Scout’s Corner: Sebastian Coates

Written by Goalden Times Editorial Team on August 14, 2011

Scouting Network identifies young players under the age of 21 who have exceptional talent and could be one of the leading players of the future. This month GoaldenTimes profiles Sebastian Coates

				Born: 07 October, 1990 Height: 1.98m (6 ft 6in) Weight: 75kg Position: Central Defender Worth: 2.5m € Transfer fee (possibly): 6-7m€ Current Club: Nacional (Uruguay)
	The 20 year old Sebastian Coates made his international debut for Uruguay in the Copa America and has proved to be amongst the most promising Uruguayan defenders in his first chance at international football. That says a lot when one of his fellow central defenders was Captain Diego Lugano. Coates first came to limelight when in August 2010, a news article claimed that he had been signed by AC Milan and would join the club in January 2011. Ultimately that deal did not come through but the fact that this 19 year old (at that time) is special was evident.			His performances in his debut international tournament, the Copa America, have already earned him “Best Young Player” of the tournament. And one can allude that it was primarily due to his performance that Uruguay never sweated on the defense except for the match against Argentina in the quarter final, incidentally a match that Coates missed due to a suspension. Assured as a sweeper in a 3 man defense or part of an orthodox 4 man backline, Coates impressed everyone. His marking and tackling skills are superb. He is comfortable on crosses and aerial balls, his height being a

	Milan would have liked what they saw in Coates in the 2009 South American Youth Championships in Venezuela, where Uruguay finished 3rd but managed to top their qualifying group over the likes of Brazil, Paraguay and Chile. In the final group (top 3 teams from initial group went into final group to decide champions), Uruguay defeated the likes of Argentina and Colombia too. In the domestic front, Coates was part of the Nacional team, that finished 2nd behind Penarol in 2009-10 (his debut season) and won the Uruguayan Primera Division in 2010-11. Coates played outstandingly for his age.			definite advantage but more importantly, Coates has a keen positional sense. All these factors together are responsible for him only committing 3 fouls in 5 matches in the Copa. In a nutshell, he has evidenced all the qualities to being a top central defender. The 20 year old is expected to move to Europe very soon and at this moment, clubs interested in him include Liverpool, Manchester City, reigning Copa Libertadores champion Sao Paolo and a top Italian side (expected to be Juventus or Udinese). One can only say that Milan may have missed out on a top talent last year.