Last season, Bologna handed Nicolas Dominguez the captain’s armband.
It was partly because of his character and partly because of the example he set with his work rate and industry in the heart of the pitch.
But it was also a charm offensive; an effort to persuade him to put pen to paper on a new contract, which would have allowed the Serie A club to keep hold of a player their president, Claudio Fenucci, described as being their “pivot”.
With only one year left to run on the midfielder’s deal, Bologna were aware that they were in a vulnerable position over the Argentina international.
So too were numerous other clubs around Europe — including AC Milan, Fenerbahce and Jose Mourinho’s Roma — who were all carefully monitoring the situation as Bologna attempted to agree fresh terms with the 25-year-old.
“He said in an interview that he is happy in Bologna and this allows us to open up to the renewal, even if then the will to stay may be linked to possible offers,” said Fenucci in pre-season. “For us, he is a pivot and we will try to keep him.”
In the end, it was Nottingham Forest — with the deal sweetened by the inclusion of Switzerland international Remo Freuler in a package that was worth in the region of £8million ($9.75m) — who completed an ambitious deadline day move for Dominguez as Bologna decided to cash in while the player still held some value.
Nicolas Dominguez (Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Dominguez is a fantastic boy. I’m happy (for him) because he wanted to go and try another situation,” said the Italian club’s head coach Thiago Motta. “He was our captain, he always committed himself to this shirt and to his team-mates. I wish him all the best.”
Amid seven new arrivals on the final day of the window, it was the £30million capture of midfielder Ibrahim Sangare from PSV and the signing of former wonderkid Callum Hudson-Odoi that most captured the imagination of Forest fans. But after seeing him make an impressive debut in the challenging environment of an away game at Manchester City last weekend, it was the name of Dominguez that was on the lips of many.
When City had 11 men in the first half, Dominguez was the standout performer in the Forest side. After their hosts were reduced to 10 men in the first minute of the second half, with Rodri shown a red card, Dominguez seemed to step up another level again. Even though, in one sense at least, he was disappointed by the sending-off.
“I have to say Rodri is someone I’ve admired for a few years now, so to be able to play so close to him, I cemented that admiration for him,” says Dominguez. “It is a shame he did not see out the 90 minutes.”
Forest had pursued Sangare for more than a year. He was always their primary target; the signing the club hierarchy believed would send out a statement. But, in Dominguez, Forest believe they have signed another midfielder who is capable of making a big impact.
And that is down to his attitude as much as his ability.
When asked what Forest fans can expect him to bring to the table, it says much about Dominguez that his first response is to observe that players should not talk themselves up, that it is not for them to assess their own strengths but to produce performances that can allow others to make up their own minds.
“Players do not like to talk about themselves too much… but Forest fans can expect somebody who gives their all for the shirt,” says Dominguez. “They use the word ‘sacrificio’ in Spanish, which means to sacrifice yourself for the team. It is about putting in a massive, massive effort. That would be my best quality: hard work.
“Tactically and defensively, my game grew a lot during my time in Italy. I learned a great deal there.”
Dominguez battles with Jack Grealish (Isaac Parkin – MCFC/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Given Dominguez’s grounding, it is perhaps no surprise that he is the character he is. He joined the academy at Velez Sarfield, in Buenos Aires — where he was born and raised — at the age of seven. He made his first-team breakthrough there 11 years later.
His head coach for much of that time was Gabriel Heinze, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid defender, who is a demanding character in his own right. He coached Velez between 2017 and 2020 and his hardline approach can be summed up by his mentality in the final weeks of his short tenure at Atlanta United, in MLS, when he was so frustrated with his players’ performance that he not only denied them days off, but also limited their water intake during training.
Dominguez says Heinze — now head coach at Newell’s Old Boys, where he started and finished his playing career — was a hugely positive figure for him.
“He influenced me a lot — tactically and changing my playing style to a certain extent, with the intensity I need for the game, keeping the ball and passing in triangles,” says Dominguez. “He influenced a lot of my general concepts as well; my ideas about the game.
“I did have a chat with him (before moving to England). He loves English football and he said it would suit my style.”
It is not hard to see how Heinze would come to that opinion. Dominguez can play as a deep-lying midfielder or as an orthodox central midfielder. It would be easy to pigeonhole him as a defensive player when you look at his stats, but he is more than that.
According to FBref.com, Dominguez’s average of 1.88 tackles won per game over the past year puts him in the top six per cent among his peers in Europe’s top five leagues. The 2.94 tackles he makes per game puts him in the top 11 per cent. He is a player who likes to break down opposition attacks, with his average of 1.45 dribblers tackled per game putting him in the top eight.
But when he does win the ball back, he is adept at using it. His 0.68 through balls per game put him in the top three per cent. His 25.84 completed passes per game gives him a respectable percentile of 83.
“He has an energetic football personality. He is somebody who, whether he is training or playing, likes to be involved. He has really good attributes for a midfield player,” says Forest head coach Steve Cooper. “He has only played one game but you see positive things in training.
“He is a tenacious footballer, very competitive. The other midfield players are properly going up against each other in training now. It is great to see. Nico is a hard worker, he takes information on board and we want to give him every opportunity to deliver.”
Like the majority of the 13 summer signings, it was a conversation with Cooper that persuaded Dominguez to sign for Forest and join a league he had watched as a child.
“The manager explained to me his plans and the general project. That is what most attracted me to want to start a new chapter,” says Dominguez. “I am keen to get back playing (for Argentina). That is one of the reasons why I wanted to come: to play regularly in a league like this. Hopefully, that will help me to get the call up again.”
Dominguez has 11 international caps and was part of the Argentina squad that won the Copa America in 2021. Unsurprisingly, he says playing with Lionel Messi has been one of the high points of his career.
“There isn’t a day that goes by when he doesn’t do something that surprises you,” says Dominguez. “The story I’d keep with me forever was his team talk before the Copa America final against Brazil.
“He told us that we had come through so much during Covid and that we now had the chance to support the Argentine people who had been through so much. There was so much at stake because we had gone so long without winning and he captured that for us. It was really important and a hugely special moment. It had been a weight on the players’ backs. That expectation was always there. The Spanish say ‘rucksack on the back’. But that was lifted off us.”
Dominguez (right) training with Messi in 2021 (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images)
Dominguez was subsequently not part of the group that won the World Cup in 2022, having seen his chances impacted by injury.
“I had got back to training and playing at the start of the Italian season. December just came around too soon. Being self-critical and honest with myself, I wasn’t ready to take on something as challenging as a World Cup,” he said.
Dominguez has settled quickly into life in Nottingham. While the climate in Bologna — where he made 78 starts and 34 substitute appearances in all competitions over the past four years, scoring five goals — is hot in the summer, they also have cold winters.
Like many of his countrymen, Dominguez has a borderline obsession with barbecue food. He has already imported the specialist grill he had in Italy to his new home in Nottingham and has sourced a supplier of Argentine meat to provide a taste of home.
But Dominguez insists he already feels at home and, if he can settle into life on the pitch as quickly, Bologna’s loss will be Forest’s gain.
(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
