The Enciso Conundrum
Why couldn't you be my Romeo, Julio?
To become a star, molecular clouds have to collapse under their own gravity. And Enciso’s facing one hell of a cloud.
(Scientists, look away because I’m about to make a terrible comparison.)
And what will he do? Will he collapse under his own shadow and end up as just another question mark of what could be? Or will he take life in his stride and actually become a star?
I hope it’s the latter. I really do, because Enciso’s too good not to be.
But will he? Let’s take a look at his past, life under Hürzeler, and the two routes his future could take.
⏰ The Past
IIt’s not been all sunshine and rainbows, but it has been pretty fun, hasn’t it?
The goals vs. Chelsea and City spring to mind. So do the countless injuries and questionable social media antics, but man… some of the performances.
That said, we can’t ignore the context of Enciso’s story though, can we?
I mean, leaving your home nation’s league to fly all the way to England, aged only 18, is already hard to do.
Factor in the positional rigidity of De Zerbi and having to adjust to the Premier League… and these stats are borderline heroic.
📝 Enciso in Hürzeler’s System
Enciso’s perfect for it. Simply, utterly, and completely perfect. Well, almost.
Hürzeler affords a lot of freedom, both positionally and situationally, in his system.
And Enciso’s very shot-happy. Some may call it selfishness, and while I tend to agree, I think it’s a good thing. More on that soon.
Hürzeler has Brighton lining up in a 4-3-3, with dual 8s, of sorts. Plus, the CMs are usually wrong-footed, so they can cut inside on the first touch.
And Enciso LOVES playing as an interior. LCM extraordinaire, anyone?
The CMs are also some of the main sources of ball progression.
And guess who's in the 80th percentile for ball carrying and successful dribbles?
Let’s not forget the 99th percentile for carries into the final third, and roughly in the 75th percentile for take-ons.
Simply put, a match made in heaven. Romeo and Juliet, you’re now Romeo and Julio.
But every pair has their poison. And Enciso?
His off-the-ball work.
Look, unless you press like an absolute madman or experienced ironer, you’re just not going to work in Hürzeler’s system.
So, for Enciso, the question is: can his body handle the pressure? It is a LOT of pressure, to be fair.
Historical data doesn’t say he can, but honestly, he doesn’t have a choice.
Here’s where the misconceived notion of selfishness may prove true though. Forget the selfishness in possession, that’s a good thing. OOP? Yeah, not so much.
Not very coolio, Julio.
🤷♂️ Selfishness
Football’s a team sport. You can’t be selfish out of possession, so I’m just going to move past that.
It’s the in-possession stuff that just doesn’t worry me. I mean, why should it?
Okay, let’s take a look at the basis of the tactics for the LCM and LW roles, given Enciso should thrive there.
As the LCM, you have the LB inverting behind you, so you’ve got support in that regard. You’ve also got the CB stepping up to compact the space, so you’re not leaving a vacuum behind.
The LW, on the other hand, cuts inside, which is met by the LB un-inverting and holding the width. So if the LW loses possession, he’s got a safety net.
Essentially, you’re never alone. You’ve got support. Your cure to loneliness.
And Enciso likes to make things happen—that’s evident in the radar above, to be fair—a high volume of shots, for largely minimal xG.
Essentially, he’s a happy-go-lucky shoot-y boi.
So if taking some risks in possession doesn’t lead to a significant loss of value, while his “selfishness” creates a disproportionately positive amount of value, why restrict it?
It’s a players game, after all. As a player, you want as much of the ball as you can get, and Enciso’s a genuine difference-maker.
Restricting him would be like caging a bird. Or stuffing someone with claustrophobia into a crowded room.
That makes no sense, but you get the point.
🥴 The Off the Field Antics
Uh… yeah, that’s an issue. According to the constant criticism on Twitter (I am so not calling it X), at least.
Look, some of the social media stuff isn’t great. But are we being slightly harsh on him?
Okay, imagine this:
You’ve just moved to England as an 18-year-old to a land with some vicious seagulls.
And you get a start here and there. Injury crisis?! Okay, here’s another start.
And you do excellently.
But wait. You get injured? You’re out for 113 and then 183 days?!
And when you do eventually get back, you struggle for game time.
Your entire life was dedicated to football, but you bear setback after setback.
Imagining that is exhausting; I don’t even want to imagine living through that.
Look, of course, Enciso’s frustration can arguably be said to be misrepresented and misguided—or even agent-driven—but this is social media we’re talking about.
It’s not very transparent, and a lot can be lost in translation. So is it fair to make life-altering judgments (hyperbole much?) based on that?
No.
Look, as long as he keeps performing at the level he has been (or improving upon it), it’s fine. Brighton have a small way to go before being seen as more than just a feeder club (nailing a consistent top-eight spot), and until then… 🤷♂️
🕊️ The Future/Conclusion
Enciso has one at Brighton. I have zero doubt about that.
But now, it’s on him. The talent is there, the ability is there, and the ceiling is beyond there.
How will his body handle things? I expect them to improve—he’s maturing, after all.
But the psychological aspect of intensity OOP? And ultimately the social media shenanigans.
They fall under his locus of control to varying degrees, but they do fall under his locus of control.
Manage both, and he’ll be loved by the club and by the fans.
And football will love you back, Julio. You’re too much of a gift to the sport not to be loved back.
“For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
Don’t be a Juliet, Julio. The talent is there. So is the ability.
But ultimately: is the discipline?
