I've decided to waste my time and do a little ("") statistical comparison for these players to see who is overall the most well-rounded. For every category, the person who got the best out of it (most goals, for example), will get 5 points, the next 4, the next 3, etc. If it's a tie, they'll each get the points. I'll add up the points at the end and the most points will be the best. Then, (in case Alexis loses
), I'll actually look at the stats and try to explain what I think they mean instead of just waving around numbers and say how I think that would make them fit in at Barca.
----------------------------------Alexis----Pedro----Cuadrado----Reus----Di Maria--------A---P---C--R--DM--
---Appearances(substitute)--------20(3)-----18(9)------18(3)----23(2)-----20(7)---------3---4---5---1---2--
---Goals---------------------------13-------13----------4---------10--------7-----------5---5---1---3---2--
---Assists--------------------------5--------5-----------6---------8---------9-----------2---2---3---4---5--
---Shots/Goal---------------------3.54-----3.15--------14.25-----9.5--------7.29--------4---5---1---2---3--
---Key Passes(per game)-----------1.4-------1----------1.5------2.4--------2.3----------2---1---3---5---4--
---Dribbles(per game)--------------1.1------0.5---------4.5-------2.3--------1.2---------2---1---5---4---3--
---Dispossessed(per game)---------1.1------0.7---------2.2--------2---------0.9---------3---5---1---2---4--
---Turnovers(per game)------------1.3------0.9---------1.8--------1.6-------1.2---------3---5---1---2---4--
---Tackles(per game)--------------1.7-------1----------1.5--------1.3-------1.3---------5---1---4---3---3--
---Interceptions(per game)---------0.5------0.3---------0.6--------0.6-------0.6---------2---1---5---5---5--
---Fouls(per game)-----------------1.3------0.5---------1----------1.2-------0.8---------1---5---3---2---4--
---Passes(per game)---------------29.1-----26.1-------38.7-------32.5------38.4---------2---1---5---3---4--
---Passes Suc%-------------------80.1-----86.1-------83.5-------76.8------81.7---------2---5---4---1---3--
---Crosses(per game)--------------0.4------0.6---------0.4---------1--------1.8---------2---3---2---4---5--
---Long Balls(per game)------------0.6------0.3---------1.7---------1.9-------3----------2---1---3---4---5--
---Through Balls(per game)---------0.3------0.2---------0.1---------0.3------0.3---------5---2---1---5---5--
---Total Points--------------------------------------------------------------------------45--48--47--50--61-
All right then...
Well, let's look at what those statistics mean before we make any rash judgement, eh? Let's look at Cuadrado first. Based on these numbers, he's very involved in the build-up, gets the ball a lot, is one of Florentina's most dangerous attackers, but has very little end product to show despite it. He passes a lot, dribbles a lot, shoots a lot, but is very inefficient and doesn't accomplish that much.So while he may be good, maybe even better than Alexis, he's not suited to our game due to his poor finishing and lack of end product in general. Now we have Reus. Reus is the fulcrum of Dortmund's attack; anything involving having the ball, whether it be goals, passes, shots, assists, long balls, whatever... he's got a lot of it. Especially with Gotze's departure and everyone getting injured, Dortmund flows through Reus, so he has a Messi-esque role in that he carries the attack and everything goes through him. Good player, sure, but he wouldn't get the role he thrives in as a replacement for Alexis.
Then there's Di Maria, who is apparently a god according to this system, something I wasn't expecting at all. Really though, his games focused on crosses, long balls, and assists; something one can attribute to Madrid's direct style. That's where he really earned his points, as all the other teams (well, don't really know about Florentina) don't send the ball into the air nearly as much, and prefer a lot more buildup focused style play. But in addition to that, Di Maria is just a really solid player. He has a good conversion rate, dribbles a lot, doesn't lose the ball too much, and tracks back quite well. What Alexis beats him at is goals; Di Maria, as good as he is, would not be able to function to his fullest in our attack. He's very much a winger, and can play well on either side, but he wouldn't be able to trump Alexis in the middle. Perhaps a bit of a weak argument, but I would still take Alexis for us over Di Maria on that fact alone, just because of his increased versatility.
And finally, our own dear Pedro. It's kind of awesome to see how much his statistics correlate with what he actually does. He hardly loses the ball, hardly gets dispossessed, has a high pass succession rate, has an amazing shot conversion rate, doesn't have many fouls, but doesn't have many key passes, many through balls, many assists, many tackles, just because of his nature. Pedro is one of the safest wingers out there. He keeps possession, keeps the ball moving, opts to contain attackers instead of steal the ball from them, doesn't play the dangerous pass as often as most, doesn't shoot unless he's sure he'll score... Are those all good qualities? Absolutely. But in times where we need to break a defense, where we need to put pressure on the opposition, when we need to crack a bus, we need a player who is ready to take on the defense and not just recycle possession. So for that, we can't replace Alexis with Pedro.
TLDR-Those players might be better than Alexis at the role they provide, but they wouldn't be able to replace Alexis at what he does for our side and probably wouldn't be able to replicate their game here due to the way we play. Reus and Cuadrado both have a much freer role in their side, Di Maria got a lot of points for crossing and isn't as versatile, and Pedro is a much safer player, which is useful sometimes but sometimes we need a more bold one like Alexis.
