Dinamo Tbilisi is one of the most iconic football clubs in Georgia. Founded in 1925, the club quickly established itself as a dominant force in Georgian football, winning numerous domestic titles and representing the country in European competitions.
In 2013, Dinamo Tbilisi made headlines around the world when it reached the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League, a major achievement for a team from a relatively small footballing nation. Although the club ultimately fell short of qualifying for the group stage, its performance in the competition earned acclaim and cemented its status as one of the most respected teams in the region.
More recently, the club has undergone a significant transformation, with a renewed focus on building a strong and sustainable football program. In 2020, the club appointed a new president who has worked to revitalise the team’s infrastructure and implement a new strategic vision for the future.
One of the most exciting developments for Dinamo Tbilisi in recent years has been the emergence of a new generation of talented young players. The club has invested heavily in its youth academy, with the aim of developing homegrown talent and building a team that can compete at the highest level of European football.
A graduate of said youth academy is the subject of this scout report (no, it’s not Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Napoli). The name you need to remember is Gabriel Sigua – an extremely talented 17-year-old Georgian midfielder who has broken through into the Dinamo Tbilisi first team and, at the time of writing, has scored three goals in five games. His excellent start to the season has led to a call-up to the Georgian National Team for the most recent international fixtures.
There is potentially a golden generation of Georgian talent in the works, with many coming through the famed Dinamo Tbilisi youth academy including the aforementioned ‘Kvaradonna’ lighting up Serie A, Giorgi Mamardashvili at Valencia as well as Anzor Mekvabishvili and now Sigua, who are both still at the club.
This tactical analysis is going to show you just what makes Sigua so special, how he fits into the tactics at Dinamo Tbilisi and also provide an analysis of his style of play including strengths and weaknesses.
Who can we compare Gabriel Sigua to?
Perhaps the best way to begin this analysis is to compare Sigua to players who play in the same position from the top five leagues in Europe. Whilst it is important to acknowledge that Sigua is his own player, at only 17 years old, there are many great aspects to his game and of course, elements that require improvement. This is a good way of assessing those strengths and weaknesses and getting a general overview of his style of play before moving on to a more in-depth analysis.
Who better to start with than one of, if not, the most talented young midfielder right now? We’re talking about Barcelona’s young talisman, Gavi. Of course, the Barcelona man is playing at a higher level in La Liga but it is apparent that the pair share some similar traits. Both are very adept at playing dangerous passes which is beneficial to their teams when they are trying to counterattack, picking the right pass at the right time is a great quality of any midfielder.
Naturally, the Barcelona star plays and receives more passes which is not surprising given their style of play and his higher level of experience.
Moving on, let’s compare Sigua to another young starlet – Désiré Doué at Rennes. The two 17-year-olds are quite similar in their style of play. They are both very attack-minded and frequently look to make runs into the penalty area. Sigua is better in the air than Doué according to this radar chart whilst the Rennes man is more likely to pick the ball up and carry it forward for his team with his higher amount of dribbles per 90. They are two attack-minded midfielders who share very similar traits.
Comparing Sigua to some of the most talented young midfielders allows us to see just how talented the Georgian youngster is. Doué is one of the most highly rated french youngsters so this puts Sigua’s talent in perspective and shows us that he has the potential to be a generational talent.
Let’s do one last comparison. This time we will look at how Sigua compared to Atletico Madrid midfielder Pablo Barrios. Whilst the Atleti man completes many more passes, he and Sigua both display good aerial abilities and enjoy a healthy amount of shots per 90. From these comparisons, we can see that the Dinamo Tbilisi man is a midfielder who loves to get forward and participate in attacks.
Personally, when watching Sigua, we can see the Gavi similarities there’s this tenacity and desire in the way they both play. With a drive and work ethic that can’t be replicated, in a lot of respects Sigua has the potential to be an excellent playmaker or box-to-box midfielder in the future, depending on how his coach sets up the team.
A look at his heatmap shows just how Sigua is all over the pitch and willing to cover a lot of ground for his team. Primarily deployed as a central midfielder in a 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1 formation, the addition of the defensive midfielder really gives Sigua licence to attack. He is happy to work in the half spaces and displays great willingness to work the channels which is extremely beneficial to Dinamo when they are in the attacking phase.
Excellent off-the-ball movement in attack
Off-the-ball movement is crucial for a midfielder because it allows them to create space, find gaps in the opposition’s defence, and make themselves available to receive passes. A midfielder who moves well off the ball is like a chess piece that is constantly on the lookout to find the best position to attack or defend – always assessing the situation, looking for ways to outmanoeuvre their opponents and gain an advantage.
The images below show how the dynamic young midfielder is able to see the spaces in the opposition’s defence. In this instance, Sigua spots a gap that allows him to run into the channel on the right side behind the defensive line. He is then in a good position to play a cross into the box for a teammate to attack.
In this scenario shown below, Sigua is able to make a run in front of his marker as his teammate plays in a cross from the right wing. Here, the young midfielder gets a little lucky as the ball ricochets off the defender and into his path. However, Sigua reacted quickly to lash a shot into the top corner of the net and put Dinamo Tbilisi 1-0 up.
Shaping the game
One thing that struck us when researching this scout report is just how intelligent Gabriel Sigua is for such a young player. When talking about footballing intelligence, we are referring to a player’s ability to read the game, make good decisions, and execute the right actions at the right time. This is an important attribute for any footballer, especially in the modern game.
The images below depict a wonderful example of not only Sigua’s intelligence but also his willingness to work for the team. In the first image, we can see Tbilisi are building an attack but their opponents are in a pretty comfortable defensive block. Sigua takes the initiative and sprints through the defensive line, this causes three of the defenders to fall back while one central defender does not. This breaks the defensive line which means it is easier for Dinamo Tbilisi to work their way through.
This also leads to various pockets of space to open up which are illustrated in the second image. By making this intelligent run, Sigua is not only creating space for teammates, but he is also actively shaping the game. Every player on the pitch is then reacting to his movement. It’s such a subtle but key technique for him to have mastered, indicating a maturity beyond his years.
Midfielders are often referred to as the ‘engine room’ of the team. Their ability to shape the game is a vital aspect of modern football. Think of Gündogan at City as a prime example of this, at 17 years old Gabriel Sigua is already demonstrating that he is up to the task.
This time, we can see how Sigua uses his footballing intelligence to create space for himself to get a shot at goal. Again, it appears to be a very simple manoeuvre but is incredibly effective. In the images below, Sigua is making his way towards the opposition penalty area as Dinamo Tbilisi are on the attack.
However, instead of sprinting into the penalty area, Sigua just slows his run slightly, admittedly the opponent midfielder who is supposed to be tracking him makes a poor choice in going over to try and tackle Camara, who quickly lays the ball off to the waiting Sigua.
This choice, to not sprint into the area, but to just slow down and wait for the ball to be played into him on the edge of the area is an excellent showing of Sigua’s decision-making. In this instance, he was able to get a shot away quickly that tested the opposing keeper.
Intelligent passing
Gabriel Sigua is already a very technically capable player – he has the ability to unlock defences with a variety of passes, including mid-range passes, through balls, and diagonal passes. He possesses a fair amount of creativity and, for the most part, has the technical abilities to influence the game in a positive way. Though he could do with improving his long-range passes, this would be beneficial when Dinamo Tbilisi are looking to quickly transition from defence to attack.
A midfielder with a good passing range has greater control over the game, can easily dictate the tempo and maintain possession. Sigua’s control of the midfield has helped Dinamo Tbilisi to dominate their games so far this season as they remain unbeaten.
Sigua’s vision means that he is always scanning the whole pitch and anticipating the movement of teammates and the opposition, allowing him to make intelligent passes that create space and opportunities. He’s capable of switching the play well, as shown in the image below, plus, with a pass accuracy of 79.7% so far this season, his passes mostly reach their target. Moreover, when operating in the wide areas or the halfspaces, he is comfortable playing crosses into the box or passes behind the defensive line. He frequently demonstrates excellent vision when picking out a pass as shown below.
The image below shows some of our favourite aspects of Sigua’s game – his composure and vision. He has intercepted the ball in the defensive third and as we can see. There are three opposition players looking to regain possession. The simplest pass and the one that most players would choose to make from here is to lay the ball off to the defender behind (who is highlighted).
Instead, the Dinamo Tbilisi starlet executes a deft flick with the outside of his foot over the head of the opposing player and into the path of his teammate who is able to carry the ball out of defence. In an instant, Dinamo Tbilisi are able to go from defence to attack in the blink of an eye, all thanks to a clever choice made by their young midfielder.
Defensive positioning
One of the most important responsibilities of a midfielder is to help protect their team’s defence. Good defensive positioning is so important for midfielders in order to prevent the opposition from scoring. This means that a good midfielder needs to be able to anticipate where the ball is going to be played and get themselves in the right position to make a tackle or interception.
For all of his attacking skills and talent, Gabriel Sigua does not shirk his defensive responsibilities. He consistently tracks back and looks to shield the defensive line, while his work ethic means he never backs out of a duel. The youngster actually does pretty well in terms of defensive duels as he’s won 69.5% of them so far this season.
Sigua’s defensive skills are on display in the images above (Dinamo Tbilisi are in white in these images). Their opponents are attempting to work the ball into the box with a clever pass into the path of the attacker that Sigua is marking.
Firstly, he doesn’t go to ground and give away a penalty which is a very sensible choice. Secondly, he chooses to not try and intercept the ball which displays great awareness because Sigua understands that if he tries to cut across his man and gets it wrong then the opposition have a free run at a 1v1 with the keeper. Instead, he quickly gets himself in between the attacker and the ball and then uses his great physical strength and body orientation to prevent the attacker from having any chance of reaching the ball. This then enables Sigua to calmly shepherd the ball back to the goalkeeper. This is some excellent, calm and composed defending from one so young.
Making the right choices in defence demonstrates initiative and willingness to take responsibility. Even at a young age Sigua displays real leadership qualities. This really helps to create a strong ethos of defending as a team. If he continues to demonstrate such qualities, Gabriel Sigua could be a candidate for the Dinamo Tbilisi captaincy in a few years.
In these images we can see Sigua defending from the front, once again his tenacious nature is on show. He can be seen scanning the play for where the goalkeeper is going to aim his pass and the quickly accelerates across to the area. He chooses to lead with his foot which could have backfired but, in this case, he gets lucky as the opposing player heads the ball straight at him and Dinamo Tbilisi regain possession.
Enjoys a tackle
Sliding tackles are high-risk, high-reward moves that can be a real game-changer when executed correctly. Gabriel Sigua often goes to ground to execute a tackle and there are actually some reasons why that’s not a bad thing. A sliding tackle can be a fantastic way to win the ball back from an opponent who’s about to make a break for it. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love a good tackle in football? Plus, there’s something undeniably exciting about seeing a player launch themselves across the pitch and come away with the ball. Fans absolutely love it, and it can really get the crowd going.
However, it’s a risky move, if the tackle is misjudged, both players involved could pick up cards or injuries, and nobody wants to be on the receiving end of a badly-timed sliding tackle. As a player, if you are executing a tackle and you miss the ball, or the other player manages to avoid your tackle, you could be left lying on the ground while they run off with the ball. This leaves your team vulnerable and could result in a goal being scored against you.
The images above show Sigua executing a sliding tackle, this one didn’t go badly per se but we wanted to show that he could have made a better decision in that moment. The opposition are on the attack, as the first image shows. We can see Sigua getting ready to fly into a tackle when in actual fact, a better choice would have been to stay on his feet and cut off the space (which we have circled). If he had done this, then he would have been well placed to cut off any passing lanes or make an interception.
When Sigua makes this particular tackle, the ball ends up falling into the path of another opposition player who has time and space to pass the ball to a teammate and the attack can be resumed. As a young player, Sigua has bags of time to gain some more experience and learn how to make smarter decision in certain situations so it’s not like this is going to be a detriment to his development.
To conclude this scout report, we have seen how talented Gabriel Sigua is and at 17 he is far from the finished article. He is an exceptional young midfielder with great vision and off-the-ball movement, coupled with a wonderful work ethic and determination to succeed. It’s early days in Sigua’s career but if he continues on this trajectory, the future is very bright for Georgian football.
