Josko Gvardiol has only been under contract with RB Leipzig for a few months, but is already one of the runners-up in the defense. He is particularly characterized by his physique. But that is by far not the only strength of the 18 million man, as coach Jesse Marsch reports.
After a difficult start to the season, RB Leipzig seems to be slowly getting started, recently the Saxons convinced in a 2-1 win against BVB. Defender Josko Gvardiol played a central role in this. The Croatian international was one of the best players on the field and prepared the 1-0 through Christopher Nkunku with a dream pass from his own half.
Accordingly, RB coach Jesse Marsch expressed himself positively after the game. He explicitly praised Gvardiol during the press conference and already sees his young defender as a “super player”, as he was asked by SPOX and GOAL said, “He’s one of the best 19-year-old defenders I’ve ever seen.” But what is it that makes Gvardiol so special?
Despite being “only” 1.85 meters tall and weighing around 80 kilograms, the Croatian looks from the stands as if he is not avoiding a duel. He is a physical defender for the Fabio Cannavaro brand. This is also underlined by the numbers: only offensive player Nkunku leads more tackles at RB.
How successful Gvardiol is in this is shown by his average of more than eight ball conquests per game – another internal statistic that the Croat leads and which is also so remarkable because in RB’s pressing construct mostly the front lines are supposed to conquer the ball.
Gvardiol at RB Leipzig: More assists than Forsberg, Poulsen, Olmo and Angelino put together
But Gvardiol can not only score with physicality. “I would say that my game is based on physics, but I can also bring in my technique,” he said in an interview with SPOX and Goal in March, another characteristic of himself.
How strong the left foot is technically trained, he also showed against BVB. In the 29th minute, as the left link of the three-man chain in the build-up almost on the line, he briefly raised his eyes and, although started by Julian Brandt, found the time to play a perfectly timed pass from his own half to the starting Nkunku . Thanks to the dream pass, he showed up alone in front of Kobel. 1-0 for RB.
It was already the fourth big chance prepared by Gvardiol this season. At RB only Dominik Szoboszlai (6) initiates more top-class players. In addition, the defender collected his second assist in the current Bundesliga season – as many as the offensive players Forsberg, Poulsen, Olmo and Angelino combine.
Josko Gvardiol: He’s no stranger to FC Bayern either
There is one point where coach Marsch sees development potential: “Sometimes he’s still too calm for me. A central defender has to be a leader and organizer for me and mustn’t be calm.” However: “Josko has an outstanding mentality and asks a lot of good questions. He is always ready to improve.”
That should also be true with regard to his club. Especially since he is likely to have played in the focus of some world clubs with such strong investments. At Bayern, for example, Gvardiol is no stranger.
Even before moving to RB, the record champions showed interest in the then 18-year-old from Dinamo Zagreb at the beginning of 2020. Above all, Miroslav Klose, who was still assistant coach at FCB at the time, is said to have expressed his enthusiasm for the central defender after seeing him at a clash between FCB’s U19s and Dinamo’s offspring in the Youth League.
This is what today’s player advisor and former teammate Klos Jurica Vranjes revealed to the Croatian newspaper Sportske novosti. “He is very interested in Josko Gvardiol,” said Vranjes at the time. Meanwhile, Klose is no longer with Bavaria and instead of Gvardiol, the Munich Dayot Upamecano for 42.5 million euros.
His successor at RB Gvardiol could soon see clubs of the same size as those at Upamecano. He has the potential to do so. And the will too, like him SPOX and GOAL said in the spring: “I would say that I will orientate myself towards Sergio Ramos and Virgil van Dijk.”
