Depth of Talent: Gianluca Scamacca
When assessing the technical (on the ball) or tactical (off the ball) abilities of a player, It seems reasonable that we should first learn about the tactical approach of the club for which he plays. In order to accomplish so, I’ll go through some of the tactical ideas that the Sassuolo team is built on.
Unlike the most possession-based teams using 4–3–3, Dionisi prefers to go for 4–2–3–1. Instead of what the system suggests, the central attacking midfielder (CAM) is frequently paired with the center forward (CF) in a horizontal shape, increasing the efficacy of the team’s pressure on the opponent. During the build-up, Sassuolo’s shape allows them to open up space behind the pressing line, which is when the CF drops down to open up the wide areas and lay off for the so-called third man’s run. The CF’s job not only allows the rest of the squad to position themselves in dangerous locations but also assists them in luring the opponent to one side of the field, then rapidly switching the play to the opposite side, where their attackers have more space and time to operate. We won’t go into great depth, but we will certainly elucidate those tactical ideas by describing and dissecting one of the team’s finest players and top goalscorer at the moment: Gianluca Scamacca.
Gianluca Scamacca was born on January 1, 1999, in Rome. He is without a doubt one of Italian football’s most promising strikers. At the age of sixteen, Scamacca has already played for both parts of the Derby Della Capitale S.S. Lazio and A.S. Roma before he went to join PSV Eindhoven’s U17, where his time was brief as he returned to Italy a season after signing for Sassuolo. Then, he was loaned out to Cremonese, PEC Zwolle, Ascoli, and Genoa before returning to Sassuolo again, to find himself a spot in the starting XI. His loan spell at Genoa was crucial for his development, as he scored eight goals in 26 appearances for the relegation-threatened club. Currently, the 23-year-old striker looks to have regained his potential at the ideal time, as he has delivered brilliant performances,16 goals in 36 appearances, Putting him in sixth place among Italian Serie A's best scorers.
Hold-up play, Technique, and Passing
When it comes to the many roles that attackers may play on the field, it’s fascinating to see how Scamacca can fill them all. Despite his physical, areal presence and aggressiveness, which qualify him to play as a Target Man, Scamacca has demonstrated a number of traits that make him an intriguing all-around complete striker. Take a look at this example; we can see how Scamacca’s good positioning allowed him to receive and hold the ball until one of his teammates join before he can get the ball to him. After a beautiful fluid build-up, Maxime Lopez delivers the ball to Traore, who crosses it to Scamacca, who buried it in the net.
Scamacca’s hold-up play is well known for his technical beauty in spraying passes to wide attackers (Berardi & Traore) and willingness to hit channels and run wide. A recent example is amplified during Sassuolo’s win over Bologna, Scamacca was more likely to have contributed well in creating chances for his teammates.
If those clips show anything, it’s his great technical talent and ability to protect the ball.
Goalscoring
With the team’s tactical approach, we spoke about how Scamacca’s playing style fits in. Let’s take a look at the position and result of all of his non-penalty shots in the 21–22 Serie A season;
The Italian has scored 16 goals in 36 appearances from 76 shots( 36 on target) with an average of 0.44 goals per ninety. He’s an above-average finisher who exceeds his expectations (11.13). We discussed the Italian’s technical qualities; now let’s see how he employs them to score goals.
In this attack against Bologna, Scamacca starts from the left, between the left-back and center-back, and decides to run behind the center-back, who attempted to anticipate the move, but Fratessi played an assist at the perfect time, which put Scamacca on a 1vs1 situation, and the outcome is a goal.
Scamacca appears to prefer the area between the center-back and full-back. Again a solid strike!
Maybe the goal that represents the total of his technical skill-set is the one he scored against Napoli when Kiryakoupulos crosses from the left to Scamacca who controlled it with his chest to then unleash a banger. Despite the fact that Napoli’s defense is well-positioned, Scamacca manages to make the most of the little space he has.
While he scores most of his goals in the penalty area, Scamacca can also score long-range goals despite his low conversion percentage on attempts taken outside the box. The video below shows his incredible goal against Milan earlier this season.
Any striker needs a positive mentality while shooting outside the box, yet we typically measure the outcome primarily on the quality of the shots rather than the quantity. The chart below shows us how Scamacca has always been a high-volume shot-taker but not with the convenable quality, compared to the rest of the Serie A strikers.
Scamacca’s inconsistency is another flaw that may provide more information about his performances. However, he proved himself many times as a super-sub, considering the game against Empoli when He was subbed on for the last 30 minutes of the match and went on to score a brace and assist for another when his effort struck the woodwork and allowed Raspadori to score. He was also effective against Napoli when he scored that volley(clip above) as a substitute to lead to a 2–2 draw.
Defensive contribution
Despite Sassuolo’s pressing system, Scamacca is routinely reprimanded for not performing any defensive effort and is the least defensively contributing player on the team in terms of tackles and interceptions, but when it comes to closing down the area that looks to be vital for the opponent during the build-up phase, he is unbeatable. He also wins a high proportion of his aerial duels (2.47 duels / 90, with a success rate of 55.7%).
Conclusion
Scamacca is the true personification of a contemporary striker, with the skills of a target man, poacher, and hold-up player. He probably has no remarkable offensive deficiencies and he’s only 23 years old.
His performance for the Neroverdi this season has made him if rumors were to be believed, a top target for Inter, West ham, and Arsenal, who see him as having the proper profile to build their attack around in the future.
While I would prefer for him to join Inter or West Ham United because of the tactical similarities with Sassuolo, it looks like Scamacca has the requisite tools to succeed wherever he goes.
Data sources: https://fbref.com/en/comps/11/Serie-A-Stats, https://understat.com/league/Serie_A, https://www.youtube.com/c/seriea
Inspiration: https://theanalyst.com/eu/2022/04/tammy-abraham-serie-a-roma/
Tactical principles: https://twitter.com/JackM_77/status/1527258445245726720, https://totalfootballanalysis.com/article/alessio-dionisi-at-sassuolo-2021-22-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics
I’m the one who makes the visualizations!!!
