Mario Martín: The Latest Castilla Product Headed for Valladolid
The latest Real Madrid graduates have all left to clubs in the top 5 European Leagues, such as Rafa Marín to Napoli after a loan at Alavés, and Juanmi Latasa to Real Valladolid after a loan at Getafe. The last player leaving the club has been Mario Martín who is heading to Real Valladolid on loan. In this article, we will be investigating Mario Martín and what he can offer to Real Valladolid.
Name: Mario Martín
Position: Defensive Midfielder/Center Midfielder
Age: 20
Country: Spain
Height: 178cm
Preferred Foot: Right
Last Club: Real Madrid
Born and raised in Toledo, Mario Martín joined Real Madrid’s academy in 2016 and has spent the following eight years in La Fábrica, making seven appearances for Spain’s U19 team between 2022 and 2023.
Forward Passing
The defensive midfielder is one of the most important players in the buildup phase to get the ball into more advanced areas.
Here we can observe that Mario’s forward passing is quite average with less than 15 per 90, though his precision is high. This shows us that this is not one of his strengths, though it isn’t a liability either, however, for a team like Valladolid who want to have the ball he will have to improve in this department to be important for Pezzolano.
Progressive Passing
This passing metric gives us more depth into the danger of each player’s passing rather than just passing the ball forward 5m. This is because this metric only includes more specific passes such as a pass 10m closer to the opposition goal if the pass comes from the opposition side of the pitch.
In this image, we can see that Mario Martín is the player that attempts the most progressive passes with more than 6, however, it is not far superior to that of Valladolid’s players. In fact, he has the least precision, but he shows confidence in his ability to play these types of passes which is important to be a defensive midfielder for a possession-based side.
Passing
How many passes a defensive midfielder has tells us how involved he is in the possession of his team and how important he is for the positional play of his team.
From this image, we can deduce that Mario is a player that is slightly involved in the possession of his team and will have to increase his pass volume to be indispensable for the manager. This is because the defensive midfielder position is the most important as he controls the attack and defense, and in possession he is the one that has to control the tempo of the match with the ball.
Defensive Duels
The defensive midfielder is essential for defending, especially for defending counterattacks as he is the first man that the opposition have to beat.
With this image, we can identify that Mario has great defensive attributes with more than 9 defensive duels per 90 and more than a 60% success rate. This is crucial for his position and can be a major asset for Valladolid as his position is essential in defense, and especially in the First Division his profile can be very useful.
Aerial Duels
Aerial duels are essential for defensive midfielders as they are often the ones to stop the aerial balls from the goalkeeper with the center backs.
This image shows us that Mario is not the best at winning aerial duels, and that is a deficiency in his game that can be costly. This is because when the opposition team play direct, the defensive midfielder among others is counted upon to win those aerial duels.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Mario Martín is a player that doesn’t improve Real Valladolid in his position as his passing capabilities are quite average and do not improve that of Stanko Jurić. Nonetheless, his defensive attributes are quite impressive with a high amount of defensive duels and a high success rate which can be very useful for a newly promoted side that will face better players. Nonetheless, he does provide more coverage in his position, though, this will be his first experience in Spain’s top-flight, and his data is from the third division in Spain, so we will have to see how he adapts. However, it is true that many of Real Madrid’s graduates have performed well in other clubs.
By: Juan Fernandez Valencia / @ScoutLaLiga
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Octavio Passos / Getty iMAGES