Ružomberok had to start their 2019/20 Fortuna Liga campaign roughly. Losing some key players like Peter Gal-Andrezly, Dominik Kružliak, Erik Daniel, Ismar Tandir, and Zinedin Mustedanagić (returning to parent club) can be seen affecting them in a rather negative way.
Lately, Ruža managed to find their way back into the top-end of the Fortuna Liga table thanks to the brilliant performances of Dalibor Takáč and co. Surprisingly though, it seems to be the recent emergence of a young talent that seems to bring positive influence in the team in a way.
18-year-old Tomáš Bobček only got a chance to start a game and play a substantial amount of minutes for the senior side of Ružomberok in their 11th fixture where they drew 1-1 at home against league leaders Slovan Bratislava. Bobček scored the all-important goal in that game and now he looked set to cement his place in the team and potentially leapfrogging Štefan Gerec in the pecking order.
What makes the 2001-born striker very interesting is his rather unique playing style and skill set. Were going to delve deeper into it in this tactical analysis/scout report.
Physical
Bobček is 1.85m (613) tall and possesses a lean body build with not particularly developed upper and lower muscles. Hes not necessarily weak though and he seems naturally powerful as he often shows that he can hold off opponents (with smaller, similar, or slightly larger stature) and shield the ball before playing it. However, understandably, against much larger, bulkier opponents, Bobček can be overwhelmed and muscled off the ball.
The 18-year-old striker seems to be quite agile for his height and possesses very good body balance and coordination. Hes quick on the turn and hed often use this to beat defenders both when hes on and off the ball. Despite his lack of strength, his very good balance and coordination means that hes still quite difficult to move off the ball, especially when hes already into his stride.
Bobček is also a fairly quick player. Hes fairly sharp over short distance due to his quick burst of acceleration. He seems to be able to maintain a decent speed over a long distance. Bobček can often be seen making these long-distance sprints in a game, this will be explained later in this tactical analysis. The fact that theres no significant drop in his performance especially later in the game, means that this player has great endurance.
Bobček is also good at winning aerial duels. His good aerial ability, though mostly due to his physical prowess (height, vertical reach, balance) is also affected by his good positioning, timing, and anticipation. Bobček is not only able to win aerial duels, but also able to direct the ball well with his head. Hes also very active in engaging in aerial duels. Statistically, Bobček averages around seven aerial duels per game, winning around 36% of them.
On the ball skills
Bobčeks touch and control of the ball, as well as dribbling skills, are undoubtedly impressive. At times, he even seems like Bayern Munichs Robert Lewandowski, just shrugging off defenders and driving into the box by himself.
The picture above is an example. Bobček drove past two defenders before delivering a crucial assist with his pass from the half-space inside the box. Sometimes, his team are just unable to pass their way into the box to create chances and his dribbling ability can prove to be quite beneficial.
Statistically, Bobček averages around 3.7 dribbling attempts per game with a pretty decent success rate of 45%.
With him being played mainly in a supporting role in a two-striker partnership, passin
