Vicente Poggi – Defensor Sporting’s studious pivote
Uruguay has a population of 4 million people which makes it impressive that they are producing a plethora of high-level talent in positions all over the pitch as they should be one of the favourites for the South American U20 Championship which is set to take place in the second half of this year. One of the players expected to be involved in the squad is 18-year-old, Vicente Poggi Sassi, better known as Vicente Poggi plays for one of the most fruitful hotbeds of Uruguayan talent in Defensor Sporting. Poggi is one of many academy products that have become entrenched within the first team as he can play as constructive deep-lying midfield pivote or a creative attacking conduit in a box-to-box midfield role.
The teenager already has a great head on his shoulders as his mother is a psychologist which has given him a great respect for the field as he meets with a psychologist of his own very regularly. When he felt pressure with the Uruguayan youth sides at U15 and U17 level, he regularly met with the team psychologist every two days as when he struggled to score a few months ago, he met with his psychologist as he has now scored 2 goals for his side. He also respects the field of nutrition, constantly meeting with a nutritionist as he read the book ‘Knowing how to eat’ by Nicolas Kronfeld and Uruguayan nutritionist Miguel Kazarez who was a nutritionist with Defensor Sporting.
His hunger for improvement does not end with his nutrition but he will frequently watch YouTube videos not only on famous midfielders but also on the tactical side of the game and the tactical side of his position in midfield. He constantly looks to better understand his position and role on the pitch which has made him a much better player as he is constantly improving the finer points of his game with each appearance. He does not only understand his position as a deeper-lying midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder, but he can also understand the interior position and other roles in midfield. One of his favourite quotes is from Pablo Aimar in 2017 ‘there is a ball and 22 guys, and each guy has the ball for three minutes out of 90, that is, each one plays 87 minutes without the ball’.
"How long have you had the ball on your feet? Almost nothing, and all the rest are without the ball, you cannot study everything for when you have the ball and not know what to do when you do not have it because it is most of the time, both are important.," said Poggi to ESPN Uruguay as he responded to the Aimar quote.
His developed footballing mind and ideals translate to his performances on the pitch as he is a very refined footballer with the ability regularly move possession quickly with one-touch as his first touch is impeccable while he has the vision and astute footballing mind to play simple passes as well as raking through balls. The speed of his feet matches the speed of his intellect as he manages to shield possession, work passes on the half-turn and be press resistant with elegant little twist and turns as he dons the number 5 for Defensor Sporting. His skill-set translates into the deep-lying midfield playmaker position he played at the beginning of the season as well as the box-to-box link-up player role that he currently plays.
"Each position has a way of playing it and you with your technical qualities have to know the position, when they put me inside after two or three days I watched a couple of generic videos of the position on YouTube, tactical movements, pressure movements, movements of unmarking. Five only has certain movements, for example going between the defenders, going to look for the ball, you are constantly in the middle, but the interior can be more against a point and higher and what it has to get the most out of it. The fruit is to receive behind the opponent's pressure line, that's when you kill him, " explained Poggi to ESPN Uruguay.
He played as a deep-lying playmaker against Deportivo Maldonado as his first action was to slide across and make a timely interception on a pass into the pockets he was protecting as he controlled the ball immaculately before pushing forward and spreading play to the flank for his teammate to lob the ball forward. He then made a clean challenge on an attacker with his back to him as it allowed his side to burst forward. He then received a bobbling pass from the right flank to have a brilliant directional first touch to push the ball forward with his right foot to beat two players before he played an accurate switch ball to the right flank with his weaker left foot in stride. At the beginning of the second-half, he would send another accurately lobbed switch to the right flank, with his stronger foot this time.
He would then receive possession to play a one-touch pass forward for his teammate in the nine space who flicked the ball over his marker to drive into the box before he was tackled by an opposition defender. The 18-year-old would receive possession in the six-space again which would allow him to skip past an opposition attacker by skipping past him with the ball on the outside of his right foot as he sent a delicate lob to Ignacio Laquintana on the flank. His one-touch passing is phenomenal as it allows him to be a build-up conduit and create opportunities in the opposition half. For instance, against Deportivo Maldonado, a tackle meant the ball rolled to his feet for Poggi to lob a pass for Laquintana whose cross was blocked in the box.
He continued his impressive performances as against CA Fenix, he controlled the game with his distribution in the final third as well as his intelligent progressive passing on the half-turn. He was consistently switching the ball to switch the point of attack and be integral in the creation of space for Laquintana who thrives on 1v1s and created some crossing and shooting opportunities for himself. The 18-year-old was also driving the ball forward and playing in teammates to create opportunities as he was strong in the air to regain possession with aerial challenges.
However, his next match away to River Plate Montevideo proved to be less impressive and less successful. He misplaced a few passes on the half-turn but was better when he received possession and had time to pick out the proper pass. He was playing at the base of midfield alone while the opposition were playing a back three with a congested midfield area as he struggled to shoulder his responsibilities. He had a moment where he had an unusually poor first touch with a marker closing in on him as this denied him to play the ball forward as he had to turn and play a back-pass to his centre-back. Poggi is a brilliant tackler when he positions himself on the right side of his marker to regain possession but against River Plate, he struggled with his positioning and was consistently caught on the wrong side of his marker. It was not his day as by half-time, he was sent off after a reckless challenge on Nicolas Rodriguez in his side’s final game of 2020.
Poggi would also contract COVID which would force him and the rest of his team to self-isolate but has recovered fully since contracting the virus. In 2021, Defensor Sporting would utilize 33-year-old Mathias Cardaccio at the base of midfield while pushing Poggi forward in a role as a creative 8 or box-to-box midfielder. At home to Montevideo Wanderers, the 18-year-old took to his new role like a fish to water as he received possession to spin past a marker and switch the ball to the flank before receiving a lay-off in the opposition half to lob a pass for Tabare Viudez to send a delivery across the face of goal. His one-touch passing in between the lines was phenomenal as he was just touching passes into teammates to string together attacking moves. He then regained possession on the edge of the opposition box for Viudez to have a strike tipped over the bar.
Poggi’s first touch is so phenomenal that he can do so many things with just one touch as in one instance he lobbed pass to establish a counter-attacking situation as in one instance he controlled a pass in the six-space after Cardaccio originally lost the ball with his poor first touch. The 18-year-old also did a phenomenal job of winning possession on the edge of his own box while he put in some tough challenges in other areas of the pitch and won fifty-fifty battles. He would also thread a lovely pass to Laquintana to instigate a counter-attacking move.
Poggi would also have a shot blocked as when he spoke to his psychologist and his family about scoring goals, they encouraged him to take the plunge and ‘just shoot’ in shooting situations. A throw in routine was cut-back for Poggi to follow that advice to drive a shot across his body, off the post and into the goal to open the scoring and wheel away excitedly in celebration. In the next situation, he was overzealhous as him and Diego Coelho got in each other’s way to prevent either of them from having a shot after a brilliant Laquintana cut-back.
In the return game against River Plate, Poggi was more confident and put in a better performance as he finished 2020 with a red card and begun 2021 with goals in back-to-back games. He would use his phenomenal first touch to regain possession to drive the ball forward and thread a pass to the nine space for the striker to lay-off to the left flank before Laquintana would have a header blocked after a cross to the back-post. The 18-year-old would then regain possession after a pass to him was intercepted as he would take on possession with his weaker left foot before threading a pass into the channels with his right for Kevin Mendez to have a cross blocked. Throughout the game, the youngster was constantly showing for the ball and demanding possession in between the lines.
At home to CA Fenix, he would receive possession dropping into the right eight space to take a touch by pushing the ball backwards before turning and threading a pass to the flank. He would receive possession from Cardaccio to take a touch and thread a pass to Matias Ocampo on the right flank. He would receive possession from Cardaccio again to the lay the ball off back to him before his 33-year-old counterpart would lose possession before flicking a pass to Poggi who received possession with his weaker left foot to flick the ball through a teammate in the ten space with the outside of his right boot. The 18-year-old would continue his astonishing performance by regaining possession to drive at the opposition box before spreading a pass to Coelho who sent a shot wide of the far post.
Although Poggi was deployed in a more advanced role, this did not stop him from dropping into the six-space to orchestrate play as he received possession from the goalkeeper in the six-space to work a one-touch flick to Cardaccio who played the ball forward. He would continue a strong performance when he received possession in the 8 space to play another lobbed switch ball for Ocampo to have a 1v1 on the flank. In between the lines, Poggi receives possession in more congested areas with a greater regularity as he was in the right half-space to receive possession from Ocampo to receive the ball with his left, drive the ball forward with his right and thread a ball into the nine space for a teammate to lay-off for Ocampo to spread the ball for a shot on goal.
He would then receive a long ball to execute a one-touch flick to Coelho in between the lines before receiving possession from Laquintana in a breaking situation to use his first touch to skip past a man before threading a pass through to his winger to have a cross blocked. He would then show his brilliant directional first touch again, receiving possession in the opposition half as he controlled a pass from the flank superbly before guiding the ball past an opposition player to work a pass to a teammate in the pockets to recycle and add tempo to an attacking move. In between the lines, he is able to receive possession more and have a bigger impact on his side’s style of play with his one-touch passing and link-up play while Cardaccio eases his defensive responsibilities.
At home to Danubio, he continued to show his fantastic first touch in between the lines as he had two sequences where he received possession and connected play. The 18-year-old was very neat and tidy on the ball as his first touch in congested areas allowed him to consistently switch the point of attack with switch balls while he had a great first touch on a lobbed pass to thread a through ball in behind. He controlled the game from his box-to-box midfield role, connecting play by receiving possession in between the lines while also orchestrating things in the final third by stretching the pitch. He started the second-half by creating an opportunity when he lobbed the ball for a teammate to head wide before he spun past two players to shield the ball outside the opposition box.
Poggi certainly has the physical tools and mindset to make it as a top-level footballer as he has a maniacal obsession with improving himself as an all-round midfielder and person which has been instilled in him by his mother. He prefers to play as an 8, box-to-box midfielder or as an interior as he thrives at receiving possession and connecting play in between the lines as well as the mental challenges that come with the position. However, his skillset and the cerebral mentality he brings to the game also translate to acting as the deepest-lying midfielder in front of the defense as his future may lie in that position with his directional first-touch, long and short-range distribution as well as his ability to regain possession and set the tempo for his side. An MLS or European club may purchase him with a view of pairing him with a more experienced midfielder in his favored interior role to allow him to settle as his long-term future could be deeper.
"Understanding the game is the most important thing,” explained Poggi to ESPN as he said he feels comfortable as the deep-lying midfielder but prefers a box-to-box role. “ Comfort depends on the day to day too, If I practice more on the outside I will feel more comfortable, it is not that today I do not feel comfortable on the inside but that I have to start learning more about the movements, the brand, because as a central midfielder I have already played my whole life, so I have movements more automated. “
“For example, being a central midfielder you have more contact with the ball, and playing a little further forward or outside you touch fewer balls and you think 'I'm not participating', maybe the game is on the other side and you don't have to be touching the ball, that's a matter of getting used to it and understanding that this position is like that, in a second the ball comes to this side and I have to be careful to turn around and face, I like to play higher because I reach the goal more,” continued Poggi in the same interview.
Poggi turns 19 in July as he recently signed his first professional contract as there should be many more contracts ahead of him in the future. The teenage midfield maestro belies his years in maturity due to his upbringing as his mentality meshed with his natural talent should make for a player who reaches the top level as he continues to grow and develop. Defensor Sporting have a talented array of youngsters as it is likely that they would sign him to a longer-term contract in the coming months, but European clubs do possess a window of opportunity at the moment. He could sign for a Spanish La Liga or Segunda Liga side, Portuguese Primera Liga side or a Ligue 1 side becoming a bargain that has a greater opportunity of producing high resale value. Poggi’s footballing talent will carry him a long way but his mind could carry him to greater heights than his talent on the field.
