What is Art? For me Art isn't the presentation of a beautiful thing, but rather a beautiful presentation of a thing, just about anything. It’s propaganda for what really matters. Football is art. It keeps us hopeful, makes us feel less lonely, and helps us to appreciate from the mundane to the glamours. Art is a universal language and Marco Verrati has the biggest vocabulary in todays game.
Verrati is everything in one, a controller, a playmaker, a progressive passer, a disruptor, he’s influential in all 3 phases through his unique skillset and (most importantly) his build. He stands at a meager 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) and it comes at a massive advantage to his position. A research column by Brad Oremland in 2011 titled Does Size Matter For Running Backs? found that shorter running backs were more successful. Not only do smaller RBs gain more yards overall and per carry, but they gain more first downs and score more TDs. Shorter players fumble less often than tall players, and lighter-weight RBs fumble less often than heavier RBs. Being shorter puts less stress on the joints for shorter players, the lower center of gravity helps with short area quickness, it also helps with how they manipulate the ball at their feet. He attempts 9.37 progressive carries per 90 only behind Bernardo Silva across Europe’s top 5 leagues. He shields the ball and rides challenges with every ounce of his being making sure ball retention is his top priority. Its as if he’s better with less space and time on the ball. Whether its making a Cruyff turn inside his own 18 yard box, making 2,3,4 sharp turns while carrying at full speed or how Pep Guardiola puts it “[Having the] calmness to take an extra touch and in a moment create..” it puts into perspective just how hard it is to put him under pressure and dispossess him.
There isn’t a pass he can’t make. His long switch of plays allow his receiver to not break stride, his 25 meter dink over the top comes down in time, his through passes are weighted to perfection never putting his teammates in danger of being closed down too quickly. His sense of tempo is unparalleled, with the highest amount of touches per 90 (99.82) the whole game goes through him. He not only attempts the most passes out of anyone in Europe but he boasts an astonishing 92.4% completion percentage for his passes. He’s not a midfielder who makes line breaking passes just for the sake of it, he waits to drag out the player in front of him, dribbling towards them and then BAM! Your backline is being run at by the likes of Neymar and Messi. When you single him out during a match you’ll noticed he’s playing at his own pace, speeding up play or slowing it down as he pleases, it feels almost unfair to have such a player in midfield.
A midfielder is only as good as the duels they win. When you take a look at Verrati’s defensive numbers you’d think he was a defensive midfielder. 23.86 pressures per 90 reflects his incredible work rate, 3.21 tackles per 90 puts him in the 90th percentile for Europe’s midfielders, but what’s most surprising is he blocks shots with his small frame, 1.88 per 90 is what you’d expect from a CB. He wins back the ball in a very technical way, he pounces like a wild cat on looses touches, he gets himself in the middle of battles and comes out on top like it was a rugby pile. Best way I visualize it is how Scottie Pippen describes his anticipation for rebounds, he just has that level of anticipation and timing that makes the difference in every duel. He goes to ground a lot (not advised for most midfielders) stylishly as he cleanly strips players of the ball. In front of goal he makes due with his frame by not turning his back to a shot which is why he comes out with a good number of blocked shots. He hounds the man in possession just as much as a Kante or a Konrad laimer would making sure there’s never time on the ball around him. He’s truly as a good as it gets against the ball.
My call to action for my readers is not to watch Verrati’s performance vs Liverpool in 2019, or against Real Madrid by in 2022 its the Champions League match on April 21th 2015 against Barcelona. He was every adjective in the dictionary, holding his own against Iniesta, Busquets and Messi hitting all sorts of passes while shrugging off every challenge left and right. He was winning every tackles he made to keep his side in the game. After 30 minutes he had Barcelona’s press drop off simply because they understood it was futile to keep going at him. He was the best player on that pitch that night had Neymar not stolen the show so early on. 7 years on and he continues to replicate that performance whenever he steps out on the pitch for PSG or Italy. In world football I am of the opinion that there is only one complete midfielder and it is Marco Verrati.
Sad that he still plays for PSG, thanks for this piece HP.
Nice