GABRI VEIGA
Al-Ahli, 2023-
Spanish midfielder Gabri Veiga’s breakout 2022/23 season saw him linked with a move to several Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United. But it was Saudia Arabia's Al-Ahli who secured his signature, amid reports of a bumper contract for the highly touted 21-year-old.
Veiga scored 11 goals in 36 La Liga appearances for a Celta Vigo team that finished just three points above the relegation places in 2022/23. Named La Liga Player of the Month in February, he secured safety for Celta on the last day of the season with a double against champions Barcelona (below). His form also earned him a Spain Under-21 debut, and a place in the Spanish squad for the summer's European Under-21 Championship finals.
Born just outside Vigo, Veiga progressed through Celta’s academy to establish himself as a first-team regular. His B Team debut came in Spain’s third tier at the age of 17, and his La Liga bow little more than a year later, as the club gradually bedded him into the first team between 2020 and 2022.
There is no doubting his talent, but only time will tell is Veiga made a good career move in leaving his childhood club for the riches of the Saudi Pro League. Here, The Coaches’ Voice enlists our UEFA-licensed coaches to analyse Veiga's development…
Technical analysis
Veiga is a right-footed midfielder who has played in central midfield as well as in a more attacking capacity, supporting just underneath the centre-forward.
Forward runs off the ball are a key part of Veiga's game, regardless of his role or the formation. He has a strong understanding of when to release himself from midfield and join attacks, often timing his runs well to arrive in space ahead of the opposing centre-backs (below). These forward runs provide support alongside, or just underneath central-forward teammates, in the spaces between the lines.
Having turned 21 in May 2023, Veiga is developing his ability to run beyond and arrive in better goalscoring positions. These runs help disrupt the positioning of opponents – particularly centre-backs – allowing ball-carrying teammates to make up more ground, potentially sliding Veiga in behind, or to work their own improved shooting opportunities. Veiga can also work off a dropping centre-forward. Here, he looks to run beyond as the third man, from where he can showcase his calm, precise shooting.
Positive play
Veiga’s goals have mostly come after forward runs from midfield, including from second-phase attacks in the way Frank Lampard often scored in his long spell at Chelsea. As Lampard did, Veiga moves early to support the attack, before quickly and aggressively repositioning for deflections, part clearances, saved efforts or delayed passes into the penalty area. Once he has committed to attacking one side of the penalty area, he is agile in his movement across the box, and ready to finish from slightly withdrawn but dangerous positions.
Veiga is adept at driving forward and carrying through lines before aiming to slide runners in behind (below). He is positive in his play, looking to penetrate from a central-midfield position or as a number 10 receiving between the lines, despite the risk of losing possession. His line-breaking capabilities are best demonstrated when he plays alongside like-minded fast and direct runners, especially central forwards.
If he is unable to beat a player with a dribble, or break the opponent’s last line with a through ball, Veiga will play short to a teammate and make a forward run, typically looking to receive the ball back. This is another example of the penetrative mindset that helps Veiga gain territory and create chances.
Out of possession
Veiga’s athleticism allows him to launch into a press to force play in a specific direction, or directly regain possession. He is tenacious, and a willing runner when defending. Although this tenacity can lead to fouls, he has the intensity required to prove effective in a counter-pressing midfield or a high-pressing forward unit. Backed up by teammates, Veiga can be a purposeful presser who has a direct impact on the opposing ball-carrier (below).
The danger is that with Veiga’s desire to press, opponents may look to purposefully draw him out of his line or unit to exploit the space. With more first-team experience, he will better recognise triggers that call for passing lanes to be screened – which he does well – rather than jumping out.
As the number 10 in Celta's midfield diamond, however, Veiga can jump out to press, especially in central areas. He can join the front line and press between the centre-forwards, or cover and protect the inside channels from a secondary pressing position.
Attacking midfielder
Within Celta Vigo’s regular 4-4-2 diamond structure, Veiga has operated as the central number 10, working underneath centre-forwards Jørgen Strand Larsen and Iago Aspas. When one of the centre-forwards pulls wide, it creates the ideal space for Veiga to push forward with an off-the-ball run or penetrative dribble through a central area (below). With two number eights either side of the diamond, Veiga also has the option to drop the ball off, make a forward run and receive it back, should there be no space for dribbling.
His role as the number 10 allows Veiga to slide centre-forwards in behind, especially when one widens and the other offers direct, central runs in behind. Should Veiga choose not to use this run, the movement can take opposing centre-backs away from an in-possession Veiga. From there, he can work shooting opportunities – which goes some way to explaining him ranking 19th for shots taken in the 2022/23 La Liga season.
Central midfielder
As well as the diamond, Celta Vigo used a flatter 4-4-2 in the 2022/23 campaign. Here, Veiga operated as part of a central-midfield pairing, providing forward runs from a deeper starting position. Although still able to join attacks, in this role Veiga provided fewer dribbles, higher receiving between the lines and more vertical movements, as well as more high-intensity runs to receive on the move.
Veiga was also more responsible for linking play from the back line to the forwards high up the pitch. As the full-backs pushed forward and the wide midfielders rolled inside, Celta Vigo often operated with a box underneath the central forwards (below).
Here, Veiga received from the centre-backs more frequently than in the diamond, passing forward into the narrowed wide midfielders or overlapping full-backs. He still provided forward runs, but from a deeper starting point and with more teammates ahead. This meant more inside channels runs, attacking the box from deeper. He still offered a goal threat, making late runs for cutbacks as well as secondary movements in reaction to the play.
Veiga’s deeper defensive role in a 4-4-2 has seen him sit in the second line of the block for longer. He can still jump out to press from this position, and does so with the same aggression seen higher up the pitch, but with less protection around him and bigger spaces to cover. This contributed to Veiga recording Celta’s second-highest number of fouls in the 2022/23 La Liga season.
At Al-Ahli, for the 2023/24 campaign he has joined Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Franck Kessié, Allan Saint-Maximin, Roger Ibañez, Édouard Mendy and Merih Demiral among the club’s foreign contingent. Although he is, by some distance, the least experienced of those players. How Veiga’s spell in Saudi Arabia plays out will not only influence his own career, but may also have an impact on whether more fledgling talents follow the same path.
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