Brayan Rovira – Atletico Nacional’s Volante
When Juan Carlos Osorio first took over at Atletico Nacional, Brayan Rovira was nursing an injury and in a congested deep-lying midfield role with Baldomero Perlaza, Alberto Tino Costa, Daniel Bocanegra and Daniel Munoz all vying for the same role. Rovira and Perlaza are now in competition as the deep-lying connector at the base of the Colombian side’s midfield. Rovira is fiercely loyal, even stating that he would only play for Atletico Bucuramanga when Nacional owned his playing rights as it caused a stir with Nacional fans. However, he has become a key player with the Colombian side with a 90% average passing accuracy as one of the highest graded deep-lying distributors in the BetPlay Colombian League.
Osorio utilises three-chain and two-chain systems as Nacional can use a 2+3 build-up shape as the former Mexican National Team manager educates his deep-lying midfielder on movements in the six space to create space to receive the ball. Perlaza and Rovira will make ball-orientated movements depending on which centre-back has possession to receive the ball, turn and progress play into the opposition half. Rivero is skilled at making directional first touches when he receives the ball as the 23-year-old can turn in possession and play line breaking passes.
Rovira is deployed as a pivote or in a double-pivot as being partnered which Perlaza allows him to push forward into the opposition half where he has the ability to receive the ball on the half-turn to swivel past markers. Rivero is clever at working combinations with attackers to drive into the opposition half to create opportunities. He does not create many opportunities in the final third but has accumulated assists by pushing into the wide areas and playing low crosses to teammates on the break. He does not score many goals as he wears the shirt number 8, the amount of goals that he has scored across his whole career to this point.
Rovira’s distribution is one of his main strengths as Nacional can play on well-watered and manicured pitches or dry pitches as he still seeks to progress play from deep with line breaking passes. Even an intercepted pass will not stop him from carefully distributing play to attackers while he has a fantastic sense of when to play a back-pass to his centre-backs before moving into space to receive the ball. Away to Independiente Medellin, he touched the ball six times in the build-up to a goal as he showed an astonishing sense of movement as well as a grasp of touch to progress play and create a goalscoring opportunity.
He received the ball from a throw-in on the left flank to play a one-two with a teammate before passing the ball to the right sided centre-back, moving into the six space to receive the ball with his left foot as he played a line breaking pass with his right, moving to the right flank as his teammates worked a wide triangular interchange. He received the ball in the right half-space and had the presence of mind to work a one-touch pass to a teammate in between the lines who played a through ball for the winger to cross for a Jefferson Duque tap-in. In this situation, Rivero showed his ability to receive and pass the ball with both feet as well as a sense for instinctively knowing when to take a touch before passing to slow down the game or when to play a one-touch pass to speed up play.
Rovira has spent most of his career in the Antioquia region of Colombia with loan stints at Envigado, which is known for its youth production with James Rodriguez, Fredy Guarin and Juan Fernando Quintero as he is a modern day deep-lying playmaker. He is built with brawn and shuttles around the pitch with mobility, receiving the ball in tight spaces and connecting with teammates while having the positional awareness and authority to remain in the six space if he is playing as a pivote. He caresses the ball to teammates with both feet as he has traits that are immediately translatable to European football as a Colombian Seleccion call-up should not be too far away.
He is also stern and strong in the challenge, never shirking an opportunity for a sliding challenge as late last year, he was sent off for a late challenge on Atletico Junior’s James Sanchez in tackle that Marca Claro described as ‘criminal’. However, he is effective in counter-pressing with tackles as he has developed the discipline to not rush into challenges but patiently wait, marking the immediate man in his zone before waiting for a loose pass which he can intercept. He can regain possession in the deeper areas while having the ability to turn out of pressure and switch the ball or play an early pass through the lines, so his team can counter-attack.
The 23-year-old has the potential to be a top-tier deep-lying playmaker in the highest echelons of European football as he can receive the ball and pass with both feet, has played in systems with a two-chain as well as a three-chain while also being able to defend in multiple areas of the pitch. At Nacional, he is sometimes tasked with covering for the fullback as he can win the ball in wider areas while he is also deceptively quick in covering small spaces. His biggest asset is his vision and courageous passing from deep, constantly seeking to break lines and progress play while also pushing forward to continue his control of the game in the opposition half. However, at times with pressure coming from behind him, he can take too long on the ball and an opposition attacker can steal possession from him in the deeper areas.
"He may seem quiet, but on the pitch, he is one of those who speaks and orders the most. He is a very serious and professional boy,” said Nacional teammate, Daniel Bocanegra of Rovira to El Colombiano.
“Bryan is proving to be, if not the best, between the two best central midfielders in Colombian soccer. I think that positionally he defends very well, he recovers the ball well and in the distribution. He is perhaps the best in Colombia at the level of (Víctor) Cantillo at Atletico Junior,” said Juan Carlos Osorio to Deportes in early October last year.
Osorio has even played Rovira as a centre-back as the Colombian tactician rates his 23-year-old protégé very highly. Rovira has a very well-rounded skill-set for a deeper-lying midfielder as he could be a cheaper option for high-level South American teams, MLS upstarts and European sides looking for a metronomic passer who is able to shield their defence. Bielsa has managed to develop Kalvin Phillips as a deep-lying passer, Gabriel Heinze utilizes left-back, Braian Cufre in the six space while Osorio has developed Rovira as that area is so integral to the way their teams operate. Rovira can certainly be a more constructive option for the Colombian Seleccion, more so than a few of the options that they have had in the deeper-lying areas in the last decade.
