The Martin Zubimendi passing paradox: Why his numbers don't match the hype

苏维门迪的传球悖论：为何他的数据与赞誉不符

By Thom HarrisJuly 17, 2025Updated 12:25 pm

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As the football data revolution continues at pace, it's easier than ever to build up an image of a player without ever really needing to see them in action.

随着足球数据革命的快速推进，即使从未真正看过球员比赛，也比以往任何时候都更容易构建起对他们的印象。

Free online statistical sources can be powerful tools, giving us an outline of someone's game, but event data alone often lacks the crucial context provided by the eye when evaluating real quality.

免费的在线统计数据源可以是强大的工具，能勾勒出球员比赛的轮廓，但单独的事件数据在评估真实质量时，常常缺乏肉眼观察所提供的至关重要的背景。

Martin Zubimendi's subtle brilliance lies between those statistical rifts --- Arsenal have signed a selfless midfield facilitator whose raw numbers never seem to jump off the page.

马丁·苏维门迪的精妙才华就存在于这些数据裂痕之间——阿森纳签下了一位无私的中场组织者，其原始数据似乎从不显眼。

He ranked 19th of 69 midfielders in La Liga for forward passes completed per game with Real Sociedad last season, and was down at 27th for progressive carries. His passing accuracy, at 84.4 per cent, feels distinctly middle of the road for a player who has generated such excitement for his tempo-setting ability.

上赛季效力皇家社会时，他在西甲每场成功向前传球的次数在69名中场球员中排名第19位，推进性带球仅排第27位。84.4%的传球成功率，对于一个因其掌控节奏能力而引发如此大期待的球员来说，感觉绝对是平庸水平。

Part of it can be explained away by semantics, metric definitions that don't quite capture those passes that feel as if they've made a difference --- whether he's found a team-mate in space, picked up the pace of play or destabilised the opposition shape. But with advancements in tracking data, we can start to explore how someone like Zubimendi's passes actually interact with the game around them, and to give credit to those players who can turn the tide of a match without providing that crucial final ball.

部分原因可以归咎于语义和指标定义，它们未能充分捕捉那些看似改变了局面的传球——无论他是找到了空位的队友、加快了比赛节奏还是破坏了对手的阵型。但随着追踪数据的进步，我们可以开始探索像苏维门迪这样的球员的传球如何实际影响周围的比赛，并认可那些能够扭转比赛局势却未送出关键最后一传的球员。

With the help of SkillCorner data, The Athletic delves into the tape to find out what's going on...

在SkillCorner数据的帮助下，《The Athletic》深入比赛录像，探究真相...

At the heart of Real Sociedad's in-possession game --- he was the player with the most touches, passes and carries in their squad last season --- Zubimendi's role was all about providing balance. He would float across the width of the pitch, identify when team-mates were under pressure or outnumbered, and offer himself as the spare man, not afraid to launch himself into tricky situations if it helped his side keep the ball moving.

作为皇家社会控球打法的核心——他是上赛季队内触球、传球和带球次数最多的球员——苏维门迪的角色完全关乎提供平衡。他会游弋在球场的宽度上，识别队友何时处于压力下或被人数压制，并主动成为那个自由人，如果有助于球队保持球权运转，他不惧将自己置身于困境之中。

It means the numbers often paint Zubimendi as a risk-averse passer, keeping things ticking over in midfield with short and simple balls in his own half, but there is more to the event data than meets the eye.

在本方半场用短传和简单的传球维持中场运转，这意味着数据常常将苏维门迪描绘成一个规避风险的传球者，但事件数据背后还有更多门道。

According to SkillCorner, close to 57 per cent of his passes last season were attempted under pressure, while only nine midfielders in La Liga absorbed a higher proportion of the pressures that their team received (9.4 per cent).

根据SkillCorner的数据，他上赛季近57%的传球是在受到压迫下尝试的，而在承受球队所受压迫比例方面，西甲只有九名中场球员比他更高（他占比9.4%）。

In short, much of what Zubimendi does on the ball needs to be done quickly, with the opposition breathing down his neck --- but he is happy to shoulder much of that stress for his team.

简而言之，苏维门迪在持球时的许多动作需要在对手紧逼下快速完成——但他乐于为球队承担大部分这种压力。

The sequence below against Valencia, for example, captures Zubimendi's role well, with the 26-year-old Spain international lurking behind the two strikers during build-up before drifting into a position to receive the pass.

例如，下面这次对阵瓦伦西亚的连续片段很好地捕捉了苏维门迪的角色。这位26岁的西班牙国脚在组织阶段潜伏在两名前锋身后，然后游弋到接球位置。

He doesn't have to do much to create the space for himself on this occasion, but after picking up the ball, he takes opponents Javi Guerra and Hugo Duro out of the game with a short burst of acceleration before sliding a pass through to Sergio Gomez, who himself spins and keeps the play moving.

这次他无需做太多来为自己创造空间，但接球后，他用一次短促的加速摆脱了对手哈维·格拉和乌戈·杜罗，然后将球直塞给塞尔吉奥·戈麦斯，后者转身并保持进攻持续。

Under traditional definitions, Zubimendi's action here wouldn't be labelled as 'progressive' --- dig into the small print and you'll see that a progressive pass must not start from the defending 40 per cent of the pitch --- but to the viewer, his change of tempo and forward ball are transformative, taking his team from slow build-up to a four-vs-four higher up the pitch.

按照传统定义，苏维门迪此处的动作不会被标记为“渐进式”——细看细则你会发现，一次渐进式传球不能起始于本方防守40%的区域——但对观众而言，他的节奏变化和向前传球具有变革性，将球队从缓慢的组织转变为在前场形成四打四的局面。

In this next example, against Athletic Club, Zubimendi is much more incisive and his movement out wide to receive the pass from full-back Hamari Traore is crucial in helping Real Sociedad escape an aggressive man-to-man press.

在下一个对阵毕尔巴鄂竞技的例子中，苏维门迪则更具穿透力。他移动到边路接应边后卫阿马里·特劳雷的传球，这对于帮助皇家社会摆脱激进的人盯人压迫至关重要。

Still, despite moving his team from a potentially difficult spot and launching a quick attack with an adventurous first-time ball, Zubimendi would not be rewarded by many traditional progressive passing metrics in this instance either, due to the pass starting too far back.

然而，尽管他将球队从潜在困境中转移出来，并用一次大胆的一脚出球发起快速进攻，但由于传球起始位置过于靠后，苏维门迪在此情况下同样不会得到许多传统渐进式传球指标的认可。

Tracking data can help bridge the gap between the more intangible parts of build-up play and data analysis.

追踪数据有助于弥合组织进攻中更无形的部分与数据分析之间的鸿沟。

By contextualising game events in relation to the other players on the pitch --- looking at how passes weaken defensive structures, bypass defenders, escape pressure --- we can credit those who can change the pace of a match by hitting the sorts of balls that otherwise might have gone unnoticed.

通过将比赛事件置于场上其他球员的背景中分析——观察传球如何削弱防守结构、绕过防守者、摆脱压迫——我们可以认可那些通过送出可能被忽视的传球来改变比赛节奏的球员。

Line-breaking passes are a good place to start, defined by SkillCorner as those that progress the ball through, over or around organised defensive shapes.

穿透防线传球是一个很好的切入点，SkillCorner将其定义为那些将球推进、穿越或绕过有组织的防守阵型的传球。

Zubimendi ranked highly for these across last season, trailing only Barcelona's Pedri with his total of 157 from central midfield, and being ninth among La Liga midfielders with his average of 4.7 per game.

苏维门迪上赛季在这方面的排名很高，总计157次从中场中路送出穿透防线传球，仅次于巴塞罗那的佩德里，在西甲中场球员中以场均4.7次排名第九。

In the clip below against Celta Vigo, we see a good example of how inquisitive Zubimendi can be with possession, producing three line-breaking passes in the space of eight seconds after dropping deep between his defenders, eventually finding Pablo Marin with a left-footed ball.

在下面对阵塞尔塔的片段中，我们看到了苏维门迪持球时如何具有探索性的一个很好例子。他在后卫之间回撤后，在八秒内连续送出三次穿透防线传球，最终用左脚传球找到帕布洛·马林。

While none of these passes make huge progress up the pitch, Celta defenders are constantly asked to step out and put pressure on the receivers after Zubimendi picks them out. They are probing balls, they ask questions, and they eventually create spaces for the play to develop up ahead.

虽然这些传球都没有大幅向前推进，但苏维门迪找到接球点后，塞尔塔后卫被迫不断上前施压。这些是试探性的传球，它们提出问题，并最终为前方进攻的发展创造了空间。

He can also pick up the pace and be much more direct, as shown by this excellent pass against Valencia.

他也能加快节奏，踢得更直接，如下面这次对阵瓦伦西亚的精彩传球所示。

Again, Zubimendi's movement into defence eases the build-up, giving centre-back Igor Zubeldia an easier pass under pressure from the opposition. From there, the 26-year-old breaks two defensive lines with a left-footed ball, met with a neat Mikel Oyarzabal flick to open up the space.

再次，苏维门迪回撤到防线协助组织，让中后卫伊戈尔·祖贝尔迪亚在对方压迫下能更轻松地出球。随后，这位26岁的球员用左脚传球穿透两道防线，米克尔·奥亚萨瓦尔用精妙的脚后跟一蹭打开了空间。

It was not technically progressive, according to many popular event-data sources, but it was an example of the kind of bold, forward-thinking pass for which Zubimendi doesn't always get credit.

根据许多流行的事件数据源，它在技术上不算渐进式传球，但这是苏维门迪常被忽视的那种大胆、具有前瞻性的传球的一个例子。

He isn't always so aggressive, of course, and there will be games where you hardly notice him jumping from space to space in deep build-up and offering himself for passes simply to help his team-mates escape.

当然，他并非总是如此激进，也会有比赛里你几乎注意不到他在深度组织中从一个空间移动到另一个空间，只是为了帮助队友摆脱困境而主动要求传球。

But when Zubimendi spots the opportunity to switch up the tempo, he can --- and often does so to good effect.

但当苏维门迪发现改变节奏的机会时，他能够做到——而且常常效果显著。

Mapping Zubimendi's line-breaking passes helps outline his role further, zipping the ball short and sharp through the first defensive line before generally looking to the flanks with longer passes further up the pitch.

绘制苏维门迪穿透防线传球的分布图有助于进一步勾勒他的角色：他通常先用快速精准的短传穿透第一道防线，然后在更靠前的位置寻求向边路的长传。

He doesn't tend to get too involved when moving the ball into the opposition box, but the eye test suggests that for a territorially dominant side such as Arsenal, where defences will sit deeper, he will have more opportunities to find team-mates in dangerous, central areas.

他不太倾向于过多参与将球传入对方禁区的环节，但肉眼观察表明，对于像阿森纳这样控场型球队，对手防线会退得更深，他将有更多机会在危险的中路区域找到队友。

SkillCorner can also help to quantify his ability to move the ball forward at speed, having completed 77 "quick" line-breaking passes last season --- defined as those released first-time, or within one second of receiving the ball. Only Real Madrid duo Luka Modric and Federico Valverde and Barca's Pedri made more among La Liga's midfielders.

SkillCorner也能量化他快速向前推进球的能力。他上赛季完成了77次“快速”穿透防线传球——定义为接球后第一时间或在1秒内释放的传球。在西甲中场球员中，只有皇家马德里的卢卡·莫德里奇和费德里科·巴尔韦德以及巴塞罗那的佩德里比他更多。

The following clip against Mallorca shows how Zubimendi can quickly sort his feet out to escape from tricky situations as he plays a sharp one-two with Luka Sucic before using his left boot to control the ball, then poking a pass through to full-back Aihen Munoz.

下面这个对阵马略卡的片段展示了苏维门迪如何快速调整脚步摆脱困境：他与卢卡·苏契奇完成一次犀利的二过一，随后用左脚控球，然后轻推出一记传球给边后卫艾亨·穆尼奥斯。

Moving the ball through the lines, he then drifts forward with the play, eventually finding winger Ander Barrenetxea with a scooped pass in behind.

在通过传球穿透防线后，他随进攻向前移动，最终用一记挑传找到插上的边锋安德·巴雷内切亚。

Here's another example of Zubimendi helping to pick up the pace, away at Osasuna, dropping into a position to receive and breaking the midfield line with a one-touch pass.

这是苏维门迪帮助加快节奏的另一个例子，在客场对阵奥萨苏纳的比赛中，他回撤到位置接球，并用一脚触球穿透了中场防线。

While not particularly dangerous in isolation, it's the speed of the forward ball that catches the opposition press off-guard, and allows his team-mates operating further up the pitch to move into space.

虽然单看这次传球并不特别危险，但向前传球的速度让对手的压迫措手不及，并让位置更靠前的队友得以进入空档。

Declan Rice was excellent for Arsenal in the deeper midfield role last season, but things come naturally to Zubimendi in build-up. He has a knack for escaping pressure and an instinctive understanding of when and how best to move the ball forward.

德克兰·赖斯上赛季在阿森纳担任拖后中场表现出色，但苏维门迪在组织进攻方面显得更为自然。他拥有摆脱压迫的诀窍，并对何时以及如何最好地向前推进球有着本能的理解。

For any Arsenal fans concerned by the seemingly underwhelming numbers, don't worry; Zubimendi takes more risks and plays a much more significant role in helping his team attack than they might initially suggest.

对于任何因表面平庸的数据而担忧的阿森纳球迷，不必担心；苏维门迪承担了更多风险，并在帮助球队进攻方面扮演着比数据初看所显示的更为重要的角色。