| Name: Valentín Vidal | Date of birth: 12/05/2004 |
| Position: CB – DM | Preferred foot: Right |
| Nationality: Chilean | Club: Unión Española |
| Contract until: 31/12/2025 | Competition: Primera Divisón |
| International: Chili U-23 | Agency: UNOSPORTS |
Report:
Valentín Vidal stands at 1.85m with an average build. He displays decent strength in duels with his back towards the goal but can sporadically get shrugged off the ball or pushed away in a shoulder-to-shoulder duel. Vidal has an average burst of speed and decent speed over longer distances. His running technique can be worked on to increase his speed. Vidal does not change directions quickly while sprinting but can shift his body weight relatively quickly. He has decent timing in aerial duels but does not have good jumping reach, meaning he has mixed results in aerial duels.
Vidal is positively aggressive and tenacious in duels with his back towards the goal. He uses his hands and body smartly to disrupt his opponent in duels, often recovering possession without giving away a free-kick. He occasionally gets dribbled past on the turn in duels with his back towards the goal, also because of his lack of burst. Vidal’s timing can be slightly off at times, especially with his tackling. He sometimes is too late and can lack composure near the end of the game, diving into tackles and getting a yellow card or dribbled past. Vidal sometimes fails to track back quickly enough, mostly due to his lack of speed. He is slightly vulnerable in isolated 1v1s. Vidal sometimes does not have the best body shape in 1v1s and gets outrun quite easily.
He generally reads the game quite well. Vidal covers runners in behind and out wide well. He manages to block many crosses as he keeps looking at the ball well. He has mixed results after stepping up. Even though his timing is quite good, he sometimes fails to block passing lanes or his follow-up action is poor. Vidal cuts passing lanes well defending runners in behind though. He can sometimes get caught out of position after stepping up when he gets dribbled past or when his opponent plays a one-two. Vidal subsequently lacks the speed to get back into position quickly. He defends crosses quite well but sometimes is not in the right position to block cut-backs.
Valentín Vidal is composed on the ball both without and under pressure. He cuts away from his opponent well under pressure. Vidal dares to play his passes with power and is quite clean with his passing except for the occasional sloppy pass. He has a good passing technique over short and medium-long distances. His long passing technique is at a decent level but not always that clean and accurate. Vidal does not like to use his left foot that often, displaying average technique with his left foot and only using it for clearances.
At the age of only 19 years old, I think Valentín Vidal can improve a lot. His lack of speed comes back to haunt him in many (important) situations. He sometimes compensates for his lack of speed with his above-average positioning, strength and tenacity. Vidal is decent on the ball. I do not think he is ready for (top-level) European football but he could make a step within South America in the next few years. However, first, he needs to become a regular starter at Union Española.
Target Scouting 