Best Alternatives to Leandro Barreiro

Playing Style Analysis

Barreiro is the rare midfielder who wins headers like a centre-back but still finds pockets to create like a number ten. His aerial win rate sits in the top 5% of Liga Portugal midfielders—a genuinely freakish number for someone operating in central midfield rather than set-piece territory—and it quietly underpins his value in transition, winning second balls that never show up in highlight reels. His 0.22 assists per 90 and near-1 key pass per 90 suggest a player with real creative intent, not just a recycler. The three closest DNA matches to Leandro Barreiro:

• João Simões(87% match) — A Box-to-Box. Statistically, he stands out as meticulous in distribution (88% pass accuracy), heavily involved in play (63 touches/90) and active off the ball (2.6 press score/90), contributing to defensive transitions.
• Hidemasa Morita(85% match) — A Metronome. Statistically, he stands out as a reliable supplier (0.20 assists/90), active in the tackle (2.4 tackles/90), meticulous in distribution (86% pass accuracy), penetrates with forward passing (9.8 final-third passes/90), central to possession (72 touches/90) and a high-intensity presser (press score 3.0/90), constantly disrupting opposition build-up.
• Xeka(85% match) — Xeka is the kind of midfielder who wins you moments rather than matches—a player whose contributions arrive in bursts of aerial dominance and unexpected goal contributions rather than through metronomic passing control. His aerial numbers tell the most interesting story: ranking in the top 20% for aerials won per 90 in Liga Portugal is genuinely unusual for a central midfielder, suggesting a physical presence that most players at this level simply can't replicate.

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