Zaid Romero – LDU Quito’s domineering left-sided centre-back
Zaid Abner Romero has begun the season phenomenally with LDU Quito as he joined them on loan with an option to buy in December. The 22-year-old is a commanding centre-back who loves to be vocal with his leadership on the pitch and is fast becoming a crowd favourite with LDU Quito. However, there is a dark cloud hanging over the young centre-back as a match between another team he was on loan with in Villa Dalmine against Barracas in the Argentine Second Division is shrouded in accusations over match-fixing with Argentine football officials investigating the match. Villa Dalmine would terminate the contract of 16 players after the game, including Romero.
The young centre-back has put all that behind him early on in his career in Ecuador as he has quickly risen to being one of the more effective ball-playing centre-backs in the league. The 22-year-old is towering in height while having an imposing physique allowing him to win the ball in physical battles on the ground and in the air as he is extremely comfortable in defending a high defensive line. In possession, he has the size to hold off opposition players and drive the ball into the midfield line while he will regularly look to thread passes through tight lines into the six-space or in between the lines. He can also work long switch balls to the opposite flank as the variation of his distribution is impressive and puts him in the lead in passing metrics, length of passing metrics and penetrative passing metrics.
In the season opener against Gualaceo, he received possession from the goalkeeper to prod the ball forward fake like he was going to cut back inside and play a back-pass to the goalkeeper before pushing the ball forward with the outside of his left boot before threading a pass to the striker dropping deep from the nine-space. He then received possession with an opposition player applying pressure from the flank to control the ball with the inside of his boot and utilize a clever directional first touch to prod the ball into the centre to evade a tackle before spreading the ball to the flank. This is one of the minor deficits to Romero’s game is that when he evades pressure with his ball-carrying, he can normally turn and play a sideways or back-pass instead of looking to penetrate with a deeper pass in between the lines.
Defensively, Romero already looks comfortable in defending a high-line as he would cover for his right-sided centre-back to regain possession near the right touchline and play the ball back to the goalkeeper. In the counter-press, the opposition would play a long ball for the 22-year-old to be perfectly positioned to make the interception. He would make another interception but the second time, it was an exhibit of heroic and intelligent defending when a pass was played behind his right-sided centre-back for Romero to slide across to get goal side of the attacker to stick out his leg to make a vital deflection on a pass to another attacker as he prevented the opposition from having a 1v1 opportunity with the goalkeeper. He would exhibit his ball-carrying once again to drive the ball into the opposition half to skip past a defender before sending a shot from range wide of goal.
He would make another interception as the opposition played a ball into the centre as the Argentine centre-back was perfectly positioned again to make an interception with an outstretched leg. Romero’s positioning is sound and the fashion in which he adjusts his position to the movement of the ball and the movement of his marker is excellent as it allows him to win possession cleanly with interceptions. He would be positioned in between two attackers, focusing on closing the passing lane to the attacker behind him and leaving himself enough space to recover to make a tackle on the attacker in front of him. A ball would be played to the attacker behind him for Romero to make the interception as he drove the ball forward and had a pass ricochet off an opposition player for his teammate to make a clearance.
He received possession from the goalkeeper to drive the ball forward, manoeuvring past one opposition attacker while another was closing in to thread a pass in between the lines to the central spaces. Romero is excellent at driving the ball forward and suddenly turning his body to thread a line-breaking pass in between the central spaces as his ability to swivel quickly with his size is phenomenal. Another facet of his game that makes him a reliable high-line defender is his ability to win aerial duels, especially with lobbed passes as the 22-year-old would rise to win a header to regain possession for his side in the opposition half. After a knock-on from a goal-kick, the Argentine centre-back would win another aerial duel before receiving possession in the opposition half to drive the ball forward, outmuscling a defender before playing a pass into the half-space.
The 22-year-old would receive a back-pass from his left-back with two opposition players pushing up to apply pressure on him before playing a one-touch lobbed pass to the nine-space to evade pressure. LDU Quito would lose possession in the build-up phase as Gualaceo would attempt to switch possession to the left while the left-back was caught up higher up the pitch as Romero would show tremendous anticipation to push up and make a pivotal interception before an opposition attacker was about to receive the ball. Moments later, he would have to cover for his left-back again, shifting into the wide areas to outmuscle an attacker to cleanly regain possession and play a back-pass to the goalkeeper.
Away to Deportivo Cuenca, he received possession in the build-up phase to push the ball forward to switch an accurate pass to Sebastian Gonzalez on the left flank. Romero thrives in the counter-press as well as in martialling a high-line which has made him an instant success in Ecuadorian football and bodes well for his career going forward. His team would possession in the opposition half for Romero to have to chase back and regain possession before the opposition could establish a proper counter-attack. Aerially, Romero is a threat in the opposition box while also being able to be a sound defender in his own box. He was a defending an opposition attacker at the near post from a corner, to deflect the delivery out of the box with his right boot for his team to regain possession. After a turnover in the opposition half, a long ball would be played to Romero’s marker for the 22-year-old to win an aerial duel and regain possession for his team.
He would receive possession in the opposition half to take a touch and thread a pass to the ten space for the attacking midfielder to dummy the ball to go in behind for Nilson Angulo to have a 1v1 with the opposition fullback in the wide areas. The goalkeeper would play the ball to Romero in his own box with a player marking him for the 22-year-old to evade his marker with his directional first touch driving the ball forward with another marker pushing up to engage him as Romero cleverly played a pass to the left flank with his right foot to evade pressure. He then won possession from an opposition goal-kick in an aerial duel to prevent the opposition from having a counter-attack. He would receive possession closer to the left flank as LDU Quito switched to a three-chain in a build-up situation as Romero pushed the ball towards the flank with his directional first touch to lob a pass to the flank.
The Argentine centre-back would make another interception from a cross before clearing the ball. The 22-year-old then showed tremendous anticipation to push up and make an interception on a pass. He then played a switch ball to the right half-space in the attacking line for his side to win a free-kick deep in the opposition half. Romero not only has impeccable long-range distribution from his own half, he can also act as a penetrative passer in the opposition half as he would receive possession in the opposition half to push the ball forward, to fake like he was going to play the ball to the left flank to swivel and thread a pass past two players and into the ten space. As a high-line centre-back, Romero also shown an immense amount of calm when running towards his own goal which one the more integral parts of defending in a high-line. A ball would be played behind him for the 22-year-old to use his body to shield the ball from an attacker before swivelling past him to play a progressive pass into the next line.
The 22-year-old would prove this again, this time moving to the right to cover for his right-sided centre-back as the attacker would spin past him for Romero to chase back towards goal as the last line of defence, to make a lunge on his marker before using his body to overpower him as Romero would manage to regain possession for his side without conceding a penalty. He then won possession from an opposition goal-kick as Romero is a highly gifted centre-back but has the potential to have some moments of clumsiness by conceding stupid fouls as this is an area of his defending in need of improvement. At home to Universidad Catolica, he received possession in the higher areas to drive the ball towards the left flank with his directional first touch before turning inside and playing a line-breaking pass to a teammate in between the lines.
He made another line-breaking pass, this time taking a touch and driving the ball forward and playing a pass in between the lines. The goalkeeper would lose possession with an intercepted pass in the defensive phase for Romero to push up and make a challenge to regain possession. Early in his LDU Quito career, the 22-year-old has shown a penchant for heroically clean defending in rapidly changing situation due to a highly developed sense of defensive anticipation, sound positioning while consistently adjusting of his position to always be able to win the ball cleanly and effectively as he is comfortable in last man situations. Romero then lobbed a switch pass to the right flank for a header into the box for an attacker to send a shot into the side-netting. After a turnover in the opposition half, Romero exhibit his anticipation to win a clean tackle to regain possession for his team.
In the Copa Sudamericana against Mushuc Runa, Romero would once again to exhibit his ability to win possession in a high-line in the counter-pressing phase as he used his body to regain possession in the opposition half. In possession, he would work a pass in between the central lines before receiving possession again to recognise the right-back overlapping the right winger to switch a pass to the opposite flank for a cross into the box. The 22-year-old worked another progressive pass through the central spaces to facilitate an attacking move before his sound positioning allowed him to intercept a long ball with header denying an opposition attacker the opportunity to get in behind the LDU Quito defence. He was perfectly positioned once again to make an interception while playing a through ball with his first touch.
After a turnover on the left flank, the ball would be played to Romero in his own box to switch a pass to an attacker on the right flank for a counter-attacking opportunity. The 22-year-old then threading another line-breaking pass into the central spaces as in the build-up phase, he would trade passes with the goalkeeper before playing the ball to his right-sided centre-back as he received possession again to drive the ball forward and play a deep vertical pass to the ten space. In the opposition half, he switched another pass to the right flank for his team to work vertical connections on the flank before switching another pass to the right flank in the build-up phase for his team to have a 1v1 opportunity against the opposition fullback.
Romero instigated another attacking move with a line-breaking pass in between the central lines to the attacking line for a teammate to flick-on for a wide player to play a cross into the box. The 22-year-old would switch another pass as this time, he was tucked into the central spaces to lob a pass to his left-back to make a run in behind and have a crossing opportunity. In the opposition box, Romero would bag his first goal for the Ecuadorian giants, volleying a knock-on from a corner past the goalkeeper to open the scoring. After LDU Quito missed an opportunity, the opposition would regain possession and look to establish a counter-attack for Romero to show perfect positioning and marking to use his body to regain possession before playing a back-pass to his goalkeeper. After a turnover, he would be positioned in the midfield line to allow the ball to roll across his body to evade a marker before working a pass to the nine-space. The Argentine centre-back then played a one-two with a teammate in the six-space before playing another wall-pass with the same teammate to lob an accurate pass down the flank.
Romero is a potential world-class high-line defender in the making as his range of distribution, be it deep line-breaking passes or shorter passes through tight lines to the six-space as well as his ability to switch the ball effectively make him a brilliant ball-playing centre-back. The 22-year-old frequently utilizes his lumbering size to regain possession on the ground and in the air cleanly as he is impressive in his comfortability in all facets of defending a high-line. He can win aerial duels while his positioning and anticipation are phenomenal to make clean tackles to regain possession for his side before recycling the ball with tempo and intention. He also has the size to drive the ball effectively, shielding the ball from markers to drive the ball forward with a fantastic directional first touch as he can also change direction effectively to weave past opposition attackers. It is impressive how effectively he can win possession without going to ground.
The 22-year-old is frequent frequently stifles opposition counter-attacks with his defensive anticipation and size while also frequently instigating attacks for his side with his distribution from his own half as well as in the opposition half. He will need to be less clumsy with some of his defending as his frequent use of his size to regain possession can have its drawbacks while when he drives the ball forward he has the vision and passing ability to search for deeper passes. The 22-year-old is akin to a left-footed Adonis Frias from Defensa y Justicia with his size, defensive attributes and brilliance in possession. In Ecuador, he leads the league in defensive duels while being in the top 20 in interceptions while being in the top five in passes and progressive passes. He also leads the league in ball-progression, especially ball progression by passes while he is in top 25 in ball-progression by runs as one of the top 5 U23 players according to WyScout data.
LDU Quito have an option to buy in their yearlong loan for Romero while his Godoy Cruz contract expires in 2023 as the Ecuadorian side will probably utilize their buy option with the opportunity to accrue resale value. Romero will accrue more minutes in the Copa Sudamericana which could allow him to acquire a visa in the United Kingdom as he could be a cost-effective option for Fulham who could be getting promoted to the English Premier League. He would also be a strong option for clubs in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France if he manages to clear up his legal situation in Argentina as his start to life in Ecuador has been phenomenal.
