Mateo Retegui: Why the unconventional Italian striker is destined to swap Argentina for Europe this summer – scout report

In his fourth season as a loaned player by Boca Juniors, the 24-year-old Italian-Argentine Mateo Retegui is finally getting the credit and status he deserves, especially by clubs in the Serie A, like AC Milan, Inter and Fiorentina who intend to sign him in a summer move.

In fact, such relevance came not only from Mateos outstanding stats in the last years Superliga Argentina where he was the top goalscorer with 19 goals, but also due to his consistency which allowed him to stand out again by scoring 11 times this season in just 21 games with struggling side Tigre.

Besides that, Reteguis interest also started to emerge after his goals against Malta and England in his first callup with the Italian national team. Even though he is still playing in a less competitive reality than the other options who perform in top European sides, Roberto Mancini made a clever move by calling Mateo Retegui up to the Azzurri.

As we are going to develop further in this tactical analysis, Retegui is a physically strong striker who can easily adapt to a more challenging scenario due to his strong mental attributes.

In this scout report, we will take a look at Mateo Retegui role in Tigre and Italys tactics as well as the relationship between his main attributes and his tactical routines as a striker, while finally looking at the principal details that make him a natural goalscorer.

Reteguis playing style

Before analysing Reteguis style of play, lets have a look at his teams offensive tactical plan: the 4-4-2 diamond. Yet, this model is flexible as, in some cases, the second striker and the left-centre midfielder join Retegui as wingers, turning the formation into a 4-3-3. With flexible positioning concerning the side that he decides to play, Retegui predominantly plays on the left side.

Tigre normally give the flank to the fullback. However, the midfielders can also occupy that spot, especially in more advanced zones of the pitch.

Through his style of play, the Italian makes his physique an advantage to his game where he is the Tigres main reference not only inside the box but also when the centre-backs seek him during a more direct play. In fact, as we can see in the above radar, Mateo is a plus in his sides aerial game where he ranks in the 84th percentile (%) in won aerial duels.

Such advantage has to be because of his height which is about 1.86 meters, and also due to his jump impulsion. Besides that, his strength also allows him to be a tough opponent to beat during such duels, in a very demanding league from a physical point of view.

Hes not a very explosive player, yet he can reach a rap