Tinotenda Kadewere has been lighting up Ligue 2 this season. The Zimbabwe international has played a pivotal role in Le Havre’s attack during the 2019/20 campaign, impressively managing to score 20 of their 38 Ligue 2 goals this season.
In addition to scoring over 52% of his team’s goals this season, Kadewere’s 20 Ligue 2 goals have come from 24 Ligue 2 appearances. This means that the 24-year-old attacker has scored a goal every 1.2 games on average in Ligue 2 this season.
Kadewere is currently Ligue 2’s top goalscorer for the 2019/20 campaign. His performances for Le Havre this season haven’t gone unnoticed, with Ligue 1’s Lyon signing the Zimbabwean forward in the most recent January transfer window and subsequently loaning him back to the Ligue 2 side until the end of the season.
In this tactical analysis piece, we will examine Kadewere’s key attributes and how he has fit into Le Havre’s tactics this season. Additionally, we will explain what the primary aspects to his game are that may have attracted Ligue 1’s Lyon to identifying him as a transfer target back in January. This scout report will provide an analysis of Kadewere’s sizeable contributions for his side, both on and off the ball, in addition to the main technical attributes that have made him a standout player in France’s second tier this season.
Kadewere’s hold-up play
In addition to spearheading attacks at times, using his pace, power, and well-timed runs to beat opposition defenders and latch onto the end of his teammate’s through balls, Kadewere can often be seen dropping into slightly deeper positions, where he can attempt to influence the game for his side as a creator, as well as a finisher.
Kadewere has often been deployed as Le Havre’s furthest man forward this season, with his team attempting to exploit his pace and power versus high opposition backlines to get in behind and create 1v1 situations versus the opposition goalkeeper. The attacker is effective in these types of scenarios as his 1v1 finishing ability, in addition to his pace and power, have proven to be difficult for opposition Ligue 2 sides to cope with this season.
However, Kadewere may be at his most impressive when he is able to drop slightly deeper and receive the ball to feet. The Zimbabwean attacker can then make use of his impressive ability to hold up the ball and bring more of his teammates into play, thus crafting chances for his side.
This image above provides us with an example of the kind of position that Kadewere can often be seen taking up in order to receive the ball during a period of possession for his side. The 24-year-old centre forward can often be seen dropping slightly deeper in between the lines to receive possession with slightly more space and time to create, as we can see in this image.
As this passage of play moves on, we can see how Kadewere uses the extra time and space that he is afforded from his slightly deeper position to try and bring teammates into the game. As Kadewere drops into the deeper position and receives the ball between the lines, he attracts an opposition player to drive out of the defence and close him down, which we can see an example of in the image above.
As the opposition defender rushes out in an attempt to close the Zimbabwean attacker down, Kadewere uses his skilful dribbling ability to beat the opposing defender’s challenge and continue the attack.
After beating the challenge of the opposition defender, Kadewere spots a run being made by his striking partner in behind the opposition backline. The 24-year-old attacker attempts to play his teammate through on goal as this play continues, however, the opposition right-back, who we can see sitting fairly narrow in the image above, manages to make a well-timed interception to put an end to this attack.
While Kadewere’s attempt to play his teammate through on goal ultimately falls short on this particular occasion, this passage of play shows us how much of an asset the Zimbabwean attacker’s hold-up play and creativity can be for his side.
Kadewere’s movement around the final third
Kadewere primarily plays as a centre forward alongside a central striking partner within Le Havre’s system. However, the Zimbabwe international tends to drift around the final third, as opposed to remaining in a typical centre forward’s position throughout the game.
Kadewere can often be seen drifting out to either wing, in addition to slightly deeper central positions, in possession. This image above shows us Kadewere’s ‘territorial coverage’ from games in which he plays as a centre forward. As we can see here, Kadewere covers a large spread of territory around the attacking third of the pitch throughout a given game. This image provides a visual example of how much Kadewere has tended to drift about the final third for Le Havre this season.
This image shows us an example of Kadewere drifting from his central position out to the left-wing. As we can see here, the attacker begins to make his run from Le Havre’s centre forward position. As the ball makes it to the left side of Le Havre’s midfield, we can see Kadewere immediately begin to sprint out into the wide-area to provide a passing option for his teammate down the left-wing.
As this play moves on, the Le Havre midfielder manages to pick out Kadewere’s run, finding him in a relatively deep position on the left-wing, thus allowing him to use his ball-carrying ability to drive forward and continue his team’s attack, which we can see an example of in this image above.
As Kadewere picks up the ball from the midfield, he begins to drive down the left-wing. As he does so, he attracts the challenge of an opposition defender, who the Zimbabwean darts past with relative ease, going on to carry the ball down the left-wing.
This passage of play shows us an example of how Kadewere makes use of the full width of the pitch when his side are in possession. The 24-year-old enjoys a fair amount of freedom to drift around the final third and exploit space where he sees fit, leading to the attacker making probing runs like the one seen in the passage of play above, at times down the wide areas, rather than the central zones.
One of Kadewere’s key attributes is his pacey and powerful dribbling ability. He can often be seen attempting to make use of his dribbling ability from the wide areas where he tends to take on the opposition defenders himself in his attempts to break down the opponent’s backline. Kadewere’s pace, power, and technically impressive dribbling ability may make him a useful asset for his side to deploy in positions all over the final third.
This next image shows us another example of how Kadewere tends to drift into the wide areas from his original central position. Just prior to this image being taken, Kadewere received the ball in the more central area of the pitch which is circled in this image, as his teammates found him in an attempt to begin a counter-attack.
As the attacker receives the ball here, he immediately begins to carry it out towards the left-wing once again, which we can see in this image. Kadewere attempts to knock the ball past the opposition defender here and subsequently use his pace and power to beat the defender to the ball.
The Zimbabwean attacker has shown a large degree of proficiency with regard to his technical dribbling ability this season. He has proven difficult for opposition defenders to stop at times due to his impressive dribbling quality in addition to his ability to control the ball well at high speed as he bursts forward.
Furthermore, Kadewere is capable of using his body and strength to hold off opposition players while either attempting to beat them to the ball as we can see in the image above or attempting to protect the ball when holding it up in more advanced areas of the pitch, during periods of play in which he can bring other players into the game.
Kadewere’s mobility and shooting quality
Having scored 20 goals in 24 Ligue 2 games for Le Havre this season, it may be safe to say that it goes without saying that Kadewere has been one of the most potent finishers in France’s second-tier this season. One of the most impressive aspects of Kadewere’s shooting quality is his ability to get shots off in tight situations.
This quality has troubled the opposition on plenty of occasions this season as his ability to get shots off despite being in close proximity to a number of opposition players makes him a difficult and dangerous attacker to defend against.
This first image shows us another example of Kadewere receiving the ball with his back to goal. However, on this occasion, he has positioned himself further up the pitch in a more typical centre forward location. As we can see, when Kadewere receives the ball here, with his back to goal, he is surrounded by six separate opposition defenders, all of whom begin to apply even more pressure to the Zimbabwean attacker.
As this next image shows, despite receiving the ball in a tight situation with his back to goal and being quickly pressured by the circle of opposition players surrounding him upon receiving possession, Kadewere manages to get a shot off from this position.
When he receives the ball, Kadewere manages to control it well. As the opposition defenders subsequently begin to close in on him, the 24-year-old attacker manages to impressively turn on a dime to quickly shift his body into facing the opposite direction of the way it was facing when he received the ball. Kadewere’s impressive ability to quickly shift his body positioning and turn on a dime allows him to get a quick shot off from this position, which tests the opposition goalkeeper but ultimately fails to produce a goal.
This next image shows us another example of Kadewere’s impressive ball control. Just prior to this image, the 24-year-old Zimbabwe international controlled a cross which was sent into the danger zone from the right-wing. As he brings the cross down, Kadewere is quickly pressed by two opposition defenders, both of whom we can see sticking tight to the attacker in this image in order to prevent him from facing up towards the goal.
As this passage of play moves on, Kadewere provides us with yet another example of his impressive ability to turn on a dime in order to shift his body positioning on the ball to get a quick shot off under pressure, despite originally receiving possession when facing the opposite direction.
This impressive mobility of the 24-year-old attacker is another one of his key attributes. On this particular occasion, Kadewere’s quick bit of movement and resulting shot lead to the Zimbabwe international scoring a goal.
Kadewere wouldn’t have scored this particular goal if not for a combination of his impressive first touch and ball control, in addition to his mobility and his ability to effectively turn on a dime to get a quick, yet powerful shot off under pressure from an opposition defence who appear to be struggling to conjure up a way to deal with the dangerous attacker in this passage of play.
Conclusion
To conclude this tactical analysis piece, in the form of a scout report, it may be fair to say that Kadewere has exhibited a lot of technical prowess in Ligue 2 this season which has helped him to stand out above other players.
Kadewere’s impressive hold-up play and dribbling ability have helped him to forge chances both for himself and his teammates this season, while the Zimbabwe international’s active movement around all areas of the final third of the pitch has allowed him to influence the game in a variety of different ways during a given fixture.
Lastly, in addition to his impressive contributions to his team’s build-up play, Kadewere has proven himself as a proficient finisher this season. The 24-year-old forward has shown himself to be capable of thriving when put under pressure by a group of opposition players. His impressive ability to turn on a dime to get a quick shot off has been both impressive and successful at times for Le Havre this season. Kadewere has proven to be a difficult player for opposition Ligue 2 defences to cope with this season.
Comments