Best Alternatives to Carlos Zambrano

Playing Style Analysis

Zambrano remains a defensive enigma, functioning as a proactive disruptor in a Tier C environment where his reading of the game often outpaces the surrounding chaos. While his 80.7% pass accuracy suggests a standard distributor, his 44.8 passes per 90—sitting comfortably above the league average—indicates a player who demands the ball to dictate tempo from deep. He excels in high-stakes engagement, ranking in the top 30% for both duel win rate (58.2%) and press intensity, proving he is far more than a passive "stopper." The counterintuitive reality is that despite his physical presence and above-average aerial win rate, he is almost entirely non-existent in the final third, offering zero creative threat with a negligible 0.05 key passes. The three closest DNA matches to Carlos Zambrano:

• Jorge Herrando(86% match) — A Ball-Playing CB. Statistically, he stands out as naturally left-footed, active in the tackle (1.8 tackles/90), commanding in the air (6.0 clearances/90), meticulous in distribution (86% pass accuracy) and wins the physical battle (55% duel success).
• Jozhua Vertrouwd(83% match) — A Ball-Playing CB. Statistically, he stands out as active in the tackle (1.8 tackles/90), meticulous in distribution (91% pass accuracy), heavily involved in possession (63 passes/90), central to possession (75 touches/90) and active off the ball (2.0 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.
• Carlos Domínguez(83% match) — A Ball-Playing CB. Statistically, he stands out as naturally left-footed, active in the tackle (1.9 tackles/90), commanding in the air (6.3 clearances/90), meticulous in distribution (91% pass accuracy), wins the physical battle (61% duel success), heavily involved in possession (65 passes/90), central to possession (80 touches/90), uses long balls frequently (5.5/90) and active off the ball (2.0 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.

Similarity uses per-90 performance across playing-style dimensions. How Player DNA matching works →