This is post four of a wider series. A series for FM22.
“This is not a statistical anomaly.”
In-game date: 8 November 2022
A double-double
A tearful Fernando Teixidó held the Campeonato AFP PlanVital trophy aloft at a packed Monumental David Arellano. The Colo-Colo manager had just orchestrated a 3-1 win over Audax Italiano to win a second consecutive domestic league title here in Chile. On the day, a Javier Parraguez double fittingly put to the sword the club who prevented his side from retaining the Copa Chile earlier in the year. That was a valiant third round cup exit at the hands of a tense penalty shootout at the end of an incredible 3-3 aggregate draw.
The Peruvian’s commanding side from last season continued their league dominance in 2022. The combination of cute recruitment and an insatiable hunger for scoring goals meant Teixidó’s trophy haul has risen to four in just two years.
Unfortunately there was to be no repeat of last season’s invincible league campaign, but with only two defeats in 30 games and a goal difference of +60, the 19 point deficit between Colo-Colo (76 points) and second place Huachipato (57 points) felt just about earned. Historic rivals Universidad Católica finished in fifth on 45 points, their lowest placed finish in six years. Universidad de Chile fared even worse, finishing the campaign in ninth on 42 points, missing out on continental qualification entirely. Curiously, both Universidad sides replaced their respective underperforming managers on the same date, the 23rd of May 2022. Both sides swapping their men in the dugout with older, more experienced heads in the shape of Gustavo Costas and Luis Musrri. An interesting parallel.
Teixidó’s side also picked up the Chilean Súper Copa after a penalty victory over Universidad Católica. The one-off match ended 0-0 in regulation time and was admittedly a bit of a bore draw for the 19,000 in attendance.
Despite Colo-Colo impressively topping the Copa Libertadores Group D ahead of Brazilian powerhouses Palmeiras, a Second Round defeat at the hands of Sporting Cristal took place a week or so later. Another penalty exit after a hard fought 3-3 aggregate draw, just like in the Copa Chile.
This represents South American continental progress for Fernando Teixidó, but he has made no secret of wishing to one day lift the famous trophy.
The dúo brasileño, Erick and Matheus dos Anjos, proved hugely valuable additions this season. Erick was metronomic; his 90% pass completion rate and over 78 passes completed per 90 minutes ensured Colo-Colo’s midfield tempo was comfortably dictated. dos Anjos scored 17 goals and notched 13 assist in 40 matches in all competitions. A truly penetrative threat in midfield.
Huge credit has to go to star man Juan Martín Lucero again this year. 35 goals in 39 games means his overall total in his two seasons in Chile is now 67 strikes in 77 matches in all competitions. Incredible. El Gato is in the form of his life.
The numbers game
Albert Einstein famously said “Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.“ There are many intangible qualities in footballer’s performances, but today we are going to highlight some numbers related to Teixidó’s players in his successful second season in Chile, and see what insight we can draw from them.
Centre-back Emiliano Amor undoubtedly had an incredible year. Brilliant defensive performances, including squad-high numbers for headers won and clearances per 90, coupled with assured ball distribution with a 98% pass success rate and 65 passes per 90 minutes. This meant that the Argentinian was the picture of composure at the back, a solid base to build from.
While the prolific El Gato grabbed the headlines at the other end, 32-year old Javier Parraguez, Lucero’s strike partner, absolutely warrants a mention. Parraguez often got into fruitful positions, achieving a non-penalty xG of 0.57 per 90, actually marginally higher than Lucero. While his goals scored per 90 were 0.78 and not the Argentinian’s 0.95, this can certainly be forgiven as Parraguez adopts a more selfless role as a forward. This is evidenced with his 91% tackle success rate. The former Huachipato hitman was the only attacker in Chilean football with industrious defensive results anywhere near as impressive as that this year. While naturally forwards tackle less often than their defensive teammates, this is not a statistical anomaly due to a small sample size, Parraguez’s completed tackles per 90 figure was approximately double the rate of Lucero’s. And every other striker in the Chilean top tier, for that matter. Tireless.
Recruitment
Motivation in footballers is a tricky component to quantify and illustrate. That said, sometimes a large signal of ambition from a club’s leadership can excite the fans, in turn motivating the players to find that extra gear.
On the 20th of August 2022, exactly this happened at Colo-Colo when the Chilean club announced the signing of a player from Italian giants Juventus. Granted, it was only a loan deal, but Ignacio Saveedra is a 23-year old Chile international with 11 Serie A appearances under his belt, and there is the option to buy. It’s a massive signal of intent.
Excluded from the squad statistics from earlier in the post as he only joined in the final furlong of the league campaign, his nine appearances showed Nacho to be an assured and mature, defensively solid midfielder. Equally capable of driving from deep from his preferred Half-back position as he is at bravely flying into crunching tackles.
Will or could Teixidó bring Saavedra to Colo-Colo permanently? It would be a magnificent capture.
Teixidó’s other August signing this season was his countryman, Marcos Lliuya, a $25k deal from Sport Huancayo. A classically languid yet elegant playmaker, it remains to be seen if he can contribute in a meaningful way in a Colo-Colo shirt, or if his casual approach will undermine his obvious technical ability.
Count your age by friends, not years
Inspired by a February 2021 article in The Athletic written by Tom Worville, now of RB Leipzig Data Scientist fame, I like to consider the ‘peak’ ages for various positions on the field based on existing data analysis, and apply the comparisons when planning my squad-building strategy.
In short, Colo-Colo’s current squad is exactly where it should be overall in terms of using players in what should be their prime years for their position. When broken down into each role on the pitch in Teixidó’s current 4-3-3 La Palanca system, an additional young talent at number 10 behind the strikers wouldn’t go amiss. The defensive half of the squad are just coming into their optimal years, while the offensive side is ever so slightly leaning on the ‘experienced’ half of the calculations.
Therefore the long-term suggestion would be to focus on recruiting promising young attacking midfielders and strikers, so the baton can be naturally passed on, when the time is right.
That said, remember that the rules in Chile not only state that players aged under 21 must play in at least 70% of the available league minutes in any domestic season (30×90 minutes), but also that only a maximum of five foreign players may be registered. This has to be a key tenet of any recruitment philosophy at this level in this country.
Currently in Colo-Colo’s squad there are six foreign players, so one of either diminutive Uruguayan centre-back Maximiliano Falcón or new Peruvian playmaker Marcos Lliuya may need to move on, come registration day at the start of next season.
Recruitment (2)
Fernando Teixidó is never one to drag his heels when it comes to transfer policy, and he has already moved quickly to proactively secure the signatures of five Chilean talents to bolster his squad ahead of the 2023 season.
For a combined outlay of $1.5million, there is a mixture of proven quality and raw potential among the soon-to-be new additions. Marco Collao has torn up the second tier in Chile this season with an assist every other game, while Thomas Galdames statistically made more defensive clearances than any other player in the top division in 2022. Andrés Vilches has scored 30 top flight goals over the past two campaigns, and his capture gives credence to the old adage of signing a player ‘to strengthen your own side while weakening a rival.’ Vilches has also previously played for Colo-Colo, but returns a much better and well-rounded frontman than when he left in 2019.
End of season two review
The future
Which five foreign players will make the cut come registration day? Will the Juventus starlet Nacho Saavedra come home to Chile permanently after his short yet impressive loan stint? Will promising full-back turned capable centre-back Jeyson Rojas be the subject of more bids from big European clubs like Porto and Benfica? Will Fernando Teixidó ever get his hands on the Copa Libertadores trophy he so craves?
Time will tell.
Thanks for reading.
FM Stag