Aimar Sánchez is a 20-year-old centre-back who plays for Plaza Amador in the Panamanian first tier. Sánchez has 50 first team appearances for Plaza Amador, having broken through to the first team last season. He also has 2 U20 caps for Panama.
Sánchez is around 6’1″ (1.85 m) with an average build. Sánchez is something of a sweeper, sitting deep and absorbing opposition attacks. The Panamanian league is very direct, which means Sánchez deals with a lot of long balls. He is very good in the air and has strong defensive positioning, allowing him to rack up clearances and interceptions. He does not step forward to make defensive interventions very often, but when he does, it is very rare to see him make the wrong decision or lose out on the battle. Sánchez looked a little bit less comfortable dealing with dribblers. The main reason for this, in my view, is that he has some problems with maneuverability. He is not very quick or coordinated. He moves a bit like a Looney Tunes character, with big, exaggerated, stiff movements. So if he needs to change direction or cover ground quickly to make a defensive intervention, it takes an ice age. This did not come up that often, thanks to Plaza Amador being a strong team in the league and Sánchez’s strong positioning. But at a higher level, on a less dominant team, it might be a bigger problem.
Sánchez is mostly quite conservative with his passing. He does not try to break lines that often, instead looking to pick out fullbacks in advanced wide positions most of the time. He did do some occasional line breaking, however, so it’s very possible this part of his game could improve over the next couple of years. Sánchez’s lack of footspeed and general awkwardness can put him in a bit of trouble when the other team presses. However, he’s very good at spotting when he can play his way out of danger and when he has to clear the ball. He goes long a bit more than I would like, but it is rare to see him give the ball away in a dangerous area. He is also occasionally able to get himself out of danger through dribbling. He does not do this very often, but his awkwardness can work to his advantage, as it can throw opponents off.
Sánchez is doing a lot of positive centre-back stuff at a young age, so it’s easy to be optimistic about his future. If he can improve his on-ball play, I can see him having a decent career in MLS or Liga MX. For the time being, a step up within Latin America would make a lot of sense. A move North to Costa Rica or perhaps South to a smaller team in Colombia might make sense.
Target Scouting 