Vinicius Lansade – Estudiantes Reserva’s intriguing playmaker

Vinicius Lansade is a microcosm of a globalised world as he was born in Curitba, Brazil to an Argentine mother and French father who was a finance director who worked for French companies with offices abroad as he has played in France, Spain and Brazil at youth level. He played in the United States of America with the New York City FC youth programme as well as the University of Maryland football programme before deciding to join Estudiantes in the land of his mother. At 21, at one of the most prestigious academies in Argentina, he has become one of the stronger players in the Reserve side as he signed a contract until 2023 earlier this year as he could be an intriguing prospect for many MLS sides.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has played at youth level with Internacional, Valencia in Spain as well as Bastia in France as while he was playing at University level with Maryland, two Estudiantes scouts invited him to trial with the Argentine side as Lansade accepted the offer in a heartbeat due to the opportunity to play for a big club in South America while being closer to his mother’s side of the family. He dreams of donning the Argentine National Team shirt while he attended Fairfield Ludlowe High School in Connecticut and played at college level so there could be an opportunity for the US Men’s National Team as well as him being able to play on an MLS roster as an Under 22 player as well as a homegrown player due to him playing in the United States at high-school level, NCAA college level as well as at youth level with New York City Football Club.

Lansade is a lanky, physically well-built left-footed playmaker with an eye for a through ball as he played in most of Estudiantes Reserva team’s games as his side made their way to the Reserva Quarter-finals as he started seven games. He is normally played on both flanks with the option to receive possession in between the lines and connect play in the final third and in build-up while he has the potential to operate as an attacking midfielder or as a box-to-box midfielder. Estudiantes have a plethora of talented attacking players in their youth academy while a promotion to their first-team may not be straight-forward as a move to the MLS could be a better opportunity to gain professional game-time for the 21-year-old especially with his multi-functional ability as well as the opportunity for him to join an MLS roster as a homegrown player.

When Lansade is deployed on the flank, he loves to move into the half-space to receive possession and connect play while he may struggle in his dribbling ability and with 1v1s. At home Independiente in the Reserva Division, he received a lobbed pass into the right channel to have a 1v1 with his fullback to cut onto his left foot and beat his marker to lob a brilliant weighted cross into the box that was tipped wide as he managed to create a brilliant goalscoring opportunity for his side. The issue with positioning Lansade on the flanks is that he is unable to drop into space in between the lines to receive possession and lay-off the ball and can be isolated on the flank while when he receives switches, he does not have the dribbling ability to beat his marker to create a crossing or shooting opportunity with regularity.

Lansade would then receive possession in the attacking line, using his body to shield the ball and hold off a defender to work a one-touch lay-off to a teammate. The 21-year-old then received possession on the right flank to drive the ball forward and play an elegant no-look slide-rule through ball in between two opposition defenders to a teammate in the half-space to establish an attacking move. He would then move from the right flank to the right half-space to drop in between the lines and receive possession before laying off a pass to a teammate as his blind-sided movement and subtle movements into pockets of space allows him to act as a build-up conduit by receiving deep passes in between the lines. He would thrive as a more central box-to-box midfielder as he is capable of leading the press effectively while also using his body to regain possession in the defensive phase. In the counter-press, he would make a well-timed sliding challenge to regain possession.

In the Reserva Quarter-Final against Newells Old Boys Reserve side, Lansade would be positioned on the right flank again as he would struggle with beating players in 1v1s as when he receives possession on the flank, he does not drive past his man with authority as he will poke the ball past his marker while giving the defender the opportunity to shield the ball and regain possession. His dribbling style is more effective when he has the opportunity to drive at the defender and execute a last-moment change of direction to skip past his marker. The 21-year-old would receive possession on the right flank while executing a little shimmy while receiving the ball to evade his marker to drive the ball into the centre and play a phenomenally weighted through ball into a runner to drive into the box and have his shot blocked. In terms of his dribbling, he showed some potential with his ball-carrying, taking down a clearance on the right flank to drive at his man with the ball on the outside of his right foot to place the ball in between his feet before flicking the ball past his marker with the outside of his left boot before beating another marker with a clever shimmy and dribble as he was then tackled by a third defender.

Lansade would then make an interception on a pass towards his flank to drive the ball forward and work a pass to a teammate in between the lines in a tight space. The 21-year-old would then use his long limbs to cleanly regain possession for his side in the counter-press. The Argentine playmaker is no stranger to defensive work as when playing on the flank, he regularly covers for his fullback to make blocks and tackles in the defensive phase while also being able to push forward and lead the press as a wide player tucking inside in the pressing phase. In possession, Lansade has continued to show glimpses of immense technique, receiving possession by the left touchline with his back to the opposition goal to swivel past his marker and thread a pass with perfect curvature from the flank that curled past three opposition defenders and found his striker in stride in the left half-space as he was tackled before having the opportunity to drive into the box.

At home to San Lorenzo this season, Lansade would start the game by tucking into the ten space to regain possession with an interception as the ball was played into the centre as he used his subtle shimmy manoeuvre when receiving possession in tight spaces when he fakes receiving the ball with his ball-near leg to shimmy and allow the ball to roll across his body to not just beat his man but allow him to drive into a pocket of space. He used this manoeuvre to receive possession on his weaker right foot and drive the ball forward to thread a pass to his striker. The 21-year-old would then create another opportunity when he received possession from a throw-in to lay-off to a teammate before receiving a switch pass on the right flank to cut the ball back to his left foot and lob an accurate cross to the near post which his striker was unable to meet. He then dropped deep to receive possession from his centre-back in the eight space to lay-off the ball to the ball-far centre-back before making a run into the nine-space and dropping in between the lines for his patented raise of both arms to gesture to his teammates that he is available to receive a pass in between the lines to lay-off to a teammate.

One of the reasons that Lansade could thrive as a box-to-box creative midfielder is because of his movement in between the lines and ability to identify pockets of space to receive possession in both the build-up phase and the attacking phase. He would move into the centre from the right flank to raise both his arms and pick another pocket of space as he would receive possession in between the lines to shield possession and hold off a marker and lob a pass in behind but the striker was unable to get on the end of the pass as it rolled into the goalkeeper’s arms. He would make the same movement into the same zone to gesture for possession again before receiving possession to work a one-touch lay-off for a teammate as the fullback made an overlapping run to receive possession and surge into the box. Lansade’s intelligent movement and occupation of space in between the lines could be of great benefit to a team.

The 21-year-old would then manage to bag a goal by being in a good position to receive a deflection of a shot to take a touch and volley the ball in between the goalkeeper’s legs. Lansarde would have the opportunity to score a second goal, receiving possession on the right flank with his left foot to roll the ball towards the centre before switching the ball to his stronger right foot to fire a shot at goal with his right foot to have the opportunity saved. His shooting is one aspect of his game that he will need to improve as he has had instances where he has cut inside from the flank to fire shots wide from good positions while with his movement, he tends to pick good positions in and around the opposition box as he needs to be more consistent in finishing off these opportunities.

At home to Atletico Tucuman, Lansade would drop in between the lines to receive possession in the eight space to chest the ball and flick a lay-off to a teammate before making a run into the channels as his teammate’s pass was poorly direct and went out for a throw-in. The 21-year-old would drop in between the lines to receive possession from his centre-back and lay-off for a teammate again before using his body to shield the ball from an opponent and regain possession in the counter-press around the opposition box. He would receive possession in the eight space again to allow the ball to roll across his body to beat his first marker before cutting past his second man before laying off possession to the right back as he was fouled. In a cameo appearance from his team’s latest game away to Lanus, he received possession on the right flank to work a brilliant pass to a teammate in the next line before continuing his run to receive possession and glide past his marker and cut inside to thread a pass to a runner who had a cross blocked for Lansade to receive possession again before he was brought down. He would then regain possession in the defensive phase winning a shoulder to shoulder with an opposition winger to make a well-timed tackle and regain possession before twisting and turning to shield the ball before playing a pass to a teammate.

Lansade is not a guaranteed starter for the Estudiantes Reserve side but possesses qualities that would translate into a box-to-box midfield role at many MLS sides. His ability to receive possession in tight spaces is exceptional, using subtle body shifts and shimmies to beat his first marker while he has a brilliant change of direction to evade his marker and drive at the opposition. His ball-carrying has immense potential as he can drive the ball cut past markers with changes of direction while also shouldering them off the ball with his brilliant physique as he needs to learn to release the ball into a teammate when he has the opportunity. In terms of receiving possession in between the lines, he will need to utilize more scanning to check if he can hold the ball and turn or whether a simple lay-off will be adequate as in the build-up phase, a swivel can ease transition and allow him to charge at the opposition defence while in the attacking phase, it could lead to chance creation for himself or for a teammate.

He can receive possession and thread through balls into runners or teammates in between the lines which would help him as a deeper-lying midfield conduit. However, he may also need to improve his runs in behind off the striker or his movement into space in the opposition box to improve as a goal scorer as this would make him a more effective midfielder as his size, first-touch and movement will allow him to create some opportunities for himself. Defensively, he is unrelenting in pushing forward to press the ball but will need to be more educated in making angled runs to close passing lanes and force defenders and midfielders into more difficult passes as there are instances where he is in the perfect position to press but the opposition player still manages to play the pass behind him because he has not properly closed down the passing lane. He will need to learn to scan and adjust his body orientation when pressing to properly close off passing lanes to force opposition players into turnovers. In the counter-pressing phase, he will be essential for his side as he will chase back and cover spaces while also being good at engaging attackers to use his body and long legs to regain possession. Defensively, he can cover for out of position fullbacks and make sliding tackles and blocks to prevent crosses and regain possession.

Another aspect of his game that he will need to improve is his ability in aerial duels as he is not commanding enough when challenging for the ball in the air. In order to make runs off the striker as well as becoming an aerial presence from set-pieces and crosses, he will need to be more authoritative in the air in not just challenging for the ball but also guiding the ball past the keeper. As a free-8, Lansade is a skilled crosser of the ball as he loves lofting the ball onto the heads of teammates in the wide areas as this will be crucial as a chance-creating mechanism with him lofting crosses from the half-spaces as this pairs well with his connective ability in the final third and his eye for a through-ball.

Many MLS teams should be interested in Lansade as he is a player that is currently Under 22 as he turns 22 in February while he may not take up a Designated Player spot as he was schooled in America for high-school and college while also spending time at the New York City FC academy. He can be acquired for cheap without trading assets as teams like Nashville, Coldorado Rapids, Vancouver Whitecaps and other sides that prefer to keep a lower budget should be interested. In terms of his playing style, he would be perfect in the number 10 position or wide position in Jim Curtin or Gerhard Struber’s 4-4-2 diamond formation while he would also be good in a free-8 role under Miguel Angel Ramirez at Charlotte FC. Lansade is low-risk as it is possible for a team to move him to their USL affiliate if they feel he needs extra time for adjustment while expansion side, St. Louis could prepare him in their USL affiliate while preparing for their debut MLS season in 2022. Lansade is a low-risk, high reward signing that many MLS teams should be looking at.