Amadora star: Gaspar excelled in the African Cup of Nations… and also in the league

He was considered the best defender on the pitch in Angola's win over Burkina Faso in the Africa Cup of Nations; He has been in the spotlight statistically, topping the current record for interceptions in the Portuguese Championship

As Estrela da Amadora prepares to host national champion Benfica, at a date that has not yet been determined, the team is closely monitoring the assessment of the value of its main asset, Kialunda Gaspar, who is in Ivory Coast, as part of the Angolan national team, which is competing for the African Cup of Nations… and winning. In addition to the Angolan team obtaining a historic qualification for the knockout stage of the competition by finishing first in its group, the central defender was chosen as the best player on the field in the last match held.

This Tuesday, Angola beat Burkina Faso 2-0, and although his teammates Mapulolo and Zeni scored the goals for the Palanca Negras team, it was Gaspard who was chosen by the Confederation of African Football for the Individual Excellence Award in the match, in an action not justified solely by the fact that the Angolan team They did not concede goals according to the statistical data they played in the match. With eight tackles and three recoveries against Burkinabe forwards, the star centre-back was an insurmountable barrier.

Kyalunda Gaspard is one of the best central defenders in the African Cup of Nations, with defenders such as Ousmane Diomande from Sporting, or Kalidou Koulibaly, the former Napoli and Chelsea player who currently plays for Al Hilal under Jorge Jesus, competing. This is not surprising given that he says that he is still statistically among the best defenders in the tournament. The Portuguese League, with numbers higher than 68% of its competitors in our championship, even leads in terms of interceptions.

When it comes to attacking interceptions, the Estrella da Amadora centre-back has the best statistical data in the entire league, averaging 7.05 interceptions per 90 minutes played, ahead of Gil Vicente's Gabriel Pereira, who reaches 6.74 interceptions. And Gonzalo Silva, from Farense, with 6.71, is much higher than the average for the entire tournament, which only accounts for 4.90 interceptions per match – for example, Nicolas Otamendi, from Benfica, accounts for 4.52.

Also in terms of ball recoveries, 26-year-old Gaspar stands out, as he is the second player in the league with the best statistical data in this regard – his record is 12.39 ball recoveries per 90 minutes, again well above the overall ball average. Competition that corresponds to a value higher than 98% of the remaining defenders of the test. Only Manu, from Vitoria de Guimarães, is better than the Tricolores' Angolan centre-back in this area, who is worth 12.6 recoveries per game played.

It is also worth noting Kialunda Gaspar's efficiency with long passes, a record in which he has higher numbers than 77% of his opponents in the entire competition. Overall, these numbers reflect well the quality and current level of Kialounda Gaspar, who is unlikely to leave Rebolera by the end of the month – there are proposals from France and Russia, and contacts from FC Porto, but Bola has discovered that this could be the fate of the African who could end up leaving a sum of money. Big in the wardrobes of different stars.