How Cardiff City’s tamed pitbull has added brains to his bite

Gary Medel of Cardiff City

British and South American football are at times seemingly worlds apart. From stadia, to finances and fan culture, there is a lot to separate both football-mad regions of the world. But one thing they do have in common is their love of a no-nonsense, tough-tackling midfield powerhouse. One man that fills that role is Cardiff City’s Chile international Gary Medel; a feisty midfielder with a chequered past.

During the 2007 under-20 World Cup in Canada, Medel was sent off by referee Wolfgang Stark in their semi-final clash with Argentina. The referee lost control of the match early on, inciting anger from fans and players alike, resulting in the Toronto police using electric tasers and pepper spray against Medel and others come the final whistle. Two months later and he was at it again, this time spitting at a Deportes Concepción player.

Headlines for the wrong reasons continued to follow for the Chilean when, in 2009, he had a car crash and was thrown out of the windscreen.

A move to Boca Juniors was next, where he quickly became a fan’s favourite by scooping the winning goals and a red card against arch rivals River Plate. And finally, if that wasn’t enough, the Chile international picked up seven red cards during his time in La Liga before breaking Cardiff City’s transfer record this summer.

It’s safe to say that the tireless and versatile defensive midfielder has featured in plenty of negative incidents. However, following his switch to the Premier League from Sevilla, the all-action midfielder has produced a number of solid performances without picking up a single booking.

Indeed, the Bluebirds have done fantastically well in capturing a player of his calibre and are reaping the rewards as a result.

Throughout seven league appearances, Gary Medel has achieved four Squawka Best Awards and a Performance Score of 127 – the third highest total at the club, behind goalkeeper David Marshall and summer signing Steven Caulker.

Even more impressive is Medel’s average passing accuracy, which currently stands at 92% – the highest total of any active Cardiff City player, and the second highest in the Premier League behind Arsenal’s Mathieu Flamini (93%).

Defensive midfielders often come under fire for what many fans believe are simplistic, backward passes – achieving high passing statistics via risk-free decisions. But in Medel’s case, the majority of his passes have been forward (66%). Some 260 passes have been sent to players in advanced positions, helping to keep attacking moves in motion; a central pivot and fulcrum to Cardiff’s intent.

During Cardiff City’s 2-1 victory over Fulham on 28 September, the ex-Boca Juniors midfielder achieved a staggering 99% pass accuracy (see below) and 100% tackle success, stopping the likes of Bryan Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov in their tracks, while remaining the key influential figure when needing to recycle and keep possession.

The ability to control the flow of a match at any level is crucial; a key attribute that a manager will seek to add to the pool of talent at his disposal. Malky Mackay finally has that player, with Gary Medel displaying this quality in abundance. A technically brilliant player who is more that capable of controlling the tempo of the match with accurate passing, while protecting the fragile space ahead of the defence with brave tackling.

Gary Medel has won 74% of attempted tackles this season, conceding eleven fouls, which will come as no surprise to anyone aware of his fiery past. The majority of his defensive actions have been interceptions (54%), which highlights a tactically astute and intelligent individual with a fantastic ability of anticipating the opposition’s attacking moves.

Make no mistake about it, Cardiff City’s signing of Gary Medel was a fantastic and shrewd piece of business by Malky Mackay and Iain Moody. Their combined efforts in the transfer market allowed them to capture a talented midfielder with as much fire and ferocity as the player’s nationality implies. Their ability, as of yet, to keep the controversial side of the ’Pitbull’ or ‘Chilean Gatusso’ under control is an achievement in it’s own right.