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By • Hanu Trivedi
(Emanuel Mammana- Argentina)
A few weeks ago, we talked about Leandro Paredes, a highly-rated young Argentinian playing for Zenit in Russia. Now, we cover Emanuel Mammana, Paredes’ teammate at both club and country level. The 21 year-old centre-half joined Zenit this summer, and has been very impressive. Mammana stands six feet tall, quite good for a centre-back and is a prime example of what one calls a ‘Ball Playing Defender’. The Argentine started his professional career at River Plate back home and signed for Lyon in 2016 before moving to Saint Petersburg in the summer window this season. His commendable form in Argentina and in France has warranted him a total of three national team appearances as well. Talking about his playstyle, Mammana is more stylish than he is strong. Although you don’t often see the player getting stuck in and going in for the challenge, he is regularly seen carrying the ball up till the half-way line and starting the attack. Emanuel is at home with the ball, contrary to textbook defenders who look out-of-place and strange with possession. This does however, mean that Mammana isn’t the ideal ‘leader’ one would like at the back; whether this is a con or simply a trait is down to your viewpoint. Tactically speaking, the Argentine is extremely pleasing. He possesses decent speed, makes pinpoint passes and is flawless defensively. His well-timed interceptions and composed mind are undoubtedly the best aspects of his game. Many consider him to be reminiscent of Javier Zanetti, and although it is a very baseless estimation, the similarities can be observed. The youngster is at the heart of the Zenit defence which has only conceded 13 goals in the league, and has proved to be pivotal in the club’s optimistic setup. Although the Russian League isn’t the most competitive or high-scoring league in the world, neither Zenit’s nor Mammana’s merits can be belittled. Unlike teammates Emiliano Rigoni and Sebastian Driussi, Mammana is well-known in the European game. Liverpool were apparently very interested in the defender and almost signed him. The extent of truth in the rumour is not known, but it does go to show that Emanuel might be a household name in the coming seasons. Many consider a player, no matter what age or potential, playing in Russia or any non-mainstream league to be inferior to ones playing in the big leagues. Perhaps this might devalue both Paredes and Mammana for clubs and fans, but the evolution of the game will probably deem this notion worthless in the next few years. Obviously already comparing Mammana or any player for that matter to proven greats like Mascherano and Zanetti is criminal, given the large number of ‘could-have-beens’ in the modern game. Hopefully though, the young Argentinian does fulfill his potential and becomes the next great at his position.