SC Braga sealed some winter transfer window business recently by signing 33-year-old Portuguese midfielder Pizzi. Last summer, the veteran midfielder moved to AL Wahda FC of the UAE Pro League, but now he has returned to the Liga Portugal club that he previously represented in the early stages of his career. Pizzi has vast experience playing for a variety of clubs across Europe in countries like Portugal, Spain, and Turkey, but it was his performances with Benfica that gained him the most prominence. Until last year, Pizzi used to play in Liga Portugal and enjoyed a successful stint of almost a decade with Benfica that saw him make over 350 appearances for the club and register close to 200 goals and assists. Let’s now look at some stats to comprehend why Braga were eager to bring Pizzi back to Liga Portugal.
Season overview
During his earlier days, Pizzi used to feature as a winger, but at Benfica, he evolved into an attacking midfielder. Over the years, he was consistently one of the top performers in Liga Portugal; thus, UAE’s Al Wahda briefly added him to their ranks for half a season before Braga came calling. Pizzi played in 16 matches across all competitions for Al Wahda this season, scoring two goals and providing four assists. The above viz shows the percentile rank of the player’s stats compared to other attacking midfielders in the UAE Pro League. It can be observed that Pizzi ranks highly for attacking indicators like shots, penalty area touches, and expected goal contribution. He also does well in the possession and defence departments, with a good percentile rank for passes per 90, defensive duels won, passes received, and dangerous passes.
Pizzi played as a central attacking midfielder for Al Wahda. The above viz illustrates the player’s heat map from the current season. It can be observed that the midfielder shows high intensity in the final third as well as in the midfield. He covers more ground in the opposition half and shows the tendency to drift towards the wide positions on either flank. Currently, Pizzi averages 42.6 passes per match with 81% accuracy, along with 31.42 received passes. He also makes 2.7 touches in the opposition’s penalty area per match.
Pizzi’s attacking and creative characteristics
The above viz shows Pizzi’s shot map from the current Arabian Gulf League season with Al Wahda. He scored one goal in 12 appearances with a total xG value of 1.36. He attempted 18 shots, with most of them coming from inside the penalty area, including the solo goal return. Pizzi took an average of 2.55 shots per game with an accuracy rate of 28%.
Apart from an affinity for scoring goals, Pizzi also contributes greatly by producing scoring opportunities for others. This season in the Arabian Gulf League, he provided three assists averaging an xA value of 0.16 per match. From the shot assist viz. above, it can be observed that one of these assists came from a corner delivery while the other was in the form of a cross from the left wing. Currently, Pizzi makes 5.8 passes to the final third, 3.11 passes to the penalty area and averages 1.56 shot assists per match.
Pizzi’s best performances in a season
Pizzi achieved his best goal-scoring figures during the 2019–20 Liga Portugal season with Benfica. He reached the figure of 18 league goals from a total xG value of 9.04. As seen in the viz above, he scored all the goals from inside the box and also attempted several shots from outside the box. He scored at the rate of 0.54 goals per game with an xG rate of 0.48 per 90. Additionally, he averaged 2.43 shots per match with 50% accuracy.
In addition to his commendable goal-scoring records that season, Pizzi also provided 12 assists for his Benfica teammates, with a total xA tally of 11.57. The shot assists viz above show that these assist attempts came through crosses, progressive passes, and layoffs. Pizzi averaged 0.36 assists per match while averaging a similar xA value per 90. He created as many as 16 big chances while averaging almost three shot assists per match.
What will be Pizzi’s role at Braga?
The addition of Pizzi will add more spark to Braga’s midfield. He could replace the central midfielder Andre Castro as well as provide cover for players like Andre Horta in attacking the midfield positions. The viz above compares the recent performances of Pizzi and Andre Castro in their respective leagues. It can be observed that Pizzi has the upper hand in quite a few stats over his counterpart, namely goal contributions, shots, dribbles, passes, defensive duels, dangerous passes, and penalty area touches.
Pizzi’s inclusion in Braga’s squad will add more depth, experience, and quality to the overall team structure. He is a veteran midfielder who poses an offensive threat and also provides playmaking capabilities with his creative passing. The 33-year-old could become an important part of the Braga lineup and help the club achieve more success.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
