João Cancelo is the latest defensive addition to Barça 2023-24 and Xavi Hernández’s personal bet for the complicated position of the right back. A player with a controversial character but who can provide many tactical variants. Here my analysis:
The first thing to underline is that he is a winger who stands out for his high offensive projection. Therefore, a profile that the team did not have and that covers with his arrival. The second item, and no less important, is that he is a player who can play both on the right and on the left. And he performs almost as well in his unnatural side (left) as in his natural side. So much so that, in recent seasons, he has played almost more as a left-back than a right-back. This is his positional map in the Premier League in his last season 2022-23.
And this is the one in the 2021-22 Premier League, the season in which this duality of bands is most clearly seen.
He is not one of those full-backs who find it difficult to contribute and decide when they access areas close to the rival goal, quite the opposite. The ball does not burn at his feet and it is not strange that he ends games with one or more shots at the rival goal. In fact, to be a defender, he has a goal. He has three consecutive seasons with a minimum of two goals per course. But above all, he interprets very well the solutions to advance in the field. This is the map of his progressive passes in the last third of the field of the 2022-23 academic year:
Each footballer has his own characteristics, but João Cancelo is a type of player that is very similar to Alejandro Balde. Which is why his arrival gives Xavi the chance to vary the tactical pattern from one side to the other depending on the game, the situation or even the physical condition of those involved. What is the same, that the incorporation of Cancelo allows Barça to play with a false winger on either side.
One of its greatest strengths is the overflow outside-in. And it is that he is very good driving inside and leaving rivals behind. The feint-I get out of him maneuver is effective and he has learned to do it on both sides. It is a notable resource when the opponent’s pressure chooses to cover the pass to the outside with a winger. The Cancelo of the beginnings in professional football did not do it but now he dominates it.
According to data from Gus Pereira (@gusfop) he registered 4.62 progressive passes per game: 2.51 ended in the last third and 1.36 in the box. In other words, almost one out of every three pipes that are activated to go deeper reach the area. And it is that he does not care about the direction or the speed that they must have. It will be an action that we will see many times in this Barça.
The Portuguese is a footballer who also has a level of dribbling. And that in a current Barça that is so lacking in individual overflow is not a minor fact. He has a 56% accuracy rate on it. Now, you have to differentiate between static dribbling and running dribbling. In the latter he is more successful than in the former, since he is used to overtaking his adversary if he rushes to the duel. On the other hand, and as is usual with most players, he has more difficulties leaving from a standstill. He can also do it because he is technically prepared, but it costs him a lot more. At Barça, normally, you will find more static than dynamic situations.
Very good to press. He chases his mark closely and does so with determination even though the rival takes him out of the zone. He doesn’t mind having to go very high to steal if this is his task. Given that Barça’s will is to press very high, they will adapt very quickly to defensive play as well.
His footballing maturity and his years under Guardiola have meant that the Portuguese has evolved a lot in understanding what he is playing at all times. At the beginning he was a very crazy footballer but currently he has a good tempo and a good reading of the game. In addition, he has background in the Position Game that Xavi wants to develop. Something that, in principle, has to be favorable for him to adapt quickly.
Its main weakness is mentality (which is not little). His most recent history shows that he is not an easy player to manage. Especially if his role in the team is not total. He does not live well with little continuity. Not to exploit his football on the field or off the field. Xavi and the footballer himself have a challenge before them to deal with this issue.
Without close pressure, his first control is always oriented but, when he perceives the presence of an opponent nearby, it is still difficult for him to direct the first towards an area where he can eliminate the pressure. When this happens, he tends to back control and back off. It is as true that he protects himself and does not lose the ball as this maneuver slows down circulation.
