Jose Gimenez

Jose Gimenez
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Jose Maria Gimenez de Vargas





Current Club: Atletico Madrid.

Previous Clubs: Danubio.

Loan Clubs: N/A.





International: Uruguay 47 caps.

Trophies Won: La Liga 2013/14, Spanish Super Cup 2014/15, Europa League 2017/18, UEFA Supercup 2018/19.





At the age of just 23, Gimenez has firmly established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the game, building up an excellent partnership for club and country with the great Diego Godin. In fact, this season so far, he has been even better than his compatriot, who has been the benchmark defender in recent years. Writing this profile is difficult to do without coming across as gushing over his quality, as he really is quality.



Gimenez does have his faults, he is rash in the tackle, always rushing into challenges when sometimes the better option would be to stay on his feet and jockey the opponent. His timing is superb in the tackle, which is probably why he is so keen to use it, but it is something he needs to learn, when to make the challenge and when not to.



Strong in the air and quick across the ground, which he needs to be as his partnership with Godin requires him to do the legwork for the ageing veteran. Luckily Gimenez is young and able to do that, though it makes it difficult to make a judgement on his positioning, as it is hard to tell how much is from his own self and how much is Godin directing him.



This season his performances have been on a whole new level, as Godin is short of his best, Gimenez has been almost carrying him at the start, covering for his post-World Cup hangover. A problem he does have is, unlike a centre back like Alderweireld and Vertonghen, Gimenez is not keen on moving out of the centre, he wants players to come on to him centrally. Though that could be down to manager Diego Simeone's tactics, which like to keep the team narrow and defend the width of the penalty box.



With a player a like Gimenez in there, Atletico can be confident in their ability coping with crosses played in, so it suits them to keep the centre backs central and not allow them to be pulled into full-back areas. With his reading of the game and his timing of the tackle, Gimenez can be relied upon to deal with most threats, and he should only get better as he gains experience.



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