With a touch of gold and a master’s degree in the witchcraft of passing the ball, Thiago Alcantara is one of the best players of his generation to play for Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich has been one of the most successful European teams in the last decade. Similar to the Marvel universe, Bayern had numerous heroes in this success story. Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, and David Alaba are namely a few players who played a crucial role.
Among this lot is a player who deserves a spotlight of his own. Procured from FC Barcelona in 2013, Thiago Alcantara has certainly created a special position for himself in the Rekordmeister’s squad.
Thiago started his football career from the lower ranks at Flamengo before joining Barcelona in 2005. His technique and leadership qualities had already set him on track for excellence. After guiding Spain to U-21 Euros in 2013, Thiago clinched the player of the tournament award. The UEFA technical team gave a fitting description of Thiago’s qualities.
"“As captain of the title winners, Thiago displayed leadership qualities on and off the pitch and, throughout the tournament, was an influential figure in his team’s performance with impressive box-to-box work; exceptional ball control even in the tightest of situations; ability to dictate the tempo of play; intelligent ball-winning based on anticipation rather than tackling; and outstanding playmaking skills based on a wide variety of short and long passing. His three goals in the final represented a unique individual achievement and reward for his contributions to his team’s success.”"
After arriving with Pep Guardiola at the club in 2013, Thiago was seen as the linchpin for installing his playing style in a newfound, “tiki-taka” Bayern Munich. Guardiola made sure that Die Roten doesn’t miss out on the Spanish midfielder.
Since 2013, Thiago has established himself as one of the key players for Rekordmeister. He had his share of injury problems, but in the past few seasons, he has become the heartbeat of the team in midfield. Let us shed some light on his importance to Die Roten.
(Note: All the statistical data has been sourced from fbref.com)
Touch of Gold
Thiago is an influential figure in the midfield. He makes it easy for any team to progress the ball across the thirds. His constant movement between the lines helps him in becoming a reliable passing option.
Acting as a link-up player, Thiago makes Bayern tick. The maestro set a Bundesliga record in 2014 of 185 touches in the 5-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. He remains a master in this art. The Spaniard has maintained an average of 104 touches per 90 in the Bundesliga since the 2017-18 season.
Apart from his movement, Thiago possesses an exquisite passing technique. His average pass success rate is around 91.5% in the UEFA Champions League this season. This makes him one of the best midfielders in Europe. When playing at the base of the midfield during the build-up, Thiago makes room for himself to collect and distribute the ball. Be it a long-ball across the width of the pitch or a defense splitting through-ball, Thiago’s flair seems unparalleled.
Using his composure and dribbling skills, he expedites the attacking flow. Thiago has seen a massive improvement in his dribbling success rate. The metric was recorded at 74.3% in the 2017-18 season, which now stands at 85.9%. It falls perfectly in line with Thiago’s surge in the number of passes under pressure. Thiago has made 16.9 passes per 90 under pressure situations in the current Bundesliga campaign. This figure stood at 13.5 and 12.5 in 2018-19 and 2017-18, respectively (both per 90).
Thiago Alcantara operates like an orchestrator on the pitch. He controls the tempo of the game with his slick touch and passing maneuvers. A technically gifted midfielder who has been among the top in the Bundesliga charts.
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.)
The final verdict
The current scenario amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic has placed a significant financial burden on clubs. Bayern seems to be on the verge of sealing a deal for Leroy Sane to bolster their attack. Making amendments in the midfield segment at the moment might not be a plausible decision.
Die Roten did a good job by signing a few young players to bolster their midfield roster last year. Mickael Cuisance and Sarpreet Singh arrived with promising futures. Thiago’s presence in the squad could be vital for Bayern, both on and off the pitch.
Hansi Flick has laid a solid foundation at the base of midfield. The chemistry between Joshua Kimmich and Thiago is a major contributing factor for Die Roten’s effective ball movement on the pitch. He also seems to have found his feet in front of the goal. Thiago has netted thrice in his last eight league outings.
Under Niko Kovac, Thiago managed to net only two goals in 38 league fixtures. Cuisance and Singh can continue to operate as Thiago’s understudy in the near term. Learning the trade from one of the finest midfielders in the game will be a great learning curve for the young midfielders.
A player of Thiago’s caliber is a potent asset for any team at any time. He is going to get even better as he enters the prime years of his career. Securing his future will be a big boost to the club’s plans going forward. Moreover, the Spaniard is settled in Bavaria and wants to win more silverware including the Champions League trophy. It is a win-win situation for all parties.