Overall Rating System
A1 – Very good, could play higher
A2 – Strong potential to play higher
B1 – Good, strong player at level
B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
C – Average for the level, rewatch
D – Below average, don’t follow up
Mathiás Suárez
Player profile:
- Full name: Mathías Sebastián Suárez Suárez
- Date of birth: 24 June 1996
- Place of birth: Montevideo, Uruguay
- Age: 23
- Length: 1,82 m
- Nationality: Uruguay
- Position: right-back
- On loan from HSC Montpellier
- National team: Uruguay
Judgment:
The Uruguayan right-back seemed a bit too passionate when I saw him play. He often was too wild in defensive duels and made a lot of fouls in these duels which resulted in some yellow cards. The 23-year-old did okay in the 1-on-1 duels with the attackers, often helped by his aggressiveness in defence. Once, he did not look at his defensive line which meant that the offside trap of Laborda and Corujo failed.
In possession, he liked to give early crosses into the box. These crosses were often inaccurate. He often chose for the pass backwards and he didn’t contribute to the attack.
Potential: B1
For this level, Mathías Suárez is a good player and probably one of the best in Uruguay. I don’t think that he can play at a higher level.
Guzmán Corujo
Player profile:
- Full name: Guzmán Corujo Bríccola
- Date of birth: 2 August 1996
- Place of birth: Rodríguez, Uruguay
- Age: 23
- Length: 1,89 m
- Nationality: Uruguay
- Position: centre-back
- Preferred foot: right
- Contract expires on: 31.07.2020
- Matches played for Nacional: 61
Judgment:
Guzmán Corujo is a physically strong centre-back that stands at 1.89m. He makes a lot of clearances and positions himself well during crosses. In the defensive duels, he tends to misuse his physical appearance by making fouls. He is not that quick on the turn. He sometimes uses the offside trap well as the communication with Mathías Laborda seems to be good.
In possession, he likes to choose for the safest option and when he passes it forward, he often gets the pass wrong.
Potential: B1
Corujo is at the moment one of the best centre-backs in Uruguay, but he still needs some playing time in Uruguay before he can make a move to a better team.
Mathías Laborda
Player profile:
- Full name: Mathías Nicolás Laborda Malseñido
- Date of birth: 15 September 1999
- Place of birth: Fray Bentos, Uruguay
- Age: 20
- Length: 1,85 m
- Nationality: Uruguay
- Position: centre-back
- Preferred foot: right
- National team: Uruguay under 23
- Matches for Nacional: 16
Judgment:
The 20-year-old Uruguayan is a very smart player, reading the game well and making a lot of interceptions. However, he lacks physicality. Often, he reads the game well, but he just gets pushed off the ball by his direct opponent. Laborda is not that quick on the turn and is not fast. This also does not help him.
In possession, he also chooses the safest option most of the times. When he passes it forward, the pass is often inaccurate as his passing technique seems a bit off.
Potential: B2
Laborda has the game intelligence to play in Europe, but he needs to work on his physical appearance. If he does that, I can see him making a good move to Europe in the future. Overall, he is an interesting player and I will keep an eye out for him in the future. For now, he has the potential to become a strong player at this level but if he works on his physical appearance he could certainly move to Europe at some point in his career.
Agustín Oliveros
Player profile:
- Full name: Agustín Oliveros Cano
- Date of birth: 17 August 1998
- Place of birth: Montevideo, Uruguay
- Age: 21
- Length: 1,83 m
- Nationality: Uruguay & Spain
- Position: left-back
- Preferred foot: left
- On loan from Racing Club de Montevideo
- National team: Uruguay under 23
Judgment:
Agustín Oliveros is a 21-year-old left-back who often runs out of position in his own half. He does not keep track of the defensive organization and lets gaps open up on the left-side of Nacional’s pitch. When he comes into the 1-on-1 duels with the attacker, he does quite well to recover possession. In the transition from attack to defence, he uses his eyes quite well to look at his surroundings to make adjustments to his run and eventually intercepting the pass.
In possession, the Uruguayan has the vision to spot a run or player in space, but he does not possess the quality to find the player in space. He often plays passes down the line, these are often inaccurate though. His technique is not that great and he likes to give early crosses into the box which are often inaccurate as well. He also tried to win a dribble on his own half, which ended in the loss of possession and eventually a chance for the opposition.
Potential: C
Gabriel Neves
Player profile:
- Full name: Gabriel Neves Perdomo
- Date of birth: 11 August 1997
- Place of birth: Maldonado, Uruguay
- Age: 22
- Length: 1,71 m
- Nationality: Uruguay
- Position: defensive midfielder
- Preferred foot: left
- Matches for Nacional: 42
Judgment:
The 22-year-old defensive midfielder often chose the right moment to put pressure on the opponent which made sure that he recovered possession. However, sometimes he was too late which meant that he got passed. This left some gaps between the defence and midfield and it helped the opposition to create chances at times.
In the defensive duels where he did get on time, he was quite fierce and he made sure to win almost every single duel. In possession, he struggled to get his first touch right often and his handling speed was too low. Also, he did not check his shoulders before receiving the pass which meant that he lost possession at times.
Potential: A2
He has the potential to play for a better team in the future. The more experience he gains, the more he will recognize the right moments to put pressure on his opponent and if he can improve on this, he will become an even more interesting player for European teams.
Felipe Carballo
Player profile:
- Full name: Felipe Ignacio Carballo Ares
- Date of birth: 4 October 1996
- Place of birth: Montevideo, Uruguay
- Age: 23
- Length: 1,77 m
- Nationality: Uruguay
- Preferred foot: right
- On loan from Sevilla
Judgment:
Felipe Carballo is a quite promising midfielder. In possession, he always checked his shoulders and turned the right way nearly every time. On the ball, Carballo had a decent acceleration which made sure that he could hold off his opponent.
The 23-year-old midfielder has a good technique and played out of pressure often, using his great dribbling ability in the tight spaces. He has an okay passing ability as well and likes to shoot from distance. Against Estudiantes Merida, he scored a nice goal from distance. In this action, he made a good run after he checked his shoulders.
In defence, the Sevilla loanee anticipates well at times to close the opponents down and recover possession. He often prosecuted this with a good pass forward. Also, he managed to close the gaps that Gabriel Neves left when he got his timing wrong (like mentioned above).
Potential: A1
Felipe Carballo has the ability to play at a higher level and it would be good for him to be loaned out to a LaLiga team next season.
Santiago Rodríguez
Player profile:
- Full name: Santiago Mariano Rodríguez Molina
- Date of birth: 8 January 2000
- Place of birth: Montevideo, Uruguay
- Age: 20
- Length: 1,67 m
- Nationality: Uruguay
- Position: attacking midfield, left-winger and right-winger
- Preferred foot: right
- National team: Uruguay under 23
- Matches for Nacional: 34
Judgment:
Santiago Rodríguez already showed a glimpse of his talent during the pre-Olympics tournament playing for the under 23’s of Uruguay, but he proved at Nacional that he is a really talented player who could possibly move to Europe this summer already.
I have seen him play as an attacking midfielder, left-winger and right-winger. At all these positions, Santiago Rodríguez did well. The versatile Uruguayan has good acceleration on him, he has good changes of direction and he keeps very composed in the final third.
He gets into scoring positions often, making good runs into space profiting from positional errors of his direct opponent. The 20-year-old needs to work on his finishing, he missed some big chances in the matches I watched. He also takes a lot of set pieces, using his good kicking technique to create dangerous situations in front of goal.
Santiago Rodríguez creates chances for his teammates often, keeping calm and assessing his options in the final third. He has the technique and qualities to pick out the right pass and to play an accurate pass.
In defence, the youth international of Uruguay works hard and he keeps aware of the defensive organization. He is disciplined to always position himself well and keeping an eye out for the defensive structure of the team.
Potential: A1
A very promising player who is able to move to Europe already.
Thiago Vecino
Player profile:
- Full name: Thiago Vecino Berriel
- Date of birth: 25 February 1999
- Place of birth: Montevideo, Uruguay
- Age: 21
- Length: 1,83 m
- Nationality: Uruguay & Italy
- Preferred foot: left
- Matches for Nacional: 24
Judgment:
The 21-year-old striker was quite quiet in the matches in the Libertadores. He lost almost every duel against the defenders, trying to use his body but just not strong enough to keep the defenders away from the ball. Thiago Vecino made some good runs to create space for his teammates though. Also, when he did get on the ball he turned out to be quite useful in possession, linking up play well.
Potential: C
Does not suit the playing style of Nacional in the Copa Libertadores and could thrive in another playing style.
The under 23 players that are not being mentioned in this article (like Brian Ocampo and Rodrigo Amaral) did not play enough minutes in the matches I watched to create a representative scout report on.