Argentina’s Top Ten Promising Defensive Midfielders
In recent years, Argentina have been known as a nation with a plethora of attacking talent & not necessarily having the defensive quality to mirror it, but upcoming talents are much more evenly distributed around the pitch with much more defensive quality In particular, there is an abundance of top defensive midfielders in Argentina all ready to explode in Europe. When thinking of Argentine DMs the main one who comes to mind from the past is Javier Mascherano. Mascherano was truly a world-class 6 with an amazing understanding of the game.
Now there’s definitely an upcoming generation of midfielders in Argentina who look like they’ve built their game around their inspiration from Mascherano. This is why, if your team needs a DM, Argentina is EXACTLY the place they should be recruiting. Today, we’re going to be taking a look at ten young defensive midfielders who are making a name for themselves in Argentina.
1. Alan Varela (Boca Juniors)
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 5’10”/177cm
Age: 21
Alan Varela is the best value-for-money option in being complete, young, experienced for his age, 100% ready for a step up & has a €15m release clause. The anchor. The metronome. Varela controls the game for Boca. He’s an aggressive ball-winning 6 who has a stellar passing ability – 90.1% pass accuracy and who is an off-the-ball specialist with 3.53 tackles & interceptions p/90, tackling 77.8% of dribblers & losing only 0.34 challenges p/90.
The Argentine’s understanding of the game is ahead of his age. Varela leads by his actions like a 30-year-old experienced DM but is only 21. Varela is good enough defensively to be the lone 6 to build around or to be the more defensive player in a double pivot – also creative too.
2. Aníbal Moreno (Racing Club)
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 5’11”/181cm
Age: 24
Aníbal Moreno is a slightly older player but still has the potential to improve much more and many consider him the best DM in the league. Moreno is Argentina’s very own Casemiro. An aggressive tackler who does everything to win the ball and who plays with so much passion, but he’s also a top passer & creates from deep with a pass success of 85.8%, 0.6 key passes per game & 4.2 long balls per game this season.
Moreno has had 1.1 shots per game so far this season, similar to Casemiro in that he offers an attacking threat occasionally, whilst his great stamina could mean he could even play as an inverted RB but he’s another DM who’s a leader through his actions and passion on the pitch.
3. Federico Redondo (Argentinos Juniors)
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 6’3”/190cm
Age: 20
Federico Redondo is a very unique player who I’ve spoken about a few times and who was amazing for Argentina at the U20 World Cup. Redondo is a very efficient player who dribbles past pressing attackers with minimal effort very similar to Sergio Busquets. His positional discipline in the front of the defence saves his energy to sprint just for interceptions, tackles & to carry the ball forward to start attacks.
Love the hype around Federico Redondo. Anyone with any decent level of talent ID can see he has everything to become a world class DM, maturity in his mentality, play style & skillset way beyond his years.
To have his elite mindset & composure at only 20 is extremely impressive pic.twitter.com/PoK6ajpSlK
— Ben Mattinson (@Ben_Mattinson_) May 27, 2023
Redondo dictates the speed of the game, coasting through games with a composure that belies his age, whilst he also has accurate passing and great technical ability. He’s truly a special player and one to look out for.
4. Juan Sforza (Newell’s Old Boys)
Preferred Foot: Left
Height: 5’9”/176cm
Age: 21
Juan Sforza is an interesting prospect. Sforza plays as a deep-lying playmaker & has very good technical ability. He loves to ping long passes – 3.8 long balls per game in 16 games. His mobility & aggression allows him to cover plenty of ground to win the ball – 2.3 tackles per game. However, he’s committed 1.2 fouls per game and been given 7 yellows in 16 games this season. But this is a product of his high intensity to win the ball off opponents.
5. Santiago Hezze (Huracán)
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 6’0”/182cm
Age: 21
Hezze is another DM with great stamina. He’s a strong player who wins the ball back well & then has the acceleration to quickly beat pressing players, and he’s great at heading & has 4 goals in 22 games. Hezze is an all-action midfielder who has 2.6 tackles per game this season in the Argentine Primera División this season. He’s experienced for his age as he’s been a regular for Huracán for a few years with 115 games played for them and is now their captain despite being only 21.
6. Ignacio Miramón (Gimnasia La Plata)
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 5’8”/173cm
Age: 20
Ignacio Miramón is one of the less experienced options on this list as he’s broken through for Gimnasia’s 1st team this year, but he has a lot of potential. Miramón is smaller in stature at 5’8” but again is an aggressive ball winner. His smaller height gives him a low centre of gravity, good balance & agility that helps him be a great dribbler & win the ball back, and his profile could make him adapted to be an elite inverted RB.
7. Ezequiél Fernández (Boca Juniors)
Preferred Foot: Left
Height: 5’10”/180cm
Age: 20
Ezequiél Fernández is a very technical defensive midfielder. A two-footed passer, an aggressive presser & who loves to dribble, he is press resistant, strong and can bully attackers off the ball.
8. Kevin Ortíz (Rosario Central)
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 5’9”/176cm
Age: 22
Ortíz has a high volume of defensive contributions this season with 3.4 tackles & 1.8 interceptions per game. A captain at 22 having only played 35 games for the club shows how much of a leader he is to have been trusted with that responsibility at that young age and lack of experience. Ortíz is a very defensive-minded midfielder who’s strong, aggressive and a good tackler.
9. Juan Ignacio Nardoni (Racing Club)
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 5’10”/179cm
Age: 20
Nardoni was signed for Racing Club in January from Club Atlético Union for €5.7m. He’s a more all-round midfielder and excels going forward but does have good defensive ability too, a box-to-box CM to play in a double pivot with a player like one of the above. He has a strong build & loves to carry the ball through the midfield and has good shooting ability so he may progress to become a more advanced 8.
10. Cristian Medina (Boca Juniors)
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 5’10”/178cm
Age: 21
Cristian Medina again is less of a defensive specialist & more of an all-rounder but is still good defensively. A creative midfielder with good dribbling & agility to get past defenders with ease. Despite only being 21, Medina has already made 98 appearances for Boca Juniors which shows how highly thought of he is there. Medina is very composed on the ball and definitely will be a more advanced midfielder as an 8 but it’s good that he still has a decent defensive work rate.
By: Ben Mattinson / @Ben_Mattinson_
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Hector Vivas – FIFA