Leeds United made some jaw-dropping signings in the summer of 2022, one of which was Marc Roca from Bayern Munich.
The Spanish youth international spent only one season at Leeds United after a slow start and a disappointing season for the team, eventually getting relegated.
However, he moved on to Real Betis on loan last summer and put up quite an audition only for the Spanish club to sign him permanently this summer.
Roca, after spending a significant part of his career so far in his native Spain, is back there and looks set to become an integral part of Betis this upcoming season if they are to punch above their weight.
The visualisation below shows Marc Roca’s ranking for some key metrics compared to the players who play in a position similar to his in Europe’s top five leagues.
Over the years, Roca has gone on to become a very well-rounded midfielder.
Playing regularly as a deep central midfielder and then continuing that way at Bayern.
Roca has now become a deep-lying playmaker with a major focus on progressing the ball between the lines and stopping counterattacks.
His impact in the final third has gone down over the last couple of seasons, which shows that he is mostly involved in receiving the pass in the first phase of build-up and progressing between the lines.
Only Isco attempted more progressive passes than Roca for Betis last season.
Roca is involved in a large number of defensive actions per 90 minutes.
He played 22 90s last season, and that number is expected to go up this term.
Carrying an aggressive attitude combined with good physical strength in tackles, Roca is good at stopping counterattacks.
His involvement in the attacking third at Betis has drastically reduced compared to his time at Leeds United—he was in the top 40% for touches in the opp.
penalty area at Leeds but only in the top 60% for touches in the opp.
penalty area at Betis.
His ability to find his teammates with dangerous passes has improved—he was in the top 30% last season compared to being in the top 40% in 2022/23.
These numbers show that Roca’s role at Betis has changed, and he, too, has excelled in it.
That is one of the reasons why he has been signed permanently.
At his peak, Roca is back in an environment that is comfortable for him, and there is no doubt he will shine.
