This is a guest piece by Andrew Watson.
Paderborn continued their recent improvement in form by dominating Darmstadt in their home ground. The visitors were ruthless in their pressing from the front in their 4-3-3 formation. Paderborn used one holding midfielder and allowed the front five to press Darmstadt any time the home side had possession in their own third and Die Lilien couldn’t cope with the athleticism of the young Paderborn midfielders. The contest was effectively over after 28 minutes when Paderborn notched their third goal, but Darmstadt shot themselves in the foot still further with a soft red card in the 41st minute leaving them incapable of mounting any kind of comeback. The final score of 0-4 was a fair reflection of the match.
Interestingly, Paderborn deployed an all 22-year-old midfield. This seemed to have a big impact on the match as they effectively strangled Darmstadt through an energetic press from midfield. All of the 22-year-olds are individually assessed below.
Ratings
- 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 in this match
Chris Führich
Player Profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 22
- Date of Birth: 09/01/1998
- Current Club: Paderborn, on loan from Borussia Dortmund
- Career: Bochum (Y), Oberhausen (Y), Borussia Dortmund (Y), FC Köln (L), Paderborn (L)
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary Position: Centre Forward
- Preferred foot: Left
Führich really suffered through the opening twenty minutes of the game as Paderborn continuously looked to build their attacks down the right. Though the young German made the correct moves into the centre of the penalty area to become a goal threat the ball never broke to him to capitalise on his good movement.
His build is very slight, and he is of average height, so he is physically unable to overpower opponents in duels. The aerial threat that he provides is also minimal, though he makes a good effort to win the ball in the air. Teams that use Führich will need to provide him with the ball to his feet and allow him to use his skill and technique.
The German was involved in the second and third goals. The Paderborn high press again bore fruit as Ingelsson stole the ball in the Darmstadt half and attacked the box, Führich’s positioning and body shape were perfect and his composure in a goalscoring position was also notable. The strike took a deflection on its way in, but it was a good strike regardless.
Führich’s intelligent movement was once again to the fore in the third Paderborn goal as he moved across the pitch diagonally to latch onto a through pass and square across the six-yard box for his teammate. The freedom that the goals provided gave Führich more confidence to play more naturally and the skills and flicks came out in his game. The Paderborn wingers switched flanks a few times and Führich drifted all over the pitch and become a more influential player in the game. This is when he impressed the most.
Rating – A2
Svante Ingelsson
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Swedish
- Age: 22
- Date of Birth: 14/06/1998
- Current Club: Paderborn, on loan from Udinese
- Career: Kalmar (Y), Udinese, Pescara (L), Kalmar (L), Paderborn (L)
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
The on-loan Swede cuts an impressive presence in central midfield. He is tall and is clearly comfortable with both feet. His movement both with and without the ball is cultured and his weight of pass is usually very good.
However, his first few touches in this match were very loose. Thankfully this quickly improved and he showed his ability with a run down the left and excellent cross on his preferred left foot. He is prepared to run beyond his forwards without the ball as well, which gives his teammates an extra target further up the pitch.
Ingelsson’s key role in the team though is to use his physical presence and athleticism to win the ball back high up on the pitch. This is what he did to create Paderborn’s second goal as he robbed the Darmstadt midfielder, drove towards the box before feeding Führich with a perfectly weighted ball.
His influence waned slightly as the match went on, however, this is more likely due to game state and the Darmstadt defence dropping deeper. Ingelsson looks set to be a key player for this Paderborn side which could provide his breakthrough in Central Europe.
Rating – A2
Julian Justvan
Player Profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 22
- Date of Birth: 02/04/1998
- Current Club: Paderborn
- Career: 1860 Munich (Y), Wolfsburg (Y), Paderborn
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary Position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Justvan is another new addition to this Paderborn squad having been picked up from Wolfsburg where he was playing Regionalliga football for Wolfsburg II last season. It appears to be an inspired recruitment move as the German has started the last six games and on the evidence of this match has many attributes that are important for a modern midfielder.
He is athletically built, though only of average height. He played on the right of the central three in midfield but is naturally left-footed which means that he is a danger in the centre of goal. His passing range is good and he automatically looks for an overload on the Paderborn left which is often provided by Jamilu Collins from left-back.
There were two main attributes that stood out in this match, the pressing, which was uniform across the Paderborn front five, but, more importantly, the quality of his striking. He unleashed a number of shots in the first half that were clean and drew good saves from the Darmstadt goalkeeper. Importantly they showed a variety of approach as well, a volley on the left foot and a right-footed strike as well as a left-footed free-kick, so the opposition know they need to be wary when the young German is within range. He hasn’t yet scored for Paderborn but surely that is just a matter of time.
Rating – A2
Ron Schallenberg
Player Profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 22
- Date of Birth: 06/10/1998
- Current Club: Paderborn
- Career: Paderborn, Verl (L)
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Schallenberg was the player who held the fort in the centre as the other midfielders went to hunt the ball. He showed excellent tactical discipline in this position and his physicality meant that he filled the space well.
The German returned to Paderborn after a season-long loan at Verl last season and he is really showing a lot of benefit to having a consistent run of football. His passing range was exceptional in this match with lots of well judged diagonal passes out to the right flank a particular highlight. Even straight lofted passes that are often the type of pass that drift out for a goal kick were judged extremely well and created good opportunities for his team.
There was evidence in the game that his lack of pace can catch Paderborn out when their initial press is played through. More examples are required to prove whether this is the case however as Darmstadt were unable to do this more than once or twice. Schallenberg is tall and his aerial threat was proven as he scored the opening goal from a Paderborn corner. He was strong and directed his header brilliantly into the top corner. There are a lot of facets to the German’s game that look to stand him in good stead at this level.
Rating – B1