Fabián Ruiz has been one of the standout players of Euro 2024. Ahead of the final, we analyse his influence in the heart of Spain’s midfield.
When is Spain’s deep-lying midfielder, one who is so integral to the way his team plays, and one that hardly ever loses when he steps foot on the pitch, finally going to get the credit he deserves? That’s right, when are we finally going to put some respect on Rodri Fabián Ruiz’s name?
OK, the above of course also applies to Rodri, who is undoubtedly the world’s best holding midfielder. But given he’s one of the favourites for Euro 2024’s Player of the Tournament and is in with an outside shot of winning the Ballon d’Or, we tend to think people have started to notice him.
His midfield partner on the other hand? Not so much.
And yet, Fabián Ruiz – or just Fabián as he prefers to be known – has had a very Rodri-like effect on Spain’s results. Manchester City’s midfield general had gone 74 games unbeaten for his club side before they lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup final this May. Fabián’s streak is a lot shorter, but he has made 28 appearances for his country, and Spain haven’t lost any of those games.
That includes five appearances at Euro 2024, where Fabián has shone in a Spain team that has dazzled.
Aside from missing Spain’s third group game against Albania, where he was among 10 players to be rested, Fabián has started all five of Spain’s other matches, on the left of either a double pivot with Rodri, or on the left of a midfield three.
But he’s not afraid to drift horizontally into central areas, and his heat map against France shows just how active he was all over the pitch, rotating positions with either Marc Cucurella at left-back or his fellow number eight.
But wherever he gets on the ball – and that is mainly in the left inside channel outside the opposition’s shape – Fabián is central to Spain’s in-possession structure. Spain’s pass maps from their last two knockout games, against Germany and France let’s not forget, show as much.
In the heart of Luis De La Fuente’s swashbuckling Spain team, Fabián has thrived.
He is a left-footed technician, and extremely comfortable in possession. His deft control means he’s capable of receiving the ball under intense pressure and keeping it, or using his first touch to wriggle away from pressure.
As Euro 2024 has progressed and the pressure has ratcheted up, genuine ‘wow’ moments have become rarer. But pay close attention to Fabián and they are never far away.
This example of him escaping the pressure of three German players shows just how good he is at manipulating the ball in tight areas. He receives a pass from Mikel Merino from the touchline and faces up to three German players converging on him.
Fabián actually takes a slightly heavy touch, encouraging Germany’s press. But he is able to reach and bring the ball under control, before using the momentum of the three German players against them, feinting to turn back before twisting forwards into space. It’s a work of art.
In the heart of Spain’s midfield, he gets plenty of opportunities to produce moments of magic like that.
There are not many players in world football who can rival Rodri’s influence in possession. He is magnetic. Last season, the City midfielder averaged more successful passes (103) and more ball touches (126) per 90 minutes than anyone else on record in Premier League history.
And yet, at Euro 2024, Fabián is more than matching him. They have almost identical in-possession numbers, with Rodri averaging slightly more passes (71.5 vs 67.3) and just one touch per game more (88 vs 87) than Fabián.
But their roles in possession are different. Playing higher up the pitch than Rodri, Fabián operates in more advanced areas and as such, plays a bigger and riskier role with the ball.
The conduit between defence and attack, Fabián is tasked with punching balls in between the lines to teammates higher up the pitch. During Euro 2024, he has averaged 4.6 progressive passes per 90, by far the highest rate of any of Spain’s midfielders and behind only Aymeric Laporte (5.8 – a centre-back who operates in a lot more space) and Lamine Yamal (6.0 – a freak).
For comparison, Rodri is down at 2.8 progressive passes per 90, and the Premier League man is clearly adopting a more conservative role in possession, while Fabián takes risks. 24.3% of Fabián’s passes have been forward, compared to just 18.4% of Rodri’s.
Progressive passes are great as they move your team up the pitch. Line-breaking passes are even better, as they can pierce the opposition’s shape.
That’s another area where Fabián has excelled. He has completed more line-breaking passes than anyone in the Spain squad not named Laporte, but to be fair, he is trying to break the midfield line, typically a lot harder to bypass than the attacking line. The only players at Euro 2024 to have bypassed that midfield line more than Ruiz (41) are Granit Xhaka (47) and Toni Kroos (50).
It’s not just his effective, aggressive passing that has made him stand out, though. Fabián has masterful control in tight spaces, and he uses that to his advantage to beat opponents.
Of all midfielders at Euro 2024 to have played over 180 minutes, Fabián ranks seventh for completed dribbles per 90 (2.2). Of those seven, only Mateo Kovacic completes those dribbles at a higher success rate (85.6%) than Ruiz’s 68.8%.
The below map of his take-ons shows that he’s willing to take people on inside his own half, as well as on the edge of the opposition’s box.
What’s been extremely impressive about Fabián’s game is that he’s been effective ahead of the ball, too.
Only Kroos has been involved in more open-play attacking sequences than Fabián, but what’s noticeable from the graph below is just how balanced Fabián’s shot involvement profile is. There’s a healthy mix of shots, direct chance creation and build-up play in there.
Let’s not ignore the topline numbers either. Only his teammate – and possible rival for Player of the Tournament – Dani Olmo (5) has been involved directly in more goals than Fabián (two goals and two assists).
Fabián wasn’t picked in Luis Enrique’s 2022 World Cup squad. How their stale and ponderous possession could have benefited with an aggressive, box-crashing number eight.
But the PSG man – now managed by Luis Enrique at club level – is making up for lost time. He has been an integral part of the best team in the tournament at Euro 2024, and his reward is a first major tournament final. Spain have won their last three such games and are favourites to win their fourth. If they do make it four from four, there should be no doubt about Fabián’s role in getting them there.
And just maybe, when the dust settles, he’ll be mentioned in the same breath as teammates Olmo and Rodri when people talk about the most influential players in the summer of 2024.
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