Adios, Marc Roca - Square Ball 18/7/23
YOGA MAT
Written by: Rob Conlon
Marc Roca’s loan to Real Betis has followed the same pattern
as Marc Roca the midfielder. There has been a tediously long wait for something
seemingly obvious to happen, while the internet has been telling us something
definitely is happening.
Roca’s agent was talking about a move to Betis before Leeds
had even played Spurs in the final game of the season, long before we’d heard
of Eintracht Frankfurt’s interest in Robin Koch, Brenden Aaronson joining Union
Berlin or Rasmus Kristensen being wanted by Roma. Leeds confirmed his exit on a
season-long loan on Monday, meaning Roca has finally progressively passed back
to Spain.
How it started
There was a novelty to Roca’s arrival in that he was the
first player to join last summer who hadn’t already played under Jesse Marsch —
and he was the first senior central midfielder Leeds had bought since Adam
Forshaw three-and-a-half years earlier. He’d played against Marsch’s Fizzy
Salzburg for Bayern Munich in the Champions League, when he was sent off.
Victor Orta was certainly pleased with himself. When asked
by El Pais in October which piece of business he was most proud of in the
previous window, he replied: “To replace Kalvin Phillips with Marc Roca.”
A few minutes into Roca’s first appearance at Elland Road in
the friendly against Cagliari, my dad asked me who the blonde haired number 8
was. “He’s good,” he confidently decided. He’d only needed to watch Junior
Firpo for a similar amount of time the previous summer to tell me he was
rubbish, so I was optimistic about his judgement of Roca. Turns out I should
have trusted my instincts all along: my dad talks bollocks.
How it went
He was definitely there, even if it was difficult to work
out what exactly he did. Roca is keen on working hard off the pitch to get the
best out of himself, practising mindfulness and posting videos to social media
of himself doing extra stretches at home. It’s admirable, really, but Leeds
needed more in central midfield than a yoga teacher.
By the end of the season, Roca was trying to look meaner by
shaving his head, as if he’d watched some YouTube videos and was ready to take
up Brazilian jiu jitsu, yet he still had less fight than a half-fit Adam
Forshaw.
Best moment
Forest! He was definitely good against Forest! He did some
tackles, he did some passes, he offered Brennan Johnson out for a scrap in the
carpark.
Tyler Adams was injured, but Leeds could still win a game
with a midfield of Marc Roca and Weston McKennie. 13th in the league, and a
Crystal Palace team with only one win since December next up at Elland Road.
This was going to be fine.
Worst moment
As much as it was difficult to say what Roca does well for
most of the season, it was also tough to say what he was particularly terrible
at. For all people criticised his general lack of impact, there were always
people on Twitter pointing to some previously unheard of stats to defend him.
Credit, then, to Roca, for standing in front of the away end
at Fulham and hitting three consecutive corners into that giant of a defender
Harry Wilson at the front post as if trying to settle the argument once and for
all. With each attempt, the Leeds fans next to him boiled from frustration to
what-the-fuck-is-going-on anger, resulting in one supporter throwing an extra
ball onto the pitch in an attempt to prevent him having a fourth go.
What might have been
If only Leeds had not sold Mateusz Klich, not signed Weston
McKennie, or not lost Tyler Adams to injury, Roca might have been saved from
himself and been able to reset over the summer. Likewise, if only Jesse Marsch
hadn’t played Adam Forshaw twice in three days when he was “60 per cent” fit
over the New Year period, sidelining him until the run-in, maybe Roca would
have had some help.
Rate the goodbye
Roca went for the full tearjerker on Instagram, although it
didn’t sound like he’d be returning after his year’s loan in Spain:
“Today is the day to say goodbye to what has been my home
for the past year, a short period of time that has made me realise how special
both the city of Leeds and Leeds United are.
“I want to thank the fans, all the club staff and my
teammates for their help, support and generosity during this time. A city and a
fanbase always by their team’s side, never leaving us alone, supporting us in
both good and bad times.
“I feel blessed to have been one of yours on the field,
giving everything I could in every moment. It has been a pride and a pleasure
to defend this shirt. I will never forget the atmosphere that I experienced
game after game at Elland Road, nor the support of the lead United fans.
“Now, I become one more of the fans who support the team,
and I sincerely hope that we return to where we deserve to be. I know firsthand
that this will happen because the values, strength and unity between the team
and the fans will come together to achieve the goal. MOT. Once white always
white.”
A few hours later, he was posting about how happy he was to
be joining Real Betis. They do have a nice shirt, to be fair.
Where they’re going
Roca will get to play in the Europa League next season after
Betis finished sixth in La Liga under former Manchester City and West Ham
manager Manuel Pellegrini. He’ll be back in England this week for a pre-season
friendly against Middlesbrough that is being played in Chesterfield. And he
thought the Championship was unglamorous.