Scouting Report: Federico Redondo
Analysis of the youngster from Argentina.
Federico Redondo is a 20-year-old defensive midfielder from Argentina and plays for Argentinos Juniors in the Liga Profesional. As a member of the home-team in the host country for the U20 World Cup, the weight of a nation was on the youngster’s shoulders. While Argentina had a disappointing first-round exit to Nigeria, Redondo still attempted to be the cog that ran the machine that was Argentina. Redondo’s role as a hub for build-up play or possession-based distribution was captured by the fact that he led Argentina in most offers to receive (188), which is a stat that essentially measures how many off-ball movements a player makes into space to receive a pass from a teammate. Redondo generally likes to lay deep and this is similarly applicable to his style of play with Argentinos Juniors.
Although Redondo struggles when he is in motion or under pressure due to a general lack of pace and agility, he offers a Sergio Busquets-esque stability that is so hard to come by in modern football. One attribute of Redondo’s that allows him to stay cool in the thick of chaos is his elite ability to control possession after an interception; this is only accentuated by how adept the Argentinian is at directing his aerial duels and headers into spaces for his teammates to have a genuine chance at a loose ball that may not have been possible if not for Redondo’s 6’2” stature.
Still, Redondo becomes stressed when he is tasked with executing a spontaneous action that he has not predetermined. This is exemplified by his high frequency of take-on attempts that often end up being completed or interrupted by a defender. Redondo ranks in the 90th percentile for successful take-ons (FBRef), but oppositely hovers in the 28th percentile for the percentage of his take-ons that lead to a defender tackling him.
These detriments of Redondo’s ball-carrying ability are exacerbated by his speed deficiency, where he struggles immensely at blocking passes (45th percentile) and tackling dribblers (49th percentile).
In the areas of his game where Redondo lacks the athletic gifts to become the full defensive package, he makes up for with his foresight and intellectual capacity. Redondo is fantastic on both the offensive and defensive ends at occupying spaces that complement the ongoing play. On defense, Redondo instills reluctance within wingers and wing-backs in transition when deciding whether to whip a ball inside because of how he can exaggerate his physical presence through positioning. Moreover, Redondo is adept at invading the half-spaces that lean towards the ball-side when his team is improvising on defense after losing possession.
The midfielder is sometimes too zealous with his attempts to break up play in a more direct fashion than simply trying to predict the opposition’s game-plan, which can result in unnecessary fouls that referees must dish out because of a clear size discrepancy between Redondo and whoever he may be challenging. Redondo already has 7 yellow cards and 1 red card in just 35 total career matches in Liga Profesional, but it’s safe to assume that more patience will naturally develop in coalition with his professional experiences.
Redondo also has a first-touch vision with long-range passes that is unparalleled by most midfielders his age. Since he is so pivotal to Argentina and Argentinos Juniors in their defensive structure that roaming up high to assist with capitalizing on build-up play would create a vacancy for his teams in transition defense, Redondo will barely move past the half-field line before launching it forwards.
The greatest players in the world understand their own lackluster qualities, but can compensate for this by honing the areas of their game that they are proficient in. Redondo clearly showcases a comprehension of this philosophy, even with the immaturity that is natural for someone as young and tasked with as much responsibility as he is, so hopes are high for the Argentinian.
All clips are provided by Wyscout.
