Captain of Tottenham or Europa League winning captain?

Captain of Tottenham or UEFA Europa League winning captain?

Who should be leading the Tottenham defence alongside Jan Vertonghen, the man who has been at the club a few years now or the new boy, for now it's Kaboul but will it remain that way for much longer?

According to OPTA statistics Federico Fazio didn't make any tackles during the game, kicking the ball away when the other player has it doesn't count as a tackle only if they both touch the ball it seems. The same statistics tell us he made 4 clearances, all of them successfully, 4 interceptions, blocked 1 shot and committed 1 foul.

He was successful with 60 out of 68 passes for a success rate of 88.2% and that he won his one aerial duel. He also missed a header which doesn't appears losing an aerial duel as his opponent didn't go for the ball.

The statistics are solid but what struck me was how comfortable he was with the ball at his feet for a big man. He looked to have a greater awareness of what was happening around him, more confidence on the ball and was not in so much of a rush as Younes Kaboul is to get rid of it.

You always get the impression of a bull in a china shop with Kaboul, someone who will lump it forward happily. He is better than that but then so is Fazio who looks more of a footballer.

The tournaments are different, but in a game that Tottenham dominated against Sunderland at the weekend Kaboul only had a 73% success with his passing. Despite being our captain Kaboul doesn't offer anything that Fazio can, apart from club familiarity, but Fazio can offer more than Kaboul.

Looking at last seasons statistics Kaboul won 67.44% of his headers while Fazio won 76.67%.
Kaboul made 0.29 errors per game while Fazio made 0.08 per game.
Kaboul made 7.93 clearances per game while Fazio made 7.89 per game.

Although Fazio can play on both sides of the centre-back pairing you can't see Jan Vertonghen being dropped to make way for him and there is no point keeping him on the sidelines if he is a better player than what we have. I doubt he'll start on Sunday against WBA but his entrance into the Premier League shouldn't be delayed too long.

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