WORLD CUP ONE TO WATCH: Nicolas Otamendi
Is he the stopper Argentina need?
THE World Cup creeps ever closer and we continue our look at players who will be in the spotlight once the finals in South Africa finally get underway next summer.
This week, we focus on Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi, who will be looking to nail down a place in Diego Maradona's starting line-up after they finally clinched their qualification for the main event.
Name: Nicolas Otamendi
Club: Velez Sarsfield
Age: 21
Position: Central defender
Statistics (Argentina Primera Division & Copa Nissan Sudamericana):
Appearances: 12, Goals: 1, Yellow cards: 3
During Argentina's tumultuous World Cup qualifying campaign, it became abundantly clear that whilst Diego Maradona has at his disposal the likes of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, defensively the South Americans can struggle.
Now that Argentina have scraped by in qualifying and secured their place in South Africa, Maradona needs a rock-like defender to steady the back line.
Ever since Roberto Ayala retired after the 2007 Copa America, Argentina have lacked a true world-class defender at the back. Youngsters Ezequiel Garay and Juan Forlin have been tipped to be the rock Argentina need but, in a short time, Nicolas Otamendi has established himself as the most promising defender in domestic football and could well be the answer for his national team.
Otamendi's initial rise to prominence came at club level for Velez Sarsfield. After making his first appearance during the 2007/2008 season, the tough tackling defender was a key component of the team that won the Clausura in 2008/2009.
Already in his short career, Otamendi has shown the necessary big-game mentality; in the final game of the Clausura he was instrumental in keeping a clean sheet against Huracan in a 1-0 victory that sealed the title against Velez's closest rivals.
Otamendi predominantly plays in central defence but can also play as a left-sided defender as he is left-footed. Scouts in Argentina claim Otamendi plays like a veteran, showing maturity and responsibility as well as great anticipation. He is strong in the tackle and probably his best attribute is his acceleration and pace. Some have compared him to Roberto Ayala whilst other football pundits have likened him to former Argentina World Cup-winning captain Daniel Passarella.
If he has any weakness it could be that he is very quick to go to ground. As he is only 5ft 8ins, many have questioned his aerial ability, but he is blessed with a great leap and is strong in the air. Otamendi undoubtedly needs experience and recent reports in the Argentine press have linked him with a move to Italy.
Juventus and Inter Milan are understood to be favourites and Otamendi could emerge as an even better defender after a spell in Serie A. Real Madrid are also known to have scouted the defender and it seems likely that he will leave Velez in January.
IMScouting.com -the leading online database for professional football clubs and agents. It is used by some of the biggest clubs in the world to find new talent, including Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and Lille.
Let us know what you think about Otamendi and who else we should be featuring by dropping us a line using the feedback form below.
This article has 0 comments