Santiago Ascacibar

 

Country: Argentina

Date of birth: 25/02/1997 (19 years old)

Place of birth: La Plata (Argentina)

Height: 169cm

Youth career: Estudiantes de La Plata

Current club: Estudiantes de La Plata

Squad number: 5

Current national team: Argentina U-23

Position: defensive midfielder, central midfielder

Preferred foot: right

Market value (by transfermarkt.de): 2.800.000 € 

Tournaments participated in: Olympic Games 2016 (3/0)

Contract until: 30.06.2019

Player’s agent: Eoxxon Sports Group

Transfer rumours: Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid

Similar type of player: Ngolo Kanté

 

Strengths:

– pace and acceleration 

– determination 

– passing 

– tackling and intercepting 

– agility 

– concentration

– dynamism 

– bravery 

– teamwork

 

Weaknesses:

– overly aggressive when defending at times and picks up his fair share of cheap cards

– physical strength

 

Style of play:

– determined and charismatic holding midfielder

– midfield destroyer

– energetic, consistent, aggressive, and hard tackling player with an extremely high work rate

– likes to play short passes

– likes to tackle

– often makes pacy, energetic runs with the ball through the middle

– known for his incredible stamina and tireless work in midfield

– high number of successful tackles and interceptions per game

– good vision and ability to read the game

– very good at breaking down opposition plays due to his positional sense, defensive attributes, tactical intelligence, and ability to read the game

– known for his “quick feet”, speed of movement and close control

– despite his height, he is able to win headed duals due to his jumping technique

 

He is best suited to playing as:

Defensive midfielder in 4-2-3-1.

 

Video:

 

Achievements:

—

 

League summary (as for 15 August 2016):

Argentine Primera División 2016: 17 matches/0 goals (Estudiantes)

 

Description:

Santiago Ascacibar is a product of Estudiantes de La Plata’s youth ranks – academy famous for having produced many Argentina internationals including Juan Sebastián Verón, José Sosa, Pablo Piatti, Luciano Galletti and Mariano Pavone. This passionate, hard-working and determined defensive midfielder is often compared to AC Milan legend Gennaro Gattuso. In 2016, he was the youngest member of Argentina U-23 team at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where ‘Albicelestes’ got knocked out already in the group stages, but Santiago, despite a poor showing by his national team, was praised for his performances.

 

Quotes:

“Think a skinnier Gennaro Gattuso and you are close to describing Santiago Ascacibar. A defensive-minded midfielder, he is like a pitbull in his attempts to win back possession for his team. Pitbull is a very overused phrase in football but he is exactly that. If it’s above grass height, Ascacibar will tackle it. But he has much more to his game than just that.

He is a very capable passer of the ball over both short and long distances. As he matures and develops, he may hold his position slightly better but at the moment he is showing signs of huge potential within the midfield area.
Another full season in Argentina and I could see him making a move to his next phase of development.’

(dailymail.co.uk)

 

Football Talent Scout potential rating:

8/10   

First team material in a top European club.

 

Links:

Transfermarkt

Soccerway