Fans of youth football will be excited to tune in for the 2023/24 UEFA Youth League Final this afternoon, as AC Milan face Olympiacos in Nyon.
Even if you’re not an ardent follower of youth football, however, perhaps this final will be a reason to get invested in a game as some of Europe’s finest young players take to the field to test themselves against one another for glory in this prestigious competition.
Before kick-off, we want to provide some insight into what can be expected from the game in the form of a scouting report highlighting four players who’ve been incredibly impactful for their respective teams throughout the competition and why we believe they’re ones to keep a very close eye on and be familiar with during this evening’s contest.
Therefore, this tactical analysis will provide some analysis of two AC Milan prospects and two of Olympiacos’ budding stars and explain why, via video and data analysis, they are undoubtedly developing players to watch closely in the final and beyond!
Jan-Carlo Simić
First up is AC Milan’s Jan-Carlo Simić.
Although he shares a football club and, indeed, has an extremely similar name to Dario Šimić, there’s no relation!
Jan-Carlo Simić is an 18-year-old centre-back standing at 186cm/6’1” and weighing 75kg/165lbs — despite his young age and the fact there’s obviously some potential for further physical development, we’d class this as a strength in his game right now and a significant reason why he’s been able to accrue some minutes of Serie A football this term for Milan’s senior squad — even scoring a header from a set-piece on his Italian top-flight debut back in December versus AC Monza.
Born in Germany, he has currently declared for the Serbian national team, for whom he’s played up to the U19 level.
Above, we see the centre-back’s defensive territory for the 2023/24 UEFA Youth League campaign.
Although there are some defensive actions occurring in higher areas, we also see plenty, including all interceptions, occurring deeper, which is typical of Simić’s game — he’s a patient, methodical defender who doesn’t like to rush in and overcommit instead relying on his ability to read the game and conserving his physical energy for the right moments to burst into action.
