Despite admitting fewer teams than their peers at UEFA, CAF and the AFC, CONMEBOL’s showpiece event, the Copa America has no shortage of prestige, passion and panache. Whether it be a burgeoning Selecao star, a born-again El Tre hero, or an unheralded Jamaican journeyman, the Copa provides a launching pad into footballing stardom that is hard to match. With more eyes plastered across the footballing eco-system than ever and clubs from across the food chain increasingly willing to part with millions for talent miles away from their home base, international tournaments like the Copa offer the perfect convention for football to converge and take note of who’s now and who’s next. Using a mix of tools and dashboards from the RMA platform, let’s investigate some of the most encouraging and exciting performers at the Copa.
Jon Arambaru – Venezuela
It takes a particular player to earn two distinct nicknames over their career and even more to do so just four years into a senior career. However, a young, squat, intense and aggressive Venezuelan of Spanish heritage answers to both “El Bufalo” and “Puyol” and embodies everything great about his nation’s campaign.
Aramburu entered this edition of the tournament in high spirits, newly inking a contract extension with Real Sociedad after making his debut for the A team in December and featuring in their final five league games.
If there is one word to describe his effect on the pitch, it is intensity. At the Copa and in La Liga, this is most evident in the tenacity and sharpness he brings to his defensive work. He’s intense but not overly aggressive and manages to make defending look clean despite being so effective. His stats from the 23/24 season provides some grounding for his profile. His defensive output is elite and not a spill-over effect from a side forced to defend for 90 minutes. Such sharpness and tenacity extend from his pressing duels to tackles and loose balls, offering a complete package. His in-possession output fails to compare, but that’s no real surprise. In glimpses, he shows intelligent passing and an appetite for carrying and crossing. However, these skills remain in relative infancy, at least compared to his defensive strengths.
The Copa was no different for Aramburu, as here he should have clamp-level defensive stability, which helped provide a sense of assurance to a much underrated and underdog Venezuela. The scatter below provides an excellent indication towards such, evidencing a harmony between aggressive front-footed defending and the ability to stay calm and defend 1v1.
El Bufalo is in a great position to develop. His club side has seemingly mastered the craft, and they have plenty to work with.
Alistair Johnston – Canada
Some may say beginners’ luck, others point to the fact that to those not in the know, despite some challenges, Canadian football has been quietly developing around a strong core whilst their southern neighbours take the spotlight, yet what no one can say is that they failed to impress during their semi-final run in their debut tournament. It’s hard to single out individuals given the combined efforts of all involved, however, CONMEBOL did so themselves, selecting Canada’s RB Alistair Johnston to the team of the tournament. Johnston’s performances come as a high point of a success-ladened 18 months where he’s been close to an ever-present for his club side, Celtic.
For Celtic, he’s been pretty much as close as you can find to a complete fullback. His stats from the 23/24 league campaign; given Celtic’s dominance he has ample opportunity to showcase his attributes; regardless, he steps above what is expected. He finds himself outside of the 75th+ percentile for only two of the nine, again reinforcing the well-roundedness of his profile, an outlier in an environment where most are forced to sacrifice in one phase for the betterment of the other whilst Johnston, the envy of many, thrives both in and out of possession.
As mentioned, maintaining such excellence in a good Celtic side is one thing; however, coming close to replicating such a feat for an unfancied Canadian side is. According to his stats from the Copa America, even though the attacking-related output has deflated a bit, as expected, he’s managed to maintain his characteristically high involvement in almost all phases of ball progression, creation, and defending.
The term box-to-box is usually reserved for central midfielders. However, it seems an apt descriptor for such an energetic, complete and intense fullback.
Richard Ríos – Colombia
Ríos may not have won the tournament’s best player award; however, he was its biggest winner, even if his side failed to bring the trophy back home. The former futsal star’s profile exploded off the back of Colombia’s run to the finals, with links to Europe’s premier clubs arriving before the final was even played.
The Copa offered Ríos the perfect stage to show off his valuable set of skills. The first thing that strikes you is his size; he stands 186 cm tall and uses his long limbs to swallow up ground, best used whilst pressing or carrying. His frame is solid and provides stability in duels across the pitch. He likes to involve himself in play where possible, transitioning from operating in early-stage build-up to vertical carries to chance creation, often within a single string of possession. Above all else, his ball control and ability to retain possession whilst maintaining threat makes him a valued and ever-present target for his teammates. At the Copa, he showed off his synthesis of skills, involving himself in almost all duel types, offensive or defensive. He was amongst the top for his positional peers for a diverse list of metrics, including shots p90, dribbles defended %, defensive action regains, dribbles and pressures in opp half. Below, you can see two metrics plotted using RMA’s outstanders analysis, demonstrating the intense, aggressive, and varied nature of his performances at the tournament.
Ríos’s emergence at the Copa did not occur in a vacuum but rather off the back of a number of encouraging campaigns at the domestic level. It’s safe to say that Ríos’ game has never looked quite as polished as it did this summer; however, there is evidence that a highly competent and dynamic box-to-box player has been there for some time. His stats from the 2023 Serie A season shows off an encouraging mix of traits that reflect what we saw from both the spreadsheets and the pitch in the USA this summer.
Every indication suggests Rios will head east, with suitors across Europe’s top 5 leagues taking an interest. Tempered expectations are required as transitioning is difficult. Yet, Rios appears to have a close-to-bullet-proof toolkit, which should put him in good stead as he progresses.
