Why The Leipzig Defender Is Here To Stay

Croatia has truly been a blessing to the world of football. The 2018 World Cup finalists were excellent at regularly producing world-class players. Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Rakitic are some of the most famous names of this generation.

The next group of players are also making an established name for themselves, including Lovro Majer and Luka Sucic. However, the brightest talent in this pool is of course Jusco Gvardiol.

RB Leipzig centre-back is only 20 years old but is already an established player for club and country. Gvardiol has been excellent since coming onto the scene with Dinamo Zagreb in 2019.

He is set to become a superstar of all time if he can continue his upward climb. There is nothing to say it will stop. football Attends Josko Gvardiol Scout Report.

Josco Gvardiol Scout Report

progressive defender

Josco Gvardiol’s scouting report cannot begin without highlighting that he is not a defender at all. Yes, Gvardiol is nowhere near a traditional center back. One look at his numbers shows that this is a player who loves to get up on the field and get ahead of the ball.

Gvardiol makes 5.31 forward passes per 90 while receiving 0.67 forward passes per 90.

This shows how much Gvardiol is involved in the attack sequence. Furthermore, Gvardiol also averages 5.62 forward moves and 1.43 touches into the opponent’s penalty area. Domenico Tedesco continued a 3-4-2-1 game with Gvardiol as a left-back at the three-back.

So, it’s easy to see why fans are so excited about Gvardiol. Still very young, the kind of promise he shows makes him a guarantee that Gvardiol will remain a prolific presence for opponents.

Read also: How Lukas Klostermann became one of the most prominent attacking defenders in the German League

Behemoth in the back

Although he is very skilled in attack, Josco Gvardiol’s scout report is incomplete without mentioning his defensive work. He applies 11.75 pressure per 90, allowing him to lock down attackers often quickly. Furthermore, Gvardiol scored 2.19 interventions and 2.03 pieces per 90.

Given the distance he likes to venture on the field, the real lead of his defense comes in the interceptions. He averages 3.22 interceptions per 90, which puts him in 98th place among defenders across Europe. This shows how well Gvardiol reads the game and gets into situations where attacks can be broken.

Gvardiol is very fast on his feet which means he covers the ground quickly to defuse any threatening situations. Therefore, it is not surprising that Gvardiol is one of the best players in Leipzig.

all-inclusive package

After he mentioned his offensive and defensive assessment, now was the time to take a deeper look. Scouting Josko Gvardiol’s report cannot be completed without discussing more than meets the eye. He is a former mobile passer, with an average completion of 90% over short and medium distances. Gvardiol has already been involved in 26 shot creations and five goal making actions.

He hates dribbling people in the past, and more than 50% of the time he manages to handle the ball fairly. The Bundesliga has been in awe of the defender since his arrival. The 2021-22 season is his first foreign league campaign, and Gvardiol has already started alerting people.

Gvardiol is in the top ten of progressive passing, between balls, interceptions, passing goals and more. Leipzig’s stunning revitalization is thanks in large part to Gvardiol being a rocky solid in the back.

Future National Champion

Scout Josko Gvardiol’s report conclusion should focus on his international career and his future prospects. Gvardiol made his debut at Euro 2020, becoming the youngest player to play for Croatia at a major tournament. He had strong outings and got great reviews. However, Gvardiol’s performance was shaky against Spain which shows that there is still much room for improvement.

On top of that, there are some areas that you could definitely do with a slight hike. Gvardiol has removed only 2.76 per 90 over the past year, making it the lowest depths on the percentile chart. On top of that, it only gained 2.46 antennas, which again isn’t a great sign for a defender. The game is developing at such a rate nowadays that the central defender has to develop an effective attacking mind. So, Gvardiol did the same.

In short, Scout Josko Gvardiol’s report was doing most things right. Croatia made headlines four years ago when it reached the FIFA World Cup Final. Gvardiol will be looking forward to writing his own history this time in Qatar 2022.