Is Lisandro Martinez single-handedly making the case for [elite] short centre backs?

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

That, and i think for some reason he's also taken the spot of Maguire who seemingly (and i speak under correction here) hasn't been as harshly judged in the media as his performances warrant.

Maguire basically escaped the majority of criticism because he had a nice Euros. That cemented him as protected by the media

 

[TheRedHearted]

When's he transitioning to DM?

When we buy Milan skrinier

 

[Andycoleno9]

Single handedly? He is playing very well but if someone is prime example how short player can be world class defender is Mascherano (in Barca) for me.

 

[TheReligion]

Gary Medel is not bad either, might not be as good but cutting it quite fit in the Serie A for Bologna.

I recall him being part of the Cardiff team that got relegated under Ole?

 

[Ekeke]

Mascherano?

For Barcelona sure, not sure it would have worked so well with him at CB at other teams

 

[90 + 5min]

Cannavaro was one of the best central defenders in Italy and that says a lot. He is, according to numbers, 1 cm higher. So, I'm not surprised and you don't have to be 2 m to be great central defender. Quality should not be messaured in hight.

 

[KikiDaKats]

I recall him being part of the Cardiff team that got relegated under Ole?

That’s the one

 

[McTerminator]

He wasn't an elite cb imo, he only played there becase of Busquets

I agree he wasn’t elite but I remember a game he had against Rooney that was really solid, seem to recall a blistering run from Wayne down the wing and Mascherno kept pace and snuffed out the danger.

 

[DRJosh]

It’s Martinez’s aggression and personality that make up for his lack of height. I think it is very rare for a short CB to sustain an on field presence enough to disorientate attackers in full flow. Rio and Vidic had both the height and aggression

 

[Pocho]

He reminds me a lot to Passarella, the latter was a goalscorer CB but defending they are much alike.

 

[Someone]

You won't see plenty of short CBs because probably they'll be pushed to play in other positions from a young age. To be a good CB requires a set of skills and being good in the air is just one of them, and he's surprisingly not bad. If you tell me you could add 20 CM to his height but take away his passing I wouldn't take it.

 

[meamth]

He and his mate Shaw seem to be on a crusade to make this case (even though Shaw's commonly documented height online is suspiciously a lot taller than he actually looks!)

Shaw is comfortably a 6 footer. There's no denying that, he might have bigger frame than normal people, so we see him as not as super tall guy.

 

[meamth]

Tbf some of the best CBs of the past have been short, so I'm not sure one more excellent short CB changes that narrative.

What was more specific to Martinez is the idea that you can't have that short a CB in the Premier League. If it changes the perception around anything it should be the exaggerated notion of just how uniquely physical the PL is and how that physicality manifests itself.

Because some people seemed to be imagining the PL as a brutish, direct league filled with giants who would bully a shorter CB in a way they've never encountered before. When in reality there are few if any old-school
stereotypically "English" style teams in the league any more. A league like La Liga has statistically played more long-ball football in recent seasons, players in the PL are shorter on average than even the league Martinez just came from and insofar as the PL is any more physical than other leagues it's in terms of the pace and intensity of the game rather that pure strength. Bernardo Silva style running machines are what the PL demands, not size.

I've just checked all the teams in PL, pretty sure all CBs started PL last week was above 6". The closest to Martinez is Ake.

PL is still filled with hoof ball and kitchen sink long balls when they are chasing games in the last minute, only City, Arsenal, or the top half teams doesn't apply those tactics anymore.

 

[Isotope]

Unless we're facing shorty team like Barca, his ideal partner still need to be a taller CB. But yeah, his other qualities more than make up for his (not so) apparent lack of height.