Harold Medina is a diminutive midfielder for Real Estelí and the Nicaraguan national team. The 22-year-old is a player I previously covered and his growth since that Central American Cup has been notable. Medina remains in Nicaragua at his boyhood club, maintaining a regular place in the starting XI. With this playing time, he has refined his abilities within the creative central midfielder role to rise above his domestic league’s level of play.
Medina stands around 5’7” and has a sturdy frame despite his size. Bigger players of course overpower him, but he has just enough size and feistiness to hold his own against everyone else. Athletically, his agility/turning ability and body control shine the most, allowing him to create plenty of space on and off ball for himself. In turn, Medina operates naturally throughout the spine of the pitch as he is unphased by markers breathing down his neck. His explosiveness and pace are above most at this level, but not enough to be relied upon on progressive carries and other responsibilities once at a higher tier. Medina is not just an athletic standout, he works hard from box-to-box, having the stamina to maintain his effort for full 90s regardless of the conditions.
Real Estelí’s key player in the buildup’s primary responsibility is to drop deep to link play with the back line. From there, Medina has flexibility as a progressive carrier or a distributor with notable range when spreading play. He primarily uses his dominant left foot and keeps it on the ground, although he is not opposed to the odd chipped ball in behind. Primarily, his distribution is lateral and to other midfield teammates when in the middle third but gets a bit more progressive operating in and around the final third. As a progressive carrier, Medina’s swift turning is key and translates to confident solo runs up the half space. In addition, his quickness to distribute and above average dribbling control for the league allow him to usually deal with pressure easily. His first touch is mostly reliable, an important note for a profile like his that deals with loads of pressure. The sturdiness of his frame and press resistance helps him on ball, too. Medina could have better awareness on ball as he has a significant tendency to draw fouls from markers pressing behind him, but does not always feel their presence before going down. Off ball, his best work in possession is done on support runs up the half spaces from box-to-box. Through these crashing runs come most of his finishing opportunities, whether flying in for headers (successful for his size yet need more control) or receiving outside of the box and using his technical dribbling to gain space to fire a long shot. Medina is no stranger to a golazo and the close marking of him outside the box mirrors that notion. Contrarily, his end product from distance must improve if it is to be a continued threat as he develops.
Medina’s high work rate and athleticism are the traits he relies upon to be a serviceable defender from his defensive line. He covers a lot of space with all the energy he bounces around the pitch with, but with that forward energy his defensive positioning suffers as he can get overeager in duels in 1v1s. Lunging into challenges is a problem that could get bigger if he does not press with more control against better competition. His pressing in Nicaragua and CONCACAF is effective and pesky, but there is evidence Medina must improve his technical defensive skillset to continue with his volume of midfield duties should he move on from Estelí. On set pieces, he also has somewhat of a crossing threat with middling accuracy alongside his frequency of clearances when defending crossing deliveries (mostly from corners).
Medina has primarily improved in technique and consistency performing box-to-box responsibilities. This was more than enough to catch my eye for a consecutive season, as the Nicaraguan added 4 goal contributions in all competitions to cap his performances. Playing regularly for a big club in a Central American league, Medina has an easy path to domestic stardom. If the pathway to South America’s top leagues presents itself, he has more than enough talent to test it.
Target Scouting 