Player Analysis: Jean-Clair Todibo
An Analysis on another French Centre-Back. This is a Nice one though.
Champions League Nights
San Siro can be a dauting place to visit. A historic monument restored to the great European gallery, capable of engulfing even the brightest of talents with immense pressure, overwhelming them as they grace the pitch. On 11th December 2019, they welcome Barcelona in a vital game in their bid to qualify for the rounds of 16 in the Champions League; a game in which Valverde had the luxury of fielding the rookies at the grandest of occasions.
It was a game many would associate with the epiphany of Ansu Fati’s potential — as he becomes the youngest goalscorer in the competition’s illustrious history, scoring the winner in an unexpected 2–1 win for the Blaugrana. The game also featured Carles Alena with a masterful performance against a midfield trio of Vecino, Brozović and Valero. But none left a mark deeper than the then 19-year-old central defender — Jean-Clair Todibo, who made lights work of the revered strike duo of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, on his Champions League debut.
Missed Opportunity(ies)
Personally endorsed by Eric Abidal, Jean-Clair Todibo was meant to be the heir to Pique’s everlasting throne. Following such performance against Inter should warrant a role within the first team, and it finally looked as if Barcelona were adequately replacing their trusted lieutenants with youngbloods, capable of dominating the next decade.
But it wasn’t meant to be.
As we have come to know, the vivid memory of Todibo manhandling Martinez now serves as the last piece of memoir imprinted on the minds of many fans. Reports of a dressing room unrest regarding his playing time led to multiple disputes in the squad, one which saw him hastily shipped off to Germany, and then Portugal on loans. He neither impress on-the-field, nor did he convince them of his attitude — with Jorge Jesus criticizing the youngster’s attitude in a bizarre interview.
It wasn’t until OGC Nice saw an opportunity to bring him back to his native France, that he chanced upon a shot a redemption. Today, Todibo remains an integral piece of Galtier’s side, as they look to finish the season strongly in the top 4. This analysis will cover the Frenchman’s performances with his club this season. All figures below are based on performance per 90 minutes played, according to StatsBomb via FBref.
Partners in Crime
Synonymous to Galtier’s title winning Lille side, Nice’s defence remains the strongest foil in the entire squad. Much like his previous club, Galtier’s Les Aiglons currently holds the best defensive record in the league, conceding only 24 in 30 games. Much of it is due to Galtier’s persistence with a consistent back 5, harmonizing a defensive unit that previously shipped 53 goals under Viera. It encourages a strong understanding and relationship that is imperative to the club’s title aspirations.
In terms of centre-back partnerships, Galtier has managed to cultivate a partnership akin to the one in Lille, with an experienced old-guard (Fonte) mentoring the young maverick (Botman) at the heart of defence. At Nice, such archetype is replicated with Todibo as the young-gun and a 39-year-old Dante as the experienced head guiding him through.
Both players share the most passes with each other in the squad this season with 890 passes together. This speaks to the pair’s strong bond over the two seasons they’ve shared at Nice, which saw them form a formidable partnership.
Nice Fit
To fully understand Todibo’s defending style, we’d have to examine his relationship with Dante as part of a defensive duo. What exactly makes them tick, and how do they compliment each other? To illustrate such relationship from a statistical standpoint, we examine their defensive actions adjusted to 100 Opposition Touches to highlight the habits both centre-backs adopt and understand how they benefit from each other.
Amongst central defenders with more than 900 minutes played, Todibo has accumulated 1.5 Aggressive Defensive Actions (Tackles, Interceptions and Successful Pressures) and 2.41 Passive Defensive Actions (Blocks, Clearances and Recoveries); His partner in crime has amassed 1.05 Aggressive Defensive Actions and 2.39 Passive Defensive Actions.
Now, what this means is that Todibo has been the far more proactive central defender of the pair, constantly stepping out of line to impede oppositions. Essentially tasked to stop any attacks or transitions from developing at the earliest of opportunities. He does so with the insurance of the experienced Dante sweeping behind him, covering the spaces vacated by Todibo and only intervening play whenever necessary. At times, the space vacated by Todibo may also be filled by a midfielder, as he steps off his line to confront opposition forwards.
Bulldog Defending
Todibo’s proactiveness in defending has been a trait utilized in his side’s blueprint to regain possession. Despite running the risk of leaving space behind, Galtier recognizes the aggression in Todibo must be unleased rather than tamed.
As such, Todibo regularly leaves his line to disrupt opposition’s attack. The Frenchman looks to impose himself onto the forwards, making every movement awkward; suffocating them as they try to maneuverer the ball.
As we look into his pressing numbers this season, we find that his tendency to disrupt play does reflect in his numbers. The tall Frenchman has completed 1.8 Pressures per 100 Opposition touches, with a fair 0.75 of them resulting in his team winning the ball back. This ranks him amongst the leagues’ best centre-backs in terms of pressing. To put it into further context, his partner in Dante only completes 1.15 Pressures, succeeding in 0.5 of them, proving the ball winning responsibility upheld by the Frenchman.
Nonetheless, his proactiveness means he is also prone to leave excessive space behind. Teams with a much-structured setup could exploit such areas with quick interchange to bait Todibo off his line, before passing it around him. Before you know it, his partner would be faced with a tricky situation as depicted below.
True Tackles
As we probe deeper into his aggression, it is worth examining his true tackles’ statistics, adjusted to opposition touches. True Tackles is a metric that considers the lost challenges and fouls when making a tackle. Important to note that this metric favors defenders in a back three for the added protection they’d have as they stride upfield to regain possession.
Thus, Todibo completing 0.66 True Tackles — which is amongst the top quartile amongst his peers — is a testament to his initiative-taking defending style. His 0.37 Tackles tells us that he wins a healthy amount of the challenges he makes, making him an effective ball winner for Nice. Add to the fact that he operates in a back 2, Todibo certainly ranks amongst the best ball winning centre-backs in the league.
Before we continue to the next section, we should first understand the role of Nice’s right-backs under Christophe Galtier. Nice’s commitment in wing-play meant that the right-backs are tasked to venture forwards; provide width and a source of creativity out wide. Out-of-possession wise, Galtier uses the wide areas as pressing triggers — As the opposition build-up on the wings, fullbacks are required to engage. Both these situations leave gaps behind for attackers to transition into, a situation which Todibo will have to confront.
For the reasons stated above, it is not a surprise to see most of Todibo’s tackles occur on the right flanks of his defensive half. A high number of fouls occurring further up-field is indicative of the aggression mentioned earlier, no doubt with the intention of stopping transitions as early as possible.
Anticipating the Moment
For much of his aggression, Todibo compliments it well with an ever-improving sense of awareness. It had been an issue in the past with his failure to read the passes coming forward, but it’s seemed to have improved over the course of his career. He anticipates dangers well and regularly breaks up play, by the means of interception upfield — further demonstrating his quality as an agent of chaos.
Even when it’d seem like opponents have a slight edge in their starting position, Todibo has rarely ever lost a foot race. The 6’2ft defender is well built, blessed with exhilarating pace that even rivals Mbappé on occasions. Couple his athleticism with his show of anticipation, and you’ll get a defender capable of playing a high line, allowing the team to push forward even further.
Brave as a lion, Todibo is also unafraid of putting his body on the line if it meant blocking a clear route at goal.
Many blocks occurring within his own penalty box highlights a player getting into the right place, at the right time.
Ball-Player (??)
Athleticism, Aggression, Anticipation. Great, Todibo’s got the 3 basic attributes as a central defender. But what about the ball-playing?
If you were to ask any Barcelona fans about Todibo, they’d reference the Frenchman’s brilliant technique with an eye for a pass, and fearless desire to bring the ball out of defence… after they spend 5 minutes telling you about that night at the San Siro.
Nevertheless, the jury is clear with Todibo. Many would associate him as a brilliant ball-player carved out of the streets of Paris, and clips on YouTube would tell you the same too. But that isn’t what he’s best known for in his tenure at Nice. In fact, under Galtier, he’s opted to take up a more cautious approach to his game — spending less risk on the ball and pass it out quick.
Regardless, he remains a primary distributor to the wide players.
Before we analyze his pass destinations, we’d first need to establish his role in build-up. As mentioned previously, right-backs would advance forward; the left-backs on the other hand would tuck infield to make a back 3 with the centre-backs, pushing Todibo further down on the right.
Thus, we see a major signature on the central regions of the pitch, signifying a pass towards the more creative players in Lemina, Rosario or even Dante from his right slot.
Furthermore, a signature just beyond the half-way mark is present. Perhaps indicative of Todibo’s progressive nature as a centre-back, looking to progress play forwards to his full-backs or forwards down the right channel. This is further proven with his Progressive Passing Clusters, highlighting Todibo’s consistency as Nice’s wide distributor.
His passes into attacking thirds, filtered for passes occurring inside his own half also supports this idea with multiple passes into the wide channels of the pitch, even with some brilliant switches across the left. As a matter of fact, when normalized to the league average, Todibo is amongst the best distributor into the attacking third of the pitch, with 4.61 — a stat only bettered by 5 other centre-backs.
Chance Creation
On second thought, to term Todibo as a wide distributor wouldn’t do his chance creation any justice. He has become an underrated playmaker from the back, seizing his chances with line-breaking passes throughout the season. As we look at his shot-creating numbers, only 3 other players best him at creating shots from open play passes, which speaks volumes to the creative influence Todibo has on Nice.
A further look into the passes he makes shows a player capable of breaking the lines from his own half, whilst also the technical guile to carve up crosses into the penalty area. Todibo’s impressive repertoire of passes have been crucial in opening up defenses for Nice.
Cautious Approach
Despite only arriving in January, Todibo attempted 20 Dribbles in the league with an impressive 75% success rate last season. Under Galtier this season, the defender merely attempted 11 and completing 6 of them.
Todibo may be adventurous when carrying the ball forward in the past, but it seemed like any indication of which have been weeded out under a new tactical setup. One that requires Todibo to be extra cautious in possession. That cautious behavior has restricted Todibo’s activity on the ball beyond the final third, only completing 10 Carries into the Final Thirds so far.
Even on the ball, Todibo has looked shaky under pressure and often loses the ball in a state of panic. Considering his fearless streak of trekking upfield with the ball in the past, this could be a confidence issue. Regardless, the quality shown this season hasn’t driven many supporters with confidence.
Unearth the Potential
Ever since a kid at Toulouse, it was made clear that Todibo had it all. All… but attitude.
Symbolic of his playing style, the aggression does not bode well in dressing rooms and as such, he’s struggled to find a stable environment to develop. Nice knew the risk of bringing in a player of his temperament but there was no doubting the untapped potential Todibo possesses.
Thankfully, it seemed like he’s matured under the tutelage of Galtier. But it’d be unfair to not mention Dante’s involvement in Todibo’s rise, for the Brazilian has been integral to the Frenchman’s development.
They say a picture speaks a thousand words. If you were to search up Todibo’s Twitter, you’ll find yourself staring at a wholesome picture of the pair, donning neon-themed jerseys with arms around the shoulder, as they pose for the cameras illuminated under their beaming smiles. And to me that picture, speaks a thousand words.
Jean-Clair Todibo, unearth the potential.
Twitter: @chunhang7
All visualizations made by author
