Barcelona Squad Analysis - Centre Backs
The centre of defence for Barcelona in recent seasons has been an area of major concern. Its often the the breakdown of the defence that has led to the downfall of the whole team. Having an instable backline has often adversely affected Ter Stegen as well. Although the defensive problems can not all be blamed on individuals, the current centre back pairing has to change.
Samuel Umtiti
Let’s be honest, Umtiti’s career has been ruined by injuries. He is earning way too much and isn’t playing. His passing is one aspect of his game that hasn’t deteriorated, but he is a shadow of his former self in very other aspect. I don't see much of need to dive deep into his numbers as he has barely played this, but he is just not good enough for Barcelona.
Todibo
Todibo on loan at Nice has been good, ranking above 90 percentile in dribbles, progressive carries and tackles. This same time last year, we as Barca fans were crossing our fingers and hoping that Shalke wouldn’t activate Todibo’s buy option. Little did we know Todibo was never going to get his chance at Barcelona. Whether it be attitude problems or lack of game time, Todibo has fallen out of favour with Barcelona. He seems to have fit in well with OGC Nice and this feels like the perfect opportunity to offload him to generate some funds.
Ronald Araujo
Just from a fan point of view, at around January time when Araujo got injured I was certain that the defence would crumble. For me he had as much an impact on the defence as De Jong did in the midfield, yes that’s how good I thought he was and so did many culers. But judging by his stats, one would think he is just an average defender. Ranking above 90 percentile among defenders only for pass completion rate and npxG. His tackle, interception and pressure numbers aren’t very great either. But on the pitch Araujo’s impact is clearly seen. His is a leader on the pitch, puts his body on the line and is a threat in the air. He has not been dribbled past this season in La Liga. When we do dive bit deeper into the numbers, we see that he ranks above 93 percentile for tackles in the middle 3rd and above 87 percentile for pressures in the middle third. Indicating that he is a front foot defender and is very good playing a high line considering he is also pretty fast. Pairing him alongside a more conservation ball playing centre back would do wonders for Barcelona. If there was one defender I had to trust in this Barcelona team it would be Araujo without doubt.
Oscar Mingueza
Mingueza has truly been the story of the season for Barcelona. The 22 year old was a back up centre back at Barça B last season. Called up due to an injury crisis at centre back, Mingueza has shone bright this season for Barcelona earning himself a contract extension. The eye test certainly paints him as an aggressive and well positioned centre back with an eye for a pass. Using the numbers, it’s hard to judge Mingueza. He has been played as a centre back in a back three and back four and has also played as a right back and done very well. This does of course showcase his versatility. Judging from when comparing him to fullbacks and centre backs, there are two traits that stand out. His tackles and pressures, especially in the middle third. Mingueza unlike Araujo is also very good on the ball. Pairing him alongside Araujo might be the way as for an aggressive approach. Some of Mingueza’s flaws might also have been covered by playing in the back three. Mingueza nevertheless would be a vital squad player to have in the team.
Eric Garcia
We Barça fans knew Garcia was going to end up at Barcelona by the start of next season and as of the time of writing, Eric Garcia has been officially presented as a Barcelona player, so we should be looking at what he would bring and the role he would play. Garcia of course expressed his desire to join Barcelona an year ago, leading to Pep not playing him very much this season. But, Pep has immensely praised Garcia. Luis Enrique also plays him regularly for the Spanish national team and has recently picked him ahead of the likes of Nacho Fernandez and Sergio Ramos for the Euros. Showing the faith that Enrique has in Garcia. Judging from the stats of the previous season when Garcia was arguably the best City centre back for the last 2-3 months of the season, Garcia ranks very highly in many passing metrics including progressive passes, completed passes and passes into the final third. He is also a very good carrier of the ball. Ranking above 97 percentile for carries and above 86 for progressive carrying distance. Garcia can also play on the left and right side of the central defence. His defensive attributes do need to improve and as he is only 20 these are bound to develop. He would also perfectly complement Araujo. The Spaniard is not coming with massive expectations either. Playing as an understudy to Pique or playing back up to a world class left sided centre back and Araujo would be an ideal role for Garcia. Still only 20, the La Masia graduate who has captained several Barça youth sides, could be a low risk high reward signing for Barcelona.
The Other Centre Back Spots
With the starting centre back, and 2 back ups already decided, there is a need for another starter and a back up. Considering all three centre backs are young and right footed (although Garcia and Araujo can play on the left side), we should be looking for left footed centre backs with good experience.
For me there are 4 options, the currently at the club players Lenglet and Gerard Pique and two potential signings in Lisandro Martinez and Pau Torres. Let’s analyze them one after the other.
Before we do analyze the 4 options, I would like to drop a mention to Arnau Comas who has been impressive for Barça B and would be an ideal centre back to call up if an injury crisis as such happens.
Pique vs Lenglet vs Pau Torres vs Lisandro Martinez
Pique of course is Catalan himself and has served Barcelona for many years, but has also stated that we would be ready to leave if new blood had to come in. Lenglet bought in to be a back up has found himself to be starter and in 2019-20 was our best centre back but this season individual errors have plagued his season, while the three at back system oversaw his renaissance. Pau Torres is a trusted, young but experienced centre back playing for a fellow La Liga rival and is being chased by several big clubs for around 40 Million Euros. Lisandro Martinez on the other hand is a young and composed ball playing centre back playing in the Eredivisie. Martinez is vital part of the Ajax side that conceded just 23 goals and won the title. Martinez doesn’t play in one of the top five leagues, so we would be comparing his Champions League and Europa League stats. The main stats we will use to compare the four centre backs is their pressures, tackles, progressive carries and passes, as these attributes are vital to complement Araujo. We will make our conclusions based on the below table,
Looking at the stats, Pau Torres seems like the immediate loser. Several believe him to be a very competent centre back and while that’s true the stats think otherwise or maybe he just isn’t the right choice for Barcelona. Lenglet on the other hand has very good progressive passing and carrying numbers and also good amount of pressures but this is majorly due to him pushing forward as the left centre back in a back three. Lisandro Martinez is quite average in all aspects while he is the only one putting up good tackle numbers, even though he also plays in possession heavy side. Watching the highlights of Lisandro as well, you can clearly see he is adventurous with the ball and that would perfectly complement Araujo. Pique seems to have declined in the past few years. He is in a very low percentile for several metrics. The Pau Torres case seems to be where the stats got it wrong but we really don’t know. While Lenglet’s numbers seem inflated and Martinez is the one with good overall stats. Signing a young centre back like Lisandro Martinez to compete with the likes of Lenglet and Garcia would be ideal. This would fill up the five centre back spots. On the matter of Pique, I'm quite undecided. He is in talks to reduce his wages and has stated that he would be ready to quit football if Koeman doesn't require his services anymore. Pique does provide us with composure, leadership and experience at the back. He is also one of the four captains. Nevertheless, he is 34 and has had his share of injury issues. I don't really have a say on this matter and the choice well and truly lies with Koeman.
Aymeric Laporte
Another centre back that has been linked with Barcelona is Aymeric Laporte. Although, it's nothing more than speculation at this point, Laporte to Barcelona would transform our defence. Among the top 5 centre backs for 2 seasons in a row, Laporte has seen his placed snatched by John Stones and Ruben Dias. It's incredible to see how he has fallen down the pecking order. But, his quality is undeniable. I won't go into analysing Laporte at the moment as I still do feel that it's highly unlikely he would join Barcelona. But if the speculation does grow and the transfer is imminent, we will be diving deep into Laporte's numbers later on.
There you have it, all the centre backs at Barcelona assessed along with some potential transfer targets. There's much more awaiting your presence. Check out the next edition of the Barcelona Squad Analysis on midfielders right here. Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you back soon for the next section of the Barcelona Squad Analysis and remember, it's more than a blog.
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