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Samuel - August 31, 2024
Manuel Ugarte is a natural defensive midfielder who can also play central midfielder. The Uruguayan-born talent has proven his prowess in the recent years, catching the attention of several clubs across the world.
Most clubs in Europe desire a young natural defensive midfielder like Manuel Ugarte, who can be versatile and dictates the tempo of the game. This summer transfer window was a big one for the Uruguayan international with numerous top teams vying for his signature. However, Manchester United eventually won the race, completing the signing of the talented midfielder from Paris Saint Germain.
On the other hand, Rodri is an experienced modern defensive midfielder with a wide range of attacking and defensive abilities. Rodri’s talents have earned him multiple personal awards, the most recent being player of the tournament in the just concluded Euros 2024 in July.
Both players have distinct playing styles, yet there is still opportunity for comparison in how they perform their major defensive tasks and what they bring to their respective clubs.
We will examine the similarities and contrasts between the two solid defensive midfielders and the attributes they offer.
Manuel Ugarte is a pure young talent who is agile, strong and a tough tackler. He is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders within his age group, with plenty of room for improvement at the age of 23.
His tackling ability, ball interception, passing and dribbling skills are his strongest suits. He is an accurate passer of the ball for a defensive midfielder of his age, enjoys shooting from distance and is an expert at short passes that breaks defense high lines.
According to Opta Analyst, he was only player in Ligue 1 last season to average more than 4.0 tackle attempts per 90 minutes and had the most successful tackles (2.7). This is an amazing stat for a player of his age and there is still a possibility for improvement under Erik Ten Hag.
Rodri is regarded as one of the top defensive midfielders in the premier league; his records under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and with the Spanish national team speaks volume.
Rodri’s main strengths are aerial duels, line-breaking passes, long shots and ball blocking. He tackles with agility and snatches the ball from his opponents with ease.
Rodri’s ability to manage the pace of the game and influence play is one of his distinguishing talents. He is a versatile midfielder for Manchester City and his ability to dictate play from the defensive midfield position earned him the award of best player at the Euros 2024 for Spain.
Manuel Ugarte and Rodri had contrasting stats in their respective club’s last season. Both players played important roles in their club’s title winning campaign, with Ugarte making 25 appearances in Ligue 1 for Paris Saint Germain and Rodri making 34 appearances in the Premier League last season.
Therefore, we will compare the two in their respective leagues last season using SofaScore statistics.
Manuel Ugarte had a much higher ratio of interceptions (1.6) ahead of Rodri (9.6) in less games, demonstrating his ability to read the game. Ugarte also has a higher tackle ratio (3.9) than Rodri (2.1).
Rodri outperformed Ugarte in terms of clearance ratio and block shots with 1.2 and 0.5 ratio respectively while Ugarte dribbled passed the most with 3.8 ratio as to Rodri with 0.9.
Ugarte won more ground duels than Rodri (52.9% to 55.7%) while Rodri won more aerial duels (70.5% to 53.8%).
Moving on to their passing abilities, Rodri appears to have an advantage in all aspects of this area. Rodri provided nine assists while Ugarte provided only two, Rodri also created eight big chances while Ugarte only had one.
Rodri has an 80.6% accuracy rate on long balls compared to Ugarte’s 78.2% and he scored eight goals in the premier league last season whereas Ugarte did not.
Manuel Ugarte is seen as a significant addition for Manchester United and he will fill numerous deficiencies for the Red Devils this season. His presence is a significant asset for Erik Ten Hang in the midfield, helping with both offensive and defensive transitions.
Manchester United was heavily criticized for being too open, with their midfield described as an easy passage. United competed with relegation teams for the most shots faced in the league last season and it’s no surprise that they conceded 58 goals.
Their defensive troubles were certainly worsened by a lack of midfield strength, which Erik Ten Hag appears to have addressed with the addition of Manuel Ugarte.
The Uruguayan is expected to cover the midfield defensive hole and protect the defenders with his defensive prowess and ability to intercept and steal the ball away from the opponent while also assisting with the transition of play.
Ugarte is anticipated to partner Kobbie Mainoo in the midfield, demonstrating his defensive capabilities in the center while Mainoo will play as a central midfielder.
In a situation of a three-man midfield with Casemiro coming in, it will likely be a double pivot of Ugarte and Casemiro since the Brazilian still has some quality on the ball, but he is not physically or defensively strong as he was once.
Erik Ten Hag style at Manchester United has been possession based with high transition in attack. However, this has not been going well as he would want: the red devils are frequently wide open in midfield when in possession and a counter from the opponent will open up the defense broadly.
Ugarte is expected to rectify this problem by filling the defensive hole in the midfield, giving Erik Ten Hag the strength to play all-out possession efficiently.
Manuel Ugarte is expected to perform to his full potential if Erik Ten Hang properly utilizes his strength. With his midfield prowess, United can confidently challenge for the league title following a disappointing last season.
