How Jorginho stacks up against the top midfielders in Europe.
Chelsea F.C have woken up from a sleepy summer transfer window and announced the departure of Manager Antonio Conte and the arrival of both Maurizio Sarri and Jorginho from Napoli.
Jorginho has signed on for a total fee of £57 million, which covers both his transfer cost and Napoli’s compensation for Sarri’s release. The 26 year old Italian will sport the #5 shirt, with his contract running as many years.
This is a massive statement, no question. Napoli had originally struck a £50 million deal with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for the transfer of Jorginho. In a shock development, Jorginho turned down City and Pep Guardiola to to follow Sarri to Chelsea. That move can’t be understated.
Turning down a chance to play for the Premier League Champions is big.
Turning down a chance to compete in the Champions League with elite players around you is even bigger.
Turning down one of the best managers in world football is sensational and showcases the astounding influence that Maurizio Sarri has on his players and the belief they repay him with.
Sarri fundamentally shifted the way that Napoli play and injected a necessary air of competition to Juventus’ dominance of Serie A. Jorginho was the foundation upon which Sarri’s goal scoring machine was built.
So how does Chelsea’s new regista stack up against the world best midfielders?
Let’s take a look.
Judging Jorginho.
A few names stand out across Europe for the best midfielders.
- Toni Kroos
- Luca Modric
- Thiago
- Marco Verratti
- Sergio Busquets
- David Silva
- Kevin De Bruyne
- Paul Pogba
We’ll compare Jorginho to these players and his Chelsea teammate Cesc Fabregas, as well as his opposite number in Manchester City’s Fernandinho. I’ve left out Luca Modric and Paul Pogba from the analysis, as their styles of play are too contrasting and don’t fit within the comparaison.
These are the metrics we will use:
1. Number of passes per 90 minutes
2. Forward pass percentage (i.e what percent of a players total passes go forwards)
3. Average pass length
4. Primary chances created
5. Secondary chances created
You’ll notice that there are no stats related to his goal scoring output. I don’t believe that Jorginho’s role, on any team he plays on, is to be a goal scoring midfielder. Jorginho’s strength lies is in his ability to retain the ball, distribute play and maintain the tempo of the game. We wouldn’t judge Xavi or Pirlo on their goalscoring numbers.
Passing numbers.
Jorginho’s passing numbers are staggering. He’s averages over 107 passes a game and over the last two seasons he’s made more passes a game than anybody in Europe’s top 5 leagues. The only player who comes near him is PSG’s Marco Verratti.
The outstanding Xavi Hernandez made a habit of always making at least 100 touches a game, an incredible milestone for any player in any game of his career. Jorginho elevates himself to that level regularly and routinely averages over 100 passes a game.
Sarri’s system relied on him to quickly distribute the ball and then make himself available again to make quick triangles and 1–2’s. He thrived in that system and his ability speaks for himself.
Chelsea are getting a midfielder who exerts a tremendous amount of control on his team’s play. Passages of play flow through Jorginho and on the other end come pinpoint passes progressing the attack.
In this area of his game, no one comes close. Remarkable.
Pass types.
This chart illustrates a midfielders percentage of forward passes — meaning: of their total passes played, what percentage of them go forwards?
It also outlines the average distance in meters each one of their passes travels.
Looking at Jorginho’s forward passing percentage we can see that the only midfielder who is more progressive than he is, is his teammate Cesc Fabregas.
66% of the Jorginho’s passes are forwards. 2 out of every 3 passes he makes are trying to advance play forwards.
You may also notice that Jorginho has the shortest average passing distance of all the midfielders outlined here. This is a result of how Sarri uses him in his system. Joringho is deployed as a cog in midfield, quickly playing short passes to his teammates, dragging defenders around and creating space for attacks. Jorginho’s ability to accurately play short passes is part of what makes Sarri’s football so attractive and attacking.
Jorginho is a progressive passer who makes a large number of short passes, but also looks to start attacks by playing long balls over the top to his forwards.
Creativity
We’ve looked at Jorginho’s passing ability and the types of passes he likes to play, but what about his ability to create chances?
This chart outlines a players primary and secondary chance creation. A primary chance created is a pass that when played leads to a goal scoring opportunity. A secondary chances created is the pass before a primary chance — i.e a ball is swung in from a free kick to the far post, at the far post it is headed back across goal to be headed in. The player who swung in the free kick deserves credit for his secondary chance created.
We can see that Jorginho is somewhere in the middle of the creativity spectrum.
He is much more creative than all 3 of Busquets, Verratti and Fernandinho. These players distribute the ball to dictate tempo, rather than playing as definitive playmakers.
When we compare him to Manchester City’s attacking duo of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, he can’t match their production levels. But this takes nothing away from Jorginho.
The reason that Silva and De Bruyne create so many chances is because that is their role for Manchester City. Manchester City cycle possession around and retain the ball until they are able to break forwards. Their wingers hug the touchline spreading defenses. This leaves ample space for Silva and De Bruyne to create chances for their team. Sarri’s system — ‘Sarriball’ — relies on his forwards to create chances for each other.
From a tactical standpoint, Jorginho isn’t meant to be finishing and setting up chances in the box. His quick passes disrupt the opposition’s press, his through balls then release his forwards quickly to start attacking moves. With all that said, he still creates an impressive number of scoring chances, clocking in with almost 2.0 primary chances and 1.5 secondary chances per 90 minutes.
Conclusion.
Chelsea FC are starting a new era under Maurizio Sarri and the signing of Jorginho shows their intentions to back him and his philosophy.
In Sarri’s first interview with the club this morning, he said that Jorginho’s technical ability stems from his “quickness of the mind”.
That perfectly sums up what Chelsea are getting in Jorginho. The 26 year old Italian is head and shoulders above anyone he plays with in terms of footballing IQ and will help Sarri begin his revolution at Chelsea.
Jorginho comes from a slightly different mold than the other top midfielders in Europe. His passing ability is unparalleled and can dictate play in a way I haven’t seen since Xavi and Pirlo graced football pitches around Europe. Outside of his passing in midfield, he still creates lots of chances.
He won’t offer Kroos or De Bruyne’s shooting ability. He won’t offer Silva or Thiago’s world-class dribbling ability.
He also won’t offer high-level defensive rigidity like Busquets or Fernandinho.
However, what Chelsea have gotten is a mix of all the great qualities that these players possess mixed into one brilliant midfielder named Jorginho.
This article was written with the aid of StrataData, which is property of Stratagem Technologies. StrataData powers the StrataBet Sports Trading Platform.
As well as help from Squawka.
Credit for pictures.
Kevin De Bruyne , Silva, Verratti, Busquets, Kroos, Fernandinho, Thiago, Jorginho
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