Founded in 2008, Rionegro Águilas are at the top of Colombia’s first tier and on the verge of achieving their first league title. This league is highly talented and competitive forming players like the ex-Real Madrid player James Rodríguez, Juan Cuadrado from Internazionale, and Luis Díaz from Liverpool FC.

In the first part of the season (Apertura 2023) they were first with 39 points, yet they weren’t able to succeed in the group stage. Furthermore, the Águilas Doradas are currently leading the Colombian League (Clausura 2023) with eight wins, six draws, and no defeats, totalling 30 points. Standing in first and with five games left in the regular phase, this Colombian side has the chance to prove themselves as favourites to win this Clausura 2023.

In his first adventure as head coach in a Colombian football club, César Farías is doing quite great commanding and inputting his tactics into “Las Águilas”. As we are going to develop this team, many qualities stand out, especially their on-the-ball organization during the build-up.

Although it’s too early to call this Águilas’ season a success as they still need to play the final phase against the top eight teams in the Clausura 2023, we can expect a very competitive and demanding team until the season’s finale.

In this tactical analysis, we’ll try to understand what are Farías’ main secrets to Águilas’ recent results, especially by detailing their identity while in possession and their off-the-ball behaviour.

César Farías startegy

“Las Águilas” are a team that likes to hurt the opposition by having the ball and by having solid building processes from the back into the front. Even though against stronger sides this team feels comfortable gathering in a middle-low block defensively, they bear in mind the counterattack, which is a quite strong feature.

Another strong characteristic of this Colombian side is the set pieces. As a matter of fact, such a statement can be proven by the team’s physical stature but also by the defenders’s individual offensive statistics: 13 goals. As we are going to see further Fredy Salazar has also a big impact on these offensive statistics due to his quality in taking both corners and free-kicks.

In possession, César Farías’ side normally plays over a general 4-3-3 with a single pivot, however, this tactical plan can suffer some changes during the process. For instance, if the opposition presses in a high block the full-backs are high just like the image shows, yet if the ball is covered they feel free to position low on the field.

It’s important to note that the midfielders often cover spaces left by the full-backs after these movements. For example, if the team is playing in the opposition’s half and the full-back is deep, the midfielder can descend into the flank so he can give one more solution to the centre-back (in this case the ball carrier).

The pivot plays as a single element in the midfield, but he can be supported by the other two central midfielders on a lower zone of the pitch if it’s necessary. This defensive midfield, position recently played by the ex-Benifica Guillermo Celis, is essential to the Águilas’ build-up due to the the direct influence this player has on it.

When the ball is on the centre-backs he is constantly giving solutions in the middle, yet if they lack solutions he usually forms a three-man backline.

César seems to take advantage of Salazar’s qualities during the match, especially by giving him positional freedom while building up. Normally we see the Colombian seeking the space between the lines in a more interior zone of the pitch, however, he is frequently seen on the wing too.

This positioning may have been aimed at achieving numerical superiority in the midfield, where the right-winger joins the three midfielders inside. In the example below, we can see a 4v3 situation, caused by the positioning of Salazar.

In addition, the full-backs seemed coordinated with the movements of the wingers, in other words, they don’t occupy the same vertical sector. For example, when Salazar seeks inside, the right-back, normally Mateo Puerta, is wide and the same for the other flank.

The dynamics in the left flank are more simple due to the fact that the winger rarely drops down on the pitch like Salazar, instead, he seeks depth in a more interior or exterior zone of the pitch, always aligned with the full-back.

The right flank is, in fact, the more dynamic because of both Salazar’s on-the-ball quality and Puerta’s intensity and both offensive and defensive availability. One of the most common movements of this Colombian right-back is the run by the defender’s back when he is playing wide.

Yet, if the team is not well-balanced defensively, they can expose themselves in a significant way to the counterattack. In fact, this Farías’ Águilas is characterized by their defensive solidity, where are the best defence in this season’s Clausura with 10 goals suffered in only 14 games.

They like to press in a high block with the goal of both obstructing the opposition’s build-up and recovering the ball in a dangerous zone of the pitch. In fact, their PPDA (Passes Per Defensive Action) is 9.08 and on average is the lowest in the league, which is a confirming statistic of what we previously stated.

Above we have a radar that shows the Águilas’ high-block defensive strategy: 362 high regains in 34 games which gives us an average of around 10.6 recoveries near the opposition’s box per game.

This success is given not only by the players’ intensity but mostly due to the coach’s defensive analysis and consequent pressing plan, which depends from game to game. For example in this match “Las Águilas” defended in a 4-4-2, where the ball-side midfielder joined the striker pressing and the other flank’s element balanced, forming a line of four players.

One of the biggest disadvantages of pressing high is related to the space created between the defensive and midfield lines, however, this problem can be somehow mitigated by shorting these two lines. For this, the head coach instructs some of the centre-backs to keep marking the forward who seeks that space, just like we can see below.

The team had also shown good pressing indicators which allowed them to move up or down their defensive lines accurately. Suppose the opposing team is defensively organized in their own half, if a back pass is made, the defensive block quickly arises, or vice versa. The understanding of the covered and uncovered ball situations is fundamental for depth control and consequent defensive consistency.

Individuals who can make the difference

Although they are classified third in offensive matters with 22 goals scored in 14 games, the Rionegro Águilas scored in every game they disputed. Apart from the offensive strategy, individual players like Marco Pérez and Jhon Fredy Salazar can make a difference during the match.

In this season Pérez was the top goalscorer of the Apertura 2023 with 13 goals and he is on his way to repeating this achievement by having scored eight goals in the Clausura 2023. He is a very physical striker who can make a difference inside the box, especially through an aerial approach.

In fact, a very common play takes place by the wing where the right-back or Salazar uses his technical quality and looks for Marco Pérez’s aerial game through a quality cross into the box.

It’s also notable the positioning of Pérez, who knows the perfect timing to attack the space in order to be on-side.

On the other hand, as the way we see it, Salazar is the most distinguished player in the squad and he’s the one element capable of turning the game around, through his technical and tactical skills.

Just like the pivot, Salazar is very influential during the offensive process in linking the midfield with the attack. In fact, as we can see above not only he ranks on the 97th percentile in received passes per game but also on the 95th in passes completed.

Apart from the goalkeeper, the two most regular players are the two central midfielders, Jesús Rivas and Jaen Pineda. Besides that, together they have 24 direct goal contributions, which is quite significant.

As it’s visible Pineda is less vertical than Rivas, yet compensates through his defensive availability: ranked around the 82nd percentile in aerial duels per 90 minutes and 55th percentile in defensive duels won. Yet, Pineda still showed some lack of intensity while defending, especially during transitions.

Rivas, on the other hand, is important essentially due to his technical skills and vision to find his teammate through a key pass. As a matter of fact, he ranked in the 90th percentile in dribbles per game and in the 88th in dangerous passes per game.

Conclusion

They are a team that is characterized by the difficulties created by their opponents in conceding goals, which is due to several factors like the intensity and effectiveness of their pressing plan or even the shortening of the spaces between the lines.

Some individualities are also highlighted in this scout report, however, in our opinion, Fredy Salazar has made a greater impact on “Las Águilas” offensive tactics.

Furthermore, this team is also known for being quite strong in the aerial game, especially in set pieces where they are quite successful. In fact, players like the striker Marco Pérez and other centre-backs are endowed physically and are decisive in this type of plays.

The Rionegro Águilas have a chance to win their second consecutive Colombian League regular season championship, but it won’t be an easy journey to win the final Clausura 2023 trophy.