This season saw a lot of changes in the Atletico Madrid squad. Besides the departure of key players Antoine Griezmann and Rodri, three of the everpresent defenders in the Diego Simeone era bid farewell to the club. Replacing the legendary Diego Godin is by no means a simple task. This season, two new centre-backs have been signed: Mario Hermoso from Espanyol, and Felipe Monteiro from Porto. Both were solid last season for their respected clubs, and are expected to perform.
In this scout report, we will use tactical analysis to detail the key attributes of Felipe Monteiro, and how he will fit into Simeone’s system.
Background
Felipe started his professional career rather late, at the age of 20. He spent two seasons at Uniao Mogi and four years with a complex mix of spells at Bragantino, Coimbra MG and Corinthians. He then spent the last three seasons at Porto. On July 1st, 2019, his 20-million-Euro transfer to Atletico Madrid was completed.
Simeone’s use of centre-backs
Atleti’s defence was at its most chaotic last season. According to Statsbomb, Lucas Hernandez missed 26 games due to injury, Jose Gimenez missed 19, Stefan Savic missed 18, Filipe Luis missed 13, Diego Godin missed 10, and Juanfran missed 9. Injuries forced Simeone to improvise. He used a total of eight centre-backs throughout the season, including central midfielders Saul Niguez, Thomas Partey and Toni Moya. Atletico’s elite defensive system helped them hold things together, but centre-back is certainly a department they needed to improve on.
What does Simeone require of his centre-backs?
In the past, Simeone preferred defenders with outstanding defensive abilities, those who could consistently perform under pressure for the whole 90 minutes, and would do whatever they could to stop the ball from going into the net. These defenders are meant for low-block defending, meaning they often launch long balls forwards instead of using short-build up, they are strong and good with headers. They excel in intercepting passes due to their excellent positioning and reading of the game. Last but not least, they are great at tackling and ball-blocking.
Those have always been the attributes required of Simeone’s centre-backs. However, he has signed two capable passers in Felipe and Hermoso. This indicates Atletico will now look to control more of the ball, and centre-backs with excellent passing skills are an important part of this new tactics.
Style of play
As concluded by Whoscored, Felipe is a notable threat from indirect set-pieces, meaning he is a dangerous target for crosses. Last season, he scored four goals. In the following example, he scored from a corner with a powerful header.
Looking at his strengths, we see that he is indeed a very strong header of the ball. He’s a reliable passer and rarely makes serious errors. These qualities are definitely what Simeone requires of a centre-back. Felipe’s passing ability will be a good complement for Simeone’s new style, one geared towards more possession and passing. Since the 2014/15 season, their attacking play has always been sluggish, and a capable passer from deep can provide the team with another option.
