When talking about the current crop of talent that the Norwegian national team possesses, the names that instantly spring to mind include Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard. However, one name that is yet to break through at the senior level but may do so soon is Club Brugge’s Antonio Nusa. The 17-year-old is currently a Norway U18 international but has every chance of being fast-tracked to the senior side in the future.
Since joining the Belgian giants on transfer deadline day in the summer of 2021 from Norwegian First Division side Stabæk, the young forward has gone on to make 12 appearances for Club Brugge, including in the Champions League. In fact, the 17-year-old scored on his Champions League debut, becoming the second-youngest scorer in Champions League history, behind only Ansu Fati of FC Barcelona, while becoming the youngest in history to score on his debut.
Since then, Nusa has already been linked with a move away from Belgium. Namely, reigning Serie A champions AC Milan are one of the clubs that have been subsequently linked with the young winger. This tactical analysis and scout report will go more into detail on the strengths that are beginning to arise in the winger’s game, which will illustrate just how bright Nusa’s future is at the top level of European football.
Player profile
One thing that Nusa offers is positional flexibility, with the 17-year-old normally playing on the left wing, but also capable of playing on the right, or through the middle as a centre-forward. The Norwegian is a high-octane dribbler, looking to cause chaos to opposition full-backs down the flanks. Some former teammates at Stabæk call him the “Norwegian Neymar.” Of course, that is a large title to try and live up to, but Nusa doesn’t seem to be shied away from that comparison. In fact, during an interview in 2021 with Aftonposten, the Club Brugge winger said, “I like to create chaos. Neymar is my role model because he creates chaos on the pitch with his dribbling, just like me. He is one of the best in the world.”
The heat map above shows the areas where Nusa has been most prominently involved in for Club Brugge this season, and interestingly enough, has been more frequently involved on the right side. Minutes have been relatively hard for Nusa to come by this season, with most of his appearances this season occurring from the substitutes bench. While one reason for this may be due to the lack of experience the Norwegian winger possesses, the form of both Noa Lang and Andreas Skov Olsen have also blocked minutes for Nusa.
This scout report will now begin to look at the strengths that Antonio Nusa possesses. Even with the lack of starting minutes he has had this season, his talent has shone through immensely in his appearances off of the bench.
Dribbling ability
The first strength that we will look at is Nusa’s ability when the ball is at his feet and he is allowed to run at opposition defenders. As the young winger said himself, he likes to cause chaos. A brief look at Nusa’s dribbling statistics from his career with Club Brugge so far comprehensively backs up this point.
In his Belgian Pro League career so far, as well as appearances in the Champions League, Nusa is averaging 5.59 dribbles per 90 minutes, with a 60% success rate. Considering that Nusa is only 17, it is likely that both of these numbers will rise as he gains more experience.
The data viz above shows Antonio Nusa’s ball progression from this season’s Belgian Pro League, as well as the Champions League. As is highlighted by the graphic, the winger makes plenty of progressive runs, as well as attempts many dribbles, even with his limited number of minutes this season. He also is successful more often than not, with the majority of these ball progression actions happening in and around the opposition’s penalty box. Following are some examples of the chaos that Antonio Nusa causes to opposition defences and highlight why it is likely to improve even more in the future.
The image above shows a good example of the dribbling ability that Antonio Nusa possesses, as well as his tendency to create chaos with his dribbling. In this Champions League game against Porto, Nusa received possession in the defensive half of the pitch. Nusa was able to turn and get past the first Porto player, using his close control to send the defender the wrong way.
The Porto full-back circled is caught stuck in two minds, with the defender caught out in a more advanced position. As a result, Nusa sent the ball into the space between the full-back and centre-back, who was also caught in an advanced position. The young Norwegian then used a burst of acceleration to get around the defender on the outside, reaching the ball before him and continuing to drive into the attacking half.
The image above shows another example of Nusa’s dribbling ability, this time in a 1v1 against the opposition defender. After receiving possession out on the wing, the young Club Brugge player opted to take on the full-back. The defender steps out to engage Nusa, which allows the Norwegian to use his close control and dribbling to quickly switch feet, which sends the defender the wrong way. This allows Nusa to go around the defender and drive into the open space behind the defence.
The winger then attempts to play a pass back centrally, but it is intercepted by a defender and sent out for a corner. Though his dribbling and close control does not lead to a direct chance on goal for Club Brugge, it does allow a dangerous attacking opportunity to develop, which ends in an attacking set piece for the Belgian champions.
The final example of Nusa’a dribbling ability is shown above from Club Brugge’s Champions League match this season against Atletico Madrid. The young Norwegian is being closed down by four Atletico players, but he is still able to find his way out of this situation. As he is being pressed, Nusa quickly turns away from the pressure, keeps the ball close to him while doing so, and goes out the back and drives into the space left vacant by the Atletico defenders.
This example can also easily show the vision that Nusa possesses, but it more so highlights the dribbling that he is capable of at almost any time. Though it will be difficult for Nusa to eventually become the “Norwegian Neymar”, he definitely can be a special talent with the ball at his feet.
Passing and vision
While Antonio Nusa is a player who likes to create chaos with his dribbling ability, the young winger also possesses good vision and passing range. In fact, the 17-year-old is averaging just over 31 passes per game since joining Club Brugge in the summer of 2021, with a passing success rate of 80%.
The data viz above shows the Norwegian U18 international’s pass map from this season in both the Belgian Pro League and the Champions League. As the graphic illustrates, the majority of his successful passes have occurred on the right side of the pitch, with the majority of them being forwards or sideways. While this may seem small, this shows the ability of Nusa to use his vision to scan the field for passing options in advanced positions, rather than play it safe and pass the ball backwards. This section will now take a look at some examples of this vision and passing range demonstrated by the 17-year-old.
The image above shows an example of the vision that Nusa has possessed at times, with him playing the right passing option as a result. Preceding this phase of play, the ball is spilt by the goalkeeper, which allows the winger to pounce on the loose ball inside the penalty box. Nusa can bait the opposition central defender into stepping towards him, freeing the space required to play a pass into the path of the on-rushing midfielder.
Nusa plays the ball into the vacant space, but unfortunately, the midfielder’s subsequent shot on target is blocked by another opposition defender. This example can highlight Nusa’s vision and quick thinking in key moments, as well as the unselfishness to not go for goal himself.
While the vision of Antonio Nusa is something that is already at a relatively high level for a player his age, the execution of his passing still has some improvements necessary. An example of this is shown above from Club Brugge’s game against Oostende earlier this season. After Nusa is able to do all the hard work, getting past the two defenders while in possession, he then drives centrally towards the Oostende penalty box.
He can spot the run of the forward going in behind the defence but does not put enough power on his pass. This leads to it being intercepted by the centre-back, who shifts to close the space and recovers possession for Oostende. While he used his vision to spot the opportunity, his execution of the pass led to a missed opportunity.
The image above again shows the lack of execution that sometimes plagues Nusa at times. While his vision in this example once again is great, spotting the run in behind, the execution of the pass is poor. The ensuing pass from Nusa is underhit, allowing the defender to intercept it and clear the danger away for the opposition.
The execution of passes at times is not something that will plague Nusa for the rest of his footballing career. His vision is already really good for a player of his age, and once he works on getting the perfect weight for passes, he will become a clinical chance creator in the final third.
Aggressiveness out of possession
The final thing this scout report will look at is the aggressiveness that Antonio Nusa possesses when not in possession, essentially, his pressing ability.
The data viz displayed above illustrates the pressing actions that Antonio Nusa has made this season for Club Brugge, and it underlines his ability when it comes to trying to force opposition defenders into mistakes. As the graphic depicts, Nusa has 11 high regains this season for the Belgian champions, with 12 counter-pressing recoveries and seven dangerous recoveries. Nusa has a very high defensive work rate, constantly working off the ball to try and win possession back for Club Brugge. This section will show some examples of the off-the-ball work rate and pressing ability of Antonio Nusa.
The image above shows an example of this high defensive work rate that Nusa has, with this phase of play above resulting in a poor clearance by the defender that allowed Club Brugge to regain possession. After the Belgian champions lose possession in the final third of the pitch, Nusa opts to continue putting pressure on the opposition defender in possession. As a direct result of this pressure, the defender does not have time to scan for options and play the ball short. He ends up sending it long, a pass which Club Brugge recover and are able to continue building from.
The image above shows another example of Nusa’s pressing, this time leading to the opposition defender having to play the ball all the way back to his goalkeeper. While in possession, Anderlecht have pushed their entire team to the attacking half of the pitch, with the young Norwegian being the highest positioned Club Brugge player up the pitch.
As the ball is played centrally to the centre-back, Nusa puts immediate pressure on the defender, which results in him taking a poor touch. The defender can get back to the ball first but is forced to play the ball backwards — all the way to the goalkeeper as a result of Nusa’s pressure. This stops the build-up play for Anderlecht and allows Club Brugge to push up the pitch and have some pressure relieved.
As this section has shown, Antonio Nusa has an innate ability to sense a pressing opportunity and engage. This is perfect in the tactics of Carl Hoefkens, as it allows a free player up top to consistently hassle the opposition’s defenders when they are in possession.
Conclusion
As this tactical analysis and scout report has shown, Antonio Nusa is one of the brightest young stars currently competing in the Belgian Pro League. At only 17 years old, he still has plenty of development ahead of him, and there will surely be bumps in the road. In Belgium, and especially at Club Brugge under Carl Hoefkens, Nusa is in the perfect environment to be able to continue to grow. There is likely no doubt that the Norwegian U18 international will eventually get his big move, and it will be interesting to see how his career develops moving forward.
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