Tyrell Malacia — Feyenoord’s All-Action Fullback
Tyrell Malacia’s debut for Feyenoord’s first team came at the age of 18, eventually cementing himself as the first choice left-back under Dick Advocaat during the 20/21 season. Born and raised in Rotterdam, he’s spent his entire youth and senior career at Feyenoord. He’s represented every Dutch age group from U16 to U21. Curaçao, the country of his father, attempted to bring him into camp before the 2021 Gold Cup, but Malacia turned them down in hopes of receiving a call from the senior Dutch side. He got that call later in the year, debuting in a 2022 World Cup qualifying match against Montenegro.
In simple terms, Malacia is a marauding, energetic full-back who plays an important role in each phase of Feyenoord’s play. Despite the club’s underachieving campaign last season, Malacia saw his Transfrmarkt value more than double. He’s highly coveted amongst upper management at the club, which is spoken about in Feyenoord’s recent behind-the-scenes documentary series, “That One Word”.
The arrival of Arne Slot as Feyenoord’s new boss has unlocked a different level of Malacia’s tactical adaptability. Slot’s fluid and rotation heavy 4–3–3/4–2–3–1 system sees Malacia operate in positions and areas that might seem unorthodox for a traditional fullback. Another left-back, Owen Wijndal, underwent a similar transformation under Slot at AZ Alkmaar that saw his stock rise massively. Still just 22 years old, Malacia has plenty of room to grow and has already begun to show signs of becoming an elite, modern fullback.
In possession
Tyrell Malacia and Luis Sinisterra have formed a great understanding down Feyenoord’s left flank. Both players understand the spacial balance between width and depth, using their fluid movement to offer passing angles that unbalance their opponent’s pressing structures. Feyenoord’s rapid positional rotations between fullback, winger and nearest center midfielder almost resemble a spinning triangle where any of those players could find themselves at each of the triangle’s three angles. For Feyenoord, this rotation tends to happen between Malacia, Sinisterra, and Kökçü becoming the 3rd man.
Malacia is comfortable at each of those 3 angles. He can be a 1v1 outlet maintaining width from the touchline, and he can also stretch the backline with runs in between the opposing fullback and center-back, but I think his most valuable and unique role is the position he takes up between the lines, almost like a quasi-center midfielder.
Occasionally, when Feyenoord have a sustained period of possession, one or both of the fullbacks narrow themselves, to imitate central midfielders. In the example below, both Malacia and Geertruida come inside. By doing this, Malacia brings his marker towards the center of the pitch, thus opening up space wide so the ball can be directly played towards Sinisterra high up on the left wing. This also allows Feyenoord to maintain width through their natural wingers, whilst still maintaining numbers in the middle of the pitch.
This isn’t just a bit of deceptive movement to ease ball progression into Feyenoord’s more attacking players. If Malacia’s marker doesn’t track him inside, he is good enough to receive the ball in these areas and progress forward. In the prior example, Malacia gets the ball under immense pressure but manages to twist out of a couple of challenges and drive forward, eventually winning a foul in a dangerous area.
His season’s heatmap shows just how much central space he occupies. The amount of time he spends in that left half-space in the opponent’s half is highly noticeable.
It’s also intriguing to see how little time he spends near the opposing endline near the corner flag, especially when you think about a typical fullback’s responsibility in the attack. Instead of getting to the end line and putting in crosses, Malacia leaves that to the winger. More often than not, he finds himself moving into central areas either in or just around the box.
Out of possession
On the other side of the ball, his 2.9 tackles per 90 is one of the highest in the Eredivisie. His high tackle volume is a testament to his eagerness to engage opponents in defensive situations. On many occasions, he likes to “jump” potential passing options. Anticipating passes before they happen, so he can apply immediate pressure. This front-foot defending mentality is drilled within each Feyenoord player but it suits Malacia to a tee.
At times, though, his eagerness to anticipate can mean exposing the rest of his team if he does lose his defensive duel. Here, Malacia races out to engage the opponent out wide but overcommits, and his opponent touches the ball past him. Malacia recognizes the danger and has to bring him down cynically. It earned him a yellow card, but probably the right decision considering the circumstances.
The positions he takes up in possession can sometimes mean he gets caught out in transition when Feyenoord lose the ball. When the fullbacks are pushed forward and tucked inside, the center-backs are given a lot of defensive responsibility in transition. They have to do a lot of 1v1 defending and are easily dragged wide by opposing forwards looking to utilize the channel. I would more or less consider this a byproduct of the system Slot wants to play, with very fluid positional rotations which can be exploited on the counter-attack.
Physical
At first glance, Tyrell Malacia is a relatively small-ish player, standing well below six feet tall. His short legs and modest physical frame give the impression that he might struggle as a fullback at the elite level, but this is the area he excels.
Despite his smaller size, he is an explosive runner who seems to glide around the pitch with long strides. It always looks like he is in control of his movement and can change direction or speed at a moment’s notice.
Malacia’s low center of gravity makes it difficult for opponents to win the ball off him and facilitates turning out of pressure on the dribble. His shorter height and even lower athletic stance mean much bigger opponents can’t use their larger frames to knock or shove Malacia off the ball.
Here, Malacia is so low to the ground while protecting the ball that Carrasco can’t get in a position to use his shoulders or hips to physically engage him. Despite being the bigger player in terms of overall size, Carrasco can do nothing without fouling. Any sort of physical advantage becomes nullified.
Malacia constantly uses this technique to great effect. His low center of gravity combined with 360-degree awareness means he can spin and twist out of pressure with relative ease. This is extremely useful in the center of the pitch where pressure can come from every side.
In defensive duels, his physicality is also prevalent. Here, Malacia is face to face with a bigger Heerenveen player, but if you take a look at the height of both players’ hips, Malacia’s are significantly lower to the ground.
Malacia can step across him.
Then, a slight shift of the hips.
Psychological
Malacia thrives in transition moments on both sides of the ball. He is very proactive when it comes to the timing of his movements; he always seems to react quicker than his opponents. This, accompanied by his elite physical prowess, gives him even more of an advantage in those situations.
He plays with noticeable confidence and brightness, and backs himself in every area of his game. I think this is a big factor in what allows him to play such a tactically adaptable role. Many players would feel uncomfortable straying from their natural position, but not Malacia.
Feyenoord’s mini-documentary series offers an intriguing view into Tyrell Malacia and his character on and off the pitch. In one of the episodes, the cameras follow him home. In the subsequent interview, he says he turns into a different person when he steps on the pitch.
There is another scene in the series where the coaching staff is arguing with the medical team regarding the availability of Malacia for an important Europa League match. The medical team is rightfully concerned about the debilitating pain he feels in his knee, but the coaching staff relentlessly, almost uncomfortably, pushes for him to be allowed to play. Advocaat’s assistant, Cor Pot, says “He’s the type of guy who keeps up. That’s his character.” The conversation ended with Pot describing how much money that match could be worth to Feyenoord, to which the doctor responds, “Tyrell is worth a lot of money.”
This sequence against Ajax earlier in the season embodies the universal essence of what Tyrell Malacia is as a player:
First, he inverts himself into a pocket of space in his adopted central midfield position and receives the ball on the half-turn facing forward.
He finds Sinisterra isolated out wide and follows his pass to offer support. Once Sinisterra moves inside, Malacia sees an opportunity to overlap and attacks the space Sinisterra leaves behind.
Finally, he gets to act as a prototypical fullback, 1v1 against his man. He bursts towards the endline, faking a cross to beat his man, before lifting the cross into a good area.
The variety of angles Tyrell Malacia is comfortable playing in means he would be a suitable candidate for most clubs operating at the elite level. Tactical flexibility, physicality, and counter-pressing are all pillars of the direction the sport is headed in, and Malacia embodies each one.
This summer could be a pivotal one for Tyrell Malacia and his entourage. With 2 years remaining on his deal with Feyenoord, the summer of 2022 would be the ideal time for the club to sell for a reasonable valuation. I would estimate the fee to be around $20–25 million, potentially dependent on which European competition Feyenoord qualify for this season.
According to some partially reliable rumors, Malacia was linked to both Arsenal and Bayern Munich last year. Potentially, the next step in his career could be to a club of a similar profile. His style of play would suit a fast-paced, physical league like the Premier League or Bundesliga.
Let’s wait and see.
