This season, Manchester United signed Argentina player Lisandro Martinez. He won two Dutch championships in last three years under Erik ten Hag with Ajax and is the latest player of the year.
He played center-back throughout last season. He also served in full-back roles and as a defensive midfielder in his first two games at Ajax.
Martinez’s statistics were better than many new teammates in United, even though he got these numbers in the Dutch Eredivisie which is the seventh-largest league ranked by Uefa.
Martinez had more (forward) passes, aerial duals won, interceptions and possessions won per 90 minutes than any United defenders had in the last season. He also got more tackles and dribbles compared to United’s center-backs.
He is a 5ft 9in defender, but he won more aerial duels than any United defenders. To put it in comparison, he is seven inches shorter and played six less games than Maguire, but he still won five more aerial duels Maguire.
In last season, He scored once and had three assists. In contrast, all United defenders had four goals in total.
In quotes reported in the Mirror this month, Martinez said “I am called the carnicero – the Butcher of Amsterdam. We Argentines do everything with passion and when I go out on the pitch I fight for every ball. If I have to step over dead bodies, I do it.
Although he has such a nickname, he was shown only six yellow cards in 36 games last season, which was the same as Diogo Dalot.
Dutch football expert James Rowe said: “Martinez has made quite an impression in Amsterdam since his move to AFC Ajax from Defensa y Justicia and he hit the ground running, being part of the team that beat PSV 2-0 in the 2019 Johan Cruyff Shield. What stood out immediately was his composure on the ball, being self-assured at the centre of defence and his wide range of passing.”
“A big factor in his move to United will be Ten Hag, who has always shown such confidence in him. Ten Hag likes his players to find solutions on the pitch at all times in order to have the best chance to win games, and he is acquiring a centre-back who will do just that.
Together with captain Maguire, Varane, Victor Lindelof and the often-injured Eric Bailly and Phil Jones, Martinez becomes one of six senior center-backs at Old Trafford.
After signing him, United’s roles at the back may have a big change. Ten Hag loves 4-3-3 formation, so the room may allow only two central defenders.
“For virtually all his time at Old Trafford, Maguire has played on the left of a two-man defence, often with Lindelof on the right. In Friday’s friendly win over Melbourne Victory, they swapped positions. No explanation was offered but the reasoning seems fairly clear. Lisandro Martinez is a left-sided defender. It is where he played for Ten Hag at Ajax. The way seems to be being cleared for him to come straight into the team.” said BBC Sport’s Simon Stone.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658070697012x306691908195273900/Lisandro%20Martinez_%20Who%20is%20Man%20Utd%27s%20new%20%27Butcher%20of%20Amsterdam%27_%20-%20BBC%20Sport.pdf
He played center-back throughout last season. He also served in full-back roles and as a defensive midfielder in his first two games at Ajax.
Martinez’s statistics were better than many new teammates in United, even though he got these numbers in the Dutch Eredivisie which is the seventh-largest league ranked by Uefa.
Martinez had more (forward) passes, aerial duals won, interceptions and possessions won per 90 minutes than any United defenders had in the last season. He also got more tackles and dribbles compared to United’s center-backs.
He is a 5ft 9in defender, but he won more aerial duels than any United defenders. To put it in comparison, he is seven inches shorter and played six less games than Maguire, but he still won five more aerial duels Maguire.
In last season, He scored once and had three assists. In contrast, all United defenders had four goals in total.
In quotes reported in the Mirror this month, Martinez said “I am called the carnicero – the Butcher of Amsterdam. We Argentines do everything with passion and when I go out on the pitch I fight for every ball. If I have to step over dead bodies, I do it.
Although he has such a nickname, he was shown only six yellow cards in 36 games last season, which was the same as Diogo Dalot.
Dutch football expert James Rowe said: “Martinez has made quite an impression in Amsterdam since his move to AFC Ajax from Defensa y Justicia and he hit the ground running, being part of the team that beat PSV 2-0 in the 2019 Johan Cruyff Shield. What stood out immediately was his composure on the ball, being self-assured at the centre of defence and his wide range of passing.”
“A big factor in his move to United will be Ten Hag, who has always shown such confidence in him. Ten Hag likes his players to find solutions on the pitch at all times in order to have the best chance to win games, and he is acquiring a centre-back who will do just that.
Together with captain Maguire, Varane, Victor Lindelof and the often-injured Eric Bailly and Phil Jones, Martinez becomes one of six senior center-backs at Old Trafford.
After signing him, United’s roles at the back may have a big change. Ten Hag loves 4-3-3 formation, so the room may allow only two central defenders.
“For virtually all his time at Old Trafford, Maguire has played on the left of a two-man defence, often with Lindelof on the right. In Friday’s friendly win over Melbourne Victory, they swapped positions. No explanation was offered but the reasoning seems fairly clear. Lisandro Martinez is a left-sided defender. It is where he played for Ten Hag at Ajax. The way seems to be being cleared for him to come straight into the team.” said BBC Sport’s Simon Stone.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658070697012x306691908195273900/Lisandro%20Martinez_%20Who%20is%20Man%20Utd%27s%20new%20%27Butcher%20of%20Amsterdam%27_%20-%20BBC%20Sport.pdf
