Real Madrid: Olga Carmona is a star in the making

Real Madrid Femenino have a new star in Olga Carmona.

It was 48 mins on the clock, Madrid CFF were on a quick break with Geyse Ferreira. The score was 1-0 in Real Madrid’s favor. Geyse had beaten Ivana on the turn and had a lot of space ahead of her to attack. She passed the ball to Laurita making a run out on the left side. Laurita then tried to play the ball across the goal for Geyse to tap in. Misa was beaten, it looked all set to be the equalizing goal…but then popped up a 20-year-old, make-shift LB to save the day.

Carmona was in the attacking third when the move began and in 11-12 seconds, she traversed two-thirds of the pitch, got ahead of Geyse, anticipated the ball across from Laurita, and denied Geyse the tap-in with a last-ditch tackle to save the day for Real Madrid.

Moments like these are not only decisive in a game’s result but also for a team’s season and most importantly for the confidence of a player. Carmona didn’t just save the goal that day, that tackle marked the birth of a star in her that had been seen before she made her senior debut for Sevilla back in 2017, as a 17-year-old prodigy. Olga was arguably the best talent coming out of Sevilla’s youth system.

She quickly became a mainstay at Sevilla after breaking out in the senior team in 2017, scoring 5 goals in her very first season. Carmona played almost all possible mins for Sevilla last season. Olga is a part of the extremely talented pool of Spanish youth players coming up in recent years after their successes at the youth level.

Carmona has featured 11 times this season, with 7 starts. She has already got three goals and has filled in at LB at times too. In this article we will look at her strengths, areas she can improve on, and why she is a vital piece for Real Madrid moving forward.

Strengths

Olga Carmona, signed from Sevilla in the summer, is a left-sided player capable of filling in in every position on that left-hand side. Naturally an attack-minded player, she’s a player capable of contributing on both ends of the pitch. Olga’s primary strengths come in the attacking end of things. She’s eager to join the attack at every opportunity.

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The left-sided star has got amazing pace, her pace is arguably her biggest asset. Her acceleration allows her to not only spring a quick break for her team but it also helps her recover from dangerous situations and close down opponents when on the ball, not allowing them time on the ball.

She puts her acceleration to good use when dribbling past players. While she doesn’t do a lot of flashy tricks to beat her marker, she’s really effective in her approach. She’s always looking to facilitate a shooting opportunity for her teammates.

Olga has got a golden left foot on her. She can swing in a vicious delivery with that left foot and can shoot amazingly well with it too. Her ability to pick out the perfect cross almost all the time is just incredible to watch. She’s the Sevillan girl with a golden left foot.

Carmona is good on the ball, no surprises there given how dominant most of the Spanish players are. She has good control when receiving & her body orientation when receiving allows her to quickly turn into space and move the ball forward. She’s got good passing range on her as she can switch the point of attack with one long pass from her left.

The wide player loves to play little exchanges (1-2s or wall passes) with her teammates that release her into space. She can circulate the ball well helping her side maintain possession of the ball. Carmona’s intelligent to choose between playing it safe and attempting a high risk-high reward pass. She can pick out good run-ins behind with her vision too.

Another aspect of Carmona that makes her stand out is her incredible work-rate. She can bomb down the wing for the full length of the match. It’s like she has an endless supply of energy in her. This helps her side always have an outlet in attack.

Carmona is a tackler; she likes to go in for tackles. In defensive situations, Olga uses her body well to shield the ball while forcing a foul, not the most physical player but she is smart in ways she turns this to her advantage. Her ability to read the game is good, she knows when an opportunity to attack can open up and what run would open up more space for her teammates.

When playing in an attacking position (LM/LW) she very often sticks wide and looks to stretch the opposition. She could be seen hugging the touchline and taking on players in a 1v1 situation. When playing as the LB, Carmona is intelligent to complement her respective wing partner. She provides the supporting runs in behind the defence in order to either receive the ball herself to cross or open up space for the winger to shoot or cross themselves. She has worked very well in tandem with Jakobsson on the left wing. Olga provides the correct supporting run (overlapping/underlapping runs) while the Swede helps the young Spaniard in defensive situations and with their pace they are a huge threat in counter-attacking situations.

Improvements:

Since she isn’t a defensive player primarily, this can be seen at times in her defending. She gets a bit overzealous while going for the ball which might result in some fouls in dangerous areas. Another factor that comes into play due to LB not being her natural position is her defensive positioning. Her positioning could be a little off at times, giving her opponents space to attack in behind since she likes to join the attack. When coming up wingers who like to float, Carmona can be seen dragged out of position quite easily. She makes up for this with her pace most of the time. Her pace allows her to recover from dangerous positions very quickly.

Another thing of note is her lack of physicality which could prove detrimental when coming up against physically dominant players. She isn’t completely a pushover by any means but it’s hard coming up against really good ones. At 160 cms her ability in the air isn’t the best and she knows that as she chooses to not contest many aerial duels.

These aren’t things that will limit Carmona as a player or things that a 20-year-old can’t work and improve upon. She may turn out to be a very effective offensive-minded FB in the right team set-up, we have seen that happen with Amel Majri but we have to make sure to give Olga the offensive freedom she needs to express herself in these situations.

Thinking of the future

Talking about distant futures in regards to players is slightly tricky given how volatile the women’s football market can be at times, but talking about the immediate future, Carmona has worked and earned herself a place in that Real Madrid team. Carmona’s ceiling is high and her performances consistent, these are really positive signs moving forward.