Vitinha: Beauty of the press-resistant midfielder — Player Analysis

Elegance. Swiftness. Composure. All words that could be used to describe the immense talent of Vitinha. Now 23, Portugal and Paris-Saint-Germain have a polished diamond in their hands as the tenacious midfielder has played two full seasons in Ligue 1 and become a stalwart in his nation’s lineup.

But what makes A Seleção’s central midfielder so special? And why are press-resistant midfielders, like himself, imperative to today’s elite teams?

The art of pressing has become more intense. More teams are willing to over-commit numbers in their front line press, and there’s a greater need for energetic and physically-intimidating forwards.

But what does that mean for everyone trying to beat the press? You could play long to a physical number 9, who’s capable of holding up the play. However, if you are a team aiming to dictate games, then you need a more consistent and reliable way of beating the press, than just playing long every time. You need to be able to play through the press.

And that is where the press-resistant midfielder comes in.

A player that invites pressure onto them because of their comfortability to bounce off the opposition, and evade defenders. A player that can turn an average build up structure into an elite one. A player that draws players towards themselves to create more space for their teammates.

Vitinha is one of those players. So is Moussa Dembélé, Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Busquets, Rodri, Luka Modrić, Frenkie de Jong and Bruno Guimarães, to name a selection.

Possessing a player with these characteristics is only found at the truly elite level because being able to get out of pressured situations, in the middle of the pitch requires control, bravery, guile, balance, agility and a broad footballing brain. You have to understand the game. And if you have all that, inevitably, you get to the top.

For example, Busquets has spent his whole career without being incredibly quick or the most aggressive defensive midfielder. But he goes down as one of the greats because of his IQ. And that intelligence allows him to evade presses time and time again.

Vitinha’s specialty regarding his intelligence, is how he utilises his own skills to plug gaps and adapt to the needs of his team. This greatly benefits Portugal because the squad is filled with players demanding freedom, and so someone needs to maintain the structure.

But alongside that, Vitinha’s ability to receive the ball is absurd. No matter the angle or the pressure, he gets his body in the way of his man and the ball to maintain possession.

Receiving a pass with your back to goal is one of the most difficult tasks of any football player. But what makes it so difficult during build up, is the expectation to progress the play forward in a condensed area of the pitch. Not to mention the higher stakes if the ball is lost in that area.

Vitinha suits these moments given his natural inclination to locate the maximum space to receive a pass. He needs to afford himself as much time as possible when he gets the ball, and that means moving into the biggest spaces. Most importantly, he creates space behind him, so that when gets the ball, he can turn and play forward.

If facing a very intense man-to-man press, Vitinha can still escape his opposite number all the while taking contact, and then attack the space behind the opposing player. Like many of La Masia’s star midfielders, PSG’s no.17 invites the pressure by pausing on the ball, only to speed up the play and glide past his marker.

At 172cm, Vitinha is slight and this provides him with the agility to sneak through tight spaces that defenders are not aware even exist. He’s got the balance to avoid challenges without losing his footing or composure, and will pull off the most effective pass to cap it all off. He’s in the top 9% and 12% of midfielders, respectively, for both progressive passes and successful take ons this season (Europe’s top 5 leagues), highlighting his efficiency in the pass or dribble.

But that’s the thing about Vitinha. Just like Busquets, he’s intelligent. His best attribute is his reading of the game and that means the choices he makes are near perfect. Almost as if he’s calculating the outcomes of every possible route whilst he’s playing the game.

Portugal’s little wizard sums up press-resistance to a tee, rarely giving the ball away and completing 90.4% of his passes this season. But that’s not all he has in his inventory.

Defensively, despite being small and lean, he is strong. Perhaps, a physical monster like Rodri will win you more duels and intimidate the opposition more, but Vitinha will get stuck in, in the right moments, as he looks to balance pressing the opposition and screening his own back line.

He’s sharp and covers ground quickly with a burst of pace. Incredibly energetic for someone who’s strengths are supposed to be technical. And that’s attained him 2.66 tackles + interceptions per 90, impressively beating Rodri’s tally for the season, despite both players’ clubs averaging 34.8% out of possession time.

When his side have the ball, Vitinha can be a suitable player in every phase. That can be playing out from the back, progressing through the thirds, or creating chances. His strengths in the latter stand out against many of the deeper-lying players mentioned earlier.

Vitinha can guide his team in the final third with his exhilarating runs and perception of space. He has variation to his creation. Whether it be a through ball for the striker, delicate cross from out wide or neat one-twos in the pocket. A combination of those threats earnt the midfielder 9 goals + 5 assists for PSG this season, the 97th percentile for goals per 90 from a midfielder.

So for me, Vitinha is complete. There is so much to his game that any team on the planet would be delighted to have him. In a sport that keeps developing more tactical ways to break through a press, Vitinha is a player that can bypass that and do it himself.