Guillermo Maripan

Guillermo Maripan
Image from: freelargeimages.com

Guillermo Alfonso Maripan Loaysa





Current Club: AS Monaco.

Previous Clubs: CD Alaves, CD Universidad Catolica.

Loan Clubs: N/A.





International: Chile 24 caps 2 goals.

Trophies Won: Chilean League 2016, 2017.





Maripan is a 26 year old Chilean centre-back who, though mainly right-footed, usually plays on the left-side of the defensive pairing for Monaco. That shows that coaches believe his left foot is strong enough and he is clever and technically accomplished enough to cope with being on his wrong side a lot of the time.



He is very comfortable on the ball, happy to play out from the back and make angles to receive a pass deep in his own half, even inside his own penalty box. However, something I noticed while watching recent matches with no crowd is that you can hear the sound of a player striking the ball and hear if their technique is good or not.



When a player strikes the ball cleanly it makes a specific sound, however Maripan's longer passes are usually accompanied by the dull thud of a mishit ball. That probably explains why his longer passes are so inconsistent, they are like a lottery, sometimes way too high and far, sometimes behind, sometimes in front, only occasionally where he is looking to pass.



Defensively he is decent, with a good workrate. Unlike many other central defenders, Maripan will sprint to get back into position if drawn out of place to make a challenge or hold up an attacker. He is also very aware of his defensive partners and potential runners, when closing off a break, he will constantly be looking around to make sure he is not caught.



Pace wise he is fairly quick, though not a speed merchant, with quick reactions, though he does have a tendency to make slide tackles, not always successfully. That can often leave him chasing back into position needlessly, especially as his timing in the slide is not always good.



Maripan's main weakness for me though is his tendency to push into midfield to close down the player on the ball, whether there is cover or not. It is like he is a bull having a red rag waved and he simply cannot resist rushing forward to try to get to it, leaving a wide open space where he should be.



In a more defensive system, such as Roy Hodgson and David Moyes use, which always ensures cover at the back, his deficiencies would be well protected and Maripan would be an excellent defender. For a team that are more open, such as a Pep Guardiola team, he would be exposed in a similar way to Nicolas Otamendi with Manchester City.





Requested by - noel7