Martín Sarrafiore – Vasco Da Gama’s enterprising playmaker

At one point, it seemed like Martin Sarrafiore’s career was moving rapidly but now his rapid upward trajectory has stalled with a talented player, plying his trade in the Brasiliero Serie B in his second loan from Internacional. He was one of Argentina’s most intriguing young talents with Huracan signing him to a professional contract at the age of 15 as he had a phenomenal showing in the Ipiranga Under 20 Cup in Brazil which attracted interest. At that time, he was 20-years-old, and his first professional contract was winding down with Huracan haggling to tie him down to a new contract. Fernando Moroni, Huracan’s club secretary tried to explain to Sarrafiore that he would be denying the club of his youth a large sum of money if he simply left for free, but the youngster’s mind already seemed to be made up.

Sarrafiore would sign a pre-contract agreement with Internacional, departing Huracan and leaving them in the lurch, earning criticism from the club and Argentinean football alike. After two loans to Coritiba and Vasco Da Gama as Internacional have had a rotating cast of managers, at a concerning level even for Brazilian football standards, Sarrafiore has not had the opportunity to become a key player for the Brazilian club. His current club, Vasco Da Gama were relegated last year despite being in the round of 16 in the Copa Sudamericana as they are facing financial trouble with rising debt and a Brazilian Football Association with a furrowed brow and tightened belt denying them the ability to use unconventional means to gain revenue. Internacional have slapped a $3 million price-tag on the 24-year-old playmaker with Liga MX side Puebla showing interest as Sarrafiore denied them.

These circumstances should not overshadow that Sarrafiore is a highly talented player who has the potential to be a bargain the upcoming transfer window as he will be one of a few players to keep an eye on as Vasco look to recoup some money. The 24-year-old is a playmaker finding space in between the lines to receive possession and connect play as he is fantastic ball-carrier with his innate twists and turns out of challenges as well as his close control. His movement allows him to be a goal-scorer while he can create opportunities from set-pieces as well as being an intelligent through ball player. At his current price point, he is certainly a shrewd transfer waiting to be made with his current set of skills. The Brasiliero Serie B provides a gruelling schedule as Sarrafiore has been kicked out of games, once even suffering a kick to the head while he has also been forced to play on a waterlogged pitch as he had to work his way into a starting role as he is currently out with COVID-19. His experiences in Brazil have certainly added character to his personality as it has not been the easy adjustment that he may have thought it was.

Sarrafiore is not only a potential bargain due to his ability as a central playmaker but he can also play as a wide playmaker, tucking in from the flanks and connecting play in the half-spaces while looking to play through balls to runners as he may have a future as a deep-lying playmaking eight with his close control and ball-carrying giving him an element of press resistance. He has already played this role to great effect during his loan at Coritiba as they were operating as a 5-4-1 with Sarrafiore operating as one of the central midfielders away to Atletico Goianiense. He consistently spun away from challenges and drove the ball forward allowing his side to easily transition into attacking moves as his press resistance was one of the better facets of Coritiba’s game.

In one situation, he received possession with his back to goal to use his body to shield the ball and swivel away from a tackle to drive the ball forward and work a pass in between the lines with his left foot. He would receive possession again and spread the ball to the right flank before moving into the ten space to receive possession with a marker behind him as he used his back to shield possession as he allowed the ball to roll across his body onto his left foot to work a pass into the nine-space to take on a lay-off to send a strike wide of the opposition goal. This showed his ability to receive possession in a variety of tight spaces, his movement as well as his creative ability of using movement and connections to create shooting opportunities for his side. Sarrafiore would then use his phenomenal distribution to switch a pass to the right flank.

In the opening game of the Serie B season, he would turn away from a marker to attempt a through ball in behind twice but was unable to fund an accurate pass to a runner. The 24-year-old would then turn out of pressure to thread a pass to start a counter-attack as he was taking his lumps in the Brazilian Second Division. His game would end with the attacking midfielder having to go off with a kick to the head. Away to Goias, almost a month later after he regained a starting role after being a bit-part player, he continued to be targeted for fouls. He did well to defend his zone as he was playing on the left flank of a 4-4-2 formation, covering for his left-back as in one instance, he received possession to hold off one player before skipping past another to earn a foul in the opposition half. Vasco da Gama would play with 10 men after Andrey was sent off in the early stages of the game.

Most of his responsibilities would be defensive as Sarrafiore adapted well, covering for his left-back, winning 50/50 challenges as he was also covering for Matias Galarza who would move into the wide areas to regain possession. Sarrafiore would regain possession in his own box to thread a pass-through pressure to Galarza to instigate a counter-attacking opportunity as he continued his run in hopes of receiving possession. Sarrafiore would end the first half by creating an opportunity as he finally received possession in the final third to cut past a man before working a pass for German Cano to have a strike tipped over the bar. Sarrafiore would be taken off at half-time to make way for a more defensive player as he created 1 chance, had 3 crosses as well as ½ takeons.

Sarrafiore’s season was stop-start as the Argentine was not a first-team player as he struggled with mitigating circumstances whenever he was picked to start. This did not stop him from having some strong performances as he came on before half-time at home to Brusque. The 24-year-old Argentine midfielder, he would tuck inside from the left flank to receive possession to work a one-two with a teammate to dribble past a man to move into the centre and thread a pass to the nine-space. He would push forward to receive a lay-off from the nine-space before moving into the wide areas to receive possession just outside the opposition box to pull off an elegant turn by flick the ball off one foot, to guide the ball into his stride with the other foot to swivel past a marker and send a tame shot wide. This was similar to his shot creating sequence for Coritiba as he loves to combine in between the lines while having the intelligence to receive possession in tight spaces to have shots on goal.

With his left-foot, Sarrafiore possesses the ability to thread line-breaking passes to teammates as well as work accurate switches to the opposite flank. The 24-year-old would work another connection when he received possession in the left half-space in the build-up phase to swivel and thread a pass in between the lines to receive a lay-off and angle a perfect switch to the right flank as he evaded opposition pressure almost single-handedly. The playmaker would receive possession on the left half again, this time in the attacking half as he worked a nonchalant one-touch flick to his fullback making a run into the centre. The Argentine midfield maestro would receive possession in front of his own box to turn and thread another pass in between the lines to instigate a counter-attack. Sarrafiore was heavily involved in transition again as he received possession in the left half-space to spin past a marker again and thread a pass to the nine-space for a teammate that was fouled to earn a free-kick.

In the final third, the Argentine playmaker would work a pass to Cano from the left flank who attempted to lob a pass in behind to him which was too heavy as Sarrafiore ended the game by showing his close control and dribbling ability. He controlled a high ball with his knee to swivel past his marker before cutting outside his marker as he was hemmed into tight quarters by two opposition midfielders before cutting inside to beat both of them to skip past an opposition defender as he finally lost possession with a tackle. Sarrafiore can be accused of holding the ball for too long as he will regularly try to beat an extra man and lose possession when he has the opportunity to release the ball. Sarrafiore would come off the bench at home to Guarani to notch an assist as he received possession in the deeper areas by allowing the ball to roll across his body and flicking it past a marker to thread a phenomenal through ball in between two opposition defenders for Leo Jaba to run onto the ball and apply the finish in the dying stages of the game. In the dying minutes of the game he would instigate a counter-attacking move by receiving possession deep in his own half to drive the ball forward and thread a pass into the channels for a teammate.

The bad luck and mitigating circumstances that have come to define Sarrafiore’s career continued as he finally got an opportunity to start but the pitch was unplayable as it was water-logged with rain pouring from the sky. The conditions were so poor that Sarrafiore had a sequence where he was driving the ball forward and slipped into a puddle on the right flank as this did not deter him. He had a moment on the left where he cut past a man and switched the ball to the opposite flank before he opened the scoring with a diving header from a corner. Sarrafiore would receive possession in the box again but was unable to get a better first touch on the ball as the pitch conditions were terrible as the game was suspended and then reconvened a few hours later with Sarrafiore’s goal being the winning goal.

It seems that Sarrafiore has worked his way back into the starting lineup as he would start the next match against Remo. The 24-year-old would begin the game by regaining possession in his own half to weave past two players to work a pass to Cano who switched the ball to the opposite flank as Vasco da Gama strung together a counter-attack. The Argentine creator would receive possession on the right touchline to play a simple one-touch lay-off for the right-back whose touch was too heavy. He would show his dribbling ability as well as his knack for weaving out of tight situations when he would latch onto a blocked free-kick in the opposition box with two opposition defenders marking him to skip past one before swivelling past another to work a pass down the line for an overlapping fullback. Sarrafiore would move into the left half half-space to stretch and receive possession in between the lines to thread a perfectly weighted through ball to Leo Jaba in the channels for the winger to play the ball back to him as he lost possession in the opposition box.

His blind-sided movement and ability to make runs into space also make him a very talented playmaker as once he receives possession in space, he can string together moves to create opportunites or play through balls to create opportunities for teammates. Sarrafiore would receive possession on the left side of midfield and spread the ball to the flank before making a run into space in the left half-space as he realised he would not receive possession. He scanned and realised that the striker was moving into the wide areas before Sarrafiore made a run into the vacated nine-space, ghosting past defenders to give his teammate a better passing option as he surged past the opposition centre-backs and into the box to receive possession as the pass was too heavy for him to have an opportunity on goal.

This sequence was foreshadowing as his movement into the nine-space would earn him a goal as a long ball was played into the channels for Sarrafiore would make a dovetailing run into the nine-space to receive a cut-back and redirect it past the goalkeeper. With a run of game-time, Sarrafiore had managed to accrue 2 goals and 1 assist in three games. Sarrafiore would then create an opportunity of his own as he received possession with a deep pass into the ten space as the Argentine controlled the ball with an exceptional first touch before driving the ball forward as he worked a pass to his countryman Cano in the box to shoot wide. Sarrafiore would have his turn to thread a pass in between the lines to a teammate to instigate an attacking move.

His connections would then lead to another opportunity being created for his team as he received possession from the left flank to thread a pass in between the lines before moving to receive a lay-off as the pass was played to another player for Sarrafiore to find space in between the lines to receive possession, swivel and lay-off for a teammate to send a shot wide. Sarrafiore then showed his ability to be creativity from set-pieces as he played a brilliantly directed corner into the box for a teammate to head wide. The 24-year-old then received possession in the ten space to calmly play a pass to a runner who was not able to beat his man as he drove into the box. This was Sarrafiore’s best performance as he was gaining some wind beneath his sails but his season was curtailed by a positive COVID-19 test which meant he was relegated to watching from home.

With Vasco da Gama in financial strife as Internacional try to sell him for a cut-price fee, Sarrafiore is one of the most undervalued assets in South American football. His ability to receive possession in between the lines and connect play to create shooting opportunities for himself and teammates is exceptional. His distribution as a line-breaking passer from deep and as a skilled through-ball player in the final third is exceptional as he is press-resistant and adds an element of creativity in the final third, threading passes into the channels to set up crossing situations as well as accrue assists of his own when playing teammates in behind. The spaces that Sarrafiore occupies in the final third are impeccable, receiving possession in between the lines to work one-touch passes to runners or to draw markers as the Argentine playmaker distributes the ball to teammates in space.

Not only can Sarrafiore operate as an advanced playmaker, but he has a future as a creative deep-lying player who makes forays into advanced situations in a similar fashion to Independiente Del Valle’s Lorenzo Faravelli who he is four years younger than. His positioning in the half-spaces and in between the lines to receive possession in build-up is fantastic while he has the strength to shield the ball in tight situations. His close control and ability to swivel out of tight situations or weave past gluts of defenders allow him to be press resistant as his progressive passing as well as his ability to switch the ball can instigate attacking moves. For Independiente Del Valle, Faravelli moves into the six-space to receive possession and lay-off passes while also making runs in behind the striker to have goalscoring opportunities. Sarrafiore is capable of this as his movement into space in the final third is fantastic as he is capable of moving into areas to finish goalscoring opportunities while he will also add press-resistance in the build-up phase.

Sarrafiore could be a highly sought-after talent in the January transfer window as his current price-tag has been touted at $3 million but is sure to lower with his contract at Internacional expiring in December next year. At 24, he could provide immense value as a playmaker before moving deeper in the latter stages of his career as he would be a bargain at his current price range. Clubs in Argentina, the top teams in Chile, Mexico as well as teams in the MLS should be interested in taking advantage of this unique opportunity. In terms of European clubs, teams in the Portuguese Primera Liga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Segunda Liga could also utilize a player like Sarrafiore as he has the tools to adjust to European football. The future of Sarrafiore has always been debated since his mid-teens as one hopes that the Argentine playmaker can find more stable surroundings and finally begin to show his immense promise.