The World Cup is the perfect opportunity to watch players that may not normally be as accessible to the general public as those playing in the Premier League week in and week out.
The coveted competition is a great place for scouts to gauge the level of certain players, given that everyone is playing at the same pace in the exact same place.
Ecuador were one of the most interesting teams at the tournament in Qatar.
Gustavo Alfaro’s side were unfortunate not to reach the knockout rounds of the contest, losing by one goal to Aliou Cissé’s Senegal in a 2-1 defeat to the AFCON champions.
Nonetheless, the South Americans were impressive and were on top of their game when millions sat down to watch Ecuador comfortably defeat hosts Qatar during the opening match.
Then, in the next fixture, the team drew with the Netherlands but dominated against Louis van Gaal’s side and registered an xG of 1.37 to their opponent’s 0.04.
Ecuador were really unlucky not to make it to the knockout phase of the World Cup, but football is a cruel sport.
Nevertheless, there were some fine performers for La Tricolor.
One of these key men was Bayer Leverkusen’s centre-back Piero Hincapié, who was superb in defence and has been vital for Xabi Alonso since the former Liverpool and Real Madrid legend took over at the helm.
This tactical analysis piece will be a scout report of Piero Hincapié playing style.
It will be an analysis of how the Ecuadorian defender fits into the tactics of his club and country.
Piero Hincapié Player profile
Most full-backs are wingers converted into a wide defensive position or are centre-backs who are deemed better on the flanks.
Piero Hincapié followed an interesting path as the Ecuadorian centre-back was initially a full-back who began playing a more central role as he matured.
This season, Hincapié has been used as a left-sided central defender in a two-man partnership but has also featured numerous times as a wide centre-back in a back three.
For this reason, the 20-year-old’s heatmap at club level shows a lot of action in the opposition’s half of the pitch and on the flanks.
At 6’0” and 167lbs or 76kg, Hincapié isn’t the most physically imposing centre-back.
The defender is quite lean and has now finished growing fully at 20.
However, nothing is stopping the Ecuador international from building his muscles at a gym, and so this is not necessarily a worry.
For Ecuador, Hincapié played on the left of a two against Qatar and Senegal but shifted into a wide centre-back role against the Netherlands when Alfaro changed the team’s formation to a 3-4-2-1 to match their opponents.
For his national side, it is noticeable that the former Independiente del Valle defender plays a more limited role than at Bayer Leverkusen.
Nonetheless, Hincapié has been vital for both his club and country in terms of his ability to progress the ball out from the back but also be a rock in defence at times.
Let’s dive into this further, shall we?
Defending his territory
Piero Hincapié style of play is quite quick and so can get up and down the pitch at a speed where playing a high line isn’t too much of a risk.
For instance, at Manchester United, skipper Harry Maguire struggled when Ralf Rangnick deployed a high line last season, and under Erik ten Hag, as the current boss, also uses a high line.
The England defender isn’t fast.
It’s not his fault that he struggles when positioned around the halfway line, but it leaves the team exposed to balls in behind, hence why ten Hag dropped the £80 million man from the starting lineup.
Hincapié doesn’t have this problem as he is rapid and fast enough to get back in time in case the ball is played to a runner over the top.
Here, the Eintracht Frankfurt centre-forward got on the wrong side of Hincapié, causing the centre-back to panic.
Nonetheless, the 20-year-old managed to keep up with the striker and make a heroic sliding tackle to clear the danger before he could shoot.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s frontman Randal Kolo Muani is rapid himself, which makes it even more impressive that Hincapié caught up with him to prevent the World Cup finalist from scoring.
Not only can Hincapié cover the depth of the pitch really well due to his speed, but the defender is also excellent at defending the wide areas.
This is evident from the Ecuadorian’s defensive territory map:
There are a large number of interceptions and defensive actions which take place on the left side of the pitch, and Hincapié’s average territory spans from his own box to a few yards inside the opposition’s half.
This proves that the ex-Talleres man is comfortable defending in high as well as low areas of the pitch.
Hincapié commits quite a lot of fouls too and can often be rash with his challenges, which are certainly some things that need to be ironed out of his game.
Although at just 20, there’s no doubt that he can improve in these areas.
When you read that Sergio Ramos is one of his footballing idols, this makes a little more sense.
Hincapié’s strong ability to defend the wide spaces comes naturally from his experience of playing as a full-back and even as a wide centre-back in a three-man defensive line.
Being comfortable defending on the flanks is one of the most underrated qualities for a centre-back to have in the modern game, especially in an age where full-backs play so high up the pitch, and sometimes even on the inside channels.
As the ball was played in behind Ecuador’s left-back, Hincapié was the nearest centre-back to the attacker and so had to push across to defend on the flank.
Hincapié got across in plenty of time due to his speed and was able to nick the ball back, denying the Senegalese wide player the chance to cross the ball into the penalty area to finish the game off.
Earlier in this section, we touched on how Hincapié is excellent in a high line, as he has an immense recovery pace to cover the depth of the pitch.
However, the Bayer Leverkusen man is also a useful tool when his club and country are in the opposition’s half, as he is perfect during rest defence for counterpressing effectively to recoup the ball straight away.
Hincapié has registered 25 counterpressing recoveries in all competitions this season, which is quite impressive for a central defender.
Reading of the game and aggression
Hincapié is a very aggressive centre-back.
He likes to get tight to his man and jump from behind, letting them know that he’s there.
This sometimes plays into the fact that the defender commits so many fouls, but when applied correctly and with experience, this will be a really good attribute for the centre-back to have.
It also helps his midfielders too.
This is because, if the ball is played between the lines and the midfielders can’t reach the attacking player, Hincapié is there to step out from the back and prevent the ball receiver from turning and facing goalward.
This is a perfect example of Hincapié getting tight to his man.
Perhaps a little too tight, although he successfully managed to shepherd the ball away once it reached the Atletico Madrid forward’s feet and so it was excellent defensive play by the centre-back.
Hincapié is not just aggressive when the ball is on the deck, though.
The Bayer 04 star is really aggressive in his aerial duels.
Again, maybe a little too aggressive — but he needs to be because he is not the most physically imposing centre-back and can be taken advantage of quite easily if an attacker gets a run on him from a high ball.
Hincapié adopts a strategy used by many central defenders who are not the strongest in the air in order to win a lot of aerial duels.
Look at Lisandro Martinez.
The Argentine centre-back uses his body extremely well to leap above opponents despite being merely 5’9”.
Often, this involves using the opposition player’s body as leverage to hoist themselves upwards.
Hincapié follows this strategy.
For instance, here, Hincapié is all arms and elbows as he leaps above the Senegalese forward and comes out on top in the aerial battle.
But what happens if Hincapié can’t get tight to the player he is marking? Essentially, the centre-back struggles.
If the Ecuadorian isn’t tight to his man then it can be relatively easy to get a run on him to beat him in the air.
In this image, Kalidou Koulibaly has managed to get above Hincapié, who is flat-footed and not tight enough to the Chelsea defender.
It’s simple for Koulibaly to win his header.
Hincapié absolutely cannot compete with taller players from a standing jum,p which is certainly a weakness.
Nonetheless, the 20-year-old’s reading of the game is sensational.
He has superb positional intelligence and has a nice blend of being aware of his surroundings while also being able to keep his eye on the ball to understand its next destination.
The following two images portray this impeccably well:
Piero Hincapié is tracking the run of the opposition’s forward and so has begun to sprint towards his own goal.
However, he keeps his eye on the ball simultaneously to intercept the pass once it leaves the ball player’s foot.
Once the pass is made from the opponent’s midfielder, Hincapié turns fully around, with his back facing the runner, and wins the ball expertly.
There’s an old saying in football that you don’t need to be quick if you read the game well.
Thankfully, Hincapié has both qualities.
Piero Hincapié Ball progression
An attribute that is becoming more and more vital in the modern game for a centre-back is their ability on the ball.
Gone are the days when a central defender’s job was to hit everything and everyone, booting the ball into the stands with the mantra ‘when in doubt, kick it out’ tattooed across their thighs, particularly at the elite level.
Coaches now demand that centre-backs be comfortable on the ball as this position often acts as the instigator of attacks, the player who breaks the opposition’s initial press and progresses the ball up the pitch.
Hincapié was certainly a key ball progressor for Ecuador at the World Cup.
Gustavo Alfaro trusted the Bundesliga defender with breaking the lines of their opponents to find attacking players in more advanced positions, which is quite telling from his pass map in Qatar.
There are a lot of forward passes on this data viz, and also many balls into the channels, showing that Hincapié was looking for runners in behind, too, if these passes were on.
The 20-year-old is a very effective passer of the ball and copes well under pressure, which is a fantastic trait.
However, there are some areas in which he can improve.
Sometimes, Hincapié tends to rush a pass, which can lead to a silly and unnecessary turnover of possession.
Here, Ecuador have comfortably established possession at the halfway line and are looking to break through Senegal’s settled defensive block.
Instead of circulating the ball around the back and with his double-pivot, which would have made sense in hindsight, Hincapié takes it upon himself to get cracking and so tries to break the Senegalese forward and midfield line.
Still, the pass is intercepted, and the AFCON champions break forward.
Again, he is only 20.
At that age, many are impatient in all walks of life.
Hincapié will learn to be more patient in possession and only make line-breaking passes when the risk is minimal.
Another area where the Bayer boy excels is with his ball-carrying.
Hincapié not only progresses play for his club and country with his passing, but he also loves to dribble forward with the ball.
As can be seen from his ball progression viz at both club and international level, Hincapié is excellent at dribbling and can pin opposition backlines deeper by simply sprinting through pressure.
This is a highly underrated skill to break through a high press, especially for a centre-back, which is quite rare, even at the highest level.
Conclusion
Hincapié has all the makings to be an excellent centre-back for a top side in the future.
He reads the game well, he’s quick, he’s a fabulous dribbler, he’s quite astute in the air and is very aggressive too.
There are downsides to his game.
The 20-year-old is rash and reckless at times, but these issues can be ironed out with experience and top-class coaching.
His performances at the World Cup for Ecuador certainly put him on the radar for many clubs who will be keeping an eye on the defender’s progress in recent years.
Don’t be surprised if you see Hincapié at one of Europe’s best clubs in a matter of a few seasons.
This kid has it all.
