Mario Hermoso Scout Report At AS Roma 2025/2026: His New Role Under Gian Piero Gasperini Tactics – Player Analysis

Mario Hermoso is a 30-year-old Spanish defender who has been performing well for AS Roma at the beginning of the season, helping Gian Piero Gasperini build a more solid defence compared to the last few seasons.

Not only that, Hermoso has been involved in both playmaking and the attacking phase, with Gasperini utilising him in various ways.

With new changes to his defensive positions and increased freedom in the attacking phase, this Mario Hermoso player analysis and scout report examines how Hermoso is being deployed at Roma in the 2025/2026 Serie A season.

Mario Hermoso Roles In Gian Piero Gasperini Tactics

Gasperini made one of his landmark tactical tweaks as soon as he started his journey at Roma by using Hermoso in a unique way that no one had before.

Mario Hermoso is known for being a left-back or a left centre-back at times, especially in back-three defences.

However, he is not accustomed to playing on the right flank.

Gasperini has made a switch in how he utilises Hermoso this season, having him play in various defensive positions after he previously only played on the left side.

This means that in less than one half of a season, Hermoso has already been used as a central centre-back or libero, as a right centre-back in a back-three defence, and as a right-back in a back-four defensive line.

What is remarkable is that Hermoso did not appear to be impacted by these positional changes and was still capable of performing well.

His defensive performances looked very convincing, as he appeared accustomed to playing as an inverted defender, while also being comfortable in defensive duels, as well as in passing, building up from the back, and supporting the attacks.

Gasperini confirmed once again that the tactical flexibility he relies on, in terms of player choices and positioning, still pays off, as this was not the first time he changed defenders from their positions and gave them more attacking roles.

Being left-footed on the right allows Mario Hermoso to be more ready to cut inside and play more centrally, while exchanging passes with midfielders and attempting one-two passes with quick penetrations in midfield or in the half-spaces near the wing.

This adds numerical superiority to Roma’s midfield and sometimes in attack, given that Hermoso also has the freedom to make forward runs into the box.

These movements, both with and without the ball, provide Roma with more solutions and allow Hermoso to be impactful not just defensively, but also through active participation in the playmaking process.

Furthermore, playing on the right allows Hermoso to be much more comfortable when dealing with cuts inside and internal penetrations from the wingers he faces.

In other words, defending using his left foot against such penetrations allows him to defend with quicker and more effective reflexes.

Gasperini tries to exploit Hermoso’s efficient defending using his stronger foot, especially when facing teams with wingers who rely a lot on cutting inside.

This change in position makes Roma’s defensive organisation more flexible and, more importantly, more unpredictable to opponents.

Roma’s opponents cannot know whether their opponent will be using an inverted defender on the right flank or play with the traditional defensive organisation, which can oblige them to remain cautious regarding their attacking plans.

That said, it will be important for Gasperini to pay attention to Hermoso’s defensive abilities when facing wingers who prefer to accelerate to the corner line and rely more on crosses rather than cutting inside.

This obliges Hermoso to use his weaker foot and find himself in complex situations.

That’s why it will be crucial for Hermoso to get used to all types of wingers when playing on the right flank, in order to train his body and mind on the necessary reflexes and to be ready for any attack.

However, given that Hermoso is an experienced player and not just an emerging defender, it will be easier for him to adapt to such tactical changes and defend from various positions.

Mario Hermoso Stats

The following pizza chart compares Mario Hermoso with other right centre-backs from Europe’s top-five leagues this season.

The data visual provides a statistical profile for Mario Hermoso at the start of the 2025/2026 season at AS Roma.

Mario Hermoso Pizza Chart 2025/2026

This analysis is based on a small sample size; however, the pizza chart effectively highlights Mario Hermoso’s defensive reliability, with a strong percentile rank in both defensive duel success and aerial duel success, as well as an above-average volume of defensive duels per 90 minutes.

Mario Hermoso Defending & Qualities As A Right Centre-Back

As a right centre-back, Mario Hermoso has demonstrated great adaptability.

He has been capable of limiting his opponents’ threats on his side, thanks to an excellent understanding of players’ intentions in terms of dribbling and passing.

Hermoso is not a defender who anticipates actions without calculations and usually prefers to wait and follow his direct opponent tightly before intercepting the ball.

He relies on his physical strength and height to win defensive duels, in addition to usually succeeding in keeping up with the wingers/strikers’ pace.

Succeeding in doing so frequently increases Hermoso’s chances of interceptions and winning defensive duels.

Mario Hermoso Defending Actions As A Right Defender

The following example highlights Mario Hermoso’s ability to adapt to Gasperini’s tactical changes.

During this action, Hermoso defends as a right centre-back and succeeds in blocking his opponent’s crossing attempt inside the box, after the latter tried to reach the corner line before crossing.

Hermoso’s patient closing down of his opponent and his ability to keep up with his run until he reaches the crossing moment confirm the Spanish defender’s reliability and efficiency during such actions.

Hermoso handles such situations with extreme caution and intelligence, knowing when to take informed defensive action.

What is even more impressive is that he succeeds in dealing well with such situations while being obliged to use his weaker foot, just like in this example.

Mario Hermoso Defensive Limitations

Despite the mentioned defensive strengths of Mario Hermoso, it will also be helpful to identify his limitations in the defensive phase, especially on the right side.

Although Hermoso can be considered a very tough defender in 1-v-1 duels, he also shows some limitations at times due to incorrect defensive decisions and predictions of opponents’ actions.

Hermoso needs to consider this for this season and for the upcoming ones as well, given that he will be facing many quick and dangerous wingers whose main objective is to dribble past Hermoso, either internally or externally, by any means.

Although Hermoso succeeds in stopping such attempts on a regular basis, the Spanish defender has shown some weaknesses in this regard, particularly in one-on-one duels.

For Gasperini and Roma, it will be essential to instruct the right wing-back and/or the right midfielder to cover for Hermoso in order to prevent conceding a lot of space to dangerous wingers.

And for Hermoso, he will have to pay more attention to the opponents’ body feints and avoid stopping completely in case the opponent pretends to cut inside, because as soon as Hermoso stops and tries to intercept the ball, the opponent can use body feints to get back to his initial interval.

A very similar situation occurred in this example, leaving Hermoso behind after he was confused due to the opponent’s quick body feint.

Mario Hermoso Attacking Addition

Mario Hermoso is being utilised as an attacking weapon by Gasperini, who has given him the freedom to advance whenever needed and participate actively in playmaking, as well as providing passing options inside the final third.

This gives Roma the chance to attack with numerical superiority and surprise opponents with an extra player coming from behind, apart from midfielders.

The advancement of Hermoso often creates space inside the box, either for Hermoso himself or for those advancing into the box, as opponents do not usually predict the forward runs of defenders towards the box, except in the case of set-pieces.

The following picture highlights the danger that Hermoso can cause to opposing defences thanks to his off-the-ball movement inside the opponent’s half.

In this case, he was the one to provide a pass to a midfielder and then made the movement without the ball towards the box to provide a passing solution and attract defenders.

However, since the play was shifted to the left side, Hermoso was able to be in a very suitable goalscoring position.

Creating numerical superiority within the box and being very active with movements, both without the ball and with passing, makes Hermoso a valuable attacking asset.

Mario Hermoso Goalscoring Traits

In addition to the mentioned abilities, Hermoso is a defender with excellent heading skills and can be very reliable during set pieces or in open play situations.

His aerial ability is excellent, and he has consistently confirmed this at the start of this season, winning 61.1% of the aerial duels on average.

This helps him in both the defensive and attacking phases.

His recent goal against Parma highlights how high he can jump to win such aerial duels, in addition to the fact that he usually knows how to direct his headers in a dangerous way.

Conclusion

Overall, Mario Hermoso’s roles at Roma are becoming more diverse and central to the team’s defensive and attacking phases.

With Gasperini utilizing him in more than one defensive position and granting him greater freedom to advance and support the attacking phase, Hermoso can finish the season as one of the most impactful players within the team.