Following the recent analysis made by me where I look at the data from the new signings in the Bundesliga as well as the one where we took a look at all the teenagers that will feature this year in the Bundesliga, new and already known faces entered the curiosity and expectation radar due to their statistical profile and output. One of the players that stood out in said analysis is the young German striker Ragnar Ache, his statistical output in the offensive side is quite impressive and claims an analysis of his style of play and typical actions in order to truly understand what he is all about.
In this scout report we are going to make a tactical analysis of Ragnar Ache’s behavior in different phases of the game, mixing some of his data in the middle of that will hopefully result in a comprehensive report that highlights the most important aspects of his style of play as well as strengths and weaknesses he might have.
Player profile
Ragnar Ache is a right-footed 22 year-old German striker who signed for Frankfurt from Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam. Ache spent pretty much all of his academy football days in the Rotterdam side and made the leap to the first-team in the 2017/2018 season. A very mobile player, possibly due to his good physicality and speed, Ache presents some very interesting attributes especially for the type of football played in the Bundesliga.
The heat map below shows the areas of the pitch where Ache has the most actions, therefore, the areas of the pitch where he operates and is involved the most.
This map clearly shows the mobility that Ragnar Ache has in his game, in fact, Ache can also play as a winger in a front three for example. Even when playing as a striker, and more often when playing as a part of a front two, Ache is seen drifting wide to find space to receive the ball and provide passing lanes to his teammates. Besides being a fast player, Ache also has a big physical presence that he knows how to utilize in his favor very well and that adds another variable to his game that makes him a more versatile player able to adapt to different roles and tactics if needed.
Off the ball : finding and creating space
When his team has the ball Ragnar Ache is a very lively player in the search for space to receive the ball and help the team progress the ball up the pitch, how does he do that ? Or what spaces does he usually look for? Well, as a relatively big player at 1.82m but with a strong physical presence the first way in which Ache is able to find space to receive the ball up the pitch and be a progressive passing option for his team is acting as a target man. Ache knows how to utilize his body well to gain space but also to protect the ball from his opponents making him capable of receiving the ball from the air or through the ground, hold off his opponent, and lay the ball back to a teammate in a more advanced area of the pitch. Ache really benefits from his physicality, in fact, this is not the only way in which it helps him and the young German seems to be aware of that and tries to take full advantage of his characteristics.
