Cristian Romero is fast becoming the best centre-half in world football, but there is a theory that he plays better and gives more for his country than he does for Tottenham Hotspur. So, is that true?
After a poor performance in the North London Derby, we took a look at the stats to get to the bottom of this once and for all.
The first thing to consider when trying to compare Romero‘s performances for Tottenham and Argentina is to remember that the two teams play different styles of football, thus leaving the defender with different responsibilities in the two systems.
Spurs and Argentina both play with a back four, granted, but the Lilywhites have adventurous, inverted full-backs that require covering by Romero and his partner Micky van de Ven in the middle of the defence.
Argentina, meanwhile, often operate with more traditional full-backs who are more inclined to stay back. They even lined up with Lisandro Martinez at left-back in their most recent game, who is, of course, more naturally a centre-half.
This kind of defensive structure allows Romero to worry less about covering his teammates, to be acutely aware of and set up against any dangerous attacks with ease, and gives him a little more time and freedom on the ball.
So, while Ange-ball may be fun to watch, it does come with significantly more risks than the reliable system Argentina operates in.
Looking at this summer’s Copa America as an example, no Argentina player involved in more than one match made more tackles (4.8), interceptions (1.8), or clearances (3.2) per 90 than Romero (WhoScored). In essence, he is Argentina’s rock at the back, but that’s largely because La Albiceleste are primed for that kind of rigid, secure approach to defending.
For Spurs, Romero still brings that awareness and combative defensive work, but he is able to contribute in different ways, too. Last season in the Premier League, the 26-year-old ranked tenth in the division for passes into the final third (189), sixth for total touches (2923), and fourth for progressive carrying distance (6026) as per FBRef.
This is telling of the style of football Ange Postecoglou prefers, where his centre-halves are encouraged to receive the ball as much as possible, to bring it forward and push a high line into the opposition half, and to play incisive passes through the lines.
His performances have also seen Romero linked with PSG, Man Utd and Real Madrid who are all said to have expressed an interest over the summer.
So, it’s impossible and unfair to say that Romero performs any better for Argentina than he does for Spurs. He plays impeccably for both, and aligns his game with the system he is put into, whether that be the more conservative international game, or the more expansive approach at Spurs.
At the end of the day, though, it wouldn’t really matter if he was putting a little bit of extra passion and commitment into his international appearances. We may not like it, but Romero was born and raised in Argentina, and he will always feel an extra special responsibility to do his country proud.
Whether conscious or not, there is bound to be just that little bit more in the engine, a little more fight in the tackle, the wins will mean that little bit more. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love Tottenham, and we have to accept that both things can be true.
The post Does Cristian Romero play better for Argentina than he does for Spurs? appeared first on The Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.
