Mario Engels Scout Report
Mario Engels, the versatile central midfielder of Heracles, has shown an impressive pedigree in the 2023-24 Eredivisie season. While primarily used in the heart of the midfield, his ability to slot in as an attacking midfielder or striker gives a tantalizing glimpse into the breadth of his capabilities.
The German maestro excels in striking instances of brilliant chance creation and goal threat, where his performance towers over 78.6% and 92% of his league counterparts respectively. This is a testament to his formidable attacking prowess punctuated by an astounding goal efficiency of 76%, a stat only bested by 24% of fellow midfielders. That said, perhaps his greatest strength lies in his capacity for progressive carrying, scoring high in percentile at 74.6%.
While Engels is likely to light up the highlight reel with his goal involvements and successful dribbles per 90, he falls surprisingly short in elements crucial to a central midfielder’s playbook - ball recovery, retention, and progressive passing. His underwhelming retention and recovery stats reveal weakness in mid-game transition, struggling to gain and retain control. His progressive passing sinks to an alarming low percentile of 2.6%, a biting statistic for a central midfielder.
Our scout report indicates Engels has room to improve in defensive duels and aerial battles, putting him in an unfortunate percentile of 1.35%. This could be a result of his attacking-focused style of play, a trait perhaps indicative of his notable yellow card record, landing him at a rather high percentile of 74.32% for cautions received.
Though not the player to run the game from midfield in terms of touches and interceptions, consistently ranked below 2% in these areas, when Engels does get involved in the play, you know it's going to be direct, potentially game-changing, and certainly entertaining to watch. Time spent mainly in the attacking third zone suggests a player leaning into his attacking nature despite his central positioning.
In summary, Mario Engels is an attacking powerhouse you want with the ball at his feet in the final third but needs to refine some aspects of the traditional central midfield role to fully exploit his dynamic ability. A player with a threat as direct as his could be the difference-maker many teams actively seek.