Liberman Torres – Independiente Juniors’ stoic ball-playing centre-back

Independiente Juniors utilized Marco Angulo as a ball-playing central centre-back and defensive-midfield hybrid for the first half of last season. However, in the middle of the season, the moved Liberman Torres into the central centre-back role in a back three as the 19-year-old began to illustrate his talent, holding his place and becoming one of the better players in the team and an intriguing defensive prospect for the future. Ecuador are not short of great centre-backs coming through while Independiente Del Valle have a plethora of centre-backs ahead of Liberman Torres in the pecking order as the youngster’s passing range would suit Renato Paiva’s title-winning side.

Liberman Torres is a lumbering defensive presence capable of playing centre-back in a back three or four while he also has the potential to deputise as a defensive midfield anchor. Defensively, he already possesses tremendous anticipation, pushing forward to win possession while he has the physicality to be dominant in 1v1 battles in the wide and central areas in winning possession. He can use his long legs to stretch and win possession while also being able to be clean and effective with his tackles. He is a Dayot Upamecano-type centre-back while in possession, he is a wonderful long-range passer as he pings accurate switch balls from one flank to another with his wand of a right foot. This is what allowed him to fit in seamlessly in the centre of a back-three as he can also work passing connections to carry the ball out of pressing situations as he is very courageous with his distribution. He loves to thread passes through tight lines of pressure to the six-space or in between the lines to instigate attacking moves.

Liberman Torres was playing in the middle of a back-three when he received possession and lobbed an accurate pass to a highly placed wing-back on the right flank. Independiente Juniors were utilizing a 3-1-2-4 shape which was focused on quick connections in the centre of the pitch as well as switching the ball and stretching the pitch as often as possible. Liberman Torres was crucial to this as he would receive possession near the half-way line to play the ball to a teammate in the six-space before receiving possession and switching possession to the right flank where Alan Minda would receive possession and work a pass into the half-space for an attacking move. His peerless and accurate long-range distribution would not stop there as he would push into the midfield line to receive the ball, driving the ball forward before switching possession to the left flank for a wing-back to get in behind his marker to have a crossing opportunity.

The 19-year-old would receive possession in a central centre-back position to lob a pass over six men and two lines of pressure to Patrickson Delgado while he was on the half-turn. He switched another pass to Minda on the right flank. He received a back-pass on the edge of his own box with the opposition moving up to press him as he skipped past one marker before threading a pass to a teammate in the six-space past another opposition attacker. Liberman Torres lobbed another pass to Renny Sinisterra in the nine-space to lay-off as the defender managed to instigate an attacking move. He would also show some weaknesses in his 1v1 defending as the opposition were charging at him for Liberman Torres to have his feet and his body angle set to the flank which made it easy for the attacker to skip past him and have an opportunity on goal. The Ecuadorian would then be pivotal in an opportunity being created when he lobbed a pass in between the lines for Sinisterra and Leiton to work a one-two for the latter to have a shot on goal. Liberman Torres would have to move to the left flank to regain possession as he lost the first battle but was doggish in his endeavour, putting himself in between the ball and the attacker to regain possession before playing a back-pass to his goalkeeper.

Liberman Torres’ ability to receive possession in the midfield line as well as carrying the ball into the midfield line is another aspect of his game that makes him press resistant, apart from his ability to work long-passes with ease. Apart from his ball-carrying and long-range passing, Liberman Torres can also receive possession and work passes in one or two touches as this allows him to participate and instigate shorter and more elaborate build-up sequences from deep. In another game, during goal-kicks, Liberman Torres would move into the six-space to receive possession and take a touch before playing the ball to Alan Minda in the wider areas. The 19-year-old then received possession in a central centre-back role to take a touch before spreading play to his wide right centre-back for the ball to be played back to Liberman Torres who took a touch while an opposition attacker was pressing his blind-side for the young centre-back to elegantly spin out of a challenge and work a forward pass to the six-space.

Liberman Torres is unphased by pressure as he would receive possession from the goalkeeper to allow the ball to roll across his body before taking a touch to lob a pass to the left-sided centre-back who had the opportunity to drive the ball forward while having passing options in between the lines. The 19-year-old would then mesh his ball-carrying with his elite passing range, receiving possession from the goalkeeper again to drive the ball forward as two opposition attackers were pushing forward to engage him as Liberman Torres directed the ball from one attacker to shield the ball before skipping past another attacker utilizing the outside of his boot to angle a perfect pass for a runner in the channels. He then evaded pressure with shorter and more elaborate passing connections, receiving possession from his goalkeeper while under pressure yet again to take a touch and slide a pass to his right sided centre-back on the half-turn before pushing up to receive possession in the midfield line as he played a progressive pass to the eight space.

His athleticism, long legs and imposing physique allow him to hold possession as he received possession on the halfway line, pushing the ball into the opposition half before holding the ball to attract a marker before shielding possession from an opposition attacker to thread a pass into a teammate in space. In another game, he would receive possession near the halfway line to take a touch and lob an accurate pass that landed at the feet of the right wing-back as this switch took four opposition players out of the game. He received possession in the same area to take two touches before lobbing a switch to the left wing-back as spreading the ball over long distances comes so naturally to him. Liberman Torres’ directional first touches are so measured in allowing him to play quick passes or drive the ball as he had a situation where the opposition were applying counter-pressure as the 19-year-old chose to remain in the six-space to stagger the defensive line as he received possession from the left flank to allow the ball to roll across his body to his right foot to take a touch and thread a pass to a teammate in between the lines to start a counter-attack.

Liberman Torres has the anticipation and reading of the game to operate in a high defensive line as a blocked shot would lead to an attacker having the ball against two Independiente Juniors defenders for Torres to move back into position before stepping up to quell the threat with a clean tackle before pushing the ball forward and threading a pass in between the lines. Liberman Torres would then play a back-pass to his centre-back as he was occupying the six-space as he would receive possession to drive the ball forward and switch possession to the right flank. In the next game, the 19-year-old would have the ability to show his defensive prowess, moving to the right flank to regain possession by putting himself in between an opposition player and the ball before turning out past his man to win a foul. In a counter-attacking situation, he would slide across to execute a brilliantly sliding tackle to win possession in the box.

Liberman Torres thrives in utilizing his skillset to instigate attacking plays from the deeper areas as he would work a one-two with a teammate in the six-space to receive possession and play the ball to his left sided centre-back before he received possession to take a touch and switch the ball to the opposite flank to put the right wing-back in a good crossing situation. Independiente Juniors had a turnover in the build-up phase which allowed the opposition to play a direct pass to the nine-space for a run in behind where the 19-year-old pushed up to make an interception and regain possession for his side. At such a young age, the Ecuadorian has already developed the mindset to push up and win the ball rather than retreating, no matter the stakes of the situation as this allows him to win possession in the higher areas. The 19-year-old would push up to regain possession in the opposition half again to skip past two opposition attackers to drive the ball deep into the opposition half before spreading the ball to the flank.

Liberman Torres is so agile on his feet despite being imposing in size which allows him to carry the ball deep effectively in the possession phase while also cover space and make tackles effectively in the defensive phase. He would receive possession and switch a pass to the left half-space for a knock on to the left flank before receiving possession in his own box to send a raking pass on the ground to the right flank which eliminated almost six opposition attackers. Not only is Liberman Torres a master of the lobbed switch ball, he can send raking grass cutting passes on the ground to evade pressure and put his team in high quality attacking situations. In his next game, he received possession in his centre-back role to thread a pass in between the lines to a teammate who flicked on the ball for a runner on the flank. The 19-year-old then received possession from a kick-off to switch a deep pass to the left flank for the wing-back.

The 19-year-old’s distribution allowed the wing-backs to maintain high positions as he would consistently find them with switch-passes on the flank to stretch the pitch in the possession phase. Liberman Torres would receive possession in a central centre-back role to drive the ball forward and laser a pass in between the lines before he would receive possession again to switch the ball to the left flank. He would switch another pass for a wing-back to get in behind and play a cut-back as the youngster’s long-range distribution allows him to facilitate the creation of opportunities. In the defensive phase, the 19-year-old would show his calm in chasing the ball back to his own goal as a lobbed pass was played to an attacker for Liberman Torres to get in between the attacker and the goalkeeper to make a timely challenge to regain possession. He then tracked a marker into the opposition half to regain possession from a throw-in.

In a counter-attacking sequence, a ball was played into his zone in a potential 3v2 situation favouring the opposition for Liberman Torres to push up and make an interception as he cleared the ball into the opposition half. He then received possession in the six-space to turn and play a switch pass to the opposite flank for a wing-back. In a home game, after the opposition had a shot cannon off the post, Liberman Torres would pick the ball up and drive the ball out of the box to attract two markers before working a pass to a teammate to evade pressure. He would show his courageous side when he played a pass to Anthony Valencia under pressure for the attacking midfielder to flick the ball to a teammate to start an attacking move. The 19-year-old was caught in a wider position in the build-up phase before covering ground to make a crucial tackle to prevent the opposition from having a clear-cut goalscoring opportunity.

In an away match, Liberman Torres would begin the game by switching the ball to the right flank from the left as he switched another pass, this time from a central centre-back position to the left flank. He received possession in the midfield line to thread a pass to a teammate in between the lines as Felipe Mateos Sanchez would deploy him in midfield for the rest of the game as he side-stepped into a pocket of space to receive the ball in the six-space to turn and lob a pass to a Darlin Leiton in between the lines. In his next game, he would show that he is not only commanding in ground duels but in aerial duels as well, leaping to make an interception on an opposition long-pass into his zone.

Liberman Torres has the physique and mobility to be as effective in a two-chain as he is in a three-chain while having the directional first touch and passing range to be effective in a midfield anchor man role. His long-passing is by far his greatest strength as being able to ping balls the width of the pitch allows him to be effective in bypassing opposition pressing as well as deeper defensive blocks. He has been well-schooled in the nuances of playing in a high defensive line with his vision for passes, ball-carrying as well as his anticipation and strength in defensive duels. As the season went on, he improved the way he set his feet and body when opposition players were driving the ball at him as he became a brick-wall for his side. He uses his body to shield the ball and regain possession cleanly in that fashion while he also uses his body to drive the ball into the midfield line and opposition half. His vision with rolling passes on the ground is also excellent as he could grow into an elite ball-playing centre-back.

Liberman Torres has the skills to become a key player for Renato Paiva as his long passing and efficient switching could become key in that system as Independiente Del Valle could have a large amount of turnover in the coming months. He would also be an intriguing proposition for Arne Slot’s Feyenoord as well as most sides that operate with three chains in the Portuguese Primera Liga as well as Ligue 1, especially with Lens. The Belgian Jupiler League would also be a key step up for him as he has the technique and physical ability to excel in some developmental leagues in Europe. It will be intriguing to see if the 19-year-old could earn a place at Independiente Del Valle as if he does not, he should have no shortage of suitors in the transfer market.