Jonathan Villagra – Union Espanola's defensive prodigy

Jonathan Villagra has made himself a fixture in Union Espanola’s first-team as an enterprising young centre-back after coming through their illustrious youth academy, winning the 2018 U17 Apertura, scoring a goal against Universidad de Chile in the final. Union Espanola’s current starting lineup is well-stocked with young talent from their academy as Villagra is one of the standouts, rapidly improving as a centre-back with each game. The lumbering 20-year-old who stands tall at six-feet has had a very rapid ascent into one of the Chilean side’s most intriguing young players as he has the potential to grow into a high-level centre-back.

Villagra size allows him to win duels while he is quick and fearless in short spaces, regularly engaging in physical duels while he is undeterred by the prospect of challenging attackers in 1v1s. His defending in the channels and aerial ability are exceptional as his ability to cover for his defensive partner and penchant for heroic defending have made him an early favourite among the Union Espanola fanbase. He will need to improve his positioning as there are many instances where he can chase markers far out of position or leave gaps in the defensive block. This seems to be a matter of inexperience rather than anything else as his positioning continues to grow game by game. He will also need to rely less on his physique and more on his anticipation.

Villagra was born in Quilicura as his father was a fruit and vegetable merchant as his mother was a housewife. He began playing for his school before joining the Cobreloa academy when he was eight years old as he was deployed as an offensive midfielder before becoming a centre-back as he joined Union Espanola when he was 15. His transition into his new role was a matter of chance rather than a pre-conceived plan as Villagra had two fractures in one hand rendering him unable to play football for seven months as other players within the Cobreloa academy moved ahead of him in the pecking order. Once he returned to full fitness, one of his coaches in the academy suggested to a coach at Union Espanola that they trial the youngster as the youngster would move to Union Espanola as a midfielder before being moved further back. His idols are Arturo Vidal and Sergio Ramos as his move to centre-back has proved to be one of the most transformative decisions of his career.

At home to Antofagasta, Villagra accrued a silly yellow card in the first half as a knock-on was played to his marker with the centre-back positioned touch tight to his marker and clumsily wrestling him to the ground to concede a free-kick just outside the box. However, he put that behind him to produce a fantastic second-half performance as he was incredibly astute defensively, sliding across to make well-timed last-minute challenges on markers as he was extremely assured in covering his zone. He also showed a great sense of anticipation to win duels while he is undeniable in the air, rarely losing aerial duels be it from crosses or long passes. Away to Everton, Villagra had a bad start to the game, pushing forward to mis-time tackles and aerial duels while his distribution was erratic as he looked to thread deep passes in between the lines, finding teammates with a few passes while losing possession with other passes.

Villagra has the perfect skillset to defend in a high-line, having the height to win aerial duels higher up the pitch, the anticipation and strength to push up to win tackles as well as the short-space quickness and long-limbs to make important recovery challenges. His size also gives him the potential of being an effective ball-carrier, allowing him to nudge opposition players out of his way to drive the ball forward as well as the quick feet to change direction in an instance to weave past markers. The 20-year-old would play an amazing line-breaking pass in between the lines before driving the ball deep into the opposition half for an attempted pass into the nine-space. He is also effective in sliding across the defensive block to cover for his partner, making fantastic tackles and interceptions in the channels but in this instance, he would move to the left to make a fantastic block as his defensive partner was out of positon.

Villagra has the raw physical tools to become a high-level centre-back, constantly engaging in 50/50 battles but has lapses in judgement in situations when he is out of position as he had one of these lapses where he vacated his space for the opposition to go in behind and hit the post. The 20-year-old would finish the game with 3 tackles and 12 ball recoveries as his ability to win possession when he is in the right position should not be understated. At home to Huachipato, he had a long pass to Cristian Palacios to smash a shot high and wide. He also had situations where he left his position to track a marker too early but also had moments where he covered valiantly for teammates, making a lovely block on a cross when his right-back was caught out of position. He then covered for his left-sided centre-back in Nicolas Mancilla to win a header and regain possession with a tackle in another sequence.

He had another situation where he had to leave his marker to move to the left to block a cross to regain possession before pushing forward to thread a pass to Victor Mendez. In that specific situation, he would have to make a quick decision and manage risk as the centre-back is highly effective in facing an opposition attacker with possession in a 1v1 situation. Even though his positioning has been in question, he has proved his potential with this facet of his game, making a heroic block for a header on goal as last-ditch challenges and blocks are common for the youngster. In possession, Villagra drove the ball forward, shielding the ball from an opposition attacker to work a pass in between the lines before receiving possession again to work a pass for Mendez in the central positions. The 20-year-old would finish the game with an 81% pass succession rate while winning all three of his aerial duels and making one block.

At home to Universidad Catolica, he regained possession with an interception on a pass into the channels before chasing a marker deep into the midfield position to regain possession in the midfield zone in midfield. His willingness to move out of position to win tackles is both a blessing and a curse as the 20-year-old would make another tackle when a switch ball was played to the right flank from an opposition corner with Villagra blocking the opposition to goal as instead of backing off, Villagra engaged his marker to make a perfectly timed challenge to regain possession for his side. In such 1v1 situations, Villagra will always chose to engage the man in possession with a confidence in his ability to regain possession. The 20-year-old would have a moment that perfectly encapsulated his game, driving far out of his position to chase down a marker as the ball was played into an open space in his zone but it was happenstance that the opposition attacker who received possession was offside due to Villagra making an unexpected surge out of position. Deep in added time, a ball was lofted into the Union Espanola box for a knock on to be played into the six-yard area as Villagra managed to step in front of his marker to head the ball away from goal before blocking the rebound with his head.

It was a sequence of valiant defending, but it was important to recognize that Villagra had his arms around his marker as this is a constant in his game as the 20-year-old relies in physically engaging his marker by holding onto their shirts or with his arms around them to win duels. He will need to shed this from his game as in a VAR martialled game, he could concede unnecessary penalties and free-kicks by constantly needing to hold onto his marker. Thomas Tuchel’s drill of challenging a defender to defend set-pieces with a tennis ball in their hand would be a key drill to utilize on Villagra as this man-marking manoeuvre has already forced him into some silly fouls in the fledgling stages of his career.

Away to Palestino, Villagra played a phenomenal pass to Palacios in the nine-space but his distribution inefficient due to the centre-back receiving possession and pushing the ball to the wide areas to distribute possession from an awkward body angle where he would not have a clear vision of the next line rather playing the ball from a position where he had a better overview of the pitch and could properly set his feet. This could be remedied with Villagra improving his directional first touch to take touches that allow him to position himself in a better area to release the ball as well as improving his scanning and one-touch passing. He would then drive the ball forward by elegantly skipping past a marker to play a pass to the wide areas with his weaker left foot. He attempted to remedy his shirt holding issue by getting tight to his man and putting his arms in the air once his marker received possession to prove to the referee that he is not holding his marker’s shirt.

This remedy would prove ineffective as he would still concede a free-kick after getting too tight to his marker. After Mendez missed a tackle in midfield, Villagra would be left 1v1 with an attacker as the only defender between the attacker and goal as the 20-year-old would put in a phenomenally clean challenge to regain possession, hurting himself in the process. The Chilean centre-back prospect is innate and quick at adjusting to make well-timed tackles to players moving into spaces beside him as he enjoys defending the channels more than most defenders. Villagra was then caught out tracking an opposition attacker into the higher areas of the pitch as he managed to recover to make another clean challenge on the attacker behind him. He made another exceptionally timed sliding challenge with an attacker moving into his zone as his quickness, defensive instinct and long legs allow him to adjust fluidly and effectively to defensive situations.

For a defender at his age and with his lack of experience, Villagra is incredibly calm when defending last-man situations, normally choosing to make tackles on the player in possession but he had one situation when he held his position instead of pushing forward to make an interception to quell a counter-attack. Villagra would move into the right channel to cover for his fullback and make a tackle as he also drove the ball forward to work a pass down the line before receiving possession to play a back-pass. The 20-year-old proved to be very effective in playing passes into the next line rather than some of the deeper line-breaking passes that he has played in past games.

Villagra is an intriguing prospect as he is refined in situations where most defenders his age are more erratic as his defending of last-man situations is impeccable while he thrives in moving into the channels to regain possession. The 20-year-old has no qualms about being left 1v1 with an opponent in the wide areas as his size and quickness allow him to be an imposing defensive presence. However, he will need to improve in being disciplined in a low block, learning when to rush out of position and track markers as well as knowing when to hold his position as Union Espanola have conceded opportunities and goals due to Villagra tracking a man without being sure that he is covered to vacate a space in the defensive block for an opponent. His distribution would also need to improve as he has the potential to send raking passes into open spaces in between the lines as he would be exceptional in wall-passing situations while he can develop as a ball-carrier. He has the potential to develop into a high-level centre-back if he continues to round out the weaker aspects of his game with each game.

Villagra signed his first professional contract in February in a deal that will last until 2023 as his growth should continue with each passing game as the 20-year-old should finish the season with Union Espanola while possibly looking to gain more continental experience with the club in the future. He has a penchant for heroism as a centre-back as MLS clubs and any other European clubs outside the top five leagues could have interest in him in the coming months and years. A team that is looking to sign in the medium term should feel that they could develop his weaker traits with them than in his current traits as the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, Familicao in the Portuguese Primera Liga as well as mid-level teams in the Ligue 1 could be conducive developing grounds. Clubs would be shrewd to keep an eye on Villagra in the coming years as he has immense potential.