Odin Thiago Holm: What Can Celtic Fans Expect? – By Jake McGhee
Introduction:
Following Odin Thiago Holm’s recent move to Scottish giants Celtic many fans may be in the dark surrounding him and wishing to know a little more about him and what he can offer the club, this piece will provide a short but deep insight into what Celtic can expect.
Playing all his football in his native Norway the young midfielder has grown in stature in his both his country and on a global scale over the years being handed a spot on The Guardian’s “Next Generation 2020” list, a fantastic achievement for a then 17 year old Odin.
Playstyle:
A versatile midfielder Odin is capable of playing a multitude of roles, primarily he works as a deep-lying creator in a role which found him lots of success and acclaim at previous club Våleranga, this role couples perfectly with Odin’s natural skill set which boasts lots of unreachable traits such as scanning of the game in order to take information and play out scenarios in his head before he even receives the ball. His off the ball intelligence has set him apart from many in Norway even at such a young as he’d utilise this in order to turn into space or tweak his positioning to open up pockets of space and set his team up for high-value attacks.
On the ball Odin thrives when fixing up his marker to escape with a feint due to his low centre of gravity and burst into space using good acceleration across short distances. This composure and intelligence couple to make him a very hard player to press who often retains the ball well in high pressure situations as seen here:
Odin’s passing is another key element of his game, with a strong array of passes in his locker across all distances he was often utilised as a creative spark from deep who could ping diagonals or break the lines with smart balls into the wings, one thing that stands out about his passing and makes it so effective is his ability to disguise the balls that he plays using his body, when combined with intelligent attackers such as Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi this is a highly profitable means of starting attacks and something that I believe should be capitalised upon.
Close control and ability on the ball are another great asset of his game, Odin likes to use many small touches to exploit tight spaces and draw defenders in before using his tactical understanding of what is around him gained from his constant scanning of the game to burst into space and pick out a ball.
In a more advanced role Odin also enjoys getting a shot off when the opportunity presents itself, his ball-striking ability is again impressive for somebody so young, the perfect mix of power and placement Odin rarely lashes out at a shot or does anything in a rushed manner which is a fundamental of most of his game, an intelligent, concise and tidy midfielder with a mastery of the basics and also capable of the spectacular which leads to him producing goals like this:
Conclusion:
All in all Celtic fans can be very excited with the player they’re getting, a real live-wire in the heart of midfield who can keep things ticking over or also be brave and produce a moment of magic when needed. With the right playing time and nurturing under Rodger’s there’s no reason why Odin Thiago Holm cannot go on to greatness in the Green and White.