Federico Fazio’s performances suggest he is unlucky to now be overlooked in the league.
Federico Fazio’s early matches at Tottenham Hotspur did not quite go according to plan, but the Argentine centre-back soon proved the doubters wrong, forming a fine defensive partnership with Jan Vertonghen.
And yet despite the effectiveness of that duo, Fazio has found himself sitting out three of the last four Premier League games, watching on as an unused substitute while Eric Dier played alongside the Belgian international.
The 21-year-old has impressed, and his pace is certainly an asset in Tottenham’s back-line, but Fazio has a right to feel aggrieved. In fact, he may just be the unluckiest player at the club considering how well he turned things around just to be overlooked once more.
Fazio excels in a number of key areas when compared with his fellow Tottenham centre-backs in the league this season.
He averages more outfield blocks, more effective clearances (both with his head and with his feet), more duels, more aerial battles and more interceptions.
| Outfield Blocks per Game | Effective Clearances per Game | Effective Headed Clearances per Game | Tackles Won per Game | Duels Won per Game | Aerials Won per Game | Interceptions Won per Game | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federico Fazio | 1.31 | 8.69 | 6.38 | 1.23 | 7.85 | 5.31 | 2.92 | 1,147 |
| Jan Vertonghen | 0.68 | 6.45 | 3.59 | 1.23 | 4.77 | 2.23 | 2.05 | 1,910 |
| Eric Dier | 0.25 | 3.25 | 2.25 | 1.81 | 5.56 | 2.13 | 1.44 | 1,210 |
The only area where Tottenham’s Argentine defender is not out in front is tackles and he still averages exactly the same as Vertonghen in the league.
In short, Fazio has done absolutely nothing wrong, and as he sits and watches Tottenham he must wonder just what he has to do to get into manager Mauricio Pochettino’s starting line up week in, week out.
He proved people wrong once, but now perhaps he has to do it all over again…
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