Versatility is the main characteristic of the Uruguayan midfielder, who can play alongside Arrascaeta
Midfielder Nicolás De La Cruz remains in Flamengo’s sights for 2024. The possibility of counting on him next season excites Rubro-Negro fans, who dream of seeing the athlete form a midfield pairing with Arrascaeta. The adaptation between these players, however, is not the easiest.
Starting from the game model used by Tite at the beginning of his work. As expected, the coach applied a positional attack at Flamengo, just as he did with the Brazilian team between 2018 and 2022. The formation used for this purpose is the 3-2-5, using a full-back as the “third defender” in passing the ball and opening the field with two fast and dribbling wingers.
Although De La Cruz plays on both sides of the pitch, the player does not have speed as his main characteristic, unlike Everton’s Cebolinha and Luiz Araújo. Both have gained more space with the arrival of Tite, who likes players with these characteristics on the sidelines.
It is worth mentioning that the coach has already used Socks as a winger throughout his career. One of the most successful examples is perhaps Jadson, at Corinthians, in 2015. If the coach tries to make an adjustment to accommodate De La Cruz in a similar way, as a “playmaker” who leaves the corridor to play in the center, Tite should free the full-back on the same side to compensate for the Uruguayan’s movement and open the field.
If Tite wanted to use De La Cruz inside without removing Arrascaeta from the team, the coach would have to adapt any reinforcement to the midfielder role. Gerson and Pulgar currently work in the position, but Thiago Maia has also had an opportunity and is competing for a place in the sector.
In this lineup, De La Cruz would be more of an articulator than a finisher. At times the player would have freedom to invade the area, but the priority would be to help with the ball, as the current pair of midfielders do. Otherwise Flamengo would find themselves numerically inferior in the construction of attacks, risking losing the ball near their own goal.
Another possibility, more likely than the previous one, is that De La Cruz competes for the position with Arrascaeta. Not exactly as a substitute, but as another option for the team. This is because the River Plate player has more offensive characteristics than Flamengo’s number 14, who gives more pace to the game when necessary.
De La Cruz has a valid contract with River Plate until December 2025 and a fine of $16 million (R$78 million at current prices). The report shows that Flamengo are considering the possibility of paying this sum in cash.
Source: Terra
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