Ignacio Saavedra – Universidad Catolica’s defensive midfield destroyer

At only 22-years-old, Ignacio Saavedra is a three-time Chilean Primera Division champion as he has played under a variety of coaches while managing to maintain a high standard of performance throughout. The defensive-midfielder is also vocal about social issues such as health and poverty laws within his own country as his social and political awareness was shaped by a family that consistently discussed political subjects at the dinner table. Saavedra was pictured at marches after the COVID-19 outbreak and has made no secret of hiding his interest in politics, seeking to change the world.

Benat San Jose gave him his debut in 2018 as he assimilated and gained a place in his side while he did not play much under Gustavo Quinteros, much to his chagrin while Ariel Holan demanded more from him. Holan educated the 22-year-old about dropping to receive possession in space which has become one of his main strengths while seeking to educate him about his progressive passing in terms of quickly identifying passing lanes for line-breaking passes. Saavedra has constantly brought balance to his side as he makes winning possession seem like an art form with his ability to be precise and effective with the defensive side of his game but the question among Chilean pundits is whether he can improve the distribution part of his game to become a fully-fledged defensive midfield controller. He has already played for the Chilean National Team in a friendly against Bolivia while being the subject of interest from European clubs like Lazio.

Away to Uruguayan side, River Plate in the Copa Sudamericana, Saavedra played at the base of midfield, distributing possession with simple passes at the base of midfield. The Uruguayan side pressed in 5-2-3/5-3-2 as Universidad Catolica were able to exploit their terrible shape with Saavedra finding pockets of space in the deeper-midfield areas to create good passing angles for his centre-backs as he was normally working sideways passes. His ability defensively was shown when he would track markers in between the centre-backs to allow his ball-near centre-back to move into the wide areas and close down crosses while he defended their zone. He then had a flick to Marcelino Nunez to beat pressure on the edge of his own box as this led to an opportunity being created on the break.

The timing of his tackles as well as the calm and expertise with which he regains possession as a defensive midfielder is phenomenal as he rarely shies away from a physical battle but constantly regains possession cleanly and decisively. At home to Nacional in the Copa Libertadores, the opposition had a counter-attacking situation where Saavedra was covering for his centre-back by filling the centre-back position to push forward and maintain his focus for a phenomenally timed sliding challenge to regain possession and quell the opposition attack. In possession, he would receive possession inside his own box from a short goal-kick situation to allow the ball to roll across his body to drive the ball forward on the right flank before calmly switching the ball to the left flank. When his side are in possession in the opposition half, Saavedra is integral as he is constantly moving at the base of midfield, looking to receive possession in space and participate in the possession phase by keeping things moving with simple passes or in this case, lofting another switch ball to the opposite flank.

The 22-year-old is a strong one-touch passer as in a more elaborate possession-based system he could thrive in receiving possession and working connections to move the ball into space as he has shown great potential in passing and moving from the deeper areas. He would receive possession in the six-space to make a teammate dropping into space before pushing in between the lines to receive possession again to take a touch and work a pass to the wide areas with his weaker left foot before moving into the half-space to receive possession and work a one-touch pass with his left foot into the channels for a teammate to have a cross blocked. Despite being more apt with the defensive side of the game rather than the attacking side, Saavedra has the ability to find passes in between the lines as he received possession in the six-space and drove the ball forward to thread a pass in between the lines.

Saavedra’s ball-winning ability at the base of midfield can help his team sustain attacks as he is phenomenal counter-presser, frequently covering small spaces to regain possession in the midfield as if possession is lost in the midfield area or in the opposition half, the Chilean has the instincts to push forward and make well-timed challenges in the air or on the ground. His team lost possession from a goal-kick for Saavedra to win the second-ball by covering space to regain possession to win an aerial duel in midfield. The 22-year-old would win possession again in midfield when his side lost possession for the opposition to play a long-ball as they were embarking on a counter-attack for Saavedra to make an interception to end the counter-attack to poke a pass in between the lines.

In a Chilean Primera Division away match to Union Espanola, he received possession from the left flank to drive into the centre of the pitch and gesture that he had no passing options in the forward areas before working a pass to the left and receiving possession to play a one-touch pass into the next line to instigate an attacking move. His movement to receive possession in the six-space is also exceptional as he was positioned in the six-space between two opposition attackers before scanning and moving into space on the left to receive possession from his centre-back to work a one-touch pass back to him for a ball in between the lines. The 22-year-old would then show immensely sound anticipation as the opposition had possession on Universidad Catolica’s left flank with a player closing down a player in possession of the ball as well as a player closing down the striker as the opposition player in possession had a direct passing option to a player close to him. Saavedra quickly identified this and covered the space phenomenally from his defensive midfield position to make a fantastic sliding interception for his team to create a breaking situation after the turnover.

Saavedra would show his ability in the counter-press again when his side lost possession with a pass into the pockets deflected into midfield for their midfield commander to push up and regain possession in the opposition half. His counter-pressing would prove critical again when he pushed up to intercept possession after a turnover on the right flank to work a one-touch pass into the nine-space with his first touch. Saavedra also has the requisite tools to hold the ball under pressure as allowing the ball to roll across his body and spinning out of pressure is apparent in his game as he is domineering with his height as well as having a hulking physique. Saavedra would gesture for a teammate to play a back-pass to his centre-back before moving into space and scanning to see a marker pushing up behind him as he oriented his body on the half-turn facing the centre of the pitch as he bent his knees as the ball was played to him to produce an immaculate spin past an opponent before playing an outside of the boot pass to a teammate and continuing his run in between the lines.

Dropping into space, scanning and receiving possession on the half-turn have become crucial staples of his game as he has not yet perfected his game in possession, but he is beginning to develop those facets of his game to mesh with his immense defensive ability. He would receive possession from his centre-back again as he swivelled and lasered a progressive pass into the left half-space before receiving possession in the six-space to control the ball with his right foot to drive the ball to the right flank before switching the pass to his left foot to swivel and thread another pass into the left half-space. From a goal-kick situation, his left-sided centre-back would receive possession for Saavedra to scan for his marker behind him as a realised he was in a pocket of space as he demanded possession for his centre-back to gesture to him to take a few steps back for Saavedra to back into a greater pocket of space to receive possession with a measured first touch and play another progressive pass.

Thee 22-year-old regained possession again with his side losing possession as he pushed forward while not engaging the man in possession for Saavedra to lunge as he was about to release possession to deflect a pass to a teammate. He received possession in the six-space to drive the ball forward and play a pass to a teammate in the nine-space before winning an aerial duel to regain possession to receive possession with his left before playing a pass in between the lines with his right. His side would lose possession in the build-up phase for Saavedra to react quickly with one of his trademarked brilliantly timed sliding challenges to regain possession.

In the Copa Libertadores Round of 16, at home to Palmeiras, the 22-year-old defensive midfielder proved to be a clean tackler in front of his defence, making a sliding tackle to regain possession before closing down the spaces in front of his centre-backs phenomenally to make an interception. He consistently looks to read the game well and cover passing lanes while keeping it simple with his distribution at the base of midfield. In a tight game, Saavedra won possession for a ball to be played to Zampedri who drove past a centre-back to have a shot on goal saved. Saavedra also showed his passing range by switching passes from flank to flank while only working one pass in between the central lines as his shortcomings in being creative with possession were being exposed as he was unable to orchestrate any attacking moves from the deeper areas.

Two days later, he would play a home game at home to Colo Colo as he showed glimmers of his ability in possession. He received possession from the left to work a one-touch pass back to the flank under pressure before receiving possession from the left again to turn out of pressure to drive the ball forward and spread a pass to the flank. Ivan Morales was in front of him driving towards his centre-backs for Saavedra to make a well-timed lunge to regain possession as that specific tackle had to be as clean and well-timed as possible. In the Copa Libertadores second-leg against Palmeiras, he began the game with the perfect microcosm to describe his overall game, making a tackle to misplace a switch pass to the flank. The defensive midfielder continued to mis-place passes while as he was unable to have an impact on the game from a possession stand-point.

Away to Antofagasta, Saavedra positioning was sound as he made a phenomenal challenge to regain possession in the counter-press as well as winning an aerial duel. He then moved into space to flick a pass for Nunez in between the lines as he showed that he is capable of playing progressive passes. Saavedra switched a pass the right flank for Nunez before Saavedra received possession again to work a pass for a teammate to thread a pass in behind to create an opportunity before the 22-year-old found Felipe Gutierrez with a pass in between the lines. Saavedra enjoys being engaged in the defensive phase of the game at the base of midfield, being in the right position to win aerial duels while making blocks and interceptions as he is constantly looking to read passes to leave his position to regain possession. He would work a combination with Nunez to evade pressure before receiving possession to turn out of pressure play a forward pass that nearly led to a chance being created. He would finish the game with an 87% pass succession rate and 13 ball recoveries.

At home to Universidad de Chile, Saavedra worked a combination to facilitate a cross into the box before regaining possession in the opposition box to lead to a teammate having a high-quality opportunity on goal. Universidad Catolica Head Coach, Gus Poyet utilizes a 4-1-4-1 shape with Saavedra as the lone defensive midfielder as in a defensive block, Saavedra would have a lot of space to cover with the Chilean relying on his centre-backs pushing up to regain possession as these issues have more to do with the system than the player himself. Saavedra will normally twist and turn out of challenges to play back-passes for centre-backs to play line-breaking passes as he would regain possession in midfield to work a connection to drive the ball forward as he spread the ball into the wide areas for a cross. There was another snapshot of his game when he won an aerial duel before regaining possession from the resulting throw-in as he took too much time on the ball before being tackled. However, he would continue covering space to make challenges in the defensive phase, making two brilliantly timed tackles to shield his defence.

Saavedra excels with the defensive side of the game, especially with aerial duels as he has the height, jumping power and physical strength to consistently win majority of his challenges in the air. On the ground, he is quick over short spaces and makes well-timed challenges with a great regularity at such a high level and clean rate that he rarely concedes fouls given the high amount of defensive work he puts. His anticipation is excellent as his can read the game perfectly to win interceptions while he regularly wins possession in the counter-pressing phase in the opposition half to allow his side to sustain attacks. The attacking side of his game is in its developmental stage as there is great hope in Chile that he can develop with this side of his game to usurp his more experienced counterparts with the Chilean National Team. He has the tools to improve with his ability to turn out of pressure as Holan developed his ability to move into space to receive possession, scanning and turning out of pressure while the 22-year-old can pass and receive the ball with both feet. He could be more adventurous and precise with his passing, especially against deeper blocks where more creative responsibility lies on his shoulders. Saavedra can work one-touch passes and one-touch passing interchanges to ease transition and be involved in the creation of opportunities as in a more organized attacking system this area of his game could continue to be developed.

The 22-year-old has a contract until 2023 as he will probably leave Chile in the next two transfer windows as a move would be beneficial for his progress as well as his inclusion in the current and future Chilean National Team setup. Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp with their coming midfield rebuild with the departure of Georginio Wijnaldum, ensuing contract expiration of Jordan Henderson as well as the aging Thiago Alcantara could prove to be good move for him at the base of their midfield with creativity around him. He could also act as a back-up or replacement for Oriol Romeu at Southampton while Celtic could prove to be a good stepping stone for him. A move to England would be possible due to the continental minutes and domestic titles he has accrued while he would be perfect for Jose Mourinho’s Roma. Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Lille would be more good moves for him as well as any of the Portuguese big three. Saavedra has had a distinguished career in Chile as it could be time for him to embark on a move to have a distinguished career with the Chilean National Team as well.