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Martín Zubimendi
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FITZ
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- May 17, 2004
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Martín Zubimendi - Wikipedia
Ghost Hardware
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Probably one of the most impressive players in La Liga this season. He's been steadily maturing as a player and this campaign he has really come into his own. His ability in possession has certainly helped the likes of Kube blossom. He's a deep lying playmaker/DM who loves to be on the ball in tight spaces, can and will dribble, can pass, has great vision, excellent acceleration, great work rate, very calm in possession and that is aside from his excellent positioning and defensive awareness. Hes an expert at getting the ball up the pitch ether via his passing ability or just gliding past players and likes to be an deep passing outlet to keep the team ticking. He doesn't often get too high up the pitch but can do when needed. Literally the tailor made DM for our system. He has been phenomenal this season and probably RS most important player. The only question mark around him i'd say is that whilst he he will get stuck in when needed and can jump he isn't physically imposing but I think his ability to read the game and preempt attacks makes up for it. BUT Real, Bayern, Barca (not that they can afford him) Arsenal etc all want him because he has been that good so the chances of us getting him are slim. Can't think of a better player i have seen this season for the DM role in our system, Joao Neves maybe but he's still young/raw and will cost 80 mil probably, but I'm not going to get too involved in it because I think its a highly unlikely that we would be able to get him.
EDIT- adding an obligatory highlight vid.
And found a decent analysis vid for those that don't want to read the article bellow. There is also a Pythagoras one but im not going to post it as i get the feeling he hasn't actually watched RS much, if at all, and he is constantly negatively comparing him to the likes of Pep (as a player), Modric and Busquets which is just unhelpful. He also doesn't really take into consideration the fact that he could and probably will go up another few levels in a better team.
EDIT- adding an obligatory highlight vid.
And found a decent analysis vid for those that don't want to read the article bellow. There is also a Pythagoras one but im not going to post it as i get the feeling he hasn't actually watched RS much, if at all, and he is constantly negatively comparing him to the likes of Pep (as a player), Modric and Busquets which is just unhelpful. He also doesn't really take into consideration the fact that he could and probably will go up another few levels in a better team.
Last edited:
Ghost Hardware
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It’s a year old but there is a great article on the Atheltic about him. Obviously take into consideration that he is even better this year.
theathletic.com
Martin Zubimendi is the Gen-Z Sergio Busquets at the heart of Real Sociedad's midfield
Operating with extreme calm and precision, Zubimendi has guided his team back into the Champions League for the first time since 2013
theathletic.com
Footballers don’t tend to indulge in comparisons, but it’s hard not to reminisce when Martin Zubimendi has the ball.
His position holds a special place in the history of Spanish football, his subtle technique evocative of the best. Quietly composing each and every move, floating across the pitch, speeding things up and slowing them down, he’s the calm, collected controller of the quintessential Spanish midfield.
At 24 years old, his emergence feels timely. Sergio Busquets has bowed out at Barcelona, while Rodri has reached the pinnacle with Pep Guardiola by his side.
A player born and raised in a city captivated by the football of Xabi Alonso, coached by the man himself, playing where he once played — Zubimendi couldn’t be better placed to become the sport’s next great pivote.
For all the romanticism of his footballing upbringing — his destiny at the peak of the game — Zubimendi remains as grounded and as pragmatic as they come.
With more touches, passes and carries than any other team-mate, he has inspired his boyhood club to Champions League qualification, anchoring a technically gifted Real Sociedad midfield with intuitive defensive positioning and expansive passing from deep.
His 2022-23 touch map paints the picture well; sitting at the base of a midfield diamond, happy to also drop between the centre-backs in sustained possession.
Generally, Real Sociedad like to start play from the back and they are not averse to playing short, risky passes around their own penalty area to lure the opposition in. Zubimendi is often the receiver, picking up the ball under pressure and facing his own goal.
It’s a role that requires not only immaculate technique, but quick and nerveless decision-making, ensuring the right pass — at the right speed, angle, and elevation — is played to allow his team-mates to progress the ball. It also needs confidence, but not too much, to occasionally look to sidestep the pressure himself.
Put simply, Zubimendi is the cog between the defence and the midfield – the spare man Real Sociedad need to win these mini-battles and move into the space that has been created by their brave, press-baiting build-up.
Most often, it will be his intelligent movement behind the two-striker press that will provide the out ball. No midfield player has received more passes from centre-backs Robin Le Normand (156) and Igor Zubeldia (116) this season, while Zubimendi’s total of 184 progressive passes is the most of any player in the squad.
Ghosting into space, spinning away from danger and moving the ball upfield — there are few as reliably good as Zubimendi throughout Europe.
Much like Busquets, Zubimendi’s movement is elusive and often understated. He will always look to position himself in pockets of space to receive the pass between two players, as against Atletico Madrid below, having slowed down slightly to let Angel Correa accelerate away from him.
Or against Celta Vigo, where he again jogs with the play but suddenly stops, undetected, to receive that line-splitting pass. He then spins, shrugs off the pressure of Gabri Veiga, before accelerating towards the halfway line, leaving three defensive players in his wake.
On most occasions, an opposition midfielder will jump out from their defensive structure to press Zubimendi, leaving space in behind to exploit. With his back to play and so close to his own goal, positional awareness and self-assurance is key.
Against Manchester United, for example, as his goalkeeper Alex Remiro is closed down, Zubimendi sprints to offer for the pass, checking behind him three times. He sees Bruno Fernandes is pressuring him on his left side, so drops his shoulder as if to play the first-time pass out to the flank.
Instead, having wrong-footed Fernandes, he spins right and into space.
A small detail, but the ability to anticipate the pressure, shift his body weight quickly to deceive his defender and then calmly swivel the opposite way is exactly the kind of movement Busquets became renowned for.
In more extreme cases, too, Zubimendi has the ability to escape. Against Barcelona, with Franck Kessie on his tail and with his centre-backs deep, he picks out a first-time, crossfield pass to his right-back Aritz Elustondo.
The nature of the role has inevitably seen a few slip-ups, most notably away at Celta when he gave the ball to Iago Aspas to score. Nonetheless, Zubimendi constantly launches himself into dangerous situations to move the team forward.
“He’s a player that every coach wants because he is generous,” said Alonso, his former coach and midfield inspiration. “He always thinks more about his team-mates than he does himself.”
Looking at his passes-received map, it’s clear how much ground Zubimendi covers to maintain structure and balance across the team.
Although rarely involved in the final third, most of what Real Sociedad do stems from a movement, a pass or a dribble in deep build-up by their talented No 3.
Further up the pitch, Zubimendi’s ball retention is of high quality and he is good at receiving the ball in tight areas and keeping it moving towards goal. Only four La Liga midfielders carried the ball further during the 2022-23 season, pointing to his ability to dribble his way out of pressure.
With more time on the ball, the 24-year-old is an effortless distributor, particularly good at clipping the ball out wide to allow his team-mates to take it down and accelerate away in one touch.
While not his primary focus, Zubimendi has been able to split defences with his passing, too. In this example against Elche, he once again receives the ball between the first line of the press…
… before turning and assessing his options.
Three players present themselves for the pass — both David Silva and Elustondo with their arms aloft, asking for the ball to be played. Zubimendi waits, however, spotting the movement of Mendez in behind.
The defence is pulled apart by two attacking runs and the space opens up for Zubimendi to slide the pass through. His patience — the famed “pausa” in play — creates an opportunity that a rushed pass would not have found.
Aside from the odd foray forward, however, Zubimendi specialises in tempo-setting. Looking at his pass sonar below, his backwards and sideways passes are extremely accurate, particularly his long switches from left to right. He also attempts plenty of forward passes, though understandably with slightly less success.
While he has three assists, his midfield partners in Mikel Merino, David Silva and Brais Mendezhave a combined 18. He’s more than capable of the killer pass, but Zubimendi is better utilised as the man bringing the ball to the more creative players.
More to the point, Zubimendi’s athleticism and defensive instinct make him an excellent sweeper for when his side loses the ball and concedes a quick counter-attack. While he doesn’t possess searing pace, his ability to read the game means he is rarely out of position, only taking drastic action when absolutely necessary.
In this respect, Zubimendi is not a hugely aggressive defender. Using the “true tackles” metric — the combined number of tackles, fouls and failed challenges, to account for how often he “puts a foot in” – we can possession-adjust to compare his tenacity with other players in more or less defensively demanding roles. A rate of 5.5 true tackles per 1000 opposition touches leaves him in the bottom 26 per cent of all La Liga midfielders with over 900 minutes played.
Instead, he prefers to recover the ball, block and snuff out loose passes. Nipping in front of flat-footed attackers to intercept the pass is his speciality — only Dani Parejo made more recoveries from a midfield position than Zubimendi last campaign.
Against Barcelona, for example, Zubimendi is alert as Frenkie de Jong bundles his way towards his defensive zone. He takes the ball cleanly, laying the ball instantly to Takefusa Kubo before spotting the opportunity to gallop forward on the counter.
After a quick one-two, Zubimendi races upfield and takes one touch to control the pass before producing a nicely weighted cross with his weaker left foot.
Alexander Sorloth controls and scores to seal a move that encapsulates Zubimendi, technical ability oozing from the tackle, the timing and the ultimate assist.
As for his future, Zubimendi has made it abundantly clear where his loyalties lie.
Next season, he will inherit the blue and white No 4 shirt of another hero, Asier Illarramendi, while playing for Spain with Busquets’ No 5 on his back. It’s looking as if Barcelona face an uphill challenge to get their ideal man, even if a €60million release clause will continue to tempt suitors.
Very few players have shown the credentials to truly replace Busquets, but Zubimendi looks to have the quality and temperament to one day take those reins.
For now, though, it’s time to enjoy a story of fierce loyalty and Basque excellence.
He will play in the Champions League next season for his club — and that should be celebrated, too.
His position holds a special place in the history of Spanish football, his subtle technique evocative of the best. Quietly composing each and every move, floating across the pitch, speeding things up and slowing them down, he’s the calm, collected controller of the quintessential Spanish midfield.
At 24 years old, his emergence feels timely. Sergio Busquets has bowed out at Barcelona, while Rodri has reached the pinnacle with Pep Guardiola by his side.
A player born and raised in a city captivated by the football of Xabi Alonso, coached by the man himself, playing where he once played — Zubimendi couldn’t be better placed to become the sport’s next great pivote.
For all the romanticism of his footballing upbringing — his destiny at the peak of the game — Zubimendi remains as grounded and as pragmatic as they come.
With more touches, passes and carries than any other team-mate, he has inspired his boyhood club to Champions League qualification, anchoring a technically gifted Real Sociedad midfield with intuitive defensive positioning and expansive passing from deep.
His 2022-23 touch map paints the picture well; sitting at the base of a midfield diamond, happy to also drop between the centre-backs in sustained possession.
Generally, Real Sociedad like to start play from the back and they are not averse to playing short, risky passes around their own penalty area to lure the opposition in. Zubimendi is often the receiver, picking up the ball under pressure and facing his own goal.
It’s a role that requires not only immaculate technique, but quick and nerveless decision-making, ensuring the right pass — at the right speed, angle, and elevation — is played to allow his team-mates to progress the ball. It also needs confidence, but not too much, to occasionally look to sidestep the pressure himself.
Put simply, Zubimendi is the cog between the defence and the midfield – the spare man Real Sociedad need to win these mini-battles and move into the space that has been created by their brave, press-baiting build-up.
Most often, it will be his intelligent movement behind the two-striker press that will provide the out ball. No midfield player has received more passes from centre-backs Robin Le Normand (156) and Igor Zubeldia (116) this season, while Zubimendi’s total of 184 progressive passes is the most of any player in the squad.
Ghosting into space, spinning away from danger and moving the ball upfield — there are few as reliably good as Zubimendi throughout Europe.
Much like Busquets, Zubimendi’s movement is elusive and often understated. He will always look to position himself in pockets of space to receive the pass between two players, as against Atletico Madrid below, having slowed down slightly to let Angel Correa accelerate away from him.
Or against Celta Vigo, where he again jogs with the play but suddenly stops, undetected, to receive that line-splitting pass. He then spins, shrugs off the pressure of Gabri Veiga, before accelerating towards the halfway line, leaving three defensive players in his wake.
On most occasions, an opposition midfielder will jump out from their defensive structure to press Zubimendi, leaving space in behind to exploit. With his back to play and so close to his own goal, positional awareness and self-assurance is key.
Against Manchester United, for example, as his goalkeeper Alex Remiro is closed down, Zubimendi sprints to offer for the pass, checking behind him three times. He sees Bruno Fernandes is pressuring him on his left side, so drops his shoulder as if to play the first-time pass out to the flank.
Instead, having wrong-footed Fernandes, he spins right and into space.
A small detail, but the ability to anticipate the pressure, shift his body weight quickly to deceive his defender and then calmly swivel the opposite way is exactly the kind of movement Busquets became renowned for.
In more extreme cases, too, Zubimendi has the ability to escape. Against Barcelona, with Franck Kessie on his tail and with his centre-backs deep, he picks out a first-time, crossfield pass to his right-back Aritz Elustondo.
The nature of the role has inevitably seen a few slip-ups, most notably away at Celta when he gave the ball to Iago Aspas to score. Nonetheless, Zubimendi constantly launches himself into dangerous situations to move the team forward.
“He’s a player that every coach wants because he is generous,” said Alonso, his former coach and midfield inspiration. “He always thinks more about his team-mates than he does himself.”
Looking at his passes-received map, it’s clear how much ground Zubimendi covers to maintain structure and balance across the team.
Although rarely involved in the final third, most of what Real Sociedad do stems from a movement, a pass or a dribble in deep build-up by their talented No 3.
Further up the pitch, Zubimendi’s ball retention is of high quality and he is good at receiving the ball in tight areas and keeping it moving towards goal. Only four La Liga midfielders carried the ball further during the 2022-23 season, pointing to his ability to dribble his way out of pressure.
With more time on the ball, the 24-year-old is an effortless distributor, particularly good at clipping the ball out wide to allow his team-mates to take it down and accelerate away in one touch.
While not his primary focus, Zubimendi has been able to split defences with his passing, too. In this example against Elche, he once again receives the ball between the first line of the press…
… before turning and assessing his options.
Three players present themselves for the pass — both David Silva and Elustondo with their arms aloft, asking for the ball to be played. Zubimendi waits, however, spotting the movement of Mendez in behind.
The defence is pulled apart by two attacking runs and the space opens up for Zubimendi to slide the pass through. His patience — the famed “pausa” in play — creates an opportunity that a rushed pass would not have found.
Aside from the odd foray forward, however, Zubimendi specialises in tempo-setting. Looking at his pass sonar below, his backwards and sideways passes are extremely accurate, particularly his long switches from left to right. He also attempts plenty of forward passes, though understandably with slightly less success.
While he has three assists, his midfield partners in Mikel Merino, David Silva and Brais Mendezhave a combined 18. He’s more than capable of the killer pass, but Zubimendi is better utilised as the man bringing the ball to the more creative players.
More to the point, Zubimendi’s athleticism and defensive instinct make him an excellent sweeper for when his side loses the ball and concedes a quick counter-attack. While he doesn’t possess searing pace, his ability to read the game means he is rarely out of position, only taking drastic action when absolutely necessary.
In this respect, Zubimendi is not a hugely aggressive defender. Using the “true tackles” metric — the combined number of tackles, fouls and failed challenges, to account for how often he “puts a foot in” – we can possession-adjust to compare his tenacity with other players in more or less defensively demanding roles. A rate of 5.5 true tackles per 1000 opposition touches leaves him in the bottom 26 per cent of all La Liga midfielders with over 900 minutes played.
Instead, he prefers to recover the ball, block and snuff out loose passes. Nipping in front of flat-footed attackers to intercept the pass is his speciality — only Dani Parejo made more recoveries from a midfield position than Zubimendi last campaign.
Against Barcelona, for example, Zubimendi is alert as Frenkie de Jong bundles his way towards his defensive zone. He takes the ball cleanly, laying the ball instantly to Takefusa Kubo before spotting the opportunity to gallop forward on the counter.
After a quick one-two, Zubimendi races upfield and takes one touch to control the pass before producing a nicely weighted cross with his weaker left foot.
Alexander Sorloth controls and scores to seal a move that encapsulates Zubimendi, technical ability oozing from the tackle, the timing and the ultimate assist.
As for his future, Zubimendi has made it abundantly clear where his loyalties lie.
Next season, he will inherit the blue and white No 4 shirt of another hero, Asier Illarramendi, while playing for Spain with Busquets’ No 5 on his back. It’s looking as if Barcelona face an uphill challenge to get their ideal man, even if a €60million release clause will continue to tempt suitors.
Very few players have shown the credentials to truly replace Busquets, but Zubimendi looks to have the quality and temperament to one day take those reins.
For now, though, it’s time to enjoy a story of fierce loyalty and Basque excellence.
He will play in the Champions League next season for his club — and that should be celebrated, too.
Nick-TopSpursMan
Well-Known Member
- Aug 4, 2005
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Thought he was pretty much nailed on going to Scum from what I’ve read over recent months.
Ghost Hardware
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- Aug 31, 2012
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Yeah thought the same, tbh tho im not sure why they are looking at him. His best role is between the CM and the CB which is where Rice plays. I guess he could be an understudy to Rice but seems a bit odd. I wouldn't want to play Rice and Martin and from an outsiders point of view it seems they are more in need of a more aggressive playmaker then a deeper one. Still, I don't think he comes here.
Japhet
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- Aug 30, 2010
- 19,277
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Would you want to play him ahead of Bissouma? Can't see it myself. It's the same reason why I'd love Fofana but couldn't see it happening.
FrankSpencer
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- May 23, 2007
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Class player.
Ghost Hardware
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I think it would be dependant on the opposition, ie if it was a particularly physical one, but in general yes. I mean Bissouma is a complete enigma in general, realistically we shouldn't even be thinking about investing in another DM but he has become so inconstant its concerning. I think Martin, whilst not having Bissouma's physicality, has a better attacking game and is better at reading the match and thus could be more effective in games we are looking to dominate. Essentially he strikes me as clever player who can anticipate really well both on offence and defence. He is also accustomed to playing in a attack minded system where he is often in control of the ball in risky areas under pressure. Obviously the caviat to all that is how well he adapts but in theory, if he does, I think he would be excellent for our system and offer something different to Biss. Fofana is another very exciting player, I agree but I expect him to cost a lot tho when/if he leaves this summer. We were supposedly interested in the past tho so who knows. In general i don't see us spending 50 mil plus on the position which is what i reckon he will cost.
Powder Keg
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- Jan 31, 2013
- 204
- 645
He does sound quite a lot like Bentancur!
from what I understand they are going to play rice as a box to box 8.
Ghost Hardware
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- Aug 31, 2012
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Ah well that makes more sense why they would go for him. Appreciate the info
Nick-TopSpursMan
Well-Known Member
- Aug 4, 2005
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Yeah I’ve read the same. Zubimendi is basically a replacement/upgrade for Partey/Jorginho. They will play Rice as an 8 with Odegaard. Havertz reduced to more of a utility sub.
stevespurs
Well-Known Member
- Jan 31, 2005
- 992
- 1,426
I have the same concerns regarding Biss. He doesn’t seem to turn and beat the first press anymore. Which leads to our pedestrian build up. Early season he was awesome at doing it.
I also think teams are pressing us and him in the same way any more
kd2000
Well-Known Member
- Aug 29, 2012
- 1,497
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That was my first thought when reading that
