Fiorentina want to quickly forget about last season. The viola team was saved from relegation by just three points. This gave Fiorentina a lot of movement in the transfer market. Among those movements is Erick Pulgar, their new incorporation. The Chilean player will be analysed in this scout report, in which we will show his tactics and characteristics. In addition, we will perform a tactical analysis to find out what he can contribute to his new team.
Erick Pulgar is a player who can help Fiorentina return to the places of privilege. The Chilean will be a very important player in the tactics that Vincenzo Montella wants for his team. Last season, Pulgar played in Bologna and was one of their best players. That’s why the following tactical analysis will give his in-depth player profile. In addition, we will find out how the new player of Fiorentina actually plays.
Characteristics
In order to carry out the scout report of Erick Pulgar, it is necessary to know his trajectory. Pulgar began his career in Antofagasta as a central defender and then went on to Universidad Católica. In his second team, he alternated the position of centre back and defensive midfielder. Then he moved to Bologna where his most usual position was a defensive midfielder. He stayed there for several seasons and had his best performances in that position.
From there, his defensive capacity was born, but above all his capacity to recover balls. In addition, his good vision of the game meant that they placed him in a more advanced position in the field. That’s why he became a defensive midfielder, thanks to his defensive characteristics and clean passes from behind. That’s why an analysis of his tactics is necessary through a scout report, the best way to know the player.
Erick Pulgar is a very important player in the tactics of any team. He is a player who fits into all tactical systems and all schemes in modern football. Pulgar is a player beneficial for any style of play and is a player that every coach would like to have.
One of Erick Pulgar’s main characteristics is his good positioning inside the pitch and his good vision of the game. The first thing helps him to always be well-positioned in any game situation. The second thing helps him to be a player who usually starts the attacking plays. Filtered passes between lines or long passes are another one of his strong points. In addition, Erick Pulgar is a player who always makes good decisions and hardly makes mistakes. He also takes free kicks and defends with anticipations and by intercepting balls.
Erick Pulgar’s tactics
The style of play and tactical features of Erick Pulgar can be defined in time and space. In other words, the player’s ability to have a good sense of positioning. This is not easy, as it requires a good central and peripheral vision and being in the right place at the right time. From that first quality, Erick Pulgar brings out the best of his technical and tactical characteristics.
Pulgar has the responsibility to play as a central midfielder, being the axis of the game and the team. This is the area where the phase of recovering the ball and then administering the possession begins. Pulgar is always ready to receive the pass from his centre-backs to start the attack.
In addition, many teams put pressure on the player who is placed in that position. There was no exception in the case of Pulgar, who was constantly pressured by players from the rival team in Bologna. Another quality of Pulgar is the good handling of the ball, that is to say, the technique. When he is pressured he knows how to resist the suffocation of several players.
Pulgar also knows how to get the ball back. In order to do it and fulfil the defensive work that his position demands, aggressiveness is needed. He is a player physically very strong and aggressive to recover because his height is six feet and two inches. He also anticipates opponents very well and intercepts balls on a regular basis.
When it comes to attacking, Pulgar has other very interesting qualities. First, he has a very good shot. That’s why he was in charge of taking free kicks and corner kicks in Bologna. But that good delivery also translates into good passes of all kinds. His vision of the game means that he is often positioned to make assists or important passes to the strikers.
Pulgar at Fiorentina
Pulgar’s Fiorentina debut came in a friendly against Galatasaray. In that match, he had a different role than he was used to. Montella’s tactical disposition for the Chilean player was to place him a little further forward on the pitch. Fiorentina’s coach wants him pressing higher, or rather, closer to the rival team’s defensive zone.
Pulgar in Fiorentina will have a slightly more attacking role, without neglecting the defence. Montella wants him as a box-to-box midfielder, who plays a very important tactical role. He will be one of the players who press the first line of the rival team along with the strikers.
But Montella also sees that pressuring capability from Pulgar as a useful tool elsewhere. His pressure is an opportunity to recover the ball close to the opponent’s area and generate goal-scoring chances. In addition, good game vision and penetrative passes allow him to assist strikers.
As for Pulgar’s role in Fiorentina’s defensive tactics, the analysis is in the midfield line. Montella wants Fiorentina to make a 4-4-2 system when the team loses the ball. There, Pulgar will be placed next to the most defensive midfielder.
On the other hand, when Fiorentina recover the ball, their full-backs are very wide, practically as wingers. In this tactical system, Pulgar is in charge of receiving the first pass from the centre-backs. Therefore, he is the link in the middle of the pitch. It will be important for his contribution not to lose the ball in that zone and to begin the plays of attack.
Statistics
In order to finish the scout report on Pulgar, it is necessary to analyse his statistics of the last season in Serie A. Beyond the tactical analysis, the statistics can show us certain parameters of the player’s technical capabilities. The statistics serve to measure the technical, physical and even psychological aspects of a player.
For example, Pulgar’s heat map shows the area where the player moves the most. In that sense, he has his biggest zone of influence very close to the centre circle of the pitch. When he moves a few yards forward and approaches attacking midfielders or strikers, the zone of influence is lower. This means that his tactical task in Bologna was more defensive. In Fiorentina, he will have to run more from box to box. In other words, both defend and attack.
As for the percentage of successful passes, Pulgar has a very high percentage of effective passes. He has an 86% success rate, meaning that he is a player who rarely misses a pass. He is a player who makes good decisions and almost always delivers the ball well.
Of those passes, Pulgar has a 62% success rate on long passes. He is a player who likes to deliver long passes to skip pressure lines. This is a very effective option to decongest certain zones of the pitch.
In addition, he has good numbers in the statistics of his defensive tactics. On average, he participates in 15 duels per game and of those, he wins eight. He also makes five interceptions per game on average, which speaks well of his good anticipation ability. Finally, he averages eight recoveries per game.
Conclusion
Erick Pulgar was one of Bologna’s best players throughout his time with the team. He was always an undisputed starter and important within the tactical system. His characteristics in this scout report show that he is a player with a great present and enormous future. The tactical analysis of the player serves to show that Pulgar is going to fit perfectly in Fiorentina’s tactics.
His debut in Fiorentina also demonstrated the important role that Vincenzo Montella wants to give to his new player. Montella will try to use him as a player who covers more of the pitch with longer runs. His good physical condition allows him to perform that style of play effectively. In other words, Pulgar in Fiorentina will be a box-to-box midfielder, which will be one more evolution in his game. His good vision with passes and his good defence will help him fulfil those new tactical functions.
Fiorentina want to change the bad image of last season and try to fight for important things in the next campaign. Their new goal will be to fight to enter the European competitions. This is why the new owner of the club, Rocco Commisso, has invested a lot of money in transfers. Among those transfers is Erick Pulgar, a player who also had other offers from Italian and European teams. It will now be Montella’s responsibility to finish the pre-season in the best possible way and be ready to debut against Napoli.
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