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Player reportLigue 1 2025/26

Leonardo Balerdi

Roma
Ball-playing centre-back CB
5.9 progressive passes/90 · 0.4 line-breaking/90
centre-backstopper centre-backbuild-upline-breaking
2135
minutes
26 apps
1504
passes
92% completed
92%
pass completion
1504 passes
140
progressive passes
5.9/90
136
line-breaking passes
5.7/90
413
defensive actions
17.4/90
76
tackles + interceptions
57% tackle win
105
clearances
4.4/90
Overview

The player

Who he is and how he compares with his peers.

01

What Patterns Define Him?

His repeatable signature. A step only appears if its reliability score (sample size × match coverage) reaches at least Medium confidence — pattern mining, not anecdotes.

RECEIVE
in the first line of build-up — mostly in the middle third (53% of his 1504 passes)
92% completion · 1504× in 26/26 matches
↓
CARRY OUT
step into midfield to commit a presser
17 carries · 34× in 14/26 matches
↓
BREAK A LINE
vertical pass past the opponent midfield
5.9 prog/90 · 136× in 22/26 matches
↓
SWITCH PLAY
diagonal to the far side
cross-field balls · 69× in 22/26 matches
↓
PROGRESS
entries into the final third
3.6/90 · 86× in 25/26 matches
Signature: receive in the first line → break the midfield line vertically → switch or progress. Press him early and shut the vertical lane to force the safe sideways ball.
17

Where is he influential — vs where is he merely present?

Red fill = raw touch territory. Gold rings = zones where his influence (xT added, progression, line-breaks, key passes) outweighs how often he's actually there — one combined map instead of two separate maps to compare by eye. Red with no ring: present but not dangerous. A ring on faint red: rare touches, outsized impact.

own goal left, attacking →
58
passes / match
17.4
def actions / 90
13–108
pass range (matches)
105
clearances
Pass range = his fewest and most passes in any single match this season (13 at the low end, 108 at the high) — a measure of match-to-match involvement, not pass distance.
In possession

In possession

What he does with the ball: build-up, progression, creation, carrying and finishing.

10

How dangerous are his carries?

Real ball-carries

353 tracked carries (14.9/90, 65 progressive, 2848m total) — the ball moving with his touches, a different signal from dribbles below (beating an opponent 1v1). even a player who rarely dribbles past a man can still carry the ball forward constantly in build-up; this is that.

5%12%8%4%1%5%17%23%11%1%2%5%6%1%0%
progressivelateral/short% of his 353 carries originating in each zone · own goal left, attacking →
Every carry, exact path — median 7m, longest 41m
By zone — where the carry started → where it ended
23Outside → Inside
294Inside → Inside
23Outside → Outside
13Inside → Outside
First (106)Second (99)Third (95)Fourth (53)grouped by carry pattern (start + end position), largest group first
startendown goal left, attacking →

Beaten in the tackle

How often an attacker gets past him in a 1v1 defensive duel — the closest signal the data has to "dribbled past" (no attacker-beat-defender field exists directly, so this counts tackles he attempted and lost).

49
tackle duels
28
won
21
beaten · 43%
brighter band = more tackle duels · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 59%
OUTSIDE 41%
Tackle-duel location — 29 inside · 20 outside
Right Wing
12 · 24%
Right Half-Space
15 · 31%
Central
9 · 18%
Left Half-Space
5 · 10%
Left Wing
8 · 16%
Vision AI beaten in 21 of 49 tackle duels (43% loss rate) — a real defensive leak worth flagging.
Every tackle duel, exact location
wonlost — dribbled pastown goal left, attacking →

Dribbles (1v1s)

For a centre-back the carry is a build-up weapon — does he step out through the middle, or keep it simple? Every carry classified by channel. Season rate: 0.61 dribbles attempted /90.

brighter band = more dribbles · own goal left, attacking →
INSIDE 71%
OUTSIDE 29%
Dribble location — 12 inside · 5 outside
Right Wing
3 · 18%
Right Half-Space
4 · 24%
Central
6 · 35%
Left Half-Space
2 · 12%
Left Wing
2 · 12%
Vision AI 71% of his carries are central — he steps out through the middle to draw a presser before releasing.
02

How does he build & move the ball?

How does he escape the first line?

11%
vertical passes
119×
5%
switches
57×
27%
carries
291×
57%
short circulation
614×
Answer: he escapes the press primarily through carrying — stepping out with the ball.

How he moves the ball — his 4 busiest progression routes, not where every pass starts and ends separately. Arrow width = how often, colour = xT gained, dashed = switch of play. The full breakdown is in the lane matrix below.

own goal left, attacking →
Lane transition matrix — when he receives in a lane, where does it go?
TO →RWRHSCLHSLWRW14736%5346%6718%27RHS39831%12520%7938%1518%333%10C58610%6024%14032%18826%1538%45LHS2290%110%2230%6927%6233%75LW244%138%917%442%10FROM
Rows normalised: each row sums to 100% of that lane's completed passes. Grey number = passes from that lane.

Primary route: central areas in the middle third → central areas in the middle third — 5 progressive passes (14% of his progression) at 0.028 xT each. He keeps it in the same lane.

Inward (31%) and outward (23%) progression are balanced — no strong lane bias.

9% of his passes are cross-field switches — he changes the point of attack often.

Quality behind the volume: 9 line-breaking passes and 86 final-third entries, 18.2 total xT added.

Origin and destination are measured on the same event row — no receiver inference. Receiver identity is not recoverable from this data source.
All passes — origin zone share
Filter: from to
5%11%10%6%2%0%3%17%21%10%1%0%3%5%4%2%0%0%
completedincomplete1504 passes · any zone → any zone · own goal left, attacking →
1504
passes
92%
completed
120
lost
Vision AIIn line with his 92% season completion rate.
03

How does he progress play?

How much he drives the ball forward. Progressive = completed pass advancing ≥15 toward goal.

140
progressive · 5.9/90
86
final-third entries · 3.6/90
4
box entries · 0.17/90
17
progression index /90
Progression index: one composite number — progressive passes + progressive carries + 2% of total distance progressed + 8× positive xT added, all per 90. Weights VOLUME and THREAT together rather than counting progressive actions alone.
12

How does he create chances?

3 key passes (0.13/90), 0 of them assists — where his chance creation specifically comes from, 18 zones (6×3), showing his share of key passes originating there.

Chance creation — key pass origin zone share
Filter:
67%33%
chance creation (3)assist (0)% of the selected group's key passes originating in each zone
06

Where does he become vulnerable?

127 times he gave the ball away. For a defender the danger is where — a loss in his own third can turn into a chance against; higher up it costs little.

8
attacking third (cheap)
50
middle third
69
own third (dangerous)
Vision AI 6% of losses are in the attacking third — a notable share happen deeper, which invites transitions.
Mistake danger (proxy): 3.15 danger-index/90 · 0.588 avg/turnover. Weights each loss by threat conceded at that location. True xT-conceded needs the opponent possession model; positional proxy.
05

What is his passing profile?

1504
passes attempted
49%
mostly forward
50%
mostly medium
Direction
Forward
742 · 49%
Sideways
559 · 37%
Backward
203 · 13%
Length (completed)
Short (<15m)
607 · 44%
Medium
692 · 50%
Long (>30m)
85 · 6%
07

Preferred Progression Routes — xT-weighted

His progressive passes as zone→zone routes, weighted by expected threat (xT) added — arrow width and the number are the total xT generated on each route, not just how often he plays it. This is where he actually moves the needle.

0.520.490.490.480.460.45
own goal left, attacking →
Highest-value routes (xT)
0.52
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Wing Mid third
11 passes
0.49
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Wing Att third
7 passes
0.49
Central Mid third → Right Wing Att third
6 passes
0.48
Central Mid third → Right Half-Space Att third
2 passes
0.46
Right Half-Space Mid third → Right Half-Space Mid third
6 passes
0.45
Right Half-Space Mid third → Left Wing Att third
3 passes
08

Where Does He Receive?

The zones where Leonardo Balerdi gets on the ball — his top three ball-collection areas highlighted (gold = primary). Reception is proxied by where his on-ball actions begin (no explicit receiver is recorded).

123
1 = primary, 2 = secondary, 3 = third · own goal left, attacking →
His collection zones
25%
Primary
Central, Middle third
16%
Secondary
Central, Defensive third
14%
Third
Right Half-Space, Middle third
These are the zones where he collected the ball most.
09

Where Does He Operate? — Every Zone

Every on-ball touch (pass, dribble, shot) binned into a 6×3 grid — raw counts of where Leonardo Balerdi actually gets on the ball. Hover any zone for its breakdown by action type, its share of all touches, and the exact coordinate range it covers.

Filter:
40725834814726231714818197716815194261
own goal left, attacking → · brighter + higher number = more touches

Passes only — completed vs incomplete, by zone

Same zone grid, restricted to passes so completed/incomplete and match filters actually mean something — a shot or a dribble has no "completed" in the pass sense.

5%11%10%6%2%0%3%17%21%10%1%0%3%5%4%2%0%0%
own goal left, attacking →
11

Every Pass This Season — completed vs incomplete

Every pass this season, plotted individually — green = completed, grey (dashed) = incomplete, gold = key pass. Filter by outcome or isolate one match below.

3Key pass
2Cross
1Cutback
140Progressive
136Long ball
69Switch
By zone — where the pass started → where it landed
108Outside → Inside
897Inside → Inside
63Outside → Outside
316Inside → Outside
By direction
742Forward
203Backward
559Sideways
own goal left, attacking →
04

Tactical patterns — how his football actually looks

Three clustered sequence diagrams from his own event data — his three busiest routes: the way he progresses, the pattern behind his chances, and where a turnover turns dangerous.

own goal left, attacking →
How does he progress the ball forward?
His most common route for progressing play: he switches it out from the right hs to the right wing in the middle third — 11 passes worth 0.52 xT.
Where do his chances come from?
Of 3 key passes, his busiest route is a delivery where he switches it out from the central to the right hs, advancing it forward in the middle third — 1 times. The receiver isn't identifiable in this data, only where the pass started and ended.
Where does he lose the ball most?
This is a RATE, not a raw count — the share of his touches in each zone that end in a turnover, so a zone he simply plays in more often doesn't automatically look riskier. His weakest zone is the left wing in the defensive third: 40% of his 20 touches there are lost (8 times).
21%17/82 lost9%18/200 lost6%15/236 lost8%9/120 lost40%8/20 lost3%2/72 lost6%14/219 lost5%19/373 lost5%6/119 lost29%4/14 lost20%3/15 lost15%2/13 lost21%3/14 lost—5 touches · too few—2 touches · too fewRWRHSCLHSLWDEFMIDATT
Out of possession

Out of possession

Where and how he defends and presses.

13

How & where does he defend?

413 defensive actions across the season (17.4/90). Where he wins the ball, and how — the core question for a defender. Aerial duels are not recorded for this competition, so aerial dominance is not measured here.

click a card to isolate that action type · own goal left, attacking →
49
tackles · 57% won
27
interceptions · 1.1/90
119
recoveries · 5.0/90
105
clearances · 4.4/90
17
blocks
31
avg action height
28
won high (att 3rd)
126
middle third
259
own third
Vision AI A deep-defending defender. He wins the ball mainly by stepping in — tackles, interceptions & recoveries outweigh clearances. 195 proactive ball-wins (8.2/90), tackle success 57%. He defends mostly around the middle third.
14

Can he play under pressure?

Split by how hard the opponent pressed (opponent PPDA — lower = more intense press). Can Leonardo Balerdi still play out when the opponent presses high? His build-up quality split by press intensity — the key question for a ball-playing defender. Tiers of ~8-10 matches — directional evidence, not proof.

press tier
completion
prog /90
line-breaks /90
xT /90
High press (PPDA 5.5, 8m)
87%
4.4
5.4
0.71
Mid press (PPDA 8.5, 8m)
92%
6.2
6.5
1.10
Low press (PPDA 14.2, 10m)
94%
7.0
5.3
1.43
Team

Team context

How much of the team runs through him, and what changes without him.

15

Impact on the Team

Roma's output per match with Leonardo Balerdi (26 matches) versus without him (8 matches). What his own defending should move — goals conceded and results — leads; attacking output (largely out of a defender's hands) is shown after, for context. A proper on-off model needs many more minutes.

WITH (26)
WITHOUT (8)
Δ
goals against /match
1.42
1.00
+0.42
points /match
1.73
1.75
-0.02
goals for /match
1.92
1.62
+0.30
xG for /match
1.61
0.22
+1.39
16

His Share of the Team

Of everything Roma produced this season, the categories where the biggest share ran through Leonardo Balerdi specifically — his share of the team total, not a per-90 rate.

category
share
him / team
clearances
12%
122 / 1031
interceptions
8%
37 / 460
tackles
7%
61 / 864
Recruitment

Style and verdict

Style profile, closest comparables, and the summary.

18

Playing-Style Profile

Not raw event counts — football style scores: weighted models scored 0–100 against the 515 centre-backs in the pool (min 450 min). This is what separates players who post similar numbers but play differently. Proxy dimensions are inferred from on-ball data; true off-ball running / under-pressure context is not measured.

Stopper centre-back88%Ball-playing centre-back74%
Why Stopper centre-back 88%: a weighted blend of ball-winning 88 (weight 40%) + defensive aggression 78 (weight 35%) + retention 78 (weight 15%) + transition 82 (weight 10%). The score reflects how distinctively his profile SHAPE matches this archetype vs his peers.
Elite
ball-winning, box threat
Strong
transition, dribbling, carrying, defensive aggression, retention, press resistance, build-up, passing directness
Average
crossing, through-balls, receiving zones, final-third threat, creativity, progression
Weak
line-breaking, territory (wide vs central)
Unknown
aerial ability, marking, off-ball running — not in event data
Ball-winning
88
Box threat
85
Transition ~proxy
82
Dribbling
82
Carrying
79
Defensive aggression
78
Retention
78
Press resistance ~proxy
77
Build-up
75
Passing directness
75
Crossing
69
Through-balls ~proxy
63
Receiving zones
62
Final-third threat
59
Creativity
45
Progression
40
Line-breaking
23
Territory (wide vs central)
13
19

Similar Players — in style space

Closest comparables measured on the style scores above, within the same position family — so it separates how players are alike, not just how much they touch the ball. Each line explains the shared strength and the divergent mechanism. A light physical-profile term (height / weight; this player: 187 cm / 85 kg) is included at a quarter of one style axis's weight — enough to break ties between stylistic twins, not to override style. Scope: pooled across the Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Premier League, percentiled within each player's own league before comparing — a match from another league is marked with its league name.

Style, not quality: a high match here means two players tend to produce the ball in similar ways — it is not a ranking, a scouting recommendation, or a claim that they are equally good.

Waldemar Anton Borussia Dortmund · Bundesliga · 189 cm / 86 kg
80%
Driven by: transition (17%), defensive aggression (11%), ball-winning (10%). Different mechanism — Balerdi more via box threat; Anton more via line-breaking, progression.
Stefan de Vrij Inter 25/26 · 190 cm / 78 kg
79%
Driven by: transition (17%), territory (wide vs central) (12%), retention (10%). Different mechanism — Balerdi more via crossing, dribbling; Vrij more via passing directness.
Mariano Troilo Parma Calcio 1913 · 191 cm / 86 kg
76%
Driven by: press resistance (16%), dribbling (14%), transition (13%). Different mechanism — Balerdi more via defensive aggression, ball-winning.
Florian Lejeune Rayo Vallecano · La Liga · 190 cm / 89 kg
76%
Driven by: ball-winning (23%), transition (17%), box threat (13%). Different mechanism — Balerdi more via crossing, through-balls; Lejeune more via line-breaking.
Dayot Upamecano Bayern · Bundesliga · 186 cm / 90 kg
74%
Driven by: transition (20%), carrying (11%), ball-winning (10%). Different mechanism — Balerdi more via dribbling; Upamecano more via line-breaking, progression.
Pablo Ramón Racing Santander · La Liga · 184 cm / 80 kg
73%
Driven by: ball-winning (18%), transition (18%), press resistance (11%). Different mechanism — Balerdi more via box threat, through-balls; Ramón more via territory (wide vs central), passing directness.
20

Summary

Leonardo Balerdi is a stopper centre-back / ball-playing centre-back: 92% pass completion, 136 line-breaking passes and 5.9 progressive passes /90. A build-and-progress centre-back whose value is in beating the first line with the pass, not in raw defensive volume. [Aerial duels, marking, line-height and 1v1 recovery need aerial-event + tracking data, absent here.]

Based on 26 matches (2135 minutes) this season — a reliable read. He profiles as a stopper centre-back / ball-playing centre-back — best used in a system built around that identity. His biggest room for growth is defensive aggression — even a modest improvement there would meaningfully lift his overall stopper centre-back profile.
✨ This report is interactive

Click any stat card to filter its map, hover a dot for the exact match, and use the dropdowns to slice passes zone-to-zone. Nothing here is static.

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