Thiago Martins: A Different Kind of Blue
NYCFC's newest designated player and self-described warrior has all the tools to make an instant impact defensively, but will his passing hold him back?
Like all off-seasons for New York City Football Club, this winter was mostly quiet with some random swirls of rumor, mystery, and inaction. While other teams were buying and selling left and right, the only notable news for the defending MLS Cup champions were some expected departures to go with a couple of homegrown signings and three SuperDraft picks.
Then, almost out of nowhere, NYCFC signed 26 year-old Brazilian center back Thiago Martins for a rumored 500 million yen ($4.3 million) fee from fellow City Football Group club Yokohama F. Marinos to a designated player contract.
A center back as a DP is not unheard of in MLS, but it’s fairly rare. There are only three active center back DPs heading into the 2022 season - Toronto’s Carlos Salcedo, Houston’s Teenage Hadebe, and now Martins. A fair number of former center back DPs have had their contracts bought down, but that won’t be the case with Martins in the first year of his deal.
With the significant transfer outlay and significant opportunity cost in giving up a designated player spot on a center back, what kind of player is NYCFC getting for this expenditure?
History
Thiago Martins had a dream start to his career. The young Brazilian made his professional debut in 2013 at just 17 for a Serie B winning Palmeiras- the biggest club in Brazil if you believe their legion of fans in NYCFC’s Twitter mentions. He had worked his way up the ranks, developing as a player and becoming yet another homegrown star. Though he did not make a first team appearance in 2014, a successful 2015 loan with Paysandu in Serie B led him back to the first team squad in 2016.
Everything looked bright heading into the 2017 season, but he suffered an ACL tear just before his 22nd birthday that required surgery and six months of rehab. The injury derailed his strong preseason at the worst possible time. He recovered too late to be a part of Palmeiras’s season and was loaned to Bahia for the remainder of 2017. Unfortunately, after a promising debut, his career trajectory had not followed the classic path of the young Brazilian star blazing a path to European glory.
Nevertheless, he began the 2018 season with Palmeiras as a surprise starter with a chance to reset his path to stardom. Still, as the season went on his grip on the starting lineup loosened and he was loaned yet again - this time to a struggling Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan’s first division. He played 79 minutes in his debut, just four days after the move was official, and then every minute of every game until season’s end. Yokohama F. Marinos did not hesitate in triggering the purchase option. For the first time since the age of 17, Martins had a new professional home - one that happened to be part of City Football Group.
Over the next three seasons, Thiago Martins became a rock for the Marinos. He missed just one game in the 2019 J1 League championship campaign, and continued to be a key starter through the COVID shortened 2020 and 2021 seasons. His solid play locked down the back, particularly in 2021 where he helped hold Marinos’ opponents to just 0.88 goals per 90 minutes, tied for third best in the league. His reputation had grown rapidly in the J.League, and Marinos fans were clear with their disappointment when the rumors of his transfer began.
An Instant Impact
What jumps out immediately is Martins’ ability to attack space with the ball at his feet. That pretty much is the entire highlight video - four straight minutes of Martins getting a head of steam and barreling towards hapless midfielders who can’t physically handle him. He is a willing and able ball carrier, and not bad with his close control when he works into the final third. His ability to provoke pressure causes defenses to break their familiar organizational patterns, and disorganizes opponents in ways that create passing lanes for his teammates.
Thiago Martins’ physical attributes are apparent. At just 6’1”, he is not the most imposing center back, but is strong in the challenge and good with his positioning. He was one of the fastest players in the league, an unusual trait for a center back. His recorded top speed was in the top 20 league-wide in 2021 and third highest on Marinos. He has great agility for a larger player, seen in the clip below where he reads and reacts to a deflection and stops a clear chance on goal.
The J1 League, which recruits heavily from Brazil, has an overabundance of quick and technical forwards and Martins was able to keep up with all of them. He had the highest total distance covered of any player on his team in 2021 and was top 15 in the league in the same metric, speaking to his unquestionable endurance. And at just 26, he’s got multiple good years ahead of him before any concerns about physical decline might creep in.
In terms of defensive ability, he plays like he’s learned from every bit of his 9 years of professional experience. Despite not being the flashiest player, Martins does the little things right. He holds his line exceptionally well, but also is very good stepping up into space to challenge for aerials or to keep an opponent from turning. He has a great sense of when to make the right challenge.
When defending one-on-one, the Brazilian rarely overcommits, instead carefully sticking to his mark and forcing them into less dangerous positions. He rarely makes rash tackles or put his teammates under pressure with poor rotations. Martins’ speed allows him to nullify transition moments while giving the rest of his team time to recover into their defensive positions. He doesn’t get outrun or overpowered by forwards. As a defensive player, he has the ability to make an instant impact for the reigning MLS Champions.
Passing: A Concern
All that said, if Thiago Martins was a perfect player he’d be somewhere much better than MLS. For a nine-year professional that developed in Brazil and then transitioned into a successful career in Japan, Martins is a pretty bad passer. He’s shown some decent passes in preseason highlights, but watching him over the course of multiple games shows there are significant issues.
This Brazilian rarely, if ever, attempts line breaking passes. His completion percentage in Japan last season was 90%, which is more a testament to his risk averse passing than any particular ability. For comparison, both Maxime Chanot and Alexander Callens had completion percentages of 86% in the 2021 season. On the off chance he does play longer passes, it tends to be on the end of a carry where he’s created the space to take his time lining it up.
When he does need to stretch and play longer balls, his technical limitations become more obvious. The ball lacks zip, often beginning to lose momentum before it gets to the target. He rarely, if ever, plays the ball off the ground and over a line of defenders. His ability to place the ball on the right foot is hit or miss. He sometimes lacks a plan and does not line up the pass in advance of when it is needed. Here, for example, he makes a poor choice to pass to a player under immediate pressure rather than break the line to the open man downfield.
The high possession nature of the NYCFC offense means that the ball will be at his feet often, and his lack of clear ball playing ability is a major concern. High pressing teams could quickly learn to attack Martins in order to force giveaways in the most dangerous areas.
How Does He Fit?
NYCFC had a center back depth problem during and going into last season. They had the always flexible James Sands and Sebastien Ibeagha, a capable if not outstanding backup, ready to be called into action as well. Vuk Latinovich was drafted to fill out the theoretical 5 man group of center backs ready if needed.
What actually happened was a mid-season Ibeagha trade, all three starting quality center backs missing multiple games for international duty, and Vuk not quite meeting the standard. Alfredo Morales ended up seeing more time playing in central defense than Latinovich for this NYCFC team, and he was shaky at best in the role. The brightness of a cup can fade the shadows of the regular season, but center back depth was one of the greatest limiting factors on a team that led MLS in xGD through the regular season.
Heading into 2022, Maxime Chanot and Alexander Callens have played more combined minutes than any other center back pairing in MLS since 2019. It’s a testament to their durability that they have performed at such a high level, but there’s no question that reinforcements are needed. 32-year-old Chanot’s career is nearing its end, and asking him to play a similar amount of minutes going forward is a tremendous risk for both him and the team.
Adding a third center back also give the Pigeons the option of playing three at the back, and allowing more rotation throughout the squad. A capable center back was one of the offseason’s highest priorities and NYCFC has found that in Thiago Martins.
How will Martins’ defensive capabilities fit an already solid defensive team? After all, NYCFC had the second lowest xG against in MLS with just 35.7 xGA over the course of the 2021 regular season. Still, there are signs that the one-on-one defending can be improved.
The most common time when defending one-on-one becomes an issue is in transition after a turnover, an area NYCFC has struggled relative to their overall performances. 51% of NYCFC’s shots allowed last season came from transition moments directly after a turnover - that’s second worst in the league. Being able to cut down on the number of transition opportunities that turn into shots by just a few percentage points could mean dropping 2-3 xGA over the course of the season. That’s a significant boost for a team already dominating both sides of the ball.
Martins’ ability to attack space will come in handy as well. Since the Pigeons have an abundance of capable ball handling midfielders, somewhat mitigating any concerns with Martins’ passing, they force teams to make difficult choices in buildup in terms of who they mark. If they press Martins the midfield options will be open, and no team wants to give Keaton Parks, Cacha Acevedo, or Maxi Moralez time on the ball. If they leave him, he can drive into the midfield and force difficult rotations.
While Chanot and Callens have had memorable moments carrying the ball forward, they combined for only 15% of NYCFC’s total progressive carrying distance. They’re slightly under the average for center backs in MLS making it a potential area of growth.
It’s clear that Martins can bring a different dimension to the team. The amount invested in him is significant given the transfer fee and DP designation. If he can live up to his billing, the team can take a step forward and improve a defense already at CONCACAF Champions League level.
However, if Martins struggles in NYCFC’s possession system it could negatively impact the flow that has been developed for the entire team. It’s an ambitious move, that could make or break a season.❧
Image: Uehara Konen, Watashibune
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