Could Kaka Solve Chelsea’s Playmaker Problem?

As Tottenham continue to reject all Chelsea efforts to sign Luka Modric, reports have suggested the Blues may be turning their attention to Real Madrid’s Kaka. Andre Villas-Boas is in the market for a midfield creator but a move for Palermo star Javier Pastore has also been rebuffed after the Argentine agreed to join the revolution at PSG.

Jose Mourinho might be able to help, then. According to reports, the Special One is looking to offload Kaka as he continues to shape Real Madrid to a side of his own making in this, his second season. If Chelsea have the money, then the question is- does Kaka still have what it takes?

Chelsea

Age
Looking at their midfield, it’s clear Chelsea need to bring in some younger players to freshen matters up. Their two main attacking midfielders, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda, are 33 and 31 respectively. Yossi Benayoun, having returned from injury, is also 31 and while the likes of young Josh McEachran (18) offers plenty of promise, he’s as yet unproven at the top level.

Although Pastore (22) and Modric (25) are substantially younger than Chelsea’s first-team creators, both have plenty of experience at league and international level. Former World Player of the Year Kaka may be 29, but he‘s older than only McEachran of the aforementioned Chelsea players. With a move to Stamford Bridge potentially on the cards, then, how do his stats fare when compared to Lampard and Malouda? Here’s the breakdown:

Passing
Malouda leads the way of the trio with 3.1 key passes per game. Lampard is next up, with 2.2 per game- the pair were one and two for key passes at Chelsea last season. Kaka’s 1.9 key passes is still respectable, particularly when taking into consideration that almost all of his came from open play, while both Malouda and Lampard took plenty corners, and the latter had his fair share of free-kicks, too.

A look at the number of assists the Chelsea duo picked up highlights just why Boas-Villas needs a playmaker. Malouda made a total of 118 key passes last season and picked up a mere 4 assists- this equates to 1 assist for every 29.5 key passes made. Lampard made 53 key passes in 2010/11 and managed 2 assists- he therefore picked up 1 assist for every 26.5 key passes made.

Kaka may have only played 14 games for Real last season but he picked up 4 assists -the same as Malouda- although the Frenchman took part in 38 games. Kaka made a total of 27 key passes in 2010/11, which works out as 1 assist for every 6.75 key passes made- a huge step up from the Chelsea pair and an indication of the quality of his final ball. He also showed better distribution; a fantastic 88% pass accuracy betters Malouda’s 83% and Lampard on 82%

Dribbling and Shooting
Malouda’s 1.5 successful dribbles per game from wide left saw him joint-top for Chelsea with Michael Essien. While Ramires also impressed with 1.4, he and Essien offered little in terms of goal contribution- they played 62 games between them, scoring 5 goals and making a mere 2 assists. Indeed, factoring in John Obi Mikel’s contribution of 1 assist and Lampard’s 2, the stats show Chelsea’s central midfield assisted 5 of the club’s 69 goals last season, a ridiculously low number. 

Lampard’s lowly 0.3 successful dribbles per game are indicative of his role within the Chelsea 4-3-3 as opposed to suggesting a lack of skill; with Didier Drogba the target man, Lampard has perfected the role of arriving late in and around the box to pick up on any knock-downs from the big Ivorian and it’s a ploy that’s served Chelsea well over the years. His game has never been based on an ability to take on and beat an opponent. Kaka’s 1 successful dribble per game is perhaps the biggest surprise here- he is renowned for his dribbling and this stat is the only real negative on show from the Brazilian.

Lampard’s spot-kick and shared free-kick duties see him take the most shots of the trio, with an average of 2.3 shots per game. A total of 55 shots from his 24 games saw him score 10 times, meaning he scored 1 goal with every 5.5 shots. Malouda took part in every Chelsea game last season and managed 1.8 shots per game, which is a total of 68 shots over the campaign. A haul of 13 goals meant he finished as the club’s top scorer, and averaged 1 goal with every 5.23 shots- edging Lampard for clinical finishing.

Kaka made 14 appearances for Madrid and with an average of 1.6 shots per game, had a total of 22 goal attempts in 2010/11. His finishing, however, is easily the most impressive of the three- with a total of 7 goals, Kaka scored 1 goal with every 3.14 shots last season, a clear indication of his (still) outstanding eye for goal.

Real Madrid

Age
A look at the ages of the midfield creators in Mourinho’s squad show Madrid has a far more youthful set-up than Chelsea. Ronaldo is 26, Angel Di Maria 23, and both Mezut Ozil and new signing from Dortmund Nuri Sahin are 22. Kaka, at 29, is the old boy of the group. With plenty of creativity already on hand, Mourinho clearly wants a more dynamic first XI and Kaka looks surplus to requirements in that respect.

Passing
Ozil leads the way for Madrid when it comes to key passes- 3.3 per game in his role behind a lone front man was superb for a debut season. His quality of final ball is highlighted by a fantastic 17 assists, the second best in La Liga behind Lionel Messi’s 18. With a total of 119 key passes (just 1 more than Malouda) he picked up 1 assist for every 7 key passes made.

Ronaldo and Di Maria also weighed in with 11 assists apiece- grabbing 1 assist per 5.9 and 6.36 key passes respectively. Di Maria just edged it for key passes per game of the pair, though, with 2 to Ronaldo’s 1.9. Kaka, also with 1.9 key passes per game, was the equal of Ronaldo and with 4 assists, averaged 1 assist per key 6.75 passes.

In terms of pass accuracy, Kaka was better in possession than any of the other featured Madrid players- only Ozil’s 85% comes close to his 88%; Ronaldo and Di Maria both managed 76% from their roles out wide.

Dribbling and Shooting
A look at successful dribbles per game show Kaka, with 1, is bottom of the Madrid four here. From a central position, Ozil made 1.2 per game, with Ronaldo’s 2.2 and Di Maria’s 1.9 second and third for Madrid, just behind left-back Marcelo’s 2.3.

Ronaldo was the biggest goal threat in any of Europe’s top five leagues and his shooting stats leave any player faring poorly- a staggering 5.6 shots per game over 34 matches means he took 190 shots at goal in 2010/11. Scoring 40 goals, this equates to 1 goal for every 4.75 shots taken. Kaka’s 1.6 shots per game was the same goal threat as Di Maria and double that of Ozil’s 0.8.

Ozil had the lowest number of shots here- just 29 for the season- but with 6 goals, he found the net once every 4.83 shots, not far off the ratio of Ronaldo. Di Maria had a total of 56 shots- just 1 more than Lampard- but scored 6 to Lampard’s 10, a rate of 1 goal per 9.33 shots, which is the worst of the Madrid quartet.

Kaka’s superb finishing once again stands up against any player here- with 1 goal every 3.14 shots he leads the way. Finishing aside, though, it’s clear to see Kaka’s contribution was not quite up to the rest of Mourinho’s creators and a move away from the Bernabeu to Stamford Bridge may be best for all concerned.