To the surprise of no-one, Argentina’s World Cup campaign highlighted the severe lack of options in a number of positions. Fullback, midfield and particularly centre-back have all been problematic for some time as the talent pool has dried up at youth level. Therefore, a key priority for the new boss – whoever that may be – is the need to start looking at younger options if Argentina are to be competitive in Qatar in four years’ time.
With that in mind, one such option as a youthful alternative at centre-back could well be Juan Cruz Komar. The 22-year-old defender has established himself as one of the better defensive prospects in the Superliga and was a regular for the Talleres side that qualified for the Libertadores for the first time in 17 years.
Born in Rosario, Komar began his career at local club Renato Cesarini before he was snapped up by Boca Juniors in 2014. Rodolfo Arruabarrena handed the teenager a league debut later that year but only went on to make four more appearances for the Xenezies, curiously all in the Libertadores.
Deemed surplus to requirements at the Bombonera and looking for regular playing time, Komar moved to Talleres on a six-month loan while they were still in the Nacional B. The sleeping giants from Cordoba went unbeaten and returned to the Primera after 12 years in the wilderness and promptly exercised their option to buy 50% of Komar’s rights for $750k.
Since then Komar has featured regularly for La T, making over 40 top-flight appearances, as they have consolidated themselves in the Primera and even secured continental football. His name may not be regularly mentioned in conjunction with a national team call-up yet but here we analyse why he should at least be under consideration.
AERIAL ABILITY
One of Komar’s obvious abilities is his heading. Standing 6’ 2’’ tall, Komar’s height gives him an advantage over most opponents when it comes to dealing with aerial balls and last season he won 3.6 aerial duels per game on average.
Komar uses his timing and reading of the game to win these duels rather than relying on physicality or brute force to simply bully opponents. Nevertheless, he is proactive and aggressive when attacking the ball, as shown by the example below.
An area where Komar could improve his aerial game is by becoming more of a threat going forward from set pieces. His goal return is low and given his capabilities in the air, it’s something that could be worked on.
INTELLIGENCE
Komar is not your standard footballer, as shown by his interests off the pitch. A man with a clear social conscience, he has often spent time helping in local community projects and has articulately spoken about issues such as racism, the disappearance of Santiago Maldonado and social inequalities. He even spent two weeks in Palestine this summer, once again demonstrating that he is cut from a different cloth to most in his profession.
