Adonis Frias – Defensa y Justicia’s commanding centre-back
Adonis Frias was born in Varela, a city in Buenos Aires as he came through Defensa y Justicia’s academy as the Argentine club is normally a stepping stone for talented young Argentine talent on loan, but Frias is a rarity as he has developed with the club. It is a family club where everybody knows each other from the first-team playing staff to the chef while Frias was a ball-boy with the club at a young age. The 22-year-old is now stopped for photographs when he walks through his hometown of Varela as in the future fans will ask him to regale them with tales of how he scored the opening goal in the Copa Sudamericana final.
The centre-back loves to watch Sergio Ramos as he rarely misses a Real Madrid game, modelling his game on the commanding Spaniard as Frias, himself is a hulking figure at centre-back with the ability to be effective at both ends of the pitch. He has the ability to be incisive with his distribution due to a past as a central midfielder at youth level while the image of him kissing the badge while wheeling away in celebration against Lanus in the Copa Sudamericana final is one that will live long in the memory of Defensa y Justicia fans. He joined the club when he was 15-years-old as in the 2018/19 season, he was on loan at Los Andes as he became a pillar of the side in the Argentine Nacional B.
He is a pillar of the Defensa y Justicia defence as he can play as a central centre-back in a back three, a right sided wide centre-back in the same formation or as a right centre-back in a two-man defence. Him and his former manager, Hernan Crespo developed a tight knit bond as the former striker would give his centre-back confidence and advice on how to mark opposition strikers as the man known as Chingolo or ‘the little bird’ has grown with the Argentine side which has a nickname that translates into Falcon in English. He was a key player in the Argentine side’s rise to Copa Sudamericana glory while he has the potential to be a high-level centre-back in the higher echelons of Europe in the future.
Frias is gifted as a high-line man-marking defender as he can cover small spaces quickly while being a clean tackler, regaining possession with well-timed lunges and tackles. In the Copa Libertadores, at home to Delfin, Defensa y Justicia were in their defensive shape as Frias showed great anticipation to push up against his marker before he received possession, allowing him to be touch tight to the attacker as he was in a better position to make a lunge to regain possession for his side. He then showed his impeccable distribution when he received possession from the left flank, allowing the ball to roll across his body before playing a brilliant pass to Enzo Fernandez in the six-space.
The 22-year-old would then regain possession, close to his own by-line with an opponent pressing him as he would use his strength to turn and thread a pass to a teammate in between the lines to start a breaking move. Frias using his size to burst past players while in possession is a constant in his game as he can use such manoeuvres to force the opposition attacker into fouling him, so he can win a free-kick. He is capable of muscling past his marker to drive the ball into the midfield line to attract markers and create space in between the lines or create better angles to the six-space for more effective ball-progression. The Argentine centre-back is also skilled in regaining possession in counter-pressing sequence as his side would lose possession in the opposition box for him to chase back, matching the attacker stride for stride before sliding to make a well-timed challenge.
Frias is a hulking and imposing figure but his mobility in using his anticipation to push up and regain possession in pressing and counter-pressing sequences or moving into the wide areas to provide cover for teammates is impressive. This is due to his skill for well-timed tackles as against Delfin, he was covering a man before his wing-back was beaten for the centre-back to move into the wide areas and make a brilliantly timed sliding challenge. He would then receive possession from the left to play a brilliant pass through the lines to a teammate. He would prove his ability as a counter-presser again when he would push up to poke the ball out of the grasp of an opposition attacker and to a teammate.
Frias would attempt to work a pass to the flank which was intercepted as the opposition would look to play the ball to the central striker before Frias pushed forward to intercept the pass and push forward. In yet another counter-pressing situation, Frias would have to chase back after another ball that was lobbed over his head as a teammate held the opponent up as Frias would wait for his opponent to turn and show too much of the ball before ending the counter with another perfectly timed sliding challenge. At home to Independiente, he would be involved in some heroic defending as a pass was lobbed over the defence for his defensive partner to get beaten as an opposition player had a direct route to goal before Frias scampered across to block a shot at the last moment.
He would then move onto the wide right flank for a 1v1 with Alan Velasco as the young attacker sought to cut past Frias who calmly shielded the ball to regain possession utilizing his superior strength to turn out of the situation holding possession. Away to Coquimbo in the Copa Libertadores semi-final, he shifted in between the central centre-back and right-sided centre-back roles, constantly looking to play the ball forward by driving the ball or with his distribution. In the second-half, the opposition would win a turnover and break on Defensa y Justicia with Frias being caught out of position as the centre-back would recover to make a brilliant game saving challenge with the opposition driving at the goalkeeper. In the second-leg, he would continue in the same vein of form, pushing up to regain possession cleanly in a higher area. He would then receive possession from the keeper to drive a penetrative pass to an attacker in between the lines.
The crowning jewel of the season would be his stand-out performance in the Copa Sudamericana final against Lanus, beginning the game by threading passes to Enzo Fernandez in the six-space. He then covered for the central centre-back to regain possession after a Lanus break before weaving past two players in the opposition counter-press to drive the ball forward and spread a pass into the wide areas. He would open the scoring as a cut-back was blocked as the opportunity seemed to be gone for a moment as Frias latched onto a loose ball to fire past the keeper and put his side in the lead. He would then make a brilliantly timed block from an opposition cross at the other end.
There were moments where the 22-year-old was the best player on the pitch as he had another clean challenge to prevent Pedro De la Vega from driving through on goal before he pushed up and played another pass to the flank. Frias would finish the game with a 91% pass succession rate, 1 shot and 1 goal, ¾ takeons and 2 interceptions while scoring a goal and creating two chances from set-piece situations at the other end of the pitch. For one of the few players who was actually from the Defensa y Justicia youth academy, opening the scoring and putting in such a heroic performance where the opposition failed to get a shot on target was phenomenal.
Frias is a modern-day centre-back, well-versed in regaining possession near the halfway line or in the opposition half as well as the other nuances of defending in a higher line. He tends to drive the ball forward with purpose and will look to play the ball in between the lines if he sees an open passing lane but he will normally look to play the ball into the wide areas. He can play in a back-three with his ability to cover for his wing-back in the wide areas while having the ability to play touch tight to his marker in the central areas and use his strength to regain possession. He would be a good fit for Ivan Juric’ Hellas Verona with his ability as a man-marker, counter-pressing talents as well as his technique on the ball. At a higher-level, with quicker and more direct attackers, he would struggle at covering the space behind him if he loses possession as he would need to develop his ability to match his marker stride for stride while guiding him into the wide areas where spaces are smaller, and he can make a challenge.
Frias has a contract until 2023 but would present a cheap option for Scottish Premiership side or Championship side as he has recently won the Copa Sudamericana and would be participating in the Copa Libertadores next season for a second-time which would make it easier for him to gain a work permit. Adapting to a new country and language could provide an issue for him while he would be better suited to Ligue 1, La Liga or one of the top teams in Portugal. He is carving out a distinguished career for himself at his hometown club as in a few months he could become well-known to people outside Varela.
