Marcel Ruiz – Xolos’ midfield maestro
Marcel Ruiz was born in Merida, in the Mexican state of Yucatan as he moved to Queretaro at five years-old as the young midfielder would be heavily influenced by Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta. In Queretaro, he developed an understanding of the sport as he joined Queretaro’s academy which would be the first stanza of a rapid rise which saw him promoted from the U17 side to the first team to rub shoulders with the professional side before playing with the Mexican U20 side in games against Brazil and Japan. At the tender age of 17, he would be in El Tri’s World Cup Qualification squad in late 2018 after earning a starting spot with his side after just nine games.
Liga MX was in a period of change and adaptation earlier this year as the company that owned Queretaro would now own Xolos as the 20-year-old would move to Xolos as he also garnered the interest of the giants of Mexican football in Club America and Chivas Guadalajara. Marcel Ruiz came through as an attacking midfielder at Queretaro as he is now employed in a deeper-lying playmaker role where he is paired with fellow 20-year-old Luis Gamiz or Jordi Cortizo who also came through the academy at Queretaro. The youngster is a metronomic presence at the base of midfield where he has the vision and weight of pass to thread some lovely passes in between the lines without shirking his defensive responsibilities.
In a 0-0 draw against Tigres at the beginning of the season, Gamiz dropped deeper to create a three-chain with the centre-backs with Ruiz moving into the six-space as the former connected play while Ruiz also looked to move in between the lines in certain situations. In a counter-attacking situation, the 20-year-old was played through on goal but decided to cut-back instead of driving the ball through on goal and creating a shooting opportunity himself as the space was available. The young midfield duo was crucial as Xolos alternated between a 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 shape while Ruiz and Gamiz provided stability.
Ruiz’ directional first touch whether he is controlling the ball with his chest or with his feet allows him to create space for himself and set his body up for a progressive pass. The 20-year-old is thin and lanky with long black curls topping his head as the speed with which he turns out of pressure and moves the ball allow him to be pivotal in progressing play while adding some excitement to Xolos’ game. The side is coached by Argentine manager, Pablo Guede who sought to implement a more progressive style of play at the expense of defensive solidity and consistency in the club’s Liga MX form. Ruiz was pivotal to this with his press resistance and ability to move in between the lines and work combination while his distribution was daring enough for him to look to create opportunities with through balls into the box.
In a 3-0 loss against, Liga MX high-fliers, UNAM Pumas, Ruiz moved to the left flank to work combinations to evade pressure to then drive the ball into the centre and switch the ball to the weak side. The 20-year-old also showed defensive resolve in making key interceptions in the box and in midfield as Ruiz is skilled in regaining possession in the pressing phase with clean and well-timed interceptions. The youngster tends to thrive when he is facing play in the deeper areas where he has the ability to construct and orchestrate attacking moves with clever passes through the lines while also having an innate sense of when to drive the ball into the opposition half and attract pressure before releasing the ball to a teammate. In a 2-1 victory against Monterrey, he came off the bench to receive a pass in the central pockets to play a progressive pass through the lines with the outside of his right boot before moving into the right half-space to work a combination with Mauro Lainez to create a crossing opportunity.
In a 2-0 away loss against Necaxa, Ruiz continued to be impressive in moving the ball from the deeper areas with incisive progressive passes before moving in between the lines to connect play in the final third. He continued to find Brayan Angulo in between the lines with beautiful line-breaking passes as he set the Ecuadorian striker up to have a shot at goal. The 20-year-old midfield genius made his side tick by constructing passing interchanges from deep while being pivotal to the creation of opportunities as he worked a combination in the deeper areas before working a pass to Fabian Castillo as he continued his run into the box. His magnetic first touch allowed him to work quick one-touch passing interchanges in tight spaces while he prolonged moves by innately occupying open spaces to receive possession.
Xolos were so disjointed and only found real continuity in their play when Marcel Ruiz was in possession constructing play as he also made some vital tackles to regain possession and quell counter-attacks in the opposition half. The youngster was even involved in his side winning a penalty when he utilized a wonderful turn out of pressure to switch the ball to Lainez who beat his man to trigger the keeper panicking and rushing out of goal as the winger cut-back for a teammate but was brought down for a penalty. The midfielder is one of the more intelligent deep-lying players that you will see in football with his ability to dribble out of pressure while also being intuitively creative in the final third.
Away to Toluca, he was magnificent in receiving the ball in between the lines and working through balls in the final third as he crossed for a teammate before threading a reverse pass for a runner in behind. The youngster was so aware of his teammate’s movements in the final third, he could hit them in stride with passes while he also has the knowledge of when to switch the ball to the far side. In the next game at home to Pachuca, he worked combinations with 18-year-old centre-back, Victor Guzman, laying the ball off to him in wall-passes and allowing him to push forward. In the possession phase, he dropped into the six-space to receive possession as he controlled a high-ball to feint away from pressure before laying off the CBs and giving them space to push up. The youngster did not get to exert his control on the game as he beat his man to weave past the first line of pressure as he worked one-touch passing interchanges as he did not have time on the ball.
His motoring skills in working one-touch passes are highly developed as he can adjust his body and reset his feet when receiving the ball to give himself the platform form to play a one-touch pass. He is also skilled in finding passing lanes very quickly to progress play as he has an almost intuitive sense of how much time to take on the ball and where and when to release possession. The inclusion of the Ecuadorian youngster, Jordan Rezabala, gave him a passing option in between the lines as Ruiz worked best with Rezabala or the left-footed attacking midfielder, Edgar Lopez. Against his former club, Queretaro, he worked the ball in between the lines to push up before receiving the ball in the final third to spread the ball to the flank with a magnificently curled pass. The 20-year-old also worked a connection before shooting over from the top of the box. Ruiz would make runs into the wide areas to participate in vertical wide interchanges.
His willingness to hold the ball to attract pressure before playing a sideways pass or turn and thread a pass through the lines was phenomenal. His passing range and courage to hold the ball and dribble to open up space in the deeper areas was spectacular to watch as he always seeks to move the ball forward and progressively. His press resistance through dribbling and passing as well as his sense of space, time and movement of his teammates in between the lines allows him to consistently move the ball forward and find teammates with well-weighted and well-timed passes in the central pockets.
The 20-year-old midfield maestro is growing as a deeper-lying player, especially defensively as he is intelligent at pressing the ball, winning turnovers in the opposition half with clever lunges or making interceptions. However, he has the potential to be a clean tackler as he can regain possession well with well-timed challenges, but it is something that he will need to improve on and be more consistent in. In counter-pressure situations, he can commit fouls when a tidier tackle is a better option while he needs to improve at using his body to nudge opponents out of possession when they dribble past him. In his pomp, he is a two-way player who can regain possession around the box as with some of the more lenient referees in Liga MX looking past some of his rougher challenges, he will be effective in regaining possession.
Marcel Ruiz is at the stage of his career where he has to develop from exciting young player to week-in, week-out Liga MX standout before making his move to Europe or being called up to El Tri again. Him and many young Mexican players will see the Olympics as an opportunity to show their skillset to the world and make the step up to El Tri as Ruiz has been a constant in the Mexican Olympic side’s call-ups to training camps and Friendly games. He certainly has the talent and appeal of the modern day deep-lying playmaker which Mexico and Liga MX are currently producing in bulk. The future on Xolos’technical bench will also be important to watch as it will be interesting to see if the Liga MX side continue with their attack-minded Argentine coach.
