Name: Guido Ara
Nickname: "L'Elegante"
Country:
ItalyClub: Pro Vercelli 1892
Position: *DMF, CMF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 20-25 years (28/06/1888)
Height: 182 cm
Weight: 74 kg
Attack: 70
Defence: 83
Balance: 84
Stamina: 85
Top Speed: 81
Acceleration: 80
Response: 84
Agility: 79
Dribble Accuracy: 82
Dribble Speed: 76
Short Pass Accuracy: 83
Short Pass Speed: 73
Long Pass Accuracy: 88
Long Pass Speed: 74
Shot Accuracy: 67
Shot Power: 84
Shot Technique: 67
Free Kick Accuracy: 76
Curling: 68
Header: 80
Jump: 75
Technique: 85
Aggression: 74
Mentality: 89
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 92
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 5
Weak Foot Accuracy: 6
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 8
Growth type: Standard/Lasting
CARDS:
P06 - Pinpoint Pass
S02 - Passer
S09 - Covering
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Tactical Dribble - Passing - Covering
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Balanced
INFO:
Guido Ara was a half-back. He played for Pro Vercelli from 1906 to 1925, during the club's golden era, making 159 appeareances and scoring 5 goals. He was part of the great trio of defensive midfielders with Pietro Leone and Giuseppe Milano. He played also a bunch of games for Modena between 1915 and 1917. He capped 13 times for Italy, scoring once.
Considered the best pre-war Italian half-back and arguably one of the best ever, Ara was an incredible player for the time: tall and quite strong, fast and agile, gifted with great stamina. He could have successfully played any outdoor sport with ease. His playstyle was based on intercepting the opponents − which he could do very well thanks to his speed and physique − and then build up the game. He combined excellent dribbling skills with superb passing ability; his long passes especially were incredibly accurate, either he delivered them towards the flank or inside the box. He was a creative player, gifted with uncommon technique: elegant and tight dribblings − never exceeding −, feints and excellent stops. He was also good with the head and didn't dislike to try shooting. He played for the team and against tough opponents he didn't have any problem at refusing to push forward in order to cover the defence and eventually build up the play only with long passes. He was also a good free kick taker, taking them mostly to send the ball in the penalty area but he's remembered for a goal he scored with Italy against Belgium on May 1st 1913: Giuseppe Milano was about to shoot it but he faked, jumping past the ball instead, and Ara scored with a powerful shot from 22 metres. This was one of the first ever free kick schemes in Italian football.