In-Depth Player Analysis: Costa Rica International Nestor Monge joins Valour

Already bursting with international experience through the likes of Arnold Bouka Moutou, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, and Eikon athlete Moses Dyer, Valour FC head coach and GM Rob Gale has solidified his well-built squad even further by adding Costa Rica international Nestor Monge to his midfield.

Monge joins a growing list of Eikon Sports Group athletes who have made the switch to the Canadian Premier League this off-season, with Jordan Wilson to York United and Ahinga Selemani to Cavalry being the other confirmed acquisitions ready to make an immediate impact.

Defensive midfielder Nestor Monge, who recently turned 31, has extensive experience in his native Costa Rica along with brief stints in Guatemala and Mexico, making him a valued acquisition that brings plenty of quality to Valour. Monge also has an impressive 6 caps for the Costa Rica senior international team, with his most recent coming in early 2019 against the USA.

Let’s take a deep dive into Nestor Monge’s play and how he might fit in at Valour!

Essentially every possession-based team has a player who sits at the base of the midfield and anchors the team. In 2021, Nestor Monge will be this player for Valour – it’s simply what he’s done best throughout his career. He is also capable of playing as a centre-back, but it’s more likely that his experience and profile make him a key midfield piece for the Winnipeg-based team. Gale sets his team up to play fluid, attacking football, and having Monge at the base of the midfield allows the centre-backs to drift a bit wider and the full-backs to bomb forward. While Valour often line-up in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 under Rob Gale, it often becomes a very fluid formation that transforms to almost a 3-4-3 in possession. This tactical shift is illustrated below.

As for Monge himself, he is a robust defensive midfielder who acts as an anchor in possession, getting very early touches on the ball in his own half and playing positive passes to more advanced players. His role in possession is not to create chances or do anything fancy – he holds the midfield, distributes the ball, and allows the team to shift forward while maintaining solidity at the back. It’s an important role, and landing such a high-caliber player to feature in it is a big win for Valour, who will have even more freedom going forward with a player as experienced as Monge controlling the deeper areas. With his experience and quality, Monge could certainly be a very dominant player in the Canadian Premier League – both on and off the ball.

It’s Monge’s excellent positioning and anticipation qualities that make him such an excellent anchor. The Costa Rican international sits back, covers the defensive spaces, and hardly panics when opposition attackers are running into space – he will be there to sweep up any mess. He adds some real grit to the Valour team, and his reputation in Costa Rica is that of a hard-nosed midfielder who isn’t afraid of a physical contest in any scenario. He is one of those players whose play tends to really get under the skin of rival fans and players, and I firmly believe that every successful team needs a few of those types.

As you can see above, Nestor Monge has been phenomenal in his positioning and anticipation compared to other defensive midfielders in the Costa Rican first division since the start of 2020. He makes a high number of interceptions and ball-recoveries (picking up a loose ball, usually after an opponent loses it via a bad touch). This will make him extremely useful in the key moments after Valour loses the ball. The easiest moment to win the ball back from the opponent is immediately after you lose it to them, as the opposition players will still be in the process of setting up their shape and sorting out their feet. This 5 or 6-second window results in looser touches and passes, which is where a player like Nestor Monge really shows his worth in midfield. He is the man to win those sloppy battles and 2nd balls in the middle of the park.

While I mentioned earlier that Nestor Monge isn’t the flashiest player in possession, he still does the basics exceptionally well and is very reliable on the ball, even under pressure. He is often very positive with his passing at the base of midfield and can dribble his way out of trouble when necessary. If he spots a good opportunity for a penetrative pass, he won’t shy away from it – but if not, he doesn’t overcomplicate things.

Overall, he is a player you would describe as extremely secure in possession, which is wonderful news for Valour’s more attacking players, who will have plenty of freedom in front of the Costa Rican playmaking from very deep. If you look at Monge’s pass success rate over the last few years, it’s consistently around 85%. If he was only playing simple passes this rate would be much higher, and if he was only playing high-risk passes it would be lower. Being around the mid-80 mark means that he has an extremely varied passing range that can result in a simple pass one minute and a dynamite long-ball the next. Watching his play confirms this statistical observation.

As you can see above, Nestor Monge was among the better defensive midfielders in Costa Rica in terms of evading pressure in midfield. He doesn’t dribble often, due to the fact that he sits closer to the centre-backs than the more congested parts of the field, but he can do it when called upon. The Canadian Premier League is a league of good intensity, and having a player who can bypass that pressure in midfield is a really big positive for Valour.

Check out this sublime assist from Monge below:

We’ve discussed his positional sense as well as his skills on the ball, but what about when he engages with opponents in the tackle or in the air? Is Nestor Monge good in terms of defensive challenges? The answer is a resounding yes, and this is a big reason why his reputation is what it is in Costa Rica. Only a few defensive midfielders in the Costa Rican division were more impressive in their defensive duels than Nestor Monge, who isn’t just a hard tackler and a fierce competitor, but a gifted one as well.

In the above graph, you can clearly see that Nestor Monge engages in a ton of defensive challenges in every match, proving that he is indeed always at the heart of the action. The most impressive part is that his success rate is also extremely high despite always being busy in defence. Doing something more often usually results in an average success rate, but this is not the case with Monge, who is a proven duel-winner at the highest level.

Nestor Monge really is an all-round midfielder who controls space well, allowing his teammates to get further forward and giving them a teammate who truly leads by example.

A full Costa Rica international with experience in top CONCACAF competition including the Champions League, Nestor Monge is one of the premier signings in the Canadian Premier League so far this off-season. As Rob Gale said about signing Monge this week: “It’s huge on the field, it’s huge off the field”. Not only will Monge benefit Valour both in and out of possession this year, but the experience he brings to the locker room will be a massive boost to the team as they look to improve on their 2019 and 2020 Canadian Premier League seasons.