Ronald Briones – Aucas’ midfield dynamo

Ecuador is becoming a hot-bed of young talent with the increase in high level youth development systems, influx of tactically progressive coaches in the league as well as the low cost of young talent compared to other South American leagues. Ronald Briones, played at the Huaquillas Municipal Football School from the ages of 5 to 15 as he has now settled at Aucas, becoming one of the most eye-catching young midfielders in the Ecuadorian Liga Betcris. The 21-year-old has the potential to thrive in a variety of systems as well as in a variety of roles and positions as he will be a young player to watch in Ecuador going forward.

South America has become a hot-bed of multi-faceted box-to-box midfield talent as Briones is developing into an intriguing midfield prospect with immense two-way potential. He has broad shoulders, long-limbs and phenomenal vision and technical ability with relentless reserves of potential as he is on-par with some of the most progressive young midfielders in Ecuador. He has wonderful mobility, being able to slide across and cover space within the defensive block, making timely interceptions and having the ball-carrying ability to surge forward with possession, making lung-busting runs into the opposition half. He also has an eye for through balls and a knack for creativity in the final third as some of his pass progression numbers are on-par with some of the best midfielders in Ecuador at the moment as the 21-year-old could become a cost-effective option in the next transfer window.

Away to the current Ecuadorian champions, Independiente Del Valle, in the first minute, he would take a couple of side-steps to make an interception before skipping past an opposition defender as he showed fantastic close control to evade a sliding tackle and surge forward, driving the ball on the right flank before nudging past a third defender on his way into the opposition box and having a shot blocked. Most effective box-to-box midfielders in modern day football not only have the ability to carry the ball effectively but to receive possession in between the lines as Briones’ directional first touches in tight spaces are magnetic. The 21-year-old received possession in the ten space with a marker closing him down behind him for Briones to allow the ball to roll across his body to take a touch before nonchalantly poking the ball past his marker to switch the ball to the opposite flank for a crossing opportunity.

The Ecuadorian midfielder received possession in the eight space during the build-up to use his body to shield the ball and swivel away from his marker to play a penetrative pass into the attacking line before receiving a lay-off near the right touchline to control the ball and calmly evade another sliding challenge before poking the ball past another marker as his touch was too heavy and led to the opposition regaining possession. Briones has operated in a number of different roles for Aucas, as a wide interior, a deeper-lying midfielder as well as an attacking midfielder as his skillset in tight spaces and penetrative distribution translates to all these roles. He received possession from the right flank in a deeper-lying role to switch the ball to the left flank before being perfectly positioned to make another interception to instigate a counter-attacking move for his team.

In the final third, he received possession, took a touch and threaded a pass to a teammate in the attacking line who spread the ball into the wide areas as Briones made a move into the box, demanding a cross as a through ball was played for him but it was too heavy. The 21-year-old would make another brilliant run in the final third, this time into the vacated nine-space from deep to stretch in order to get on the end of a lobbed cross as his run was a split-second late. He created a shooting opportunity for a teammate when he received possession in the deeper areas to skip past a marker before he was fouled while an attacker latched onto the ball and sent a shot over the bar. Briones’ mobility does not only allow him to cover space in the defensive phase, but it also allows him to be a formidable pressing player as the Ecuadorian would track his marker as they were dropping into the six space for the Aucas midfielder to regain possession and play the ball to a teammate who was unable to get a shot away.

After a turnover in the defensive phase, Briones received possession to stride forward and play the ball to a teammate to facilitate a switch on the counter-attack. He covered space in the defensive phase to make a tackle as he skipped past one marker before trying to evade another opposition defender as he was tackled. He received possession on the right flank in the opposition half to lob a cross into the box as after a turnover in front of his own box, he lofted the ball over a sliding tackle to drive possession forward and played a pass forward to instigate a counter-attacking move which would eventually lead to his team having an opportunity. His ball-carrying and precise distribution makes the 21-year-old midfielder such an effective transitional player as he would latch onto a loose ball, expertly use his body to shield the ball and turn away from an opposition player before threading a pass in between the lines to the nine-space.

In the counter-pressing phase, he slid across to make another interception to regain possession for his side in the opposition half while preventing a counter-attack before he received possession from a short free-kick to loft a pass into the box for a teammate to head wide. He received possession in the six-space to play another deep line-breaking pass to the nine-space before dropping into the defensive chain to create a back three and lob a pass to a teammate in behind. Away to another Ecuadorian powerhouse in Liga de Quito, he would put in another mesmerizing performance. He started the game by surging forward on the right flank to skip past a defender and drive the ball forward to thread a pass in behind with his weaker left foot. He had another pass into the box when he received possession in the deeper areas of the opposition half to take a touch and lob a switch pass to a teammate on the left flank to take a touch and have a shot blocked.

He created another shooting opportunity when he stretched to receive the ball in the ten space before angling a perfect through ball for his right winger to surge into the box and have a shot saved at the near post. Briones is not just varied in his position, but he is also varied in his methods for creating opportunities as he has the vision and weight of pass to thread passes for teammates to have shooting opportunities while he has also showed potential and room to grow as a crosser. He received possession on the left flank to lob a cross into the box with his weaker left foot for a tame header at goal. The 21-year-old then received a lay-off and drove into the opposition half where he was barged over before he could release the ball before he received possession near the right touchline, skipping past a defender to surge forward into the opposition half and angle another through ball into the box as his striker was unable to latch onto the pass.

His size and quick feet allow him to be an effective ball-carrier especially with his lumbering size and beguiling turn of pace as he would receive a throw-in in the opposition half, taking a measured but elaborate first touch to head the ball to a teammate on the flank as he received possession in the half-space as he would skip past one defender, shielding the ball from another two defenders to work a pass back to the flank. As Aucas were transitioning from a high-press to a low block, Briones would drop back into his right midfield position in a 4-4-2 low block before instinctively covering a passing lane to an opposition midfielder where he would make a pivotal interception. The 21-year-old would regain possession again when he would Aucas would have a turnover in the opposition half while Liga de Quito were stringing together a counter-attack as Briones dropped to cover an opposition midfielder to force a back-pass as he continued to look to regain possession, winning a shoulder to shoulder battle to force a turnover as his side would have an opportunity to break on the opposition. In the defensive phase, a back-pass would result in a pressing situation where Briones would hunt the ball down and win a turnover in the opposition half before surging into the opposition box and sending a shot wide when he should have at least got the ball on target.

He would finally get his goal, in yet another pressing situation as while he had his face in his hands after his previously missed opportunity, he would chase down a back-pass to the opposition goalkeeper and lunge to poke the ball into the opposition goal to make the score 4-1 against one of the biggest clubs in Ecuador. Away to Orense, he would receive possession after a turnover to drive the ball forward and angle another progressive pass to the right flank for a through ball as his team would have a 1v1 opportunity. Briones then lobbed a pass of his own in behind before using his body to regain possession in midfield to change direction and skip past an opposition midfielder before skipping past another midfielder before a heavy touch forced him to lose possession. The young midfielder then tracked back to win possession with a phenomenally timed sliding challenge to play the ball to a teammate and start an attacking move.

In the opposition half, he played a progressive pass to the right flank before making a run into the half-space for a pass that was blocked. Briones then received possession in between the lines, taking a touch and spinning away from two defenders before threading a pass to the ten space to facilitate a switch as his teammate could have also taken a with Briones attracting and evading a glut of defenders in the final third. He received possession in the eight space, utilizing his directional first touch to drive the ball away from a marker and work a pass into space. Briones is in the top 30 in expected assists with a figure of 0.8 as he is also in the top 10 in through balls as he is 2nd in key passes as well as being in the top 30 in progressive passes and sitting 4th in progressive runs. In terms of ball progression by runs, he sits in the top 20 according WyScout ranking data.

Briones is an intriguing midfield prospect due to the number of positions and roles that he can occupy as well as his wide range of talent and potential. Being able to win interceptions and drive the ball over long areas of space allow him transition defensive situations into attacking situations very quickly while in the final third, he has a magnificent first touch in tight spaces as well as eye for a pass or cross. His dribbling style is rapid changes of directions to glide past two or even three players at a time while once he drives the ball forward, he can play through a teammate with a pass or create a shooting opportunity for himself. His shooting is a big area of improvement with his movement in the box and the final third as his dribbling ability can allow him to manoeuvre into some good areas as he could develop into a goal scorer later in his career. He can operate as an interior with his ball-carrying, pressing ability, ability to work connections and defensive aptitude. He is a very strong pressing and counter-pressing player with his ability to cover ground to make interceptions, his ability to track markers and use his body to nudge an opposition player out of possession or stretch to win an interception as he can also create goalscoring opportunities from pressing situations.

There are many clubs that could use Briones as a deeper-lying midfield player as if Feyenoord lose Orkun Kokcu in the summer, Briones would fit seamlessly into Arne Slot’s system as a cheaper option. Briones would also fit in at Hamburg and Stuttgart as their midfield profiles fit his attributes while clubs like Freiburg, Eintracht Frankfrut, Mainz and Koln would be good landing spots for him. Basel and BSC Young Boys in Switzerland would be good landing spots while he would be a brilliant replacement for Hidemasa Morita at Santa Clara in Portugal while he would fit seamlessly at SC Braga, Tondela, Familicao and Vizela. Celta Vigo and Rayo Vallecano in Spain would be phenomenal landing spots for him as would most clubs in Ligue 1 in France. In Italy, he would be a fantastic replacement for Maxime Lopez at Sassuolo as Lazio, Fiorentina, Torino, Bologna, Udinese and Verona would also be suitable fits for him. A good move for Briones could lead to a place in Ecuador’s World Cup squad in the latter stages of this year as he is a young player who could represent a bargain on the market.