Julian Weigl: The Modern Day Regista
In a previous article I spoke about Thiago Alcantara and his rise to promincence, from La Masia to world class status at Bayern Munich. In that article I mentioned Julian Weigl of Borussia Dortmund as one of my favorite players to watch this past season. My admiration for Weigl runs deep, but the main reason is the fact that he has brought the regista role back to relevance in “modern” football. What Weigl represents is quite ironic, he is a young talent who occupies the “archaic” regista role in a “hipster” team such as Borussia Dormund. However, Weigl is not the typical regista, in order to function in modern football he has had to formulate his own unique form of the traditonal regista role, and I think it is reasonable to say that he has thrived.
Why Should You Care About Julian Weigl?
To many of the more casual fans of football (or of German football) Julian Weigl is a relative unknown who hasn’t made a great impact outside of the Bundesliga. For those questioning his relevance at the highest level let me provide a few third party opinions. Toni Kroos, the world class midfielder for Real Madrid and Germany, has stated that Weigl “will be world class” and will be his “successor for the German National team.” Weigl’s Dortmund teammate Marc Bartra, who formerly played for Barcelona, even dared to say that Weigl is “very similar to Sergio Busquets” Barca’s world class midfielder. Others have drawn comparisons between Weigl and the recently retired footballing legend Xabi Alonso. Let’s just say that Weigl is held in high regard in the footballing world.
@JuWeigl is going to be a world class player https://t.co/p3EHbKqkXj
— Toni Kroos (@ToniKroos) March 5, 2017
The hype surrounding Weigl is not based solely in his ability and performances, but in the time he has to hone them. Weigl is 21 years old and has been a fixture in the Borussia Dortmund first team for the past two seasons. Not only is Weigl young and talented, but he is being afforded the opportunities to succeed on a consistent basis. Playing experience is vital in the position and role that Weigl occupies as a regista. Developing the ability to read the game is key to the success of a regista and that only comes by playing matches, that’s why we have seen so many registas in the past that get better with age e.g. Pirlo, Carrick, and the formerly mentioned Xabi Alonso.
What Exactly Is So Great About Julian Weigl?
Registas typically have a certain skillset attached to them. You have to be a good passer, have great vision, and positional awareness, and Weigl fits the mold. Weigl is a an excellent passer with the vision and ability to find teammates streaking forward getting the ball to them in stride downfield. He is also capable of linking up with teammates with shorter passes creating passing triangles and being an outlet for teammates to relieve pressure. In a defensive capacity Weigl is disciplined positionally and has no problem sitting back as cover, this is particularly evident on counter attacks where Weigl and his two centerbacks are the players left to stop an attack. Weigl can read whether to engage and potentially foul before the attack gets out of hand or sit back and allow space in front of the him but not behind. Although all the aforementioned skills are admirable, what makes Weigl a truly special player is the extra qualities beyond the traditional regista archetype that he brings.
Julian Weigl has a 6 foot 2 thin frame that may come off as unathletic, but you would be wrong to think so. He has a great engine and uses it extensively. To me Weigl is football/soccer’s version of American Football’s sideline -to-sideline linebacker. Rather than move vertically up and down the field like a box-to-box midfielder, Weigl moves laterally, to combat players from the center and out wide running at the backline.
The modern game is becoming increasingly physical and players are much fitter, teams are filling their midfields with athletes that cover huge amounts of ground throughout the game. As a result of the game’s increased physical nature the idea of a defensive midfielder who does not do a huge amount of running is kind of backwards, therefore the regista role has been phased out of football. Teams can no longer afford to have “luxury players” in such deep lying positions, particularly when fullbacks bomb forward and attack leaving the defensive midfielder and centerbacks as the last line of defense.
The greatly increased use of the “false winger” or “inside forward” has played a key role in the transition to physical midfields in modern football. Rather than go down the flank and cross balls into the box, the modern winger prefers to come inside and either fashion a shot or set up a teammate. This has led to central areas on pitches becoming more and more congested and defensive midfielders have to cover the wide player that comes inside while the fullback covers the potential overlap of the opposing fullback. Midfielders, now more than ever, have to cover large amounts of ground and that means registas have to be more mobile and athletic in order to survive in the modern game, something that Weigl embodies.
The games Dortmund played against Monaco in the Champions League prime examples of Weigl’s mobility while defending. He was tasked with going up against Mbappe, a striker that drifts from out wide into the center and vice versa at different points during a game. Even though Dortmund lost both games and Mbappe was excellent, Weigl’s mobility was evident. Dortmund played a 3 at the back with Weigl in front who tracked Mbappe when he went wide and ended up stopping him on a few occasions, getting quite aggressive with him at times.
What Now For Weigl?
Weigl is by no means perfect, he has flaws particularly in the defensive aspects of his game. Weigl’s judgement on tackles is somewhat erratic at times and he can get quite aggressive, particularly when he has been pulled out of position and tries to forcibly get the ball back (some may see this as a positive). Against more skillful or pacy players Weigl’s aggressiveness may mean that he is caught up in dangerous one on one situations that he is not suited for. There is nothing wrong with being aggressive, but it has to be controlled, if Weigl can develop an affinity and skill for the dark arts that say Busquets has, then I see him improving greatly and transitioning to world class status.
The upcoming 2017/18 season provides Weigl with some potential challenges. Thomas Tuchel has left Borussia Dortmund and Peter Bosz is coming in to replace him. Increased competition in the midfield from new signing Mahmoud Dahoud, and Weigl’s recent injury mean that he may not be guaranteed a first team spot immediately upon return. Weigl won’t be back in time to start the season and will miss key opportunities to impress his new manager and fight for his place. If Dortmund are playing well to start the season, Weigl may have to wait a significant amount of time to get his spot back.
Regardless of all the setbacks I believe that Weigl will before too long end up as a regular starter in the first team, he’s too talented not to play. Bosz is attempting to implement a 4–3–3 system which means that Weigl, Dahoud, Sahin, Rode, Guerreiro, and Castro may be competing for one or two spots in the midfield. The strength in depth means that Weigl may have to adapt to different midfield partners from time to time. I’m sure Bosz will love Weigl’s attacking contributions from a deep position and his aggresive nature defensively, Weigl will be key to any success that Bosz has with Dortmund.
I hope you guys enjoyed this piece about Weigl, I enjoyed writing it and hope to write more about him in the future. If you liked this and are looking for more, I have written pieces about Pogba and Thiago Alcantara that you might enjoy. The next football piece that I will be writing is “What Makes a Midfielder World Class”. I feel like the phrase “world class” is particularly ambiguous when it comes to midfielders because of the numerous discrepancies between roles in midfield compared to other positions. I will be comparing different players from the past few years and analyzing why some are considered world class while others are not. If you enjoyed my content and/or you would like to talk football with me, feel free to interact with me on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you for reading the article and I hope learned something.
Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga Football Julian Weigl Regista Soccer
Originally published at davesdiscussionroom.com on August 3, 2017.
