I usually start these scouting reports with a really bad joke so as to set the tone for the even worse jokes that would soon follow, but I feel like this report, in particular, needs some context.
Context
For starters, this article was nearly called ‘Debunking Valentín Barco’. While it’s not really ideal to head into an article with a perspective that’s been brutally moulded into what it is, I’ve tried to keep a level head so as to remain as objective as I can.
But anyway, Brighton signed Valentín Barco during Roberto De Zerbi’s time at the club.
He made a few appearances here and there but never really got a consistent run of games. This naturally raised a few eyebrows, especially among journalists. Enter Brian Owen, a reporter for The Argus:
“Would he, I asked, even dream of playing Kaoru Mitoma and Barco together down that side of the pitch when the former returned from injury?”
To which:
Now, you can spin quotes in any way you’d like, but either way, this just isn’t great, is it?
Fast-forward a few months, and Roberto de Zerbi was replaced by Fabian Hürzeler. During pre-season, Hürzeler experimented with a back three, and logic dictates that Barco would do well as a wingback. He’d get all the attacking freedom in the world and less defensive responsibility. Lovely.
Well, unfortunately, it was all barc(o) and no bite for the young Argentine, as Hürzeler decided to play Carlos Baleba at LB instead. A few weeks later, Barco was on his way to Strasbourg to get inducted into the BlueCo regime.
A lot’s changed since. Barco’s been playing in midfield and putting up some frankly extraordinary numbers, so much so that he may as well be considered the messiah.
He also appears to have a passing range that would supersede most military radars:
So, the question for me then became: what exactly happened to Barco after he left Brighton? Did he wake up one day and decide to become Toni Kroos? Was he a midfielder all along? Was he possessed by a holy spirit and has come to this planet to save us?
The answer? It’s complicated. But I’ve come to a reasonable conclusion.
📚 Contents
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Passing Range
A project done by fifth graders estimated that there are approximately 63,350,000 blades of grass on a soccer (football) field. And somehow, Barco’s managed to cover the entirety of it.
His through balls are especially nice:
And a lot of that comes down to how he wraps his foot over (and around) the ball:
Leans back; ready to loft the ball:
Long follow through, curving the ball inwards:
Ball drops and spins inward/to the right (closer to the goal):
Furthermore, he’s pretty good at lobbing the ball while in stride. In other words, Barco doesn’t need to fully stop to play a lofted ball, which is a trait that should be really helpful in transition/as a way to relieve pressure:
Barco’s deceleration and speed of action (in the pass) are generally great. He’s also pretty calm with the ball at his feet, so that bodes well in terms of scalability to high-pressure environments.
Exaggerated chop to deceive:
Scans on the return leg of the chop, meaning disguise → awareness in one [singular] movement:
Shifts the ball and cleanly gets it out of his feet quickly:
Hits an early lob with his left foot, when the typical expectation would’ve been to go with his right:
And again, shifts the ball quickly:
Barco’s switches of play are generally good too. The fact that he’s able to get them off quickly is great, especially as football’s getting increasingly transitional and wide players are increasingly isolated (more receptive to switches).
Aaaand Barco’s set pieces are brilliant. Why am I not surprised. Essentially, he’s covered when it comes to what he gives you on the ball. I’m curious to see the kinda positions he’d take up should he be facing low blocks week in, week out, but yeah, he’s a locksmith in transition.
Driving with the Ball 🚦
While Barco is rather passive post-recovery when in open space, his first instinct is always (ish) to drive with the ball should he recover it in close quarters with his marker:
Considering the point of this sport is to get the ball close to your opponent’s net, I really like this tendency of his. Even more respectable is the fact that he does this when he’s, objectively, not the biggest guy out there (5 ft 7 in/170 cm).
Ligue 1 is no joke, so it takes guts to do this repeatedly (even if he loses the ball), so +1 on the basis of tenacity (more on this soon).
Being good on the half-turn complements matters further:
His ball-striking also seems pretty decent, but Barco’s only scored two goals over the course of his [senior] career (95 appearances), so, you know.
Mistimed Challenges
Valentín Barco heard someone shout “on your feet!”, took it personally, and never engaged in a standing tackle ever again. While that’s only slightly hyperbole, Barco loves pretending like the pitch is instead a slip n slide group as he lunges into tackles:
It’s great when it works (considering you thwack the ball out of play), but it’s not ideal when becoming Superman is your default setting 🦸
I feel like a hard barge would’ve sufficed here, but that just brings me back to his physical limitations:
But this brings out an interesting dilemma. A lot of coaches shunt rash tacklers into FB so as to dilute the radius they need to tackle around and make a misjudged challenge less damaging, given you’re further from goal. But where those players go from DM → LB/RB, Barco’s gone from LB → CM.
The reasoning is sorta simple. There’s one specific quality of FBs that he lacks, even if other facets of his game make up for it.
Defending Crosses
Barco doesn’t really set up well for crosses. Must hate playing Tic Tac Toe. He often finds himself in two minds as to whether to make a tackle or rotate for a cross, and if you’re playing against fast wingers, that moment of indecision kills.
This isn’t a fast winger:
And Barco does end up defending the cross. But even then, he sorta stumbles onto it:
Being caught flat-footed is not good at all, and if his man went direct, Barco would’ve been left paces behind, leading to, well, another lunging tackle. It’s a vicious cycle.
Even otherwise, he misanticipates (?) when the cross is going to come in, frequently:
Caught in two minds; reactive defending:
Physicality
Valentín Barco is statistically excellent at drawing fouls:
Which is generally fine. I do believe it’s not fine here, though. Take a look here:
For starters, he two-foots a simple challenge. But then he backs into his man and flops to the ground like a fish out of water. The thing is, though, that’s extremely soft and likely won’t be given in such scenarios in the future.
Barco is also so quick to grab the ball under the assumption that a foul will be given that he’s bound to pick up the funniest handball call of all time in the future.
He also lacks some strength in knocking people off the ball, hence in winning the ball back generally. Personally, I do not want to see that in my [defensively positioned] midfielder… ever?
I feel like there’s a reason he gets dispossessed so frequently, and that’s why I think Barco’s usefulness in a top team comes from very specific platforming, but more on that later.
To conclude this section, he’s just not very strong. That’s fine when you’re a creative player trying to take risks WITH the ball, but if you can’t hold onto it when pressed aggressively, you have to make sure your first touch and first passes are extraordinary, and I think Barco’s passing is better when he’s in a settled position with room ahead of him.
The Good Defender
What I will say in favour of Barco, though, is that he does work hard. He’s generally tenacious, in an attempt to mitigate some of his other weaknesses:
While I have many, many qualms with Barco’s 1v1 defending (it’s not great), his general desire to work hard also makes it possible for him to get back into situations from where he can win the ball. I do think he’s pretty overcommittal and often doesn’t defend on his toes, which are basic (foundational) issues, but if he doesn’t stop running, at least he has some redeeming qualities.
I’ll always respect a good clearance. I get the era of football we’re currently living through promotes playing through pressure, but there’s nothing wrong with hoofing the ball out of play from time to time. So, to have the awareness to do that, especially with your weak foot, is great, especially if you find yourself defending deep/defending a narrow lead.
Barco further tucks away his defensive issues by angling his runs well. He gets to his man quicker, doesn’t have to cover as much ground, and gets the chance to go at him again if he isn’t able to win the ball back the first time. He also bends his run well at pace, which is always nice.
But the issue in this section is that all of his good work comes as a way to mitigate some of the bad stuff. It’s not a trait that he can just pile onto all the other good stuff. Essentially, what I mean to say here is that, currently, Valentín Barco is just not a good defender.
Profiling
While I usually make a comprehensive list of strengths and weaknesses in these scouting reports, I’m just going to broadly characterise Barco into two.
Strengths:
Passing and passing range
Weaknesses:
Defending
Which isn’t really ideal for someone whose value is as high as it allegedly is.
I really don’t think Barco is a UCL-level LB (yet). It’s hard to say if he will ever be, especially given some of the defensive issues he faces. Consequently, I think you can extrapolate these same doubts into a midfield role. I feel like his passing moves the needle enough to sorta build a midfield around him, but if you’re always worried that one of your midfielders will lose the ball…
Realistically, I think the best way to get something out of Barco is to play him as an LCM, with a really solid ball winner (Amadou Onana, for example) behind him. Barco’s going to get swallowed up in transition, and even though he will run, he’ll give your heart rate reason to spike every now and then. He’ll also need to up his goal threat, too, but hey, if you have prolific enough wingers, I suppose it’s okay.
For now, I think he’s a good squad option for very specific teams in midfield, especially given his value on set pieces. His career trajectory could very well change again, and he could reach what’s expected of him, but until he gets stronger… 🤷
To conclude, most teams out there should refrain from asking Barco this question:
Can I have a pity laugh at least? But until we see obvious and tangible improvement from the defensive side of his game, I wouldn’t splurge big money on him, however passive that sounds.
Thank you for reading! I hope you’ve enjoyed. While I’m currently stuck in a blizzard, I hope the only blizzard you’re in is from Dairy Queen. Anyhow, stay warm, stay safe, and have a great week ahead!
And here’s some of my work, if you like seeing link after link:
In the few times I’ve seen him for Strasbourg this season in the Conference League I’ve been pretty flabbergasted. It was this instantaneous feeling he was the most technical and highest IQ player on the pitch. It’s like time slows down when he has the ball, there are so many strings to his bow.
Great reply, nice info. I believe he's a young dad now so that will certainly have matured him more. I really enjoyed what little I saw of him at Brighton (as did a few others) and would've loved to see him stick around a bit longer. I wish him well and really hope he goes on to bigger things.