📰 Table Of Contents
Dominik Szoboszlai: Profile
Name: Dominik Szoboszlai
Date of birth: Oct 25, 2000
Nationality: Hungary
Position: Left Midfield / Attacking Midfield
Height: 1.86 m
Dominik Szoboszlai: Introduction
A scorer of high-quality long-range goals and a talismanic figure for both club and country. The Hungarian’s key talents range from a high dribbling ability, speed on the ball, quality crossing and fierce shot-taking.
Dominik Szoboszlai: Background
Born in Székesfehérvár, Hungary. Szoboszlai comes from a professional footballing family. His father, Zsolt Szoboszlai was a professional player in Hungary and had a career which spanned 20 years from 1992 to 2012. His father recognised his son’s young talent and set up their own club in his home town for Dominik to regularly play. Eventually signing with Budapest-based club MTK.
Szoboszlai spent just a year at HTK before being spotted by Red Bull Salzburg recruits and joining their famous academy. Speaking about his father he said, “He always had the ambition to become a coach, thus we started to work together when I was three. Except for one year, he was always my coach until I joined the Red Bull Academy. He was and still is a huge inspiration and idol for me.”
Szoboszlai has gained European recognition for his Champions League performances and eye-catching strikes.
What a strike from 19-year-old Dominik Szoboszlai for Salzburg!
The dip on that! No goalkeeper would have a chance 🚀 pic.twitter.com/iPdkJp3i7x
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 21, 2020
The Hungarian has been compared to some of the continent’s best midfielders. “A lot of people say that my style of play is close to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Toni Kroos. It is a great thing to hear that.” However, the Hungarian has remained modest in regards to where his ambitions lie.
“Every player wants to play in one of the top leagues and the Champions League one day. I am not an exception, but there is a lot of work ahead of me to achieve that. I am in a good way, but the journey has only just begun.”
Expert insight on Dominik Szoboszlai
“A very explosive, strong playmaker who is preferred on the left side. Technically brilliant, very clever and a good overview for his teammates. Very calm when he has the ball and opens up spaces for the team through his powerful acceleration.”
“Always dangerous in 1 vs 1 situations, as he is also good at power dribbling on the side line. In any case, his standard situations are undisputed. With his precise crosses at corner kicks, he repeatedly introduces dangerous situations that often lead to goals.”
Thunderbolt ⚡️
Hungary midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai scored a stunning free-kick late on to give them the win over Turkey in the #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/9jfb30yJhX
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 3, 2020
“His strengths include wide balls and crosses, but also the short passing game in tight spaces. He is constantly on the move and gives his opponent little opportunity to disturb him early on. He shields the ball very well with his athletic body and can so dictate the speed of the game.”
“I currently see weaknesses in his defensive behaviour. He is still too hesitant to work backwards, but this is also making noticeable progress.”
Tactical Overview of Dominik Szoboszlai
Positionally, Szoboszlai has seen much of his development as an attacking midfielder skew to the left flank. As a predominantly right-footed player, the Hungarian will either cut back for a darting run inside or cross. Alternatively trapping the ball to recycle play. The use of his left foot is significantly less frequent despite playing on the associated wide area.
One of the key aspects of Szoboszlai’s plethora of talents is his consistency in crossing. The right-footed attacking midfielder prefers an inverted style of play on the left-hand side. Crosses on the right-foot are then inswinging. These types of crosses can require minimal contact for glanced headers into the far post but can be redirected back across the keeper but require additional power from the shot taker.
This crossing ability allows for threatening set-piece and corners. Szoboszlai angles these into the box with high velocity, height and dip. Beating the first man, dropping the ball in an area within the width of the six-yard box for his colleagues to attack. The style of cross makes it difficult for the goalkeeper to know whether to come and claim and provides attackers of the ball with an advantage.
Shot taking has become an integral threat for the midfielder. Szoboszlai has a liking for the knuckle-ball strike which makes the ball swerve and veer in the air making them hard for goalkeepers to track. Composure and control in a variety of positions make the Hungarian a threat across the pitch.
Whilst Szoboszlai takes shots from multiple positions on the pitch, the higher frequency are from the left. Shots from the left-hand side are typically more dangerous with a higher percentage chance of resulting in a goal as shown in the above graphic.
Dominik Szoboszlai: Official video
