Santiago Zampieri is an 18-year-old left back who plays for Boca Juniors II, the club’s reserve side, in the Argentine reserve league. He has made 29 appearances this season, racking up 2685 minutes so far and contributing one goal and four assists.
Zampieri looks like he is roughly around 1.80 m (5’11”). I was not able to find any physical information about him online, so this is just an estimate based on what I have seen. He has a slightly slim build with long legs. He shows explosive speed and acceleration, especially when dribbling or in transitions. He shows good strength and balance when going into duels and is able to knock players off the ball consistently.
Zampieri stands out for his comfort in possession. He is comfortable receiving by the touchline and when being pressured. When receiving, Zampieri has a good first touch and is usually comfortable taking it in stride when receiving. Due to his ability on the ball, Zampieri is capable of passing or dribbling out of pressure. Zampieri will go on these long, mazy runs from his own defensive third all the way into the opponent’s penalty box, beating multiple opponents throughout the way. A great example of this was his assist against River Plate’s reserve side, picking up the ball in his own half, beating 6 players, and then providing an assist to his teammate. He is capable of beating players off the dribble, using his quick footwork and close control to dribble past opponents. Typically, he likes to go inside when dribbling at his opponents using a croqueta. He is also a good progressive passer. Usually, he forms a back 3 in the first phase of build-up. His passing technique is clean. He likes to drill his passes into his teammates, but they aren’t overhit as his teammates rarely struggle to control his passes. He is good at exploiting gaps left by the opponents in the final third, picking out teammates in advanced areas. He usually looks to find his striker or one of his central midfielders in these areas. Overall, his long range passing is good. However, he has a tendency to overhit his long balls over the top when his teammates make runs in behind.
Zampieri is a very good crosser of the ball. He mostly likes to put in whipped or low crosses, although his deliveries from deeper areas seem to be more successful. His low crosses sometimes fail to beat the first or second man due to poor execution. Usually, it is due to poor contact or stretching out to reach the ball. Normally, he hits the ball into the ground, taking the speed out of the pass. He tries to deliver early crosses whenever possible to cause danger and confusion against the backline. When delivering curling crosses closer to the penalty area, he has a tendency to get too much height on them. On free kicks and corners, his technique and delivery are usually good, capable of getting the ball into dangerous areas or connecting with his teammates at a consistent rate.
Overall, Zampieri is a strong defender. His main issues relate to his defensive positioning and timing. When going into duels, his body shape can be too square, so opponents are able to get past him with a quick combination or knock the ball past him because he is flat-footed. When putting in tackles, he shows good anticipation, but his timing still needs work. Despite this, he still shows good tenacity when going into tackles. He uses slide tackles to win the ball a lot, usually being successful due to his longer reach from his legs. Occasionally, when winning possession back, he can corner himself in his own half due to taking too long to play a pass or trying to get the ball onto his left foot. He sometimes tries to dribble himself out of trouble in dangerous areas and can lose possession, but will win the ball back due to his strength. When his team is in possession, he shows good timing and off-ball movement in attacking scenarios, especially in third-man combinations.
With news of Fabra not receiving a contract extension and Boca having Lautaro Costa as their only left back going into next season, there is a good possibility of Zampieri being able to earn minutes with the first team. There have been reports that he will begin training with the first team in January. Zampieri should focus on earning first team minutes to be able to develop, but I think he should be a player European clubs should monitor.
Target Scouting 