CCSG By The Numbers: 2024, An Analytical Breakdown - Part 3
Another short introduction is called for. This series ranks the 2024 Atlético roster by how well they performed according to my advanced analytics model, which is detailed here.anyone Part 1 ranked players #20-16, which can be found here, and Part 2 (players #15-11), which can be found here. On with the rankings!
#10: Tyr Walker - CB
Frankly, these are extremely encouraging numbers for a defender who is only 21 years old. He showed essentially no statistical weaknesses for a Centre Back, with high defensive categories and even a few good offensive ones, including a not-so-shabby 84% pass accuracy rate, superior to 67% of his peers, and an extremely high 77.7% 1v1 success rate, which ranked him in the 90th percentile. The only category he didn’t succeed in was his goal contributions, but that can be ignored. Something that is sure to surprise fans is that he ranked higher in ball recovery (that being tackles and interceptions) than Amer Didic, although that can be partially explained by Walker playing slightly higher up the field than his partner.
The foundation this gives Tyr to improve is on immense. He has good fundamentals to be a solid defender, and even showed a few offensive sparks during the season, when he sallied out past the offensive line into midfield to distribute the ball farther up the pitch. As he grows in maturity and strength, he will naturally start winning more duels, and his passing will improve from an already impressive starting point. It seems that consistent, bulk minutes, alongside one of the best to ever do it in Amer Didic has worked wonders, and another season of the duo would be invaluable to his development.
CONTRACT STATUS: Under Contract Through 2025
#9: Ruben Del Campo - ST
In terms of only bagging goals, RDC was one of the most prolific threats in the CPL this season, and that was shown when he finished runner-up in the Golden Boot chase. We had never had a striker this good in our entire history, and to finally have a bagsman after years of Raul Uche and Vladimir Moragrega was a breath of fresh air. He also ranked in the 96th percentile in terms of shot attempts, even if his accuracy wasn’t the greatest - quantity over quality has some merit, especially in front of goal.
However, as much as those qualities were extremely important to our success this year, there were weaknesses in his game that had outsized consequences, especially once Gonzalez switched to a more defensive system. Ruben was extremely hard-pressed to create for himself, evident in a dismal 33.33% 1v1 success rate, and he was also not the greatest at providing for others, which manifested in a 12th percentile ranking in Pass Accuracy and only a 42nd rank in key passes. Once he was left on an island halfway through the season and told to fend for himself, his impact dropped off significantly, which led to fewer goals and him conceding the Golden Boot to Warschewski on the final day of the campaign. This is all to say that in the right system, i.e. the one we played when Fernando was in Ottawa, he was a monster, and only fell off once the system began to play against his strengths.
CONTRACT STATUS: Out of Contract for 2025.
#8: Ilias Iliadis - CB
In his second half-season stint with ATO, Iliadis proved his quality, at least in the small sample he was allowed. He ranked as the best ball recoveror in the league, with more than two interceptions per 90 minutes and winning 85% of his tackles, and he of course contributed with two Olimpicos along with a more consistent set-piece delivery than anyone else on the roster. While only being mediocre in terms of blocks and clearances for a Centre Back, and with a 64th percentile rank in terms of winning duels, he was a solid addition to the back three alongside Walker and Didic, especially over other options, even if he was being played out of position. One of his more prominent weaknesses was his ball security however, ranking in the bottom third of the league in terms of Pass Accuracy. In such limited minutes, it is hard to truly get a reading using only stats, but on the field he was serviceable, and if he was picked up permanently next year, he would make a good depth defender.
CONTRACT STATUS: Loan Set to Expire for 2025, Released by CFMTL.
#7: Maxim Tissot - LB
Tissot had even less to work with than Iliadis before him, this time due to an early injury, and only saw minutes in ones and twos in stoppage time at the end of the season (a situation very familiar to ATO fans this season, what with dos Santos and Roy sporting an early injury and seeing those limited end of game minutes, respectively). Unfortunately for Tissot, 300 minutes is not even close to a significant enough amount to take his statistical ranks with any seriousness, even if he looked very good in them. Tissot was a stalwart for the club when he was healthy, and of course an icon to the football landscape in Ottawa, and two injury-riddled seasons was certainly not how anyone would have liked him to go out. We wish him all the best in retirement.
CONTRACT STATUS: Retired
#6: Ollie Bassett - CAM/WM
Bassett this season was the epitome of opposites. On one hand, he contributed very well offensively, ranking above 75% of his peers in goal contributions, however he took a plurality of the shots and only placed them on target a third of the time. He scored an Olimpico (not even a surprise for him), even though his set-piece delivery, on the whole, was dreadful. One of the things that cannot be contested however is his involvement in our offence in 2024, for good or bad. He participated in almost every attack, and was the linchpin in any move, most often to our benefit, ranking in the 85th percentile in terms of ball distribution, and recording more than two chances created (Key Passes) per 90 minutes. Another attribute that improved mightily was his tackling, which in his two previous seasons ranked in the bottom third.
However, there were things that lacked in his game, and only a few of those were to be expected, notably his absolutely awful defensive contributions (outside of his tackle win rate), as well as his inability to win any duels whether in the air or on the ground. The element that stood out the most offensively was an inability to take on his man successfully, which resulted in a lot of recycled passes back to the defence or him waiting for the rest of the team to catch up on the break. A word that can be accurately ascribed to Bassett is “maverick”, as when he is on, he is an absolute weapon, however when he isn’t, his heavy involvement in play can often result in detrimental effects on the team’s performance. Wherever he goes from here, his supporters will certainly be entertained.
CONTRACT STATUS: Expired.
That is it for players just inside the Top-10! By now you know who will be in the top 5, more so if you paid attention to my TOTS, however in what order will they be? You’ll just have to wait another week.
2024 ATO ranks:
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- Ollie Bassett - 74.4 WPA
- Maxim Tissot - 73.4 WPA
- Ilias Iliadis - 70.1 WPA
- Ruben Del Campo - 68.7 WPA
- Tyr Walker - 68.6 WPA
- Matteo de Brienne - 65.4 WPA
- Kris Twardek - 65.2 WPA
- Aboubacar Sissoko - 62.8 WPA
- Gabriel Antinoro - 61.1 WPA
- Manny Aparicio - 60.8 WPA
- Luke Singh - 52.9 WPA
- Dani Morer - 44.9 WPA
- Kevin dos Santos - 43.5 WPA
- Zachary Roy - 35.8 WPA
- Jesús Del Amo - 34.8 WPA
Unranked: Jonathan Grant, Noah Verhoeven, and Aboubakary Sacko
About Alexander:
When he isn't busy playing or watching sports (or going to school at uOttawa), Alexander is busy managing his Atlético Ottawa database, which he started in 2020, and tracks everything you can think of about the club and its players. He also runs a BlueSky account dedicated to analyzing and rating CPL players using statistics, CPL by the Numbers.
