Thread by @TargetScouting_

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮

Alejandro Grimaldo will most likely leave Benfica this summer, meaning they need to look for a replacement. In this thread, @JPT5_ will look for a Grimaldo replacement.

Contents:

1. Roger Schmidt’s playing style
2. Data analysis
3. Video analysis
4. My final picks
5. Bonus

𝟭. 𝗥𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘁'𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲

Roger Schmidt likes his teams to put high pressure on the opponent after possession loss. They often have a lot of players close to the opposition’s player who’s in possession.

In possession, Schmidt’s teams often tend to try to reach the opposition’s box as quickly as possible, depending on the opponent. Against lower-level clubs, his teams often have a slower approach as opponents often defend in a low-block.

Ideally (!), Schmidt’s full-backs have the following characteristics:

▫️ proactive defender
▫️ good stamina
▫️ high intensity
▫️ good pressing ability
▫️ press-resistant
▫️ good ball progresssion
▫️ a lot of crosses
▫️ aggressive in duels
▫️ decent technique

𝟮. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀

Before going into the video analysis, it is important to do a data analysis to narrow down the shortlist. For this data analysis, I am using a few metrics/events/concepts based on Schmidt’s ideal playing style.

Which metrics/events/concepts have been used?

▫️ Defensive duels won in %
▫️ Possession adjusted interceptions
▫️ Completed progressive passes
▫️ Progressive runs
▫️ Completed passes to the final third

▫️ Completed passes to the penalty box
▫️ Crosses from the left flank
▫️ Crossing accuracy from the left flank
▫️ Expected assists
▫️ Shot assists

They all are equally as important, so no multipliers or dividers have been applied. Here are the scatterplots and other graphs:

1. Defensive Duels Won in %
2. Possession Adjusted Interceptions
3. Ball Progression

4. Involvement in the build-up on the opposition's half
5. Crossing
6. Chance Creation

In the end, this is the ranking based on data for Roger Schmidt's playing style:

𝟯. 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀

All players were watched on video. In the end, there were four players that I watched extensively and I made a report on all four of them.

1. Lautaro Blanco
2. Guilherme Arana
3. Alexandro Bernabéi
4. Abner

𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗢 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗢 - 𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗢 𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗟

𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗔 - 𝗔𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗢-𝗠𝗚

𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗫𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗥𝗢 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗕𝗘𝗜 - 𝗖𝗔 𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗨𝗦

𝗔𝗕𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗨𝗦 - 𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗢 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘

𝟰. 𝗠𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀

First and foremost, it is possible that I missed some players, because using data to make a shortlist is not always 100% reliable, especially if you are using standard data.

Abner Vinicius and Guilherme Arana stand out based on video- and data-analysis. Both would be okay signings, as mentioned in the reports, but they would struggle defensively in the Champions League.

With that being said, I think it would be a wise move for Benfica to scout in Europe and look in the top 5 leagues for possible Grimaldo replacements.

However, looking at long-term replacements, Abner Vinicius would be good enough to compete for a place in the starting XI. But as they have already bought Ristic, it is clear that Benfica will look for someone who can replace Grimaldo immediately.

𝟱. 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

When I was making this thread, Benfica was linked with Santos left-back Lucas Pires. I decided to not include him in the original thread (because that is not how scouting works), but I looked at him and made a report on him.

𝗟𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗦 𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗦 - 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗦 𝗙𝗖

𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥

The fact that some players have a better rating than others, doesn't mean that they are also necessarily better players than others.

One player is a better fit in a certain style than other players.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀.

#𝗦𝗟𝗕 #𝗦𝗟𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮