Why Thiago is the heartbeat of Bayern Munich midfield?

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MUNICH, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 09: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Thiago of FC Bayern Muenchen looks on during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and RB Leipzig at Allianz Arena on February 9, 2020 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Roland Krivec/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) /

Peer-to-Peer Analysis

The football world constitutes a variety of roles in the midfield. Pivot, regista, and a holding midfielder are some of the common football lingos dedicated to a player who sits at the base of the midfield.
Some are robust tacklers, some display a silky touch, and few possess the intelligence to read the game ahead of their opponents’ move. There is a bunch of midfielders who can operate as an engine for their team. They constantly cover every blade of the grass in a box-to-box role. Then, comes the attacking midfielders or as some might call them the number ten of the team. The role of a number ten is to play behind the striker and influence the final third with goals and assists.

Thiago Alcantara can fit in like a glove in all the midfield roles. He has been deployed in different positions throughout his career at Bayern. The Spaniard originally played in a holding midfielder at Barcelona and Guardiola’s Bayern side. He was used as a number ten by Carlo Ancelotti. Even after the Italian’s sacking, Thiago continued to appear in the attacking zone under Jupp Heynckes.

In the 2017-18 season, Thiago made an average of 2.1 key passes per 90. This figure has dipped to 1.2 in the current campaign due to a change in his role. Nonetheless, the 29-year old remains well above the mean value of 0.9 in 2019-20. His finishing finesse makes him the second-best midfielder this season. Thiago has clocked a non-penalty xG per shot of 0.12. This places him above attacking players such as Davy Klaassen, Jean-Paul Boetius, and Maximilian Arnold.

The Spaniard’s ball distribution and passing network help him in dominating the midfield. The pass master has a passing success rate of 89.7 percent, second best to Axel Witsel, who has a success rate of 94.1 percent. However, Thiago has made 4.6 switches per 90. To put this in perspective, the median and mean value for this metric stands at 1.1 and 1.4, respectively. Changing the direction of the play to the weak side from an overloaded side with pinpoint accuracy is a cakewalk for Thiago.

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Moreover, his reach in the final third is outstanding. The Spanish maestro boasts a metric of making 9.6 passes to the final third. This is more than twice the score recorded by his competitors like Konrad Laimer and Klaus Gjasula.

Even out of possession, Thiago displays resolute work ethics. His exceptional reading of the game has allowed him to make 2.4 interceptions per 90. FC Augsburg’s Daniel Baier and FC Cologne’s Ellyes Skhiri are the only two players running ahead in the charts. Along with a high interception rate, Thiago’s recovery of the ball is top-notch. He has made 15.6 recoveries per 90 this season. With a mean value of 11.8 among the Bundesliga midfielders, only Robert Andrich finds himself within an arm’s reach with 15 recoveries. Bayern’s number six is the key to initiating offensive transitions. Turning defense into attack within split seconds is business as usual for Thiago.

(Note: For this analysis, the players have been used who operate as pure midfielders and have played full 90 minutes at least 70% of the time during the current Bundesliga campaign.)