Flashback...Colombian Commanders

In early 2022, two promising young central defenders from Envigado caught our attention. Since then, they have both secured significant moves abroad, and reflecting on their journey, they were truly captivating to watch. There was Carlos Ordoñez, aged 19 at the time, who recently joined Trinidense on loan from Newell's Old Boys who initially secured him permanently for approximately £700K just over a year ago. Then there was left-sided Jhon Banguera, aged 17 at the time, who made a move to Lommel in Belgium, owned by City Group, in July for £1.5M.

Let's take a look at our early reports from one of our Senior Player Analysts:

Ordoñez

Athletic, ball-playing, Colombian centre back. Stood out on the day based on his confidence and ability to bring the ball out from the back and break lines with quick, accurate forward passes. Competitive in the challenge, he is strong and robust in his individual defensive duels. Plays with maturity, behaved like a seasoned pro on the day. The game suited him as the opposition dropped off and let him play, would be interesting to see him in a game where he’s put under more direct pressure with the ball at feet. A promising performance and is worth monitoring.

Banguera

Big and athletic Colombian centre back. An imposing figure, particularly for an 17 year old. Very aggressive and competitive both on the ground and in his aerial duels, heads the ball really well into safe areas. Likes to get tight to opponents to stop them from turning. On the ball he is fine but he needs to become tidier with his in possession play and needs to drop off and give better angles when building from defence. Has good mobility and pace to defend the channels. Fundamentally, a solid young defender who has the capacity to develop into a very good player in the future.

We see this reflected in the two player's radar assessments. We also begin to see the way the two complemented each other really well.

Figure One: Radar Assessments

Below we see the data from the 2022/23 season compared to other centre backs in the league. For young players, they score rather well, particularly Banguera who was only 17 at the time. Both score really well for Aerial Duel success (Banguera in particular as highlighted in his radar above) and their pass success.

Figure Two: Data Assessments

It is little surprise these two have gone on to play in more challenging leagues. City Group will have big plans for Banguera as he continues to develop and whilst Ordoñez hasn't exactly hit the ground running in Argentina, he will be hoping a successful loan spell in Paraguay will put himself firmly in the frame for a starting berth at La Lepra on his return to Argentina.

In terms of migration routes from Colombia, Belgium is not a popular destination at all with Banguera one of the very first to make this transition after the likes of Genk's Carlos Cuesta and Club Brugge's Éder Balanta. The Challenger Pro League will suit Banguera as he will be given more time on the ball when building from deep. 

Colombians to Paraguay, similarly, is not a particularly renowned route. Argentina on the other hand is a little more vogue with 32 players making the transition in recent years (7% of all migrations). Ordoñez has needed, and will continue to need to adapt to Argentina and now Paraguay, both 'Projection' leagues, categorised by quick attacks, quite different to Colombia, characterised by its 'Waiting' style where counter attacks are nearly 25% less frequent than they are in Paraguay. However, we anticipate that Ordoñez's mobility, organisational and leadership skills will allow him to adapt quickly to his new role at Trinidense.

Speaking of transitions to Argentina, below we've included Colombian Kevin Mantilla, now of Tallares; a player who was excelling at Independiente Santa Fe aged 18 at the time of analysis:

Figure Three: Mantilla's Data Assessment

Mantilla may lag behind in Interceptions, Tackles, and Ground Duels, but he truly shines in every other aspect. It's no surprise Tallares invested roughly £1.5M to acquire his talents. As of yesterday, playing a full 90 against Argentinos, he's already making his mark in the league for La T, having played 10 games for last year's league runners-up.

Conclusion

Reflecting on players who once caught our eye and now witnessing their journeys across the globe is truly gratifying. For Ordoñez and Banguera, this is merely the starting point, and we eagerly anticipate tracking their progress. Stick with SAFA to stay updated on their development.