Elche supporters haven’t had many reasons to cheer this season. So Alex Collado’s fine finish during August’s 1-1 draw with Almeria – a jinking run followed by an incisive left-footed finish, the sort of which a certain diminutive Argentine made his trademark on Spanish soil – feels like a metaphorical flower in the desert.
A rare ray of sunshine slicing through what continues to be miserable campaign for a club stuck to the bottom of the La Liga table with industrial-strength superglue.
“Many compare Collado to (Lionel) Messi. He has many similarities,” Alcoyano coach Vicente Parras told Sport ahead of a 2021 clash with Barcelona B.
That Messi-esque strike against Almeria is, however, as good as things have got thus far. Both for Collado and Elche The Barca loanee hasn’t scored since then. Elche are still awaiting their first win. And Collado, a victim of circumstance perhaps, has been subbed off at half-time in each of the last three league matches.
Will he feature at all in the next one? Patience, it seems, is already running thin.
Alex Collado chose La Liga strugglers Elche over Celtic
Sky Sports say that Celtic enquired about the 23-year-old former Spain U19 international in August; perhaps in the hope that Collado could emulate the impact of another sunkissed schemer in former Benfica starlet Jota. Whether he would have fared any better at Parkhead is anyone’s guess.
But, in Scotland, Collado would have found a Celtic side who play the kind of possession-heavy, Rondo-filled football he knows like the back of his hand following those formative days in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy. In Ange Postecoglou, Collado would have found a coach with a superb track record with regards to talent development.
According to AS, Collado felt that he’d have been better served staying in Spain instead. Elche are winless, bottom of the table and already six points adrift of safety. Hindsight, it’s fair to say, doesn’t look too fondly on that decision now.
At least, according to Sport, there is no ‘option-to-buy’ clause in Collado’s Elche contract. A silver lining for a footballer who may already be weighing up his next move.
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