José María Giménez
#2 · Defender · age 31 · (C)
Captain under Bielsa.
92
WC26 rating
- Recent form
- 60
- Career peak
- 77
- League level
- 90
- Competition pedigree
- 98
- International pedigree
- 99
- Longevity
- 64
Independent rating — league strength (Opta-anchored) × competition tier × position-normalized output. Not affiliated with EA or FIFA.
Career by season
Source: transfermarkt · fetched 2026-05-29
Bielsa picked Giménez as captain not for the armband ceremony but because the manager wants a defensive voice setting the tone — a Simeone-trained organiser whose intensity demands match Bielsa’s own training-ground reputation. He and Araújo are the rare centre-back pair where both can play the senior front-foot defender and trust the other to cover; that flexibility lets Bielsa take risks with the press other managers cannot.
Strengths
- aerial dominance at set pieces
- tackling timing
- leadership and tournament composure
- goal-scoring threat on attacking set pieces (11 international goals)
Recent form
Atlético starter through 2025-26 — minutes managed but quality elite when fit.
His 11 international goals are the second-most by an active South American centre-back at his age tier — a tally that reflects his set-piece threat as much as Uruguay's traditional reliance on aerial corners.