Facundo Garcés

Key strength: Aerial dominance

Defensive anchor

Facundo Garcés finds himself in a curious position at Deportivo Alavés. While his team sits respectably in 7th place in the table, the 26-year-old Malaysian centre-back has been a peripheral figure, accumulating just 2 appearances and 180 minutes of action this season. His disciplinary record tells its own story—three yellow cards in two appearances suggests a defender still finding his rhythm and temper at the professional level.\n\nGarcés plays as a defensive anchor, relying on his aerial dominance and physical strength to clear danger, though his overall rating of 50 indicates he's very much a developmental project. With teammates like Antonio Blanco (71) and Carlos Vicente (70) leading the line, Garcés is surrounded by more established professionals who have set the bar for what it takes to be a regular starter at this level.\n\nValued at just €1 million, Garcés represents a low-cost squad asset whose limited minutes suggest he's either being managed carefully as a prospect or struggling to break into a competitive starting XI. For a player in the prime years of a defender's career, the coming months will be crucial in determining whether he can translate his raw physical tools into consistent first-team contributions.