Ivo Rodrigues is one of Liga Portugal’s underrated players. Formerly an FC Porto youth, the winger has played for Famalicao since 2021 and is one of the best players at the club. At the age of 27 years, Rodrigues has achieved figures of over 100 Liga Portugal appearances with over 30 goal contributions. He has also played in Belgium for Royal Antwerp.
The Portuguese winger scored one goal and provided four assists in Liga Portugal last season, as Famalicao finished in the top half. But his best performance came in his first season with Famalicao, where he had six goals and two assists. This season, Rodrigues has proven indispensable for Famalicao as the club sits in a difficult spot in the table’s lower half. He has provided key goal contributions that have helped the team achieve important results against Boavista, Vitoria, and most recently, Vizela. Below are some stats that capture Ivo Rodrigues’ performances while playing for Famalicao in Liga Portugal 2022/23.
Ivo Rodrigues has made 12 league appearances for Famalicao this season, starting in eight matches and averaging 66 minutes per game. With Famalicao currently sitting 13th in the table, five points above the relegation zone, Rodrigues has one of the brighter aspects of the team. The above viz shows the percentile rank of the player’s stats compared to other left-wingers in Liga Portugal. It can be observed that Rodrigues ranks highly for possession and defence indicators like accurate passes, progressive passes, defensive duels won, aerial duels won, and positioning. Meanwhile, in the attacking department, he has a decent percentile rank for goal contributions.
Creativity from the wide midfield
Ivo Rodrigues is a winger who often contributes to the team by creating goal-scoring opportunities. He has registered five assists for Famalicao this season, which currently makes him the joint-highest assist provider in Liga Portugal 2022/23. From the viz above, we can see that Rodrigues creates chances through crosses from wide areas, including corners, as well as through defence-splitting passes through the middle. In addition to generating 1.46 shot assists per match on average, he has scored one goal this season.
Ivo Rodrigues’s average xA rate of 0.31 is one of the highest among similar players in the league. The above viz illustrates the winger’s ability to find progressive passes to the advanced attacking positions. He releases most of the progressive passes down the flanks, and quite a few of them have reached the penalty box as well. Rodrigues makes 5.64 passes to the final third and 2.3 passes into the penalty box per match. Additionally, he has created three big chances this season and averages 1.1 key passes per 90 minutes.
In the 2021/22 season, Ivo Rodrigues scored one goal and provided four assists in 24 appearances for Famalicao. He was averaging 0.18 xA and making 1.66 shot assists per match. He created five big chances while averaging 1.8 key passes per 90 minutes. The left-winger has already improved his assist tally from last season and also possesses better stats this season. His creativity from the wide midfield areas has helped Famalicao gain crucial points from a number of fixtures in a difficult season.
Ivo Rodrigues with the ball
One of the key characteristics of the 27-year-old winger is his dribbling. Rodrigues’ diagonal and vertical runs can penetrate the opponent’s defensive lines in the final third. The above viz shows the penetrating carries made by Ivo Rodrigues in Liga Portugal 2022/23. We can observe that he is well capable of making penetrating carries into the box, with 28 such instances seen so far this season.
Playing as a winger, Ivo Rodrigues drifts wide to stretch the play as well as cuts inside from wide positions to attempt a shot or create chances. Sometimes he likes to take on players 1v1; other times he puts crosses into the box. The viz above highlights the winger actions performed by the Famalicao winger this season. Rodrigues attempts an impressive amount of 4.18 dribbles per match with 67.5% accuracy and 2.4 crosses with 26.1% accuracy. Furthermore, he makes 2.61 progressive runs per match and averages 1.57 touches in the penalty area.
Defensive attributes
In addition to the creative attributes, Rodrigues contributes to the team during the defensive transitions. The winger has made 14 high regains in the offensive half, along with 19 counter-pressing recoveries and six dangerous recoveries leading to a shot. He has also worked hard in the defensive half, blocking three shots, including two inside the penalty box. Furthermore, he attempts 7.21 defensive duels per match with a win rate of 66.7% and 2.51 aerial duels with a 45.8% win rate.
Ivo Rodriguez has proven his worth for Famalicao this season. Apart from being a creative player from midfield with his abilities on the ball, he also works hard without it. Famalicao will expect the same consistency from the 27-year-old winger as they look to pull themselves further away from the drop zone.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
