Barcelona are currently in crisis mode. Everything around the club, from the coach and the quality of the squad, seems to be collapsing. The La Liga giants are stumbling and it might take a gigantic effort to get them back to the top, challenging rivals like Real Madrid once more.
However, in their moments of despair, as is the tradition at the club, the youth might provide an answer. Barcelona’s woes in the backline have been apparent for some time and unable to find or simply acquire suitable reinforcements in the market could encourage them to look within.
This tactical analysis will provide you with a scout report on Mika Marmol, a LaMasia centre-back who could grow into a player Barcelona’s first-team might need. The analysis will address his suitability to the club’s tactics as well as his strengths and weaknesses.
Player profile
Standing at 5ft 93in (1.81m) and weighing just 70kgs, Màrmol is far from an imposing centre-back figure. But what he lacks in brute strength and physical performance, he makes up in technical ability, positional awareness and work-rate. The 20-year-old defender is a versatile and above all, reliable option in the backline as he has played 100% of the available minutes in 2021/22, starting and finishing all six of Barcelona B’s games.
Below, we can see his player profile, as shown through the data for last season when he played a total of 2060 minutes across 26 games.
Màrmol is a true LaMasia graduate as his on-the-ball ability suggests. The data confirms what the eye-test had already concluded – the centre-back is a proficient progressor with confidence and skill in possession. Màrmol can run with the ball and even break lines with passes that find their targets in favourable positions.
Defensively, he is not the most powerful but he reads the game well, aggressively stepping out of his position to nullify opposition attacks. Màrmol lacks pure strength but is quick and agile for a centre-back, which can be used to his advantage. Similarly, he’s able to at play left-back and provide width and acceleration followed by accurate crosses too.
