Thread by @BarcaFront

Mika Màrmol has arguably been one of the most consistent & best Barcelona B performers this season.

The young centre-back has huge potential & could shore up a very shaky area for the Catalans.

But what do we know about this LaMasia talent?

Here's his profile.

👇

|THREAD|

Mika is a 20-year-old left-footed centre-back, standing at 5ft 93in (1.81m) & weighing 70kgs.

He can be deployed as a left-back but has made the CB position his own.

While not physically too imposing, he is a strong duelist with pace, awareness & incredible work rate. 🏋

Looking at his profile, we see that as a true LaMasia graduate, Marmol is excellent & proficient on the ball.

The data barely does him justice, however, as his impact goes beyond what the numbers show. Note that this is a couple weeks old as I'm late with the thread.

(sorry!)

Before we delve deeper into his skillset, it's important to highlight how reliable Mika is, which is essential for a thin and injury-prone Barcelona backline.

So far, he has played 100% of the minutes for the B team while also registering 2060 minutes in 26 games last season.

I've divided his profile into three major sections that I feel best represent him as a player:

• Passing & progressive runs
• Defensive contribution
• Attacking contribution

This thread will now dissect some of his main attributes.

One of Màrmol’s greatest strengths certainly lies in his on-the-ball ability.

As a left-footer, he could become a commodity in world football if he develops properly.

Barça are lacking in the CB area since despite having some depth, they are still missing quality personnel.

Below are some of Mika's last passmaps, which will tell us more about his passing tendencies.

He is very comfortable recycling possession & waiting for openings, which can sometimes make an impression of a risk-averse passer.

While somewhat true, Mika is a great progressor too.

He times his passes well & can break lines following great runs with the ball or by opening his body & taking advantage of being a left-footed CB.

This lets him angle his body to exploit open channels and progress the ball cleanly.

Notice how he does that in the example below.

But the thing to note is not only the ability to break lines but also to recognise the space where the ball needs to go.

This show incredible spatial and positional awareness.

Another very common move Màrmol likes to do is running with the ball & combining up the pitch.

You can see an excellent example down below.

Not only does he conquer territory but also breaks the lines by deploying a good pass to a teammate in a dangerous area.

This skill is invaluable for Barcelona as they need their centre-backs to be venturous and brave in possession.

One other thing to note is that Mika can beat his markers via dribbling before deploying penetrative passes too.

He has the pace and the technical quality to advance into space that he’s essentially creating through his movement.

This is a trait of an aggressive & proactive CB.

But what about his defensive work? 🤔

Barcelona generally lack physical centre-backs in the academy and Mika is no different. He is tall but still slim for his stature.

However, with enough recovery pace & decent strength, he is a comfortable duelist too.

The 20y/o reads the game very well & it helps him snuff out opposition attacks in such a way tackling is often either unnecessary or just easier.

Below, we can see his attacking and defensive challenges, which can help us dissect his off the ball tasks.

Let's take a look.

You can instantly notice Màrmol is very aggressive.

The fact that he attempts so many high duels is telling enough but he is confident & successful enough to warrant it.

Att duels are the result of his runs into space while def duels come after aggressive exits & man-marking.

He reads the game well & reacts in time to stop an opponent from getting into a dangerous situation.

Below, the quick decision-making and reaction time mean Barcelona B stop the attack and they get to restart their sequence shortly after.

A very valuable skill to have. 👌

Similarly, when facing off against a striker directly, Màrmol is quick enough to recover the ball despite the opponent potentially having a head start.

We can see that below where the opposition is trying to play a ball over the top and behind Barcelona’s defensive line.

👇

Màrmol is alert and ready to pounce, keeping up with the striker and eventually getting the ball and stopping the attack.

This means that even if he misjudges a situation, he can still use his pace to backtrack and potentially rectify his own mistake.

Impressive 🏃

I'll stop the thread here as I still want you to read the full piece, which is linked down below 😉

Mika Màrmol is a top, top talent and I'm looking forward to watching him develop even further.

Please find the piece here 👇

totalfootballanalysis.com/player-analysi…

As ever, if you've enjoyed this thread, please give the first tweet (linked below) a like & RT as it helps me a LOT.

Of course, you can always follow me for more content like this.

There's much more to come! 🔥

https://twitter.com/DKostanjsak/status/1455074633330266114

You guys might enjoy it too @totalBarca @BarcaUniversal @BlazquezFont @Blayasensat @alexdelmas10 @ZachLowy @Sergi_Mila @GarciaPimienta @Nyctophile1_ @jaumemarcet @l7marquez @fcbcanteranos @mariagarridos @_Futbolero_ @BumperGraham @ReshadRahman_ @soprano_35