Feyenoord signed Santiago Gimenez from Mexican club Cruz Azul in the summer transfer window 2022. The one-time Liga MX winner joined the Dutch giants and became one of the best signings. Gimenez led his side to the Eredivisie title in his first European season. Feyenoord are the third-most successful club in the Netherlands and won their 16th title after a gap of four seasons.
Santiago Gimenez played a crucial role in his side’s success and is once again looking to be the differential. The 22-year-old striker has started the season with a bang and is leading the scoring chart. Here is a look at why Feyenoord can depend on their young leader.
Sudden impact in the Netherlands
A young Mexican striker came to Europe with a little bit of experience. He showed his class just in his debut European season. The forward played in 32 league games and managed to score 15 goals. Averaging 3.3 shots per 90 minutes, the player had a decent accuracy rate of 36.4%. The forward found plenty of space inside the penalty box and averaged 5.4 touches inside it per 90 minutes. However, he missed a few sitters, and that is what the manager would want him to convert this season.
There are not a lot of expectations from a striker when it comes to progressing with the ball. In the two seasons combined, Gimenez has tried to penetrate the opposition penalty box by making runs from the left as well as the right side. However, his dribble success rate is a bit low, and this is where he would like to improve.
Despite having decent dribbling skills, the forward has managed to win quite a few crucial free-kicks for his team. Since coming to the Netherlands, Gimenez has won three penalties. All of these have been won on the edge of the penalty box.
Creative side
Creativity is not what the Dutch club expects from their number nine. But a striker needs to have a bond with the other players so that he can score goals with their help or create a goal or two for them. Santiago has had three assists combined in the two seasons. Most of the shot assists in the above viz have been short passes.
Breakthrough season in Europe
The Mexican striker scored six goals in the first five Eredivisie games in 2023–24. He failed to score a goal in the first game and then scored six in the next four outings. His accuracy rate was 50%. Santiago Gimenez scored two goals against Ajax in the last game, but the match was suspended after spectators were furious with their team’s performance.
Santiago Gimenez is one of the best strikers in the Dutch Eredivisie. Averaging more than a goal in the current season is one of the reasons why this Mexican can lead his side to league titles.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
