Federico Fazio

[Sweech]

Apparently his tacking is one of his weaknesses...

That's the one thing that has concerned me when looked at his general statistics.

What is strange though is how good he seems at intercepting the ball. Typically the big strong guys like him are the tacklers.

 

[Kaboul'sForehead]

If his positioning is spot on and the the other defenders have done their jobs, hopefully he won't need to make many.

Bingo. This is why I think he hit a ceiling at Seville.

You are only as strong as your weakest link, especially in defence.

 

[Kaboul'sForehead]

That's the one thing that has concerned me when looked at his general statistics.

What is strange though is how good he seems at intercepting the ball. Typically the big strong guys like him are the tacklers.

You cannot underestimate a players size and presence. It is amazing how often Madrid players looked to pass a ball passed him but physically and clearly looked elsewhere because he looked like such a huge obstacle.

Some things stats don't account for, such as this. His size alone literally prompted Madrid players to find other and less dangerous avenues heading forward.

 

[ajspurs]

Sounds a bit like a commanding bully, something we've definitely been missing for a few years at centre back, someone with that steel.

 

[SpartanSpur]

Interesting that we were aiming for a more technical, talented CB in Musacchio but after that fell through we've changed tact and gone for a more physical, commanding defender in Fazio. Could turn out to be a blessing in disguise in terms of a CB pairing. Maybe Musacchio-Verts would have been to similar. Fazio-Verts seems a nice blend (top end pace only missing ingredient).

(Disclaimer- still gutted Musacchio fell through however)

 

[ItsBoris]

Interesting that we were aiming for a more technical, talented CB in Musacchio but after that fell through we've changed tact and gone for a more physical, commanding defender in Fazio. Could turn out to be a blessing in disguise in terms of a CB pairing. Maybe Musacchio-Verts would have been to similar. Fazio-Verts seems a nice blend (top end pace only missing ingredient).

(Disclaimer- still gutted Musacchio fell through however)

But do you need height to be a good header of the ball?

 

[spurs9]

Interesting that we were aiming for a more technical, talented CB in Musacchio but after that fell through we've changed tact and gone for a more physical, commanding defender in Fazio. Could turn out to be a blessing in disguise in terms of a CB pairing. Maybe Musacchio-Verts would have been to similar. Fazio-Verts seems a nice blend (top end pace only missing ingredient).

(Disclaimer- still gutted Musacchio fell through however)

Maybe it was seeing our Defender with most physical presence (Kaboul) get bullied by Carlton Cole.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

He is quite slow at accelerating, but as per many tall people, once he hits his stride he is deceptively rapid because of the length of his stride. I should also say although I know he is a couple inches shorter than Mertesacker, he is not as gangley as he has broader shoulders and more "bulk".

Usain Bolt is an example of this. He's fucking tall but he's the fastest man on the planet.


Did I actually just compare Usain Bolt to Federico Fazio?

 

[danielneeds]

Usain Bolt is an example of this. He's fucking tall but he's the fastest man on the planet.


Did I actually just compare Usain Bolt to Federico Fazio?

I think you'll find Bolt's acceleration is pretty handy too. The man's a freak.

 

[walworthyid]

What i like is that for the first time a new manager has come in and bought defenders. Normally we go for the flashy forward players, poch is building from the back. If you don't concede goals you don't lose games.
Fazio seems like a big physical player who reads the game well. His lack of pace might be an issue but most goals don't come from foot races they come from poor team coordination.
Apart from that we are hopeless at set pieces and this guy seems to win everything in the air so at the very least he will improve that.

 

[Big Jeff]

What i like is that for the first time a new manager has come in and bought defenders. Normally we go for the flashy forward players, poch is building from the back. If you don't concede goals you don't lose games.
Fazio seems like a big physical player who reads the game well. His lack of pace might be an issue but most goals don't come from foot races they come from poor team coordination.
Apart from that we are hopeless at set pieces and this guy seems to win everything in the air so at the very least he will improve that.

Hopefully, he can nod a few in at the other end for us too in that case. Apart from Eriksen's brilliant set pieces, we're pretty hopeless from corners and free kicks.

 

[Sandros Shiny Head]

But do you need height to be a good header of the ball?

I'm sure 150 pages of the Mussachio thread will tell you

 

[AUSpur]

Interesting that we were aiming for a more technical, talented CB in Musacchio but after that fell through we've changed tact and gone for a more physical, commanding defender in Fazio. Could turn out to be a blessing in disguise in terms of a CB pairing. Maybe Musacchio-Verts would have been to similar. Fazio-Verts seems a nice blend (top end pace only missing ingredient).

(Disclaimer- still gutted Musacchio fell through however)

I imagine Dier looking so good so early has impacted our perceived needs, too.

 

[Danny Boy]

Interesting that we were aiming for a more technical, talented CB in Musacchio but after that fell through we've changed tact and gone for a more physical, commanding defender in Fazio. Could turn out to be a blessing in disguise in terms of a CB pairing. Maybe Musacchio-Verts would have been to similar. Fazio-Verts seems a nice blend (top end pace only missing ingredient).

(Disclaimer- still gutted Musacchio fell through however)

Maybe we were preparing to sell Vlad, that's why we went for MM. Now it seems like Vlad is staying, so we turn to Fazio.
Therefore we have 2 physical hardman CB and 2 ballplaying CB, and Dier.
It seems more balanced.

 

[nferno]

This is gonna be a bad signing if it means ChiCHiMon is off.

 

[Lilywhiteinoz]

Lovren - what 20 odd mill
Fazio - 8 mill
Got to say well done Daniel. Now just throw some extras into Schneiderlin and don't wait until 3 hrs prior deadline to do the deal. Remember Moutinho.

 

[guy]

Here we go. Fazio vs Madrid, Super Cup. #2 playing LCB. All given in good faith and I have not ignored his faults/errors to make a point. I have no agenda as until now I had never focused on him ENTIRELY in a game. I didn't watch the game, I watched him. All written in good faith. Hope you all find this insightful and please share.



-Giant of a man. Drifts into fill LB at the right times. At corners, uses strength rather than jumping ability to win headers. Won almost all headers from corners that weren't played short or failed to get passed near post.

-drops the deepest out of all CB's, operating as almost a CB/Sweeper hybrid. ALWAYS instructing his defensive colleagues and physically pointing out potential danger.

-looks to pass forward and opts to pass short only as a last resort or to allow his team time to slot back into positions.

-outstanding reading of the game to intercept a 25yard pass to Ronaldo and then surges forward to the pitch centre before displaying great strength and ball control to fend off Pepe with ease before releasing the ball forward accurately.

-darts forward 3-4yards with relatively impressive acceleration to head clear a ball from a corner. Absolute powerhouse who even Pepe and Ramos seem to shy away from having a mid-air tussle with.

-deflects a Bale long shot as he jumps and turns away from the shot. Not as brave as I would like from a CB 'hard man' but hey, this is a Bale shot and he was only standing 5 yards away.

-shows at least twice that he can head clear, from a corner, the ball 35 yards up the pitch.

-whistle is blown for offside but not before Fazio launches his body in an attempt to block a Ronaldo close range shot, which turns out to be a dummy, leaving Fazio helpless on the floor. But hey, don't forget the "Ronaldo factor".

-love this. Ref calls captains Pepe and Fazio over to ask them to tell their players to chill. fazio dwarfs Pepe and the Madrid "hard man" looks shit scared of Fazio and I'm absolutely Serious about that:usually he is mouthing off.

-Fazio almost wins the header from a Seville corner, but it's no surprise he doesn't because he was assigned to be TRIPLE marked and still almost made the ball his. True monster of a player.

-Fazio superbly heads the ball over the Seville bar from nearly off the line from a tricky Coentrao cross. Beaten on the turn by Ronaldo due to Ronaldo's excellence rather than Fazio's inability.

-at no real fault for Ronaldo's later goal as he was rightly marking Benzema following a truly gorgeous cross from Bale.

***BIG POINT***--- if Fazio wasn't also having to think for his 3 defensive colleagues and always pointing out danger to them perhaps he would be allowed more time and more concentration span to allocate to his own defensive duties. Partnered with a more reliable Verts may allow Fazio to do his own job [even better] without having to also think for his teammates.

-Final point from the first 45mins, and you won't believe me but here goes. Fazio (hereby called "Fastio") and Ronaldo are both sprinting back down towards Seville's goal and Fazio OVERTAKES Ronaldo. At a calculated guess, I'd say Ronaldo was running at 90% top speed with Fazio at 100%, but still very impressive from the big man.

-Fazio leaps but somehow misses a header to clear a cross. Almost leads to a big chance and was a header well within his reach.

Not many tackles to win, but great intercepting and strength. These two things, coupled with his heading, are his strong points. Oh and his fear factor.

Yeah but he cant keep up with Usain Bolt

FAZIO OUT
DAWSON MKII
DONKEY
ETC

 

[Strikeb4ck]

Would the other team even show up if Kaboul and Fazio played in the same XI? Thrown in Sandro and Capoue for good measure if you'd like.

#tanks

 

[ItsBoris]

I'm sure 150 pages of the Mussachio thread will tell you

I'm telling you guys, a CB pairing of Chiriches and Musacchio WILL NOT WORK!!!

 

[Japhet]

Hopefully some news today. Can't help it but I like having a proper hard bastard in the team. Still miss Graham Roberts!