Go Ahead Eagles will receive a visit from Feyenoord on Thursday evening and that means that Jamal Amofa will face Dávid Hancko. It is a special clash between the statistically ‘best’ dribbling center backs in the Eredivisie. ESPN analyzes this striking element in the playing of Amofa and Hancko and still encounters enormous differences.
Feyenoord will take over Hancko from Sparta Prague in the summer of 2022 for around eight million euros. In the same period, Amofa moved from ADO Den Haag to Go Ahead Eagles on a free transfer. Since these transfers, no center back in the Eredivisie has made more successful dribbles than Hancko and Amofa.
It is a striking similarity between a stronghold of Feyenoord and a controversial force of Go Ahead Eagles. Anyone who takes a closer look at the dribbling of Hancko and Amofa will see that there are more differences than similarities between the dribbling defenders of Feyenoord and Go Ahead Eagles respectively.
Overview Hancko
Hancko is undeniably one of the best defenders in the Eredivisie. The left foot has not missed a minute at Feyenoord this season and is a key player for coach Arne Slot. While Hancko is extremely stable defensively and excels with his insight into the game and position choices, the Slovak stands out at least as much for his convincing play on the ball.
When in possession of the ball, Hancko is always cool-headed and has a good overview. The center defender recognizes where the spaces are and then brings his teammates higher up the field into a promising position with the ball. From the back, Hancko is often the starting point of a good Feyenoord attack with his dribbling and passing.
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Overview Hancko
Dávid Hancko stands out in possession of the ball because of his calmness and good choices. The Slovakian doses his dribbles excellently.
Breed opportunist Amofa
Where Hancko stands out with his calmness and overview in possession of the ball, Amofa is almost regarded as his opposite. The Go Ahead Eagles defender is a born opportunist on the ball and too often takes big risks irresponsibly.
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Risks Amofa
Jamal Amofa too often takes irresponsible risks with the ball.
Amofa tries to solve many situations in a football manner, but his risk assessment is substandard. The defender often gets himself into trouble while dribbling. This is also reflected in his percentage of successful dribbles.
Because although Amofa and Hancko have the same number of successful dribbles, there is a big difference in their success rate. 78% of Hancko’s dribbles are successful, while this percentage for Amofa is only 57% this season. A touch of Hancko’s game insight would do Amofa good.
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Mistakes Amofa
Amofa’s mistakes have led to dangerous situations, goals conceded and cards several times this season.
Amofa has been a basic player at Go Ahead Eagles for more than a year and a half, but his undisputed position is now faltering. After a number of major individual mistakes and an injury, Amofa is currently no longer assured of a starting spot. There is also a good chance against Feyenoord that Gerrit Nauber and Joris Kramer will be preferred to Amofa in the heart of the Go Ahead defense.
In that case, Amofa can watch from up close from the bench how Hancko uses and doses his dribbling qualities considerably better.
Go Ahead Eagles – Feyenoord can be seen LIVE on ESPN 2 from 9:00 PM.
