South America has historically been the most fertile continent for developing top-level football players. When you think of the history of the game, the likes of Argentina and Brazil, and even Uruguay, stand out in terms of true heavyweights of the sport. Crucially, from our perspective in this magazine, they also stand out regarding player development.

While Argentina are, of course, the current world champions, there is talent throughout South America, with the likes of Paraguay, amongst others, starting to emerge in terms of the development of interesting players. Indeed, in this article, three of the players that we have identified are currently based in Paraguay.

Historically, there were certain ‘gateway’ leagues in Europe where players from South America would move to in order to get used to European football. The best of these players would quickly be picked up by clubs from the top-five leagues, with Enzo Fernández of Chelsea and Argentina perhaps the best current example.

Fernández moved to Portugal to join Benfica and spent just a year at the club before moving to Chelsea for a fee reported to have been in the region of £121M.

We are now at the point, however, where clubs from the top European leagues are increasingly starting to look to cut out the middleman in terms of identifying and signing these players straight from South America.

In this article, we have used data to analyse players currently playing in South America. We have then identified five interesting players who are currently standing out in terms of the way that they progress the ball for their teams. This time, the main metrics for our search have been dangerous passes (passes to the final third and passes to the penalty area) and progressive actions (progressive passes and progressive runs). In comparing these, we get a good idea of which players are the most progressive for their teams.

Hugo Martínez, 23 years old, Libertad and Paraguay

The first player we picked is the 23-year-old Paraguayan international midfielder Hugo Martínez. He is a product of the youth academy at Libertad, and he has spent his entire career at the club to date. Indeed, it is something of a surprise that Martínez has not yet made the move to Europe, although he has spent some reasonably significant time out with injuries.

Martínez is perhaps best described as a diminutive midfielder. He can play either as a 6 or as an 8 in the midfield structure, and he is probably at his best in a role that combines these two alongside a deeper 6 that allows him to choose when to step forward and when to sit in a deeper shape. Martínez has excellent passing range, while his vision and game intelligence allow him to find the runs of teammates as they move to attack and exploit space in the attacking phase. He is a midfielder who is comfortable operating as the player who takes possession from the central defenders before progressing the ball into the middle third or as the more advanced player who receives possession and breaks down a deep block with a through pass or ball around the corner.

As you can see from the pizza chart above, Martínez is an impressively well-rounded midfield player. He is currently in the 93rd percentile for progressive passes per 90 and the 89th percentile for dangerous passes. These are two principal metrics when considering which players are the most progressive. He is also, however, in the 71st percentile for passes per 90 and for pass accuracy. The slightly lower return for his pass accuracy is to be expected, given the fact that he is so aggressive in his approach in possession.

Interestingly, Martínez is also in the 88th percentile for dribbles per 90, showing that he is a skilful player in breaking a press either through passing or carrying the ball.

As much as clubs in the top-dive leagues are looking directly at South America for their recruitment now, there is still a feeling that Martínez would benefit from a move to the Netherlands, Belgium or Portugal in the first instance.

Hugo Quintana, 21 years old, Olimpia and Paraguay

Next, we have another midfield player from Paraguay — the 21-year-old central midfielder Hugo Quintana. While Martínez was exceptionally well-balanced across all phases of the game, it is clear from the data and watching Quintana play that he is far more comfortable in the attacking phase of the game. Indeed, his defensive output, specifically his lack of a defensive output, has led to some criticism of Quintana from the Olimpia fanbase.

If Martínez is a 6 or an 8, or something between the two, then Quintana is an 8 or a 10, and he does most of his best work in the established attacking phase of the game. Quintana is a player who comes alive in the final third; while he does have an excellent passing range and the ability to comfortably switch play from either side, it is his vision and ability to break lines of a deep defensive block that make him stand out from a tactical perspective. Quintana is not a midfielder who we can expect to see driving back to recover possession, but he can be extremely useful for his team in more advanced areas. Indeed, in this sense, he is a very South American advanced midfield player.

As you can see from Quintana’s pizza chart, he is a player who stands out in terms of his passing and progression and his attacking. The less said about his defensive involvement, though, the better. He is in the 88th percentile for progressive passes and the 89th percentile for dangerous passes. He is also a regular passer for his team, and he is in the 95th percentile for received passes and the 90th percentile for passes per 90.

In the attacking metrics, which compare Quintana to all other midfield players in Paraguay and the leagues that are ranked around them, we see that Quintana is in the 92nd percentile for touches in the opposition area. He is also a threat around goal, as he is in the 84th percentile for goal contributions and the 88th percentile for expected goal contributions.

Given the defensive side of Quintana’s game, it is unlikely that he will move to a top league. A move to Portugal, however, would likely suit his skill set.

Gabriel Menino, 22 years old, Palmeiras and Brazil

Next, we will move to Brazil with the 22-year-old Brazilian central midfielder Gabriel Menino. Menino has been capped by Brazil up to U20 level, and he has been involved in the full Brazilian squad but has yet to make his debut for his country.

In the summer, there were strong rumours surrounding Menino that suggested he was set to move to a top-five European league, and Manchester United were reported to have agreed a deal with Palmeiras to sign the midfielder.

In the end, that move did not come to pass like any of the others. That is increasingly looking like Manchester United’s loss, as the eventual price for Menino will only go up.

Menino is a highly versatile player capable of playing in almost any central midfield role or even as a right-back. His pizza chart shows that he is well-balanced across all three sections regarding his metrics and outputs. Arguably, he is at his best as a 6/8 with the freedom to move forward from a strict 6 position and use his passing range to stretch the opposition’s defensive block.

At the time of writing, Menino is in the 93rd percentile for progressive passes and the 80th percentile for passes per 90, as you can see from his pass completion %, 30th percentile, though he is a player who will almost always look for the more difficult passing opportunity.

In the defensive phase of the game, Menino is in the 73rd percentile for positioning, which accounts for interceptions and tackles. In the attacking phase of the game, he is in the 86th percentile for goal contributions per 90 and the 94th percentile for shots per 90 amongst central midfielders.

Menino will likely find his way to the top-five European leagues sooner rather than later, and a move this coming January is not out of the question. He has a skill set that would fit the German Bundesliga perfectly.

Lucas Beraldo, 19 years old, São Paulo and Brazil

The final player on our list is the 19-year-old Brazilian central defender Lucas Beraldo of São Paulo. Central defenders who are naturally left-footed come at an absolute premium, given their relative scarcity compared to their right-footed counterparts. The increase in teams intent on playing out from the back has seen the value of left-sided defenders rocket in recent seasons, and in Lucas Beraldo, São Paulo have a player who will make them a significant amount of money in the short term.

Beraldo can play as the left-sided player in a back three but is arguably better as the left-sided member of a central defensive partnership in a back four. In possession, Beraldo is very aggressive in his approach, and in many ways, he is not dissimilar to Levi Colwill of Chelsea. He likes to use his passing ability to fire through the lines of the opposition’s defensive block. His passing ability helps São Paulo to break down teams whether they try to press high, and his passes break the press, or they try to sit deep, and he finds teammates in pockets. Beraldo is also, however, comfortable when it comes to carrying the ball, and he will regularly step into the midfield in possession. He also has the range to play longer passes that switch the play from left to right.

From a data perspective, amongst central defenders, Beraldo is in the 92nd percentile for progressive passes. He receives the ball a lot from teammates, and he is in the 97th percentile for received passes and the 96th percentile for passes per 90. He is also in the 75th percentile for pass accuracy.

Beraldo is ready to move to a major league in the short term, and it would not be surprising to see him move to the Bundesliga or Serie A very soon.

Conclusion

We can quickly build a snapshot of some interesting players in those leagues by using a single set of metrics as we have here to assess player performance in any given league. Given the shift in recent times at the top level to teams playing from the back in a very structured manner, it can be interesting to see which players are progressive enough to be able to play in this way at the top level.