The next Maya Yoshida: Finding the best centre-backs in Asia

In the first section of a data analysis series looking at the best players in Asia, well focus on centre-backs.

The leagues selected for this analysis are the following: Qatar Stars League, United Arab Emirates Pro League, Saudi Professional League, Japanese J1 League, South Korean K League and Chinese Super League. The Iranian Gulf Pro League would have been an interesting one to include but it lacks complete data on Wyscout and others like the Indian and Australian leagues missed out as their level is considered slightly lower. We have considered players whose main position was centre-back and who played at least 900 minutes in the aforementioned leagues in the last calendar year so the statistics are significant and representative.

The players marked with a star instead of a dot are those who made the final shortlist. We provide this information beforehand so readers can see how they performed and why they were selected as they read the data analysis.

Positioning and general defending

First and as an introduction, we’ll look at two very general defensive metrics. In the x-axis, we have successful defensive actions per 90, defined as the sum of defensive duels won, interceptions and sliding tackles normalized per 90 minutes; and on the y-axis, possession-adjusted interceptions, which helps us put the rest of the stats into context regarding the teams’ playing styles. The colour of the dots is the total number of interceptions so we know in which direction they were adjusted for possession.

Boualem Khoukhi (31, Qatar) of Al Sadd SC stands out for his defensive positioning. His 7.45 interceptions per 90 playing for a possession-dominating team like Xavi’s Al Sadd become 13.45 possession-adjusted interceptions per 90, which is the best figure by far. Despite not having to defend too much in Xavi’s tactics, Khoukhi still ranks in the top quartile for successful defensive actions per 90, proving to be a good overall defender. Khoukhi was born in Algeria but moved to Qatar when he was just 18, playing first for Al Arabi (102 games, 27 goals) and from 2017 for Al Sadd (110 games, 14 goals), with whom he has won two leagues. He has 63 caps and 17 goals for Qatar and won the 2019 Asian Cup with them.

As a very busy and efficient defender, we find Ryuho Kikuchi (24, Japan) of VIssel Kobe, who’s also on our final shortlist. Kikuchi is the centre-back with the most successful defensive actions with 13.11 per 90 and is also among the best in interceptions with 6.51 per 90 (8.54 if possession-adjusted). Kikuchi started his professional career aged 22 after leaving the Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences, joining Renofa Yamaguchi to play in the J2 League. In 2020, he joined Vissel Kobe in the J1 League and has played 55 games for them so far, lots of them alongside former Arsenal centre-back Thomas Vermaelen. Kikuchi doesn’t have any experience with the national team but his data suggests he should be considered soon.