NICOLO AMADORI (2005) SCOUT REPORT.
Umir Irfan's in-depth scout report for Italy U20 centre forward Nicolo Amadori.
This is an in-depth scout report I wrote in February 2024.
I’m sharing it now as a example of the quality and depth of my work – for portfolio purposes. I hope it is of value.
NAME: Nicolo Amadori
NATIONALITY: Italian U20
CLUB: Ancona Calcio / Cesena Primavera
POSITION: Centre Forward
PREFERRED FOOT: Right
AGE: 20 (Jan 9, 2005)
SUMMARY:
Nicolo Amadori is an exciting Italian youth forward with a skillset founded upon a versatility that projects really well given the context of the modern game. A greater sample size is required but he is a player that looks to have the potential for a strong future
+ Has shown signs of being able to drop deep, attack the last line, and drift to both
flanks, displaing positional versatility.
+ Displays a strong back to goal game which is useful in a high possession side.
+ Ability to lead a press well.
+ Good ball striking in both his pass and shot selection.
+ Two footed.
+ Strong ball carrying/dribbling in bigger spaces.
+ Positive psychological traits
+/- Tendency to go to ground
+/- Aggressive
- Positioning in attack with regards to occupying the box or dropping deep can be
improved.
- Gets shots away taking more than one or two touches
- Aerial duels to be worked on for a player of his frame. Flight of the ball can be read better.
- Attacking threat in the air can be improved.
NOTE: For accessibility, this above section and the conclusion section would
capture most of the details in a succinct manner.
For most audiences including when talking to players, the above section and the concluding section should be shared and internalised. Ease of communication aids its implementation.
For the rationale behind the more succinct sections, the remaining sections within can be read.
PHYSICAL QUALITIES:
Height, weight and frame:
The height and weight metrics of Amadori aren’t readily available but NA looks to be of a height that enables a proficiency in his duelling ability against central defenders.
At the youth level, there is a general trend of the more physical players playing central defence within their age cohort so by comparison the ability NA possesses to duel strongly against them is a positive. Public records of Amadori state his height to be 186cm with a weight of 79kg. The accuracy of this is contested but forms the basis of some of my frame comparisons moving forward.
Amadori doesn’t look overly gangly or bulky in a way that hinders his movement or technical proficiency. A positive to his imposing frame is the fact he is at this size at a young age, and on a stage in which he is able to explore with regards to a more complete game, rather than immediately being used as a target man type.
For taller players there is a need to get used to their frame and play a game predicated on many touches at points in their career to improve technical proficiency. NA looks to have been given that.
NA’s height doesn’t massively negate his technical proficiency which is a balance that can sometimes be lost. If Amadori doesn’t have a growth spurt and remains of this height and weight, he boasts a good build for his profile and one that should translate more easily to the senior, physical game.
Stamina, energy economy, work rate, pressing:
Amadori possesses an impressive ability to press. The quality of his press is predicated on numerous aspects that come together to work.
Amadori’s presses with a full commitment with regards to intensity. His pace is serviceable in this case and his frame paired with this often induces panic in the opposition defenders and keeper. Amadori continually forces the opposition to kick it long after he presses them.
Amadori therefore is someone able to lead a team press. He seems to recognise good situations in which to press but his inherent aggressiveness may lead to him unnecessarily pressing opposition players individually, meaning he is bypassed.
This is a negative quality but far easier to iron out than training a non-pressing forward to press with more intensity.
Amadori angles his body very well as he presses. He almost always curves his run to block the angle of return passes and his cover-shadow minimises the options for the opposition to play.
In terms of energy economy, Amadori jogs when his team are in a settled shape or when the play is behind his line. Amadori doesn’t necessarily stand around, he walks or jogs but doesn’t expend massive amount of energy unless he is carrying the ball, running in behind or pressing. When he does make his actions however, he does run hard and with seemingly full commitment.
On top of all of this are the psychological traits that enable him to work for the team and press with the aforementioned intensity. These will be discussed in more detail in the relevant section.
It is important to briefly note Amadori's tendency to track back and attempt to win the ball when he is directly responsible for the loss of possession or was previously involved in contesting in and around said duel. His speed in tracking back and his physical nature means he can be used as a good blind-side pickpocket, pressing opposition midfielders from the back.
TECHNO-TACTICAL:
Scoring —Ball striking, shooting, off-ball movement:
In an analysis of all of Amadori’s tagged shots available on Wyscout, patterns begin to emerge. Of the 23 shot situations I made notes on, there were goals in six scenarios. For all of the goals scored, no more than three touches were made before the goal was scored. 4 of these goals were right footed, two were left footed. The goals came primarily from central or right sided areas on the field, which indicates the inside right as a preferential angle/zone for Amadori to attempt to score from.
From a ball striking perspective, Amadori is relatively impressive. His standing foot is typically well planted in close proximity to the ball giving him good leverage to shoot with power. On top of that, Amadori positions his chest in a manner he strikes the ball well.
When looking at this compressed chest position, it is a quality seen by strong ball strikers at the highest level so stands out as a green flag. Amadori’s strong ball striking and good frame resultantly mean he is a goal threat from distance (boding well for a second striker/third midfielder/false 9 type).
At times, Amadori can end up taking too many touches. From the sample I analysed, Amadori did not score in scenarios taking more than 3 touches, however he had situations in which he had taken: 8, 7, 7, 5, 5, 4, and 4 touches before his shots respectively — none of these leading to goals.
To assess these holistically, it is important to appreciate that on occasion NA has lacked support and impressively manufactured a shot individually. This will be expanded upon in the dribbling subsection. His ability to manufacture space to shoot and his ability to strike well off both feet is a positive. He is able to shift a ball then shoot on the second touch in quick succession.
Amadori has a preference to ghost towards the back post from corners. His heading ability leaves more to be desired especially given his size and otherwise physical nature. I think this again stems from his inadequate (at present) ability to read the flight of the ball and meet it at pace aerially. Amadori should aim to be a bigger direct aerial threat in attack. His best moments aerially come from holding it up in crowded areas more than dangerous headed shots towards goal.
Passing:
NA’s angle preference for his passing is influenced heavily by the fact he plays lots of his game back to goal. Receiving passes whilst facing his own goal and away from the opposition goal, as a right footed player results in a large majority of his passes being played in-field.
As a backboard player to bounce passes off, think Giroud and Toney, NA is able to play the on-floor and to-the-chest part of this role. If this role is considered midfield teammates would be best positioned to the right of NA as passing options. Amadori’s ball striking from a passing perspective highlights his impressive cross from the right side often fizzing and quick in its delivery. From underlapping positions of the right flank, Amadori’s final ball is a tool that can be utilised.
NA’s weight of pass, facing up whilst carrying is good.
Hold up, fouls, aerial play:
This section is probably the most interesting with regards to Amadori.
For a player who’s game is founded heavily on his physical nature, the disparity between his hold up quality and his aerial quality is notable.
Amadori tends to get lower to the ground, plant himself and use that leverage to keep opposition defenders at bay. His back, glutes, arms (pushing into the trunk of defenders) paired with this lowered centre of gravity provides him great ball retention and strong hold up play in certain situations. These situations include when the ball is played into his feet, or when the ball is played into his chest.
Amadori has a genuinely stand-out ability to hold-up play via chest control. He is difficult to dispossess ball into his feet too. These qualities can be used by playing flatter long balls into him — for illustrative purposes, I’ll mention here that this is something we have seen Manchester United try this season. It may be a viable tactic in the mainstream in seasons to come.
In aerial duels and for hold-up play receiving a higher pass or a loose cross, Amadori’s collection of qualities don’t line up as well. For a player who looks fairly tall and uses his arms well in duels, Amadori tends to bend down to keep opposition off his back.
This means he is at times lower down, and second to get up to jump in an aerial duel. The opposing defender is able to utilise their weight or leverage upon Amadori’s back to win the duel. Amadori’s arms could be better used, being raised as he jumps. Amadori may be better off using his arms, as he sets for aerial duels, in a different manner to how he uses his arms to keep defenders off his back when playing for ball retention.
Amadori’s jumping technique requires work. For a player of his height, he could be trained to meet the ball higher and at the top of his jumps (timing).
Amadori’s reading of the flight of the ball could be improved. He is often reaching for headers and ends up flicking them on (a result of being in front of the ball when making contact). On the occasions NA is able to make contact from a good location, he is aware of the directionality of his header and plays them into good zones. To accommodate for this, his attacking partner could pre-empt/make a run anticipating the flicked on header as this is a fairly common outcome for Amadori.
From throw-ins or when Amadori floats towards the flank, his heading duel success rate appears better. This may be because of the opposition at fullback, who tend to trend shorter and less physical.
The manner in how he bends and backs into players, alongside his flawed aerial duelling quality means he feels he is fouled often. In the Primavera this is not always called. In senior football this may be called more often than it currently is, but not all of the time.
The ability to buy fouls in this way is a strong tool to control the tempo of the game and relieve pressure as an out-ball.
Dribbling:
Amadori boasts an impressive ability to carry the ball. Continuing on from discussing his hold-up play, NA’s ability to feel the contact of the defender behind him, retain possession before rolling the defender and carrying the ball is a quality that stands out.
Amadori involves both his right and left foot when carrying the ball which helps him protect it. This protection (getting his body between the opposition and the ball) results in fouls won if the carry is not otherwise successful. His physicality whilst he carries the ball enables him to cover big distances and keep defenders at bay.
The manner in which Amadori tends to manufacture his shots individually, without support, is not predicated on pace or burst but instead via his fake shots and his ability to repeatedly change direction (Cruyff turn etc).
Amadori has a preference for faking his shot exiting inside (to the left of the pitch, when facing the goal) which can at times lead him into crowded areas but despite this he tends to get a shot away or retain the ball.
PSYCHOLOGICAL QUALITIES:
NA’s psychological traits through this film study have centred primarily on three things.
Firstly there is an undeniable aggression to his game that bodes well for players active in the modern footballing tactical climate. There is a continued willingness to run hard both when leading a press or whilst tracking back to win the ball. This aggression does however tread the line at times.
In games for the Italian U19s, Amadori off the ball was seen antagonising opposition defenders pushing and barging them, which saw him see a yellow card. This antagonistic nature is a good quality for getting the better of individual opposition psychologically, and Amadori was aware when to withdraw, but his second barge/elbow could’ve seen him see red. He has another red card in the domestic division last season too so this is a trend to keep an eye on.
NA demonstrates resilience/determination/grit. In losing game states, NA continues to exhibit actions of high energy whilst others may drop their head particularly within his age group.
Cesena’s form has meant they’ve less often experienced losing game states so a further study on this would be beneficial however upon watching moments in which a press lead by NA has been bypassed, he momentarily has dropped his head before running back to get into position. He doesn’t let it affect his game massively .
NA presents a fairly unselfish psychological profile all things considered. For an out and out striker, this is something that requires some fine tuning but for a more complete modern day forward it is again a positive quality.
I will expand on my profile comparison for NA in the final part of the report, however I will introduce the comparisons at this point for illustrative purposes. The macro-unselfishness
NA demonstrates (willingness to fulfil a role for the team) whilst still having some selfishness to shoot and create something for himself in front of goal looks like something of a Karim Benzema or a Julian Alvarez. These are comparisons on profile, not quality naturally.
These are two players I’ve compared to each other previously. Amadori looks to be a player happy to roam into wide areas or deeper areas to accommodate central runners in this way.
NA plays in a manner that, I feel, would be receptive to accepting tactical instruction from the coach.
CONCLUSION:
PROFILE, PROJECTION:
For Amadori, his profile is fairly expansive and could be used in a myriad of ways. I believe he looks to be a very versatile and physically apt players — a combination that slots into the tactical landscape of the next 5-10 years.
Stylistic comparison:
If I was to make a stylistic comparison, I would echo my mentions of Benzema and Alvarez here again, namely Karim. This is not a comparison of quality, but it is a comparison of how they play, where they like to roam, the areas they look good in and how they could potentially be used.
For Amadori, it would be sensible to study tapes of Benzema at various parts of his career.
The only information I have found relating to Amadori’s height states he is of 186cm, with Karim Benzema standing at 185cm. Whether NA’s height here is correct is to be verified, but in their frame they look similar (see how they dribble to create separation to shoot) and in their macro function for their squad they play in a similar manner.
Profile:
Amadori’s height and proficiency back to goal allows for him to be used as a roaming forward. For a player who is physical, able to duel aerially and hold defenders off of his back, there would be a likelihood they’d be used in target-man-fashion. This is viable but possibly short sighted as he offers more than this, as well as his imperfect aerially duelling quality.
Amadori has the ability to play left wing areas, particularly if in a team that holds lots of the ball. His ability to resist pressure and retain possession back to goal would be utilised well centrally but also on the left, back to goal, with his right foot angled towards the inside of the pitch.
We can look to someone like Mattheus Nunes as an example here.
His crossing and shooting ability from the left is something I have not seen so it is hard to know if he would be any good from their in attack, but to play towards the left in the build-up (a la Benzema) could be a fair use of some of his traits.
Amadori is a player that could play as a third midfielder in formations in which the third midfielder nowadays plays in a similar fashion as an old-fashioned second striker.
This is becoming ever more common too and the examples of Havertz, De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez come to mind again here.
Ultimately I think Amadori should be used as someone who can enable rotations. He is an excellent profile to build around.
In games he is someone that can be used as an outlet when the side is under pressure in their own third.
He is a player that can be used as an outlet to retain the ball, especially on the left.
He is a player that can rotate to the right wing cross well from that side.
He is a player that likes to come short more often than not but can play on the last line.
His role should be adapted to the qualities of those around him and the fact he can
enable this is his biggest strength.
Final Words:
Ideally, Amadori is as a second striker/third midfielder type in a more rigid system or a roaming central forward.
He has great ball retention and hold-up play on the ground, or to-chest.
Rotating to the wings within the game would suit Amadori. Pairing him with versatile wingers who possess goal threat inside would benefit the team.
He plays better in the big spaces rather than small spaces but looks to manufacture space for himself not predicated on pace but rather feints and changes of direction which helps.
His goal threat looks largest centrally and leaning towards the right. These are the zones he should occupy, whilst looking to shoot early.
Overall, Amadori is a bright player who’s game looks to suit the senior stage (given the way he experiences fouls) and the modern game tactically and ball dominant European sides’ game models (versatility, pressing, ball-striking, ball-retention).
Recommendations for NA:
— Karim Benzema (and Julian Alvarez) tape as reference.
— Train timing and technique of aerial duels/heading.
— Experience against the physicality of senior players would be a good and necessary challenge.
— Pair Amadori with a late running central midfielder and/or wingers that move centrally and score goals.
— Assess his quality shooting from the left side of the field.
Umir Irfan [professional scout and analyst]
Contactumirf1(at)gmail(dot)com for all football work or enquiries.
Great piece, work of art this one. You inspire me a lot. I look up on you as an aspiring performance/recruitment analyst. Would like to have a mentor like you.
Slightly unrelated to football but I find it so interesting as a zoology and conservation graduate the parallels between football and science writing, especially in the techno-tactical section, where you talk about his shot situations, it’s exactly how I’d write in respect to research based on animal behaviour findings. Probably very obvious to most people but has made me think as someone who loves the tactical side of football, if I could transition into football writing with my already soft skills from my degree but I’d have to work hard learning more about the tactical side of the game