Daniel Ruíz at Millonarios 2022 – scout report

Colombia has enjoyed some technically-gifted players throughout their history. Carlos Valderrama, James Rodríguez, Juan Fernando Quintero, Radamel Falcao and more recently, Luis Fernando Díaz, to take these examples. We all know the South-American football playing style, that street and skilly fútbol that has been disappearing through the years.

Millonarios FC is enjoying one of the most promising and technical young players of the league. At only 21 years old, Daniel Ruíz arrived at the Ambassadors in 2020 from Fortaleza, a second-tier club, where he made his first appearance as a professional footballer, and ended his final season with 8 assists in the league before catching the eye of Millonarios, one of the best football teams in Colombia.

This tactical analysis in the form of a scout report piece. will take an in-depth look at Daniel Ruizs playing style and how he fits in Alberto Gameros tactics.

Player Profile

Born in 2001, Daniel Ruíz usually plays as a left-winger. Being a natural left-footer is strange to see in modern football, but hes really one of a kind. He’s played over 5,000 minutes in the first division of Colombia with Millonarios. It wasnt easy for him to get into the first team, but he was so impressive in those few minutes that the decision was a no-brainer.

Team context

Former Colombian player, Alberto Gamero, likes his team to be intense and press very high on the pitch, applying a defensive mentality in each one of his players, from his strikers to the goalkeeper. With the ball, his team looks to progress calmly and on the inside. They play a 4-4-2 with a traditional winger on the right, and an inside-winger on the left. The midfielders and defenders are so technically-gifted players that make it easy for their teammates to find the ball and create opportunities, because of their great vertical passes, or turns.

Theyre based on a positional play style that looks to create numerical superiorities all over the place, but usually on the left side. Their off-the-ball movements are one of the keys to success. Strikers move into the wing, wingers into the middle, full-backs exchange half-spaces and wide areas frequently or midfielders arrive at the penalty box from behind. Millonarios sit in the first position of the league with five victories and three draws in eight games; Scoring 12 goals and only conceding four, they’re the second-highest goalscorers in the tournament, and also the one who concedes the least.

Positioning

Ruíz on paper sets on the pitch on the left flank. He has the liberty and capacity to exchange positions frequently during the game. You can see him receiving the ball very close to the throw-in line, or playing as an attacking midfielder, releasing all the wide area to his full-back to attack.

Hes also very proactive when dropping to the first line of the build-up phase of the team, and it helps them to progress with his quality to carry the ball, or find teammates between the lines.

Also, Gamero likes to make a side-change for their winge