Saturday’s matchup between Real Salt Lake and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will likely feature an entertaining clash of the Morales’. RSL’s own Javier Morales will go up against Vancouver’s offseason DP addition, 28-year-old Pedro Morales – who spent the last two seasons with Spain’s La Liga side Malaga CF. If both Morales’ start on Saturday, it will be the first meeting between the two, as Pedro did not appear for the ‘Caps in the clubs’ first encounter of the season at Rio Tinto Stadium on April 26. With the 2014 MLS season past the halfway mark, revisiting a statistical analysis of the two will give greater insight into the influence both Morales’ have had on their respective clubs this year.
Javier and Pedro have a lot more in common than just their last names. The two both hail from neighboring countries in South America – Javier from Argentina and Pedro from Chile. But don’t let their proximity fool you; Argentina and Chile aren’t known to have the best relations which include a deep futbol rivalry between the nations. On the pitch, both Javier and Pedro play a similar role for their respective clubs, both serve as the attacking playmaker on the field – positions associated with the famed number 10.
Javier has been with RSL for his entire MLS career and is now in his eighth season with the Claret-and-Cobalt, so drawing comparisons for the two is a bit premature, but both Morales’ stats in 2014 seem to show how similar the two players might really be.
Javier has started all but one of RSL’s matches this year, appearing in 17 (out of 18) games for a total of 1,515 minutes of playing time. The Argentine has notched five goals and five assists, and recorded a total of 28 shots with eight shots on goal. Pedro has also made 17 appearances this year for his club, 15 of which were starts, for a total of 1,363 minutes. Pedro has six goals and eight assists on the year, and has pulled the trigger more often, registering a total of 52 shots with 20 on goal.
Here are some comparable stats between the two:
<p>STATS</p> |
<p>Javier Morales (RSL) 1,515 min.</p> |
<p>Pedro Morales (VAN) 1,363 min.</p> |
<p>Chances created (incl. assists)</p> |
<p>62</p> |
<p>47</p> |
<p>Chances created from open play</p> |
<p>49</p> |
<p>39</p> |
<p>Chances created from set play</p> |
<p>13</p> |
<p>8</p> |
<p>Passing Accuracy</p> |
<p>81.31</p> |
<p>81.02</p> |
<p>Passing accuracy in opp. half</p> |
<p>78.44</p> |
77.18 |
<p>Passing accuracy in final third</p> |
<p>71.22</p> |
<p>69.27</p> |
<p>Passes into final third</p> |
<p>178</p> |
<p>210</p> |
<p>Successful crosses/corners</p> |
<p>30</p> |
<p>28</p> |
As you can see from the above table, the two playmakers have similar stats halfway through the 2014 season. Passing accuracy between the two is almost even across the board. Javier has the upper hand on total number of chances created while Pedro claims more passes into the final third. Both have a similar number of successful crosses/corners. The most glaring difference between the two is rather the number of shots taken and shots on goal.
Saturday’s matchup is expected be an entertaining one, especially if both Morales’ play, but hopefully not as entertaining as the last meeting between the sides that saw RSL concede two late goals in the final five minutes to draw 2-2.
