive now, and we feel that his progress has slowed," L'Equipe journalist Franck Le Dorze told ESPN FC.
In the summer, Guerreiro performed brilliantly as a left-back at the Under-21 European Championships, where Portugal conceded just a single goal in five games and missed out on the title after losing to Sweden on penalties in the goalless final. Nevertheless, Ripoll continued to use him in midfield for Lorient numerous times this season, even though Guerreiro played in defence on six occasions. His form is less sound than in 2014-15, and he only has a solitary goal to his name this term so far.
All of that means that the youngster might have reached the limit at his current club, and a move could enable him to upgrade his game to a new level. His talents are clear for all to see, and Garande has little doubt that Raphael is destined for big things. "Guerreiro has incredible potential, and is very versatile. I am not surprised by his progress. The boy will have a great career", Caen coach recently said about his former player. Naturally, playing on the big stage will improve Guerreiro's chances of making the Portugal squad for Euro 2016, which is his sacred dream at the moment.
The club seems to be open to selling the player. "Lorient would have liked to sell Guerreiro and get some money, because they have several players who can be deployed on the left side in midfield," Le Dorze said. "Raphael should become stronger physically to succeed in the Premier League, but he can do it. He still has big room for improvement."
Taking everything into account, signing Guerreiro at a reasonable fee could be a promising piece of business by Liverpool. However, the Reds should understand what position he is supposed to fill. Versatility is a very good quality, but it can be counterproductive for young players, and that seems to have been the case for Guerreiro lately. He needs stability and might find it at Anfield. Klopp, who turned left backs Marcel Schmelzer and Erik Durm into national team players for Germany at Borussia Dortmund, could probably help Guerreiro develop into a real star as well.
