#52 JANUARY 2021

19 ARTICLES, 7 DATA VIZ,

155 PAGES OF PURE
TACTICAL ANALYSIS,
SCOUTING, COACHING,
DATA & STATISTICS

WOLVERHAMPTON
WANDERERS: HAS THEIR
BACK FOUR EXPERIMENT
WORKED?

ALEXIA PUTELLAS:
BARCELONA FEMENÍ’S
MIDFIELD MAESTRA

SCOUT REPORT:
ERIC JUNIOR DINA
EBIMBE

DATA VIZ: MASON GREENWOOD’S

1 2020/21 SHOT MAP
2
3
 What you'll find..
(click on the article to go straight to the article)

7 // Tactical Theory:
How to successfully break down a low block
14 // Atlético Madrid:
How Cholo transformed them into title favourites
24 // Alexia Putellas:
Barcelona Femení’s midfield maestra
32 // Tactical Analysis:
Find out who the next great
Dutch midfielder could be
37 // Birmingham City Women:
How Carla Ward has reinvigorated
them this season
46 // Bruno Irles:
US Quevilly-Rouen’s mastermind
55 // Tactical Theory:
Defending the half-space
63 // Joey Veerman:
Is he ready for the Premier League?
71 // Moises Caicedo:
The man to replace Nemanja
Matic at Manchester United?
81 // AC Milan:
Analysing their unbeaten run
89 // Gabriel Martinelli:
A spark of hope for Arsenal

Data Viz: 95 // Michael Olise:

Reading’s breakthrough teenager
5 // Premier League 2020/21: 103 // Toni Kroos:
Who are the most efficient shooters? Meet the heir to the regista throne
30 // Premier League 2020/21: 112 // Igor Angulo:
Mason Greenwood’s shot map The cleverest striker in the Indian Super League
53 // Serie A 2020/21: 117 // Jakub Sylvestr:
Number of scorers in each team Can he fill Nerijus Valskis’
shoes at Chennaiyin FC?
79 // Premier League 2020/21:
Tanguy Ndombele’s impresssive start 126 // Birmingham City:
Analysing their defensive woes
101 // Premier League 2020/21:
Who are the league’s U21 regulars? 133 // Wolverhampton Wanderers:
Has their back four experiment worked?
122 // Premier League 2020/21:
Each teams’ progress compared to last season 140 // Scout Report:
Nayef Aguerd
150 // Brasileirao 2019/20:
Who is in the race for the Golden Boot? 145 // Scout Report:
Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe
DATA VIZ
Premier League 2020/21: Who are the most efficient shooters?

VENKATANARAYANAN VENKATESAN // @VenkyReddevil

T he race for this season’s Premier League Golden Boot has some familiar faces, including
Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Hueng-Min Son. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was comfortably leading
the table a couple of months ago but recent dip in form has enabled the others to overtake him.
However, Everton’s number nine is still not too far behind.

One player who has very recently impressed with his goal scoring and shooting is Hueng-Min Son.
The Spurs player is one of the most efficient shooters in the league as shown in the following graph.
Son, with a goal conversion rate of roughly 42%, is the best in the division for shooting efficiency
among players with minimum 10 shots and more than one shot per 90. Jamie Vardy is always known
for his clinical finishing in front of the goal. He is behind Son in terms of goal conversion percentage
with close to 32% of his shots ending up in the back of the net.

Almost every time Mason Greenwood took a shot last season, the ball ended in the back of the net.
However, this season the Manchester United forward is among some of the least efficient shooters
in the league. Another player who has struggled to find the back of the net is Fulham’s Mitrovic. The
Serbian, who excellently led the line during the 2018/19 season, has only converted roughly 6% of
his shots to goals. Kevin De Bruyne is in top five for the number of shots taken but the Belgian’s goal
conversion is one of the worst in the league at only 4%.

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Surprisingly the Belgian’s ‘Goal Conversion %’ is only 4% and is among the worst. Mohamed Salah,
Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes all fall somewhere in between ‘Highly Efficient’ and ‘Less Efficient’
and deserve to be mentioned. The same can be said of Manchester United’s Anthony Martial, who
has a conversion rate of only 8% so far.

Please note that the data used to create this visual was obtained a few days back and could differ
when you read this.

6
 Tactical Theory:

How to successfully break down a low block

DAVID SEYMOUR // @davidseymour_

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B reaking down a low block is something that
top sides around the globe can face on a
weekly basis. The reason opponents’ engage in Purposeful possession,
defending in this way is to reduce the opportunity
of being caught out, and ensure they remain
organised, stay compact, and consequently
circulation and
reduce space for the attacking team to play in. use of the wings
It’s difficult to break down. And there are countless
games where a team has either drawn or won
games by employing this system against teams
I t’s firstly important to ascertain how the space
is accessed which can facilitate drawing
defenders out of position.
with far superior technical or athletic ability.
One of the most well covered necessities
This tactical analysis looks to break down the for attempting to break down a low block is
tactics teams employ to navigate their way through ensuring there is patience as a unit and the
such a defensive system. It will specifically focus ball is circulated effectively from one side to the
on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, and Jurgen other. In doing this, the possession team force
Klopp’s Liverpool, who both frequently face low the opposition to continuously switch from flank
block’s. This analysis will highlight the similarities to flank, and space can eventually be created
in their approaches to successfully break a low between defenders and between the lines, for a
block, but also look at a few different tactics that forward pass to be made.
both manager’s have used in the past.
Passes of a good, sustainable tempo are
The overall goal when breaking down a low block important, whilst the shift of the pass needs to be
is of course to get behind the defence. This can made off few touches. The ball can be switched
be done from wide areas as it can from central in one fell swoop with a long pass from one side
spaces, however, invariably to work an opening, to the other but this is more risky in terms of
it requires the possession team to stretch the accuracy and having potential to be intercepted,
opponent horizontally before forcing one of the leaving the previously in possession team
defenders in the back line to push out of the last vulnerable to the counter.
line of defence, and exploit the space behind
them. But how is this achievable? Having a shape like the one exhibited by
Liverpool in the image below can be preferable
We can see an example of a common low block when seeking to shift a low block across the pitch
set-up in the image below with the red team in a repeatedly. We can see Liverpool have three
5-4-1 shape. central players and two full-backs all in relatively
equal distance from the next player, spread from
one flank to the other. This allows them to switch
the ball quickly and with very high completion
passes. The players in front of them are screened
by the West Brom midfield, but note how three of
these players are specifically stood between the
lines. Here they can potentially receive passes
with enough space to take a touch, turn, and
draw the defence out of position. The lateral

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passing of the five players highlighted will drag
the West Brom midfielders aiming to keep these
players in their cover shadow from side to side,
and with enough patience and quick passing,
there will eventually be space to break this line
and play into these players.
The full-backs position is also worth noting.
They are very wide and further forward than the
central three players in this back five. With the
compactness of the opposition, they have ample
space to receive the ball and drive down the line
themselves, but they also have the potential to
access space behind the opposition full-backs,
should a lofted diagonal pass be played to this
destination. The threat from these wide players,
particularly ones as dangerous as Andrew
Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold means
the opponent runs a risk at being too narrow,
and should these two players start receiving
possession behind the defence with those lofted
diagonal passes or start whipping dangerous
balls in, the opposition will start to press these
areas more and sacrifice space inside for players
to receive the ball between the lines in more
central areas.
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Whilst it is important to look to play forward, for
these kinds of passes are what will generally
engage defenders to come forward, they can
also be lulled forward with backwards passes
too. For this to work the ball needs to have been
worked forward initially with purpose and the
ball-carrier needs to be engaged by a defender
with some intensity. The backwards pass can
then bring the low block forward, lulling them into
a relatively intense press, and space can now be
created between the lines to attack.
Positioning of the
forwards to manipulate
the back line
T o break this block down, attacking teams
look to draw defenders out of the back line,
and then hit the space created by this.
There are a couple of ways to approach this.
Firstly, low blocks often have five or even six
defenders operating in the back line. This means
the defence can have several players operating
in the central channel, and therefore, lowering the
chance of a team scoring in the most dangerous
area of the pitch.
If the team operate with two forwards in the
central channel, these players can be man-
marked as well, with a third centre-back, often
operating in the middle of the three, sitting spare
to sweep - a la catenaccio.
One approach is therefore to leave this central
space vacant with players moving into this area
at the last possible moment. If playing with a front
three, two of the wide forwards can shift out of Having a wide forward who can draw a full-back
this area and look to create overloads with highly forward and out of the low block is advantageous
positioned full-backs. as well if the in possession team has attacking full-
backs like Liverpool’s. An opposition full-back can
be easily drawn up without a centre-back looking
to cover in behind, for the centre-back will always
want to protect the central channel. Dragging
the opponent out like Sadio Mane does in the
image below, creates enough room in behind for
Robertson to make a late looped run around the
outside to receive a lofted through pass.

The central striker can wait in midfield or in the 10

space and should any of the three centre-backs
get drawn out of the central channel to deal
with the threat of the overloads in wide areas, a
through pass can be played for this striker, like in
the image below.

Whilst this isn’t the most preferable place to

attack from, it serves a function in creating some
space behind the defence who will have to shift
and react. Any attack that prevents the low block
from staying relatively static is a good thing, and
a through ball for the full-backs will result in a
crossing chance where the defence aren’t set.

It is easier to overload in the wide areas if the
forwards leave the centre of the pitch and shift
across. As long as there is a presence close
enough to the centre of the pitch (we can see three
blue players in this example close to the highlighted
area), the central defenders tasked with keeping
the central channel compact will stay in position.
In the event there is a centre-forward in the
central channel then this run by the forward can
create opportunities for more than one player.
We can see this below in an identical run to
Mane’s by Giorginio Wijnaldum as Henderson
has the ball again in an identical spot to the

10
previous image. Robertson could hit this space
if he wishes, but actually in this example he
moves away bringing his marker further from
the attacking space as well, leaving Mane in the
central area as an option to make this run too.
However, he decides to stay central ensuring the
closest centre-back remains close to him instead
of covering the space. This leaves the highlighted
Roberto Firmino to make a run unmarked from a
very deep area.
Drawing the opposition full-back out creates
space across the back line, causing a knock
on effect. Below we can see how Mane’s run
towards Robertson creates space behind. West
Brom’s right-sided centre-back sees this and
shifts across to cut out this space, but in doing
so, leaves space inside for Firmino to attack. We
can see both of these areas highlighted.
Using the 10 space to
create openings
T he 10 space can be used to great effect as well,
and whilst we’ve looked at examples of Liverpool
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thus far, we will shift here to looking at Guardiola’s
City. Similarly to Klopp, Guardiola will often leave
this space open, with players dropping into this area
only momentarily. If they don’t immediately receive
possession they drop back out.
This is done with the intention that if a player can
receive the ball unmarked in this area, between
the lines, the central defenders must press this
player or concede a shot from outside the area.
The natural reaction is to press even if a shot
from this distance might be less dangerous than
the through pass.
Below we can see how this space is left open
with the centre-forward dropping into the area to
receive possession.
Guardiola always has attackers on the shoulders
of the opposition full-backs and this situation suits
these players perfectly. As the forward receives
the ball the centre-backs are drawn out and the
ball-carrier can slide a through pass into the
vacated space. In this example Raheem Sterling
is perfectly positioned to cut in behind and latch
onto the through pass.
If the attackers can be picked up man-to-man by
the defenders it creates chances. Liverpool will
at times look to match up each defender with an
attacker, with these players still playing between
the lines rather than on the shoulder, but by
matching up their quick attackers with defenders
they fancy their chances in 1v1 situations.
Guardiola does this but generally just with the
central players. By matching up the three centre-
backs in the image below with three centre-
forwards, he uses his forwards to subtly drag
these players apart and leave space between
them. In this example Phil Foden is in the 10
position but isn’t right in the middle of the 10
area. He is on the edge, away from the ball,
but by operating between the lines, he is in the
perfect position to move into the space created
by his centre-forwards movement. The ball-side
forward drags his defender towards Kyle Walker,
showing for the ball, and this allows Foden to
steal in behind into the space, undetected.
Guardiola will have his forwards drop away from
centre-backs and make late runs once the wide
forwards have dragged a defender out of shape.
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Admittedly the example below is more of a mid-
to-low block but the principle is the same. Note
the importance of the positioning of Sterling
on the left-wing, ensuring the right-back can’t
tuck in once his centre-back pushes forward to
challenge the ball-carrier. As the ball is played out
of this area and bounced back to João Cancelo,
Aguero makes his run into the space created to
receive the through pass.
Conclusion
T he first thing to note is the importance of a sid
being able to circulate the ball purposefully
with a decent tempo. If teams don’t force a low
block to shift across the pitch or forwards, they’re
going to have a difficult time creating goal-scoring
opportunities.
Secondly, having attacking players play between
the lines means both the opposition midfield
and defence are having to focus on defending
the same players, whilst there is always a viable
forward, line-breaking pass option for any of
the midfielders or defenders circulating the ball.
It also means that if one of these attackers in
between the lines receives possession, the
opposition defenders will have to step forward to
pressure them,and in doing so create space in
their own back line which can be exploited, in the
many different ways this article has highlighted.
Whilst the key details in breaking down a low
block are the same, we can see that variety is
key when approaching this. Drawing individual
defenders out of the defensive structure and
exploiting the space left is the best way to break
it down, but focusing attacks down the wide
areas whilst leaving the central space free truly
only works if there is some threat centrally too.
Even when that space is left vacant there must
be players dropping in and out of it to keep
the central defenders focused on defending
this zone. Mixing up the focus of attack, and
approach, is a key ingredient to breaking sides
down. As much as it helps to have intelligent
strikers who have excellent off-ball movement,
it is just as important to have a consistent threat
from wide areas. With Liverpool, it’s the crossing
ability of Robertson and Alexander-Arnold, with
City it’s the pace and 1v1 ability of the likes of
Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling. This threat
across the entire pitch is what makes breaking
down a low block much easier.

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 Atletico Madrid:

How Cholo transformed them into title favourites

DOMAGOJ KOSTANJŠAK // @BarcaFront

14
L a Liga has been dubbed a two-horse race for
far too long. For the modern fan, there were
ever really two real title contenders every year –
Simeone already had the tools at his disposal
but would need some time to get them all ticking.
Before delving into the analysis, let’s take a
Barcelona and Real Madrid. These two giants of quick look at their current roster and see what’s
Spanish football would battle it out season upon changed.
season to sit at the throne.

In 2020/21, however, we have a different story

and an unexpected competitor challenging for
the crown - Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone
already has a title under his belt but that was way
back in 2013/14 and it’s high time for them to do
it again.

Since that moment, the Rojiblancos have won the

Europa League and have been to the Champions
League final multiple times, but always felt short.
So why does 2020/21 feel different for some
reason?
The first image is an age graph that shows us
Atlético Madrid are currently top of the table Atlético Madrid’s 2020/21 squad along with their
heading into the second part of the season and minute tally and age group. We’ve divided them
Simeone’s troops are looking better than ever. into youth, prime and experienced players to see
For that reason, this tactical analysis will aim to whether Simeone has truly refreshed his team
uncover Cholo’s newfound tactics and philosophy as the narrative suggests. It turns out he most
and also do a data analysis to see whether the certainly did.
numbers back up the eye test so far.
The only experienced players with an above-
Are Rojiblancos truly title contenders or even average game time in 20/21 so far are Luis
better, title favourites? Let’s find out. Suárez and Kieran Trippier, both of whom have
big roles to play in the team. Of course, Stefan
Savić is slowly entering that category and Koke
Statistical & squad is getting closer too while we can also say Felipe
is an important piece of the jigsaw as well.
overview However, the likes of João Félix, Renan Lodi,

T he summer of 2020 was quiet compared to the

previous year for Atlético Madrid. The majority
of the rebuild was done in 2019 and the following
transfer windows were mostly used to iron out
the details and fine-tune where necessary. And
yes, the likes of Yannick Carrasco and Geoffrey
Kondogbia had also arrived but they were not big-
money signings that would shake the market and
the footballing world as a whole.
Mario Hermoso, Marcos Llorente, Ángel Correa
and Carrasco are proof that players in their youth
and prime years are dominating the squad.
With such a drastic change, 2019/20 was a
rollercoaster for the Rojiblancos as they trailed
for the first part of the campaign, only to rise
post-break and clinch a spot among La Liga’s
best, albeit missing out on silverware yet again.

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But despite shaky results and inconsistent
performances, the numbers were good and it
felt Atlético were moving in the right direction.
And now, it’s all finally coming together. The next
image is a running expected goals (xG) chart
which visualises their figures from the start of
19/20 until now.

Still, the changes are quite telling to say the

We can see that the data supports the narrative least. Their xG per 90 has remained consistently
– the first part of the season the team was high while they have drastically improved their
struggling for both results and the performances passing and possession figures. On top of being
were not there yet. Simeone was adamant on more efficient in attack, Atlético seem to be even
tweaking his tactics and philosophy to a more tougher to breach now as well.
aggressive and dominant style as opposed to
the purely defensive and compact outlook. They may not press as aggressively as before,
as indicated by a higher PPDA (passes allowed
A clear change happened towards the end of per defensive action) value, but their expected
19/20 as they finally found the winning formula goals against (xGA) have decreased significantly
that combined attacking proficiency with and they seem to register more defensive duels
defensive solidity, resulting in what was seen as per 90 as well.
drastic improvement within the squad.
Overall, Simeone has made Atlético Madrid
If there was more time last season, maybe deadlier and more proactive in attack while
Atlético would accomplish even more but luckily, somehow turning them into even better defenders
the trends continued into the following campaign than was the case before. This, needless to say,
as well. Our next graph is a comparison between is truly a winning formula.
the two seasons with a slight caveat of a smaller
sample for 20/21. But what tactics and personnel lie behind their
success?

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Build-up tendencies and
progressiveness
W ithout a doubt, the thing that has changed
the most in Simeone’s tactics is the sheer
approach to their build-up phase. Atlético Madrid
aren’t the first team that comes to mind when you
talk about in-possession mechanisms but they’re
starting to stand out in that aspect as well.
We’ve already noticed in the previous section of
this tactical analysis that the Rojiblancos have
altered their style of play significantly but let’s
examine that a bit further. In the following graph,
I’ve attempted to define every La Liga team’s
style of play by comparing their long passes per
100 passes and possession percentage.
All the teams that prefer long passes in their
tactics and have lower possession are depicted
as more direct and counter-attacking while the
teams on the polar opposite, in the lower-right
quadrant, are positional.
While usually you’d expect Atlético Madrid to be
somewhere in the middle or even towards the
top-left, now they’re firmly among the positional
teams in Spain. So much so that their 13.23 long
passes per 100 passes are only higher than
Barcelona’s 9.74 in La Liga.
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Before analysing some of their patterns and
systems, let’s see who are the key pieces in
Simeone’s build-up jigsaw and next, you can
see a graph dealing with progressiveness within
their team.
To establish which players aid the progression the
most, I’ve compared two of the key categories:
passes into danger area per 90 (passes into the
final third + passes into the box) and progressive
actions per 90 (progressive passes + progressive
runs). Note, however, that the bigger the circle
the more minutes the player has played so far in
20/21, which is very important here.
According to the data, Hermoso, Trippier and
Koke are Atlético Madrid’s crucial pieces in the
build-up phase. In the former player’s case, this
would usually be a surprise but Simeone has
turned him into a highly effective ball-playing
centre-back who deploys 14.07 passes into
danger area and tallies 16.2 progressive actions
per 90.
As mentioned, the major change that’s happened
there has to do with a slight alteration in their
build-up structure. Simeone now deploys a back
three in possession with the aid of a double-pivot
to progress the ball from the first third. Hermoso
is the one to drop next to the two centre-backs to
the left and is given the licence to distribute the
ball forward, hence such a surge in his statistical
output. The eye test confirms it.

Simeone’s game plan is not exclusively ‘get the

ball to Félix’ but he is the main focal point in their
attack. And for good reason too. But looking at
the graphic above, we can see that the behaviour
of their central midfielders is also peculiar. One
The image you can see here is Atlético Madrid’s will usually stay deeper to offer support to the
build-up scheme they used against Bayern backline while the other is more fluid in his
Munich in the Champions League. You can movement, positioning himself higher or deeper
clearly see the 3-2 structure in the first phase of depending on the situation.
build-up and how it enables them progression.
Hermoso, José Giménez and Savić are in a back That role is usually Koke’s and the midfielder’s
three and their task is to find either the pivots or versatility is undoubtedly key to Simeone, as
the forwards in danger areas. we’ve also seen from the progressiveness graph.
Alongside Hermoso, no other player deploys as
Space between the lines is crucial when it comes many passes into the danger area within the
to their new approach so the first thing they’ll look squad for an average of 12.93 per 90 minutes.
to reach are the two pockets in the half-spaces.
The half-space holds a strategic advantage as it The following image is a good example from the
puts the defenders in a decisional crisis, forcing Rojiblancos’ latest game at the time of writing,
them to choose between two equally risky against Deportivo Alavés.
courses of action.

But in Atlético’s case, it’s also where they will

usually find Félix, another crucial piece of their
tactics. The next image is a graphic depicting their
in-possession structure but this time, however, it
shows the pressure points in their attack.

You can see Atlético Madrid’s basic in-

possession structure with Koke dropping deep to
assist the build-up and beat the press. As soon
as he’s relieved the backline, he deploys a pass
to Thomas Lemar and takes his place higher

18
up the pitch. We can often see him fluctuate
between different areas on the field throughout
the 90 minutes, which makes their attack fluid
and unpredictable.
Final third efficiency
We’ve already touched upon some of their main
structures in attack but we’ll delve deeper into the
attacking tactics in this section of the analysis.
Before that, however, we have to identify their
crucial pieces in the final third by measuring their
creativity and lethality, two of the most important
aspects in attack.

S o we’ve concluded Simeone’s new build-

up mechanisms seem to be highly effective
at turning Atlético Madrid into a solid positional
The following image is a graph that will show us
Atlético Madrid’s best creators by measuring two
custom made categories I’ve created: creation,
team. However, while crucial, a good first which consists of second assists, third assists
phase of attack won’t matter much if the team and shot assists per 90, and decisive passing
lacks efficiency once they enter the final third. which is key passes and deep completions
Fortunately for the Rojiblancos, that doesn’t per 90 in one. Note that the brighter the colour
seem to be a problem for them. (red being the highest), the higher the player’s
expected assists per 90 figures are too.
As was the case with the previous sections of
our tactical analysis, let’s start with some general
comparisons with the rest of La Liga. Next is a
graph depicting all Spanish teams’ attacking
proficiency by measuring their expected goals
(xG) per 90 and goal-creating actions per 90.

By combining those metrics, we aim to get

a pretty good understanding of their crucial
pieces in the creation of chances. I’ve decided
to highlight three players in the graph: Correa,
With 3.47 per 90, Atlético are the team with the Carrasco and Félix since all three have enough
highest volume of goal-creating actions in La minutes and don’t necessarily have a high figure
Liga and also among the ones with the highest simply due to their continuous attacking role and
xG per 90 figures as well. This is further proof that presence in the box.
the good tendencies from the 2019/20 season
have been transferred and even improved upon All three are attackers, yes, but all three tend to
in 2020/21. drop when needed, offering an additional passing

19
channel, creating overloads and connecting the another graph I made which depicts shots per
thirds efficiently. This is especially true for Félix 90 and touches in the box per 90. This time, the
who, despite not topping the charts in these brighter the colour, the higher the expected goals
metrics, is the main piece of the jigsaw. We should per 90 figures are with red being the highest
also mention both Suárez and Trippier as highly again.
effective too as the former still demonstrates his
ability as a modern number nine while the latter
is a perfect example of a more offensive full-
back, as opposed to Hermoso, for example, who
has become a distributor instead.

But Félix feels and plays differently than before

and it’s visible in both his movement and stats.
He’s experienced a significant increase in almost
every category imaginable, from through passes,
passes to final third, xA per 90, forward passes
and more importantly, received passes which
jumped from 19.77 per 90 in 19/20 to 32.21 per
90 in 20/21.

Without a doubt, the inclusion of Suárez from

His heatmap tells a similar story. While before,
he seemed to roam much more often, now he
consistently drops deeper to progress the ball
and aid the build-up. But that hasn’t stopped him
from being a highly influential player in the final
third, which we’ll touch upon shortly.
When entering the opposition’s box, Atlético
Madrid have finally gotten rid of their ghosts of
the past, eliminating the inconsistencies in front
of the goal. Now, their finishing is fitting of La Liga
favourites as they’ve amassed 29 goals from
20.9 xG, overperforming it massively. Whether
this is a sustainable trend or not remains to be
seen, but there’s no escaping the stats.
Let’s now see who are the main contributors
to these incredible results. Our next image is
Barcelona was crucial for the team as he’s La
Liga’s top-scorer at the moment of writing, tied
with some other big names, and tallies the
highest figures for shots per 90 and xG per 90
within the squad.
But the Uruguayan is closely followed by Félix
and Correa respectively, albeit on slightly
different ends on the graph. The former has a
profile much closer to Suárez himself while the
latter registers the most touches in the box by far
at Atlético Madrid. All three, however, are highly
influential for their attack.
Finally, and before moving to the last section of
this tactical analysis, we’ll quickly take a look at
a couple of examples of their space occupation,
which was alluded to earlier in the piece. I’ve
taken both examples from one of my earlier
articles on Atlético Madrid in 20/21 which serve
the purpose perfectly.

20

The first one shows Félix and Correa in action
as the latter receives the ball in that pocket near
the half-space while the former makes a run from
deep. This is the trigger for the other attacking
players to start their runs into the box as one of
their main creators takes possession.
From there, Correa can deploy passes further
into the danger area, looking to serve the ball to
one of the other forwards. The same is true when
Atlético Madrid have possession out wide, which
can be seen in the second image.
Trippier is on the ball and as he moves forward
inside the final third, it’s an immediate cue for the
whole attacking line to move forward from their
position between the lines. By overloading the
box, the Rojiblancos ensure a higher chance of
a cross successfully finding a teammate in the
crowd.
Defensive tactics
L ooking at the team as a whole, it does feel
like Simeone has changed the defensive
tactics the least in comparison to their attacking
21
repertoire. Atlético Madrid still defend in a highly
compact 4-4-2 structure and aim to direct the
opposition wide where it’s easier to collapse and
recover possession.
For that reason, this section of the tactical
analysis will be the shortest one. Firstly, let’s
check their defensive solidity when compared to
the rest of La Liga.
The graph here measures expected goals
against (xGA) per 90 minutes and errors leading
up to goal per 90. Without too much doubt,
Atlético Madrid are the most defensively solid
team in La Liga, followed by Real Sociedad and
Athletic Club.
It has to be noted, however, that the error
proneness correlates with possession %
because teams who see more of the ball have a
higher chance of making a mistake in possession
as well. But Atléti are a positional team that only
makes 0.13 errors leading to a goal per game
and tallies only 0.67 xGA per game, the lowest
in the league.
Compare that to the likes of Real Madrid and
Barcelona, both of whom are quite leaky,
especially the latter, and you can start forming
the picture. The lower left quadrant is the ideal
one while its polar opposite, the top-right, is the
one where generally the worst defensive teams third before engaging in a more aggressive
are located. collapse.

Following the same structure, let’s first identify the
most important defenders in the team throughout
the 2020/21 season thus far.
This is also evident from their increase in PPDA
from 10.35 in 19/20 to 11.44 in 20/21, the latter
also eclipsing the league average of 11.19. The
higher the value, the less the team presses in
general. The goal, instead, is to shut down any
chance of central progression for the attackers,
either forcing them wide as mentioned earlier or
luring them into a trap down the middle.

Here is a graphic I’ve created for my preview of

I’ve decided to look at three main categories with Atlético Madrid’s clash against Barcelona and
this graph: successful defensive actions per 90, I’ve decided to use it here once again. You can
positioning, which includes shots blocked per see how the Rojiblancos go from a 4-4-2 shape
90 and possession-adjusted interceptions, and into a 4-3-3 and compress the middle of the pitch.
aerial duels won %, depicted by the brightness In that specific example, I’d expect Barcelona to
of the colours. drop an additional midfielder into the backline to
achieve numerical superiority and activate the
Analysing the metrics, it seems that all three of second line of press.
Felipe, Hector Herrera and Trippier are the most
defensively proficient despite the latter having a However, even with that being done, their only
very attacking role within the team. Of course, real option is to go wide and use manipulation to
there are other impressive names on the list but bypass the block. This is exactly what Simeone
we have to be wary of game time before making wants because now they can use the touchline
our final verdict, which is why I’ve opted for these as an additional man to easily create an overload
three ahead of the others. on the attackers.

Now we can see a couple of tactical setups in the

defensive phase that have served them well both
in the past and so far in 2020/21. We’ve already
mentioned their compact block that forces the
opposition wide. They will gladly sit in a 4-4-2
structure, inviting the opposition into the middle

22
We can see a fairly similar example down below
as the Rojiblancos use a heavy man-marking
scheme to trap the opposition out wide.

Also note how the striker, in this example Suárez,

makes a curved run to shut the channel leading
back to the defenders in case progression
can’t be achieved. That run also creates a 5v4
overload, ensuring Simeone’s troops have
numerical superiority while defending.

Conclusion
It’s still fairly early in the season but Atlético
Madrid are looking confident. Simeone has
successfully altered his tactics and philosophy
to a more positional approach with focus on the
offensive. It has taken them a while to get used
to the new setup but now, both the stats and
the eye test confirm the Rojiblancos as the title-
contenders at the very least.

At this rate, they are projected to win their first La

Liga title since 2013/14 and do it in style. But can
they sustain this level of performance until the
end of the campaign?

That remains to be seen.

23
 Alexia Putellas:

Barcelona Femení’s midfield maestra

ABDULLAH ABDULLAH // @kunabd

24
B arcelona Femini have been in devastating
form in this 2020/21 season. They remain
undefeated after 10 matches, two points clear of
second-place Real Madrid Feminino, with three
games in hand. They’ve also qualified for the
next stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions
League after beating PSV Vrouwen 8-2 on
aggregate. Their incredible start to the season
has been a cumulation of individuals contributing
to the collective but one player has stood out
impressively and has arguably been their best
player, Alexia Putellas.
The Barcelona Femini midfielder has played
flawlessly over the last few months and has
arguably been one of the best midfielders in
world football. The Guardian ranked her at 23
ahead of the likes of Daniëlle van de Donk, Lieke
Martens, and Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir showing
how she’s performed in 2020.
Through this scout report, I will be explaining
and detailing the key traits that have contributed
towards Putellas’ incredible run of form. I will break
down the analysis into her on the ball and off the
ball attributes to see where her strengths lie.
Player Profile
A lexia Putellas is a player in her prime at
the age of 26. A creative central midfielder,
Putellas’ has a range of attributes that contribute
to her role in midfield. Her role as a deep-lying
playmaker, Putellas’ contributes to both the
build-up and attacking phases. Her role in build-
up is to pick up possession from the lone pivot
and spray passes forward being such an adept
player in possession especially under pressure.
Being able to navigate her way out of high
pressing sides makes her a viable option to build
out from. Putellas is a great player in transition
with her positional and passing intelligence.
With a wide range of passing, Putellas can play
simple short passes as well as more extravagant
and riskier through balls. In the final third, she
acts as both a connector and off-the-ball runner
finding spaces in the box which makes a goal-
scoring threat.
She’s the type of player that a team can build
around because of her ability to affect both ends
of the pitch with her awareness and intelligence.
I would liken her style to one of LaLiga’s best
playmakers in Luka Modrić who both have an
uncanny ability to dictate play and look effortless
in possession with precision passing abilities.
The Croatian pass master makes Real Madrid
tick, similarly, Putellas is held in the same regard
at Barcelona Femini.
In Possession
B arcelona Femini’s style of play is reminiscent
of their male counterparts in which they
focus on possession, rotations, and movements
to progress play and break down opposition
defences. Total Football Analyst David Seymour
has recently written a detailed breakdown of Luis
Cortes’ tactics but I will explain parts of it to put
Putellas’ role into perspective.
Barcelona play in a variation of a 4-1-4-1 and 4-3-
3 but both systems are interchanged in the game.
They play out from the back and have one pivot
always available as a passing option. However,
to avoid the opposition from man-marking and
stopping their build-up, Cortes brings a second

25
midfielder deeper. This ensures that space is
always open which means all three midfielders
need to be competent on the ball. The central
players without the ball are encouraged to
make runs into the channels to create overloads
with the wingers. The graphic depicts Cortes’
preferred system and movements wanted by his
players.
time and uses her game sense to make a quick
decision rather than linger on the ball before the
chance goes begging. The image below shows
her composure in a high pressure situation in
her own 18-yard box and how she manages to
calmly pass her way out.

Putellas is an excellent ball-player and one who is

constantly looking for it. She is one of the players
who will assist in build-up because of this. Her
on the ball skills revolve around passing and
dribbling which is supplemented by her ability to
be press resistant. In her attacking ‘8’ position,
Putellas will often be the main passing option
alongside Kheira Hamraoui and further forward
with multiple passing options.
In both situations, Putellas can showcase her
intelligence by making good pass choices with
the right type or weight of pass. At the time of
writing Putellas averages 9.22 final third passes,
4.15 long passes, and 1.08 through passes per
90 minutes.
I touched upon the notion of Putellas’ press
resistance which can be seen in both attacking
and defending situations. What this means is
Putellas is able to find a way to either relieve
pressure off her team or salvage an attacking
move by keeping and relaying possession
elsewhere. In both scenarios, Putellas’ ball-
carrying abilities are a core reason for her
success in this area.

If you look at some of the best central midfielders,

you’ll notice how they’re all able to effectively
keep the ball ticking over without losing out. Julie
Ertz, Amandine Henry, and Kim Little are players
who are excellent in being press resistant
through dribbling and passing. It’s little wonder
why all three players are their respective teams’
ball carriers.

Here we can see the Spanish midfielder amid a Putellas’ 5.38 dribbles and 11.83 offensive duels
transition counter-attack. Putellas was involved per 90 minutes shows frequency in going forward
earlier in the move and made a run forward to and engaging in duels when on the ball.
receive the return pass. She is always one to
demand possession and put herself in a position
to make things happen.

Upon receiving the ball she immediately passes

the ball into the highlighted gap which puts the
wide player through on goal. Putellas wastes no

26
 the central players to make horizontal runs into
the channels and get on the end of pull-backs
and crosses.

Here Barcelona are building an attack against

PSV and the ball carrier is looking for a passing
option forward. Looking for Putellas the pass
is misplaced but the Spaniard still manages to
receive it.

This is how Putellas gets most of her goals.

While she does have a great shot on her, it’s her
ability to find spaces and use them effectively
which is her best trait. The above heat map
shows her whereabouts on the pitch and the
spaces she likes to occupy. You can see how
the left half-space is most ‘active’ and if you look
a bit closer, you can see there is movement in
the box. Another point to take from this heat map
She moves the ball very quickly and manages to is her coverage. Being such a creative central
bypass three pressing midfielders and progress midfielder can sometimes mean a player like
the ball forward. This prevents Barcelona Femini this limits themselves to one area, however,
from being exposed to a counter-attack where Putellas’ ‘activity’ both horizontally and vertically
they were potentially open to a 4v3. Putellas’ means she is very athletic and has the capacity
quick feet manage to relieve the pressure and to move around making her an almost roaming
put Barcelona in a better attacking position. playmaker.

Out of possession
It’s not just the work Putellas does on the ball but
it’s her off the ball work that has contributed to
her excellent form this season. Arguably, this is
what makes her such an intelligent player which
has seen her score goals and progress the ball
forward. In her midfield position, Putellas is seen
both in deeper areas to receive passes and Here we can see an example of Putellas’ excellent
further forward where you’ll find her in a position timing and intelligence in an off the ball situation.
where she can make late runs into the box. Due Barcelona Femini are on yet another attack and
to Cortes’ use of full-backs and wingers, it allows have ventured forward attacking in numbers.

27
While the opposition defence are aware of the
two forward Barcelona players, it makes it easier
for them to mark and stop the cross into them.
Putellas, however, (highlighted) is slightly behind
and identifies a gap to exploit.
Putellas is able to use that ability and translate
it into taking up good defensive positions. With
Barcelona Femini’s nature of playing higher up
the pitch, they are vulnerable to being caught
on the counter-attack and naturally will need to
track back assuming a defensive shape.

The heatmap has shown us Putellas’ box-to-box

The way she executes this is through precision
timing and movement. Putellas holds her run
and manages to move into a position between
defenders to take on the cross. A step too much
or too little could have seen an interception being
made but Putellas understands how and where
she needs to be in the box.
like qualities by being as active in the defensive
half as she is in the attacking half. Below you can
see an example of Putellas’ aggressive nature
and how it works in high pressing systems.
Though this is from a game for Spain, the
principles in her game remain constant for club
and country. The patient build-up from Japan is
met by a high pressing Putellas closes down the
#17 midfielder quickly and creates a goal-scoring
opportunity.

This can also be seen in her defensive numbers

for Barcelona Femini this season where she
registered 4.37 defensive duels per 90 (73%
success rate), 3.64 interceptions per 90, and
7.72 recoveries per 90 with 70% of them in the
opposition half. These three statistics suggest a
The pass map below shows her average position large contribution from the Spaniard making her
being a very central and attacking player that an integral cog in Cortes’ midfield three.
can control matches and make calculated runs
when required. This makes it extremely difficult Putellas is athletic as I’ve pointed out earlier
for the opposition to mark her due to both her which makes it easier for her to get into position.
positioning and constant movement. Having seen her defend from the front, there
are moments where she is needed further back.
Besides her goal-scoring exploits, Putellas is a Putellas acts as a first line of defence and if
keen and aggressive presser which also makes successful can put Barcelona back on the front
her an effective defensive presence. Because foot.
of her ability to understand and identify space,

28
As the example below portrays, Putellas moves
into a defensive position against the Real Madrid
attacker. She reads the ball carriers intentions
and quickly turns back to block the outgoing
pass. This interception puts Barcelona Femini on
the counter-attack as a result.

Final Remarks
A t 26 years of age, Putellas is coming into
her prime and has shown scintillating
form for Barcelona Femini this season. The
team are soaring in the Primera División and
have qualified for the Round of 16 in the UEFA
Women’s Champions League and that is thanks
to Alexia Putellas.

Through this tactical analysis, the Spaniard

is excellent in transition and breaking down
blocks with her range of passing and exquisite
movement. While the team will need to perform
at their best throughout the UWCL, there is a
feeling that Olympique Lyon Feminin are not at
their optimal best which lends an opportunity
for another club to break their dominance this
season. If Putellas can keep her form up, she can
lead Barcelona deep into the UWCL and reach
the final just as they did a couple of seasons ago.

29
DATA VIZ
Premier League 2020/21: Mason Greenwood’s shot map

VENKATANARAYANAN VENKATESAN // @VenkyReddevil

M ason Greenwood could not have asked for a better full season in the Premier League last season.
The teenager from the Manchester United Academy netted 17 goals (in all competitions) to his
name in 2019/20. After a season like that, the pressure and expectations on his shoulders were
naturally high for this season. After making his debut for the national team in September and then
controversially getting removed from the squad for questionable behaviour off the pitch, it is only fair
to say that Greenwood has had a poor start to the season on and off the pitch.

So far Greenwood only has three goals to his name this season, only one of which came in the
league, as shown in the following graph. He has really struggled to get going in the games he has
been involved in. In the games against Chelsea and Wolves, Greenwood did not have a single shot
to his name as per InStat. Scoring one goal from 18 attempted shots is a poor conversion as per the
standards he set during the last Premier League campaign.

Another worrying aspect is his contributions off the ball. He is rarely involved in the build up of an
attack. Does this suggest that he has become predictable? Is there too much pressure on him? With
all that being said, Greenwood is still very young and has many years ahead of him. His manager
has repeatedly referred to him as the best finisher he has ever come across. Only time will tell if he
can live up to meet those expectations.

30
31
 Tactical Analysis:

Find out who the next great Dutch midfielder could be

ADAM SCULLY // @ascully24

32
T he Netherlands have been blessed with some
incredible players over the years, and some
wonderful midfielders included in that. Some of Position and brief
these Dutch greats include Clarence Seedorf,
Ruud Gullit, and even the legendary Johan Cruyff,
to a certain extent, just to name a few.
style of play
Even recently, Frenkie de Jong was produced
from the Ajax youth academy system, having
T aylor is a fantastic young midfield player who
predominantly plays in a double-pivot 4-2-
3-1 but can also operate in a 4-3-3. He likes to
an exceptional few seasons with the Eredivisie have a lot of the ball and moves into space to
giants, reaching the UEFA Champions League receive a pass, constantly acting as an option off
semi-final at 21 years of age, before transferring the ball for a teammate to play it to.
to Barcelona in the summer of 2019 for a huge
initial fee of €75 million, tipped to be the heir to For a player his age, as well as his elegant style
Sergio Busquets’ throne. of play, he is also quite physically, standing at six
foot tall and weighing 66kg.
2020 has seen Ajax produce another young
prodigy from their academy ranks, who has In the double-pivot, Taylor typically plays on the
been tipped to be the next great Dutch midfielder left of the two for both Ajax and Jong Ajax, as he
and to reach the heights of a player like de is left footed, but can also play on the right and
Jong, according to those that have seen him at is comfortable playing short with his right foot as
underage and professional level. well. The following visual representation shows
these two positions that the youngster usually
Kenneth Taylor, who captained the Netherlands plays in.
throughout their historic U17s European
Championship victory in the Republic of Ireland
back in May 2019, is the player that will be
analysed in this article.

The 18-year-old made has mainly played with

Jong Ajax since 2018, but has recently started
to earn some minutes with the first-team
under manager Erik ten Hag. Taylor made his
professional debut with Ajax’s first-team recently,
in a 4-0 victory over PEC Zwolle, coming off the
bench after the hour mark, in what may be a
historic moment for the player.

In this article, we will take a look at the midfielder’s

attributes and style of play, which make him
one of the top young players in the world at the
moment, and which could help him to become
Holland’s next great midfield player.

33
The Amsterdam-based club are very fluid in
terms of the positioning of their players from
the academy system all the way through to the
first-team and so Taylor’s positioning tends to be
quite free in the midfield.
Under ten Hag, Ajax play a style of football
similar to that of a refined and more modern
version of ‘Total Football’ played by Ajax in the
1970s, as well as the Dutch national team, both
under Rinus Michels. This essentially means
that Taylor has license to roam into space when
his side has established possession of the ball,
which can be seen clearly on his heat map.
The ability to find and interpret space on a
football pitch is a core element of the Dutch
club’s philosophy as well as the coaching at the
underage levels. To make Ajax’s playstyle work,
players need to drift in and out of positions,
finding little pockets of space to receive the ball
in before passing it on to a teammate and moving
into another area of the pitch.
Donny van de Beek, who was recently sold by
Ajax to Manchester United for just under £40
million, was one of the best in the club’s recent
history at finding pockets of space on the pitch to
either; move the opposition’s defenders, or create
space to dictate play and create goalscoring
opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Whilst Taylor is not as adept as van de Beek, he

is still well-versed at finding space to receive the
ball in order to give himself time on the ball.

The 18-year-old’s movement is not restricted,

and he can venture to one side of the pitch to
the other once there is space free to move into,
and with his excellent passing ability and vision,
he slots right into the Dutch manager’s system
easily, much like Frenkie de Jong did when he In this image, we can see Taylor’s free positioning
first came through the club’s famous academy to aid his side in moving the ball around an
system. opposing team’s defensive block. The youngster
starts in the central corridor, playing a pass back
to his centre-back. Once the pass is played, he
Free movement whilst instantly moves out to the wide channel in order
to receive a pass in space.
in possession Not only did this give the player on the ball an

In the previous paragraph, we briefly touched open passing lane with low risk to play to, it also
on Taylor’s ability to find space on the pitch dragged one of the PEC Zwolle midfielders out
regardless of the opposition that he is facing, as to close him down, opening two passing lanes
well as their defensive set-up, which makes him in behind their forward press, allowing Ajax to
perfectly suited for Ajax’s style of play. break down the defensive block.

34
Taylor does subtle movements into space all
over the central corridor, however, he commonly
drops next to the centre-backs as a false-back or
a third central defender to do it. In the previous
image, he pushed out wide on the right to receive
a pass, however, as he is left-footed, he prefers
to drop to the side of the left centre-back instead,
which can be seen in the following image:
Once again, this disorientates the opposing
team’s defensive block, creating gaps to play
through, which Taylor does extremely well by
taking up positions as such. The youngster is
able to play inside on his left-foot or outside on
his left-foot, giving him twice as many options.

Yet again here, Taylor has picked up a position

on the left flank as a false fullback. This provides
The reason he likes to drop, or is perhaps the player on the ball to have a low risk passing
instructed by his coaches to drop, as a false left- option out wide, but also gives his side an open
back, is because it allows him to open out his passing lane for a bounce pass from his partner
body, by receiving the ball on the backfoot, and in the double-pivot.
looking to play down the line.
This is extremely intelligent play by the Dutchman
In this image, Taylor has become a make-shift and is almost identical to the type of clever
left centre-back whilst his side have the ball positions that de Jong was occupying whilst
in the established possession phase. Firstly, playing for Ajax.
this allows for the fullbacks to venture high up
the pitch as most modern teams utilise in their
offensive set-ups. Safety first in possession
Secondly, it forces the opposition’s winger to
step out and press. As we can see, the England
winger has begun to push up in order to close
W hat many people may see as a poor quality
in a central or holding midfield player, is
perhaps one of Kenneth Taylor’s best qualities,
down Taylor who has received the ball in this which is his safety in possession.
area. By doing so, he has left space in behind for
one of the ball-near players to take advantage of So far this season, the youngster has averaged
by making a run down the line. 58.9 completed passes per game across all
competitions and levels. What is more impressive
Generally, Taylor tends to perform these kinds of is his 86.1 percent passing accuracy. In a recent
subtle movements when his side are struggling game against ADO Den Haag, the Dutchman
to break down the opposition’s block through the only played 47 minutes in total, yet completed
central areas. 40 passes out of 44, almost 1 pass per minute of
being on the field. He ended the game with a 91
percent pass completion rate.

35
Whilst on the ball, Taylor’s main function is to help
his team circulate the ball, and move into space
to receive it, as stated previously. He typically
opts for shorter passes on the ball to help his
side keep the ball in possession, as his job is not
to break the opponent’s defensive line. Almost
20 percent of his average passes per game are
backwards.

An example of this safety in possession can be
seen in the next image:
This image is another example of the midfielder’s
safe play. He has three options to play the ball
to a player in a more advanced position, which
would allow Ajax to progress higher up the pitch
quicker.

All three passing options are split passes between

two of the opposition’s players. If he received the
ball on his backfoot, he would be able to pick one
of these three men out, but once again, there is a
high risk that a turnover of possession will occur
and so he plays the ball back to Perr Schuurs in
The midfielder has dropped as a false fullback defence.
and has two options to play forward. He can
either play down the line by opening out his body,
or else play inside to his partner in the double-
pivot. Both of these are quite risky passes but
Tactical and footballing
would progress his side up the pitch. Instead,
Taylor opts to play safe and square it to the left
intelligence at eighteen
centre-back.

This is not a bad trait to have in a midfielder and

C ertainly, a defining characteristic to Taylor’s
game which makes him one of the best
young players in the world is his tactical and
actually shows his maturity on the ball. There was footballing intelligence.
a high risk that both of the possible progressive
passes would have resulted in a turnover of In 2017, Scott McTominay was a decent academy
possession to the opposition team, particularly product at Manchester United, but very few would
the central passing lane as the player had three have expected his rise to becoming mainstay
bodies around him to press if he received the in the team’s current starting eleven under Ole
pass. Gunnar Solskjær. The Scot was solid on the
ball but was nothing special considering he was
In the end, Taylor decided to play laterally, playing alongside players such as Angel Gomes
allowing Jong Ajax to continue to circulate the and Callum Gribbin, who were miles better.
ball patiently trying to find a better option to move
forward. What he did have over others was an incredible
ability to read the game, and to understand
when to press, when to cover, when to attack,

36
when to defend, etc. This was what enticed Jose an attacking run on his blindside and so tracks
Mourinho to eventually hand McTominay his the run whilst plugging the gap between the two
United debut. central defenders.

Taylor is far better on the ball than McTominay
ever was and still is, but his tactical intelligence
for such a young player separates him from the
rest at his age level. An example of his tactical
intelligence from a defensive standpoint can be
seen in the following image:
He does not just plug gaps in Ajax’s defence
though. The 18-year-old is also adept at covering
for those who need to step out to close a player
down, which can be seen here:

The Jong Ajax fullback has stepped out to press,

and so Taylor has dropped in to cover so that the
Here, the opposition overloaded the wide area winger cannot exploit the space that would have
with bodies, forcing Ajax’s backline to push been left behind the fullback.
across to try and make up the numbers. The
ball-far centre-back has been dragged across This tactical intelligence is vital for any player,
whilst Ajax’s right-back is preoccupied with the particularly a player being played as a single or a
opposing team’s winger. double-pivot, with one of the main functions from
a defensive aspect is to plug gaps in the backline
Taylor sees the gap opening up in between the when needs be. Taylor does this exceptionally
two players and also sees the opposition’s player well.
making a run into the box, and so plugs the gap,
cutting out the danger. However, this game intelligence does not just
come from a defensive aspect. It can also come
in the attacking phases of the game, especially
in moments such as when to create overloads or
move over to the wide areas to provide support
for his teammates.

Yet again here, similarly to the first, the centre-

backs for Jong Ajax have been split, with the ball-
near centre-back being dragged out to cover the
halfspace. Taylor checks his shoulder and sees

37
In this image, two players were being
outnumbered on the flanks by the opposition and
had no passing options to play the ball to in order
to get out of their opponent’s trap. Taylor quickly
moved over and took up a deep position, allowing
the winger to turn around and play backwards,
retaining possession for his team.

Little moments of intelligence like this go a

long way for any side. Had Taylor not aided his
teammates, the defending team would have
almost certainly regained possession and looked
transition forward.

Conclusion
K enneth Taylor may not be too well-known
to avid football viewers outside of the Ajax
fan base or those who keep a keen eye on the
Eredivisie. However, if he manages to fulfil his
possible potential, the midfielder will certainly
become a household name, much like Frenkie
de Jong has become, and could quite easily go
on to become one of the best Dutch midfielders
of his generation.

According to TransferMarkt, the player’s current

market value is only just under £3 million pounds
as of writing, but the continued game time as
of recent may see this rise to potentially double
figures come the end of the season.

He is certainly a player to keep your eyes peeled

as, chances are, like de Jong himself, Taylor will
quite possibly be touted for a big money move in
the future to a top European club.

38
Birmingham City Women:

How Carla Ward has reinvigorated them this season

DAVID ASTILL // @DavidPAstill21

39
I n the 2019/2020 WSL season, Birmingham
City Women really struggled to pick up points,
placing second bottom when the league was
ended prematurely due to the coronavirus
pandemic, with manager Marta Tejedor leaving
the club in March by mutual consent. Fast forward
to now, and things look much better for the West
Midlands club. Following the appointment of
former Sheffield United Women manager Carla
Ward in the summer, they have looked harder to
beat and more of a problem for the other teams
in the league. In this tactical analysis, we will
look at the ways in which Ward has improved
Birmingham, with analysis of her tactics in attack,
midfield and defence.
In these images, we can see how left-back
Rebecca Holloway in the first image and right-
back Sarah Mayling in the second one have
moved up the pitch to offer width for the team. By
doing so, they provide a source of balls into the
box, and more players can then move forward in
the central channel, giving more options for the
full-back to get the ball to. This is something that
we saw from Birmingham at times last season,
but they tended to play with wingers, in Claudia
Walker and now-Tottenham Hotspur Women
forward Rachel Williams. Therefore, it was more
difficult for Mayling and Holloway to get up the
pitch, so this is something that Carla Ward has
changed to help her team carry more of a threat.

The other thing that comes from this is that

Attacking full-backs Birmingham can cover more ground in attack,
stretching across the pitch. This then forces

C arla Ward’s philosophy is to play with a 4-1- their opponents to play with a wider defence,
4-1 formation, with no wingers in the team otherwise they will give Birmingham too much
as such. Instead, the likes of on-loan Chelsea space on the wings to cross the ball in from. By
Women midfielder Jamie-Lee Napier tend to moving wide, their opponents then leave gaps
occupy those roles, but they then come inside in between each of the players, which allows
to increase the central threat. The full-backs Birmingham to play in between them. Therefore,
are then asked to run up and down the wing, this is another key reason why pushing the full-
meaning they need to be quick and able to cover backs this far up the pitch helps Birmingham’s
plenty of metres. overall attack.

Birmingham’s full-backs are also all capable of

taking opponents on when in attack. Mayling and
Holloway are right and left-backs respectively,
but Harriet Scott, seen in this image, is more
flexible, able to play on either side. She is good
with the ball, and is a different type of player to
the others; as we can see, she gets close to the

40
Aston Villa Women defender, before taking the Whilst this is not a major point to make, Murray’s
ball past her and moving it towards the goal. role has an effect on the rest of the team.
Holloway and Mayling tended to stay a little wider
and cross into the box.

What this means is that Carla Ward has several

different options available to her at full-back,
meaning she can set her team up for any situation.
Whilst none of these players was signed by her,
she has moulded them into the attacking players
they are this season, and that has been a crucial
and noticeable change she has made.
Last season, Birmingham tended to play with
four attacking players, in Abbi Grant, Lucy
Midfield and Whipp, Rachel Williams and Claudia Walker.
However, Carla Ward’s tactics focus more on
attacking tweaks being harder to beat, and therefore she has
only used one player upfront when she can;

C arla Ward has also changed the midfield and more often than not this season, that has been
attack around, bringing in players to fit her Walker. She has looked more comfortable
footballing philosophy. They now have a better in this role, and, as we can see in the image,
balance in midfield, with former Liverpool Women she causes plenty of problems for opposing
player Christie Murray and ex-Manchester United defences. She has scored five goals in eight
midfielder Mollie Green joining this summer. games so far this season, after not scoring at
Whilst Murray is more defensive-minded, Green all last season, and that shows how playing in
likes to get forward and offer an attacking threat. this central role has helped both her individual
game and Birmingham’s overall attack.

However, as we can also see, Birmingham

need to get players forward to support Walker,
ensuring that they take advantage of these good
attacking chances. The thing about only having
Walker upfront is that, although she makes it
hard for the defenders to get the ball, they can
surround her, as we can see them looking to do
here. Therefore, this leads us into our next point.
If we look at this image, we can see what Murray
has brought to the team. As mentioned, she offers
a defensive quality to the team, and operates in
her own half for most of the game. This means that
Birmingham City Women have options in situations
like this; they can play a long ball forwards, or
pass short to Murray, who is circled. The Scotland
international has a good passing range, able to
transfer the ball anywhere on the pitch.

41
We mentioned how Carla Ward brought in Christie As we can see here, sitting back means that
Murray and Mollie Green last summer, and Birmingham give their teams more space and
that Murray stays back to link up play between time with the ball, and Arsenal Women here are
defence and midfield. That then allows other able to stretch across the pitch, making it as big
players, including Green, to get forward and play as possible. We can see how there is only one
in attacking situations. Here, we can see how Birmingham player in Arsenal’s half, whilst all
Green stays close to Walker when Birmingham the others are sitting back, protecting their goal.
are in attack. We have seen examples of this Against the top teams, this is how Carla Ward
partnership in games this season, with Green has looked to win points, and it has worked in
following up to score chances that Walker hasn’t some ways. Chelsea Women only won by scoring
converted, so this is a key area of Carla Ward’s an early set-piece goal in their clash earlier this
tactics, and is a big reason for their improved season, but were frustrated by Birmingham in
performances and results in 2020/2021. the remainder of the game. Therefore, whilst
conceding more possession to their opponents,
We have seen in this section how Carla Ward Birmingham have actually become more
has changed Birmingham’s midfield and attack, organised at the back, meaning that, when they
ensuring her team have a better balance in do score a goal, they have a better chance of
midfield, and are able to use this to get forward keeping the lead and winning games.
and increase their attacking threat. The effect of
this can be seen in their improved goal tally, with
them only scoring five goals in 13 games last
season, whilst they have already got nine in their
eight games so far this time around.

Defensive organisation
H owever, the main change in Birmingham
City Women’s tactics this season has been
in their overall style of play. They looked to
throw more into the attack last season, but Carla
Ward has instilled a counter-attacking approach
to games, making it more difficult for teams to
break them down.
This image details the level of organisation
that Ward has instilled into her team. Arsenal
are looking to move into the box, but have to
resort to a long ball sideways instead, because
Birmingham’s structure has left them with no
other choice. This is despite there being three
Arsenal players between the lines, because
Birmingham’s two lines have made that area
very difficult to find. Therefore, having this
defensive approach decreases the options that
opponents have on the ball, and leads to more
sideways passes as they look to find a way
through. Unfortunately for Birmingham, Arsenal
are excellent at playing quick passes, which is
where they manage to break through these two
lines; this is where this type of defending perhaps
falls down. However, we can see how this has

42
been an instant fix to Birmingham’s problems of
conceding goals, with 23 let in last season, but
they have only conceded 13 up to this point in
2020/2021; a big improvement.
The main reason why Birmingham have been
able to set up this way has been the addition on
loan from NWSL side Kansas City of Scotland
captain Rachel Corsie. As we can see in
this image, she takes control at the heart of
their defence, and this then instils confidence
throughout the rest of the team. This particular
image shows Corsie clearing an attempt by
Chelsea to get the ball behind, but she helps out
in numerous other ways too, including making
clearances on the goal line. She is only on loan
until the end of January, so it remains to be seen
how Birmingham will replace her for the second
half of the season. However, there is no doubting
that, by having her at the centre of their defensive
efforts, Birmingham have looked more certain of
themselves this season, and that confidence has
been clear for all to see.
Defensive pressing
T he final point to make about Birmingham
City Women’s improvements this season
under Carla Ward is their pressing at the back.
To explain, when Birmingham are defending,
they don’t just stay in their positions and allow
opponents to play the ball around them; they go
and close it down too.
43
Here, we can see how Arsenal are looking
to move the ball into the box, but Birmingham
move out one at a time to close the ball; one
player presses, then, when the ball is passed,
that players slots back in and another moves
out to press. You can see how tight they get to
the ball, and it goes backwards here, as you
can see. Therefore, whilst they have a good
structure that frustrates opponents, Birmingham
also have the confidence to get out and close
the ball down. That means that opponents can’t
just wait in space to make the right pass; they
have to watch the Birmingham players closest to
them as well, as they come out to take time away
from whichever player has possession. This then
forces more mistakes from them, so we can see
another way that Carla Ward has made her team
harder to beat.
It’s not just when the ball is in front of them that
they press either. Here, we can see how Chelsea
have the ball in a good position, but Birmingham
have rushed back to close the player down
from behind, again taking time away from the
attacker and lessening their options. Therefore,
Birmingham’s opponents can’t just watch the
players in front of them, but need to watch those
behind as well, which doubles the threat and the
chance of a mistake in possession. Again, from
this, we can see why teams have found it harder
to beat Birmingham this season.

Firstly, we can see that, across the board, the

statistics per game have all gone in the right
direction for Birmingham. They now have a
higher expected goals (xG) value, as well as a
higher percentage of shots on target. These both
come from their increased goal threat, getting
The two examples we have looked at so far show midfielders forward to support Claudia Walker,
Birmingham pressing one-on-one, but they can who herself has looked sharper in front of goal
also use two players to close down the ball at the this season as well.
same time. This happens mainly when the ball is
on the wing, as it is here, and therefore having Defensively, the statistics show that they now
two players pressing stops any inside pass being concede less goals per game than last season,
made. Pernille Harder, who has the ball here for meaning that, again, they have become harder
Chelsea, now can only play the ball backwards, to beat. However, as mentioned already in this
but there is the risk that Birmingham will intercept analysis, their defensive setup means that they
this pass and then clear it towards their attack. have less possession, and a lower passing
accuracy. They are happy for their opponents to
We have looked in this section at how have the ball, and then to take it off them and
Birmingham look to press the ball when it is in move it through the thirds into good attacking
a dangerous area, and the three examples all areas, and this is the basis of what Carla Ward
show how this works, and the effect it has on has introduced tactically to the team.
their opponents. This tactic is something that
we have seen a lot of this season from them, We have already seen how much of an impact
and clearly plays a big part in Carla Ward’s Rachel Corsie has made to the defence, and
philosophy. It is yet another change she has how she wins the ball in the air and stops it
made that has improved her side. getting into the space behind her; Birmingham’s
aerial duels won value has gone up as a result
of her addition to the team. Therefore, it is clear
Data comparison from these statistics that a lot has been improved
at Damson Park, and Birmingham are looking

W e have looked in this analysis at the up the table this season as a result, rather than
different tactics that Birmingham City down it.
Women have been using this season, but, in
order to see how much they have improved, we
need to make a direct comparison between their
2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons. In this table,
we have looked at some key statistics.

44
 Conclusion
T his tactical analysis has served to give
us an idea of how much Carla Ward has
reinvigorated a Birmingham City Women side
that underperformed last season. The former
midfielder has introduced several new ideas
to the team, and we have seen how much of
a difference it has made. We have looked at
several different tactical aspects of their play in
this analysis, and have backed up our findings
with statistics, proving that, across most areas
of the team, Birmingham have improved under
Ward. There is no doubt that they will avoid a
second consecutive relegation battle this season,
but the question for them now is how far up the
table they can get before the season ends, and
that is a compliment in itself to them.

45
 Bruno Irles:

US Quevilly-Rouen’s mastermind

FINTAN O’REILLY // @FintanFootball

46
It’s arguable that US Quevilly-Rouen Métropole
manager Bruno Irles is one of the most promising
young head-coaches in European football.
The 45-year-old spent his entire playing career
at Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, currently under ex-
Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovač. His coaching
career also began at Monaco, where he served
as U17 manager from 2005-2011 and 2013-
2014, with a spell as their reserve team boss
sandwiched in between from 2011-2013.
Since leaving Monaco, Irles’ stock has consistently
risen due to the results he’s produced. When he
took charge of Pau FC in January 2019, they
were threatened with relegation. By the end of
the 2019/20 season, he’d led them to promotion
from France’s third tier, Championnat National 1,
to Ligue 2 as champions, before leaving to join
his current club, Quevilly-Rouen, who sit atop
National 1 in his first season.
In this tactical analysis, we’ll take an in-depth
look at Irles’ tactics with Les Canaris USQRM.
We will highlight some of the key aspects of the
manager’s coaching philosophy and style in
this tactical analysis, exploring a coach who will
inevitably end up managing in Ligue 1 one day if
his career continues on its current trajectory.
Statistical analysis of
Quevilly-Rouen
in possession
F ocusing solely on Irles’ tactics in possession,
the 45-year-old isn’t a manager that puts
much emphasis on keeping lots of possession.
Quevilly-Rouen have kept the third-lowest
average possession percentage (46%) of any
National 1 side this term.
47
Additionally, Quevilly-Rouen have the lowest
passing rate (11.3) and lowest pass success
percentage (74.7%) of any National 1 side.
However, they don’t struggle to progress the ball
upfield, as they’ve taken the third-highest number
of touches inside the box of any team in France’s
third tier this term, and they don’t struggle to get
shots off, with Irles’ men taking the most shots of
any National 1 side this term.
This highlights an important aspect of Irles’
philosophy, which is that he likes his teams to
play in a relatively direct fashion, getting the
ball from one end of the pitch to the other while
playing no more passes than necessary, which
Irles’ structure helps them to achieve. We’ll take
a closer look at the particular patterns of play they
use to achieve this later in this tactical analysis,
but that is the general idea of Irles’ playstyle.
In addition to being efficient at progressing
play, Irles’ men aren’t wasteful with their shots,
with 44.9% of their shots hitting the target - the
third-highest of any National 1 side - and with
Quevilly-Rouen generating a league-high xG of
23.23 from their goal attempts. This works out
as 0.131 xG per shot, which is higher than the
National 1 average of 0.12.
All of these stats explain that Irles’ side doesn’t
just take lots of shots, they’re good at creating
high-quality chances from their efficient, low-
pass build-up play.
This efficient chance creation is why they have
scored more goals than any other National 1 side
at this stage of the campaign (29) and a big part
of why they currently sit at the top of France’s
third tier.
One final important statistic relating to Irles’ side
in possession that we will analyse, is the success
percentage of their progressive passes.
As we’ve mentioned, Quevilly-Rouen have got This next image shows an example of how Irles’
the lowest overall pass success percentage in Quevilly-Rouen side typically shapes up during
National 1 for the 2020/21 campaign, but this is the build-up. Both centre-backs push out quite
largely down to the fact that a large portion of wide, leaving the goalkeeper occupying the
their passes are progressive passes, which are centre, while both full-backs advance, essentially
naturally going to have a lower success rate than forming a four-man line with the two central
lateral or backward passes. midfielders. At the same time, the wingers push
high, forming another four-man line with the two
In line with the tactics that see them move from centre-forwards.
one end of the pitch to the other efficiently,
Irles likes his Quevilly-Rouen side to play This creates a 2-4-4 shape which allows Quevilly-
progressively, with more line-breaking passing Rouen’s front four to shape up 1v1 against an
than the average side. opposition back four and typically allows the
wide men to then utilise their dribbling quality
This does see Quevilly-Rouen end up with a low when breaking past the final line of defence.
overall pass success percentage but they’re very This is a big reason why Quevilly-Rouen have
good at playing accurate progressive passes to attempted the fourth-highest number of dribbles
break lines quickly and efficiently. of any National 1 side this term and maintained
the fourth-highest dribble success percentage of
As a result, in contrast to their overall pass any National 1 team.
success percentage, they’ve got the fifth-
highest progressive pass success percentage in This shape places great emphasis on getting
France’s third tier. numbers out wide, so perhaps it’s not a major
surprise that much of Quevilly-Rouen’s build-up
This highlights the efficiency of Irles’ team. Every play comes via the wide areas.
action has a clear purpose.
Knowing that Quevilly-Rouen will typically look
to build their attacks via short passes from the
Quevilly-Rouen in back, in a typical passage of build-up play, the
‘keeper, usually Nicolas Lemaître, will pass to
possession under Irles one of the two centre-backs - usually a pairing of
Mickaël Nadé on the left and Romain Padovani

N ext, we’ll provide some analysis of some on the right.

structures and specific ideas that Irles’ side
uses in possession, starting with their build-up One of the centre-backs will usually then play
play. Firstly, Quevilly-Rouen have usually lined the ball out to the full-back. On some occasions,
up in a base 4-4-2 shape this term. if the full-back is being marked tight or if there
is more space higher up the pitch, the centre-
back will play the ball straight to the winger, but
more often than not, the play does go through
the advanced full-backs, who will typically carry
the ball forward if possible or, if not, then play the
ball to the advanced winger or straight through to
the striker if they have found space.

48
Splitting the pitch vertically, we see that Quevilly-
Rouen’s centre-back, central midfielder, full-
back, winger and striker form a pentagon shape,
which becomes a diamond when you exclude
the centre-back after the ball progresses beyond
that initial part of the build-up, this creates lots of
passing angles and helps them to progress the
play via the wide areas.
With a lot of the build-up coming via the wings,
Quevilly-Rouen’s central midfielders don’t
play an integral role in the build-up. Their main
purpose in the build-up is providing either the
advanced full-back or the winger with an outlet if
their options are limited by opposition pressure.

In this system, the strikers - Andrew Jung and

Ottman Dadoune - usually make runs in the
channels just between the wings and the centre.
Their movement is crucial to this system and
helps their team to create a lot of goalscoring
opportunities.

We can see an example of this in the next

image, where right-winger Yassine Bahassa
is surrounded by opposition players, unable to
progress the play on his own. As a result, the
central midfielder’s movement to create a viable
passing angle is crucial.

This highlights the effectiveness of Quevilly-

Rouen’s offensive wide diamond in creating
We see an example of Quevilly-Rouen’s left constant passing options, as well as, once
striker making this movement in the next image. again, the importance of off-the-ball movement
Just before this image, the ball was passed to in Quevilly-Rouen’s chance creation, as we
the winger from the full-back. As the winger previously noted when looking at the centre-
dropped to receive the ball in space and then forwards’ movement.
turned towards goal, he dragged the opposition
full-back towards him. This frees up the near- In general, however, the central midfielders don’t
side striker to get onto the end of a through ball play a major role in possession and any passes
as he makes this run into that channel between they do play will generally be quite simple, with
the centre and the wing. those two players - typically Gustavo Sangaré
and Lucas Toussaint - playing a much more
We can see that this pass is all it takes for the significant role out of possession.
4v4 situation formed by Quevilly-Rouen’s shape
to become a numerically advantageous situation
for Irles’ team. With three attackers running
into the centre of the pitch, they create a 3v2
situation versus the opposition’s centre-backs,
highlighting one of the main ways this direct
attacking system has proven so effective.

49
Quevilly-Rouen play a low number of crosses, They tend to defend very passively until the ball
with their wingers usually cutting inside from enters their half of the pitch, applying very low
positions like the one we can see Bahassa pressure to players in the opposition half, even if
occupying in the next image, rather than staying they are close to them.
on the outside in order to forge a crossing angle.
On losing the ball after one of their direct attacking
As a result, they don’t attempt a lot of headers, expeditions, they generally look to drop back
with Irles preferring his side to take shots on the into their 4-4-2 block, as opposed to deploying
ground from central positions. a counter-press, which emphasises that the
majority of their team doesn’t focus on trying to
One notable area of weakness within Irles’ dispossess the opposition and instead, focuses
tactics in possession is that his back-three - the more on preventing the opposition from playing
goalkeeper and two centre-backs - has struggled through them by forming a compact structure.
when playing against an aggressive high press.

As the next image shows, within their 4-4-2 shape,

This next image shows us an example of one Quevilly-Rouen’s strikers block off passing lanes
such situation. This could be a result of the into the midfield from the centre-backs, while
relatively large amount of space between the their wingers look to apply a moderate amount
‘keeper and the centre-backs or the ball-playing of pressure to the near-side full-back if they get
quality of these players, but misplaced passes or the ball, or remain horizontally compact with
poorly-weighted passes from the goalkeeper or the near-side central midfielder if the ball is on
the centre-backs are not uncommon to see when the opposite wing. The near-side winger won’t
Irles’ side are at the very beginning of their build- sprint, though, instead, they essentially become
up play, so this can be exploited. a barrier to the full-back to prevent them from
progressing the ball down the wing, via dribbling
or passing.
Quevilly-Rouen out of Upon the ball entering Quevilly-Rouen’s half,
possession under Irles they will only really press aggressively on a
heavy touch or a misplaced pass - essentially,

Q uevilly-Rouen have got the sixth-highest a clear opportunity to win the ball back. For the
PPDA of any National 1 side this term most part, they still place far more emphasis on
- 11.14 - which is also higher than the league retaining their compact shape and remaining
average. This tells us that Irles’ side presses with difficult to play through.
relatively low intensity.

50
Despite their passive defending, Quevilly-Rouen This player dropped from the deeper zone being
have engaged in the most defensive duels of protected by the Quevilly-Rouen right centre-mid
any National 1 side this term and that is largely and to guard against this player receiving the ball
because of the role their central midfielders play and helping his side to play through the centre of
within this system. the pitch, Irles has his man stay tight to him and
follow him as he drops, forcing him to play the ball
Their usual central midfield pairing of Sangaré back in front of the first line of Quevilly-Rouen’s
(13.13) and Toussaint (12.28) are placed in first defence, so that he avoids being dispossessed
and second in National 1 in terms of defensive by the aggressive midfielder.
duel-engagements this season. While Quevilly-
Rouen’s central midfield duo doesn’t have a The central midfielders also play a unique and
significant role in their team’s on-the-ball tactics, important role in the transition to defence, as
their role out of possession is crucial. unlike the rest of the team, they press more
aggressively in transition when an opportunity to
Unlike the rest of Irles’ team, who generally don’t win the ball is present.
press very aggressively at least in the opposition
half, if at all, Irles’ central midfielders defend
aggressively.

In the previous image, as the opposition midfielder

moved across the pitch towards the full-back on
the ball, he attracted pressure from the ball-near
central midfielder as he entered into his zone.
This demonstrates another important aspect of
Irles’ tactics with Quevilly-Rouen - their central
midfielders tend to get quite tight to an opposition We can see an example of this in the next
player and press them more aggressively as they image. Just before this image, Quevilly-Rouen
enter into their particular zone. attempted to play a through ball from the wing to
the striker running in behind the last line but an
opposition player managed to intercept the pass.

This triggers the central midfielder’s press and

he gets onto the end of that loose ball, which
allows Quevilly-Rouen to keep attacking and
protects the centre of the pitch by preventing
the opposition from hitting Quevilly-Rouen on a
potentially dangerous counter-attack.

This next image shows an example of Quevilly-

Rouen’s central midfielder following an opposition
central midfielder as they drop deeper to receive
a vertical pass attempting to break through the
first line of defence.

51
There are a couple of notable potential
weaknesses within Quevilly-Rouen’s defensive
tactics. Firstly, the ball can enter the centre of
the pitch if the opposition plays around the striker
and into the central midfielder quickly, before
they drop into a very compact shape, as was the
case in this next image.
This highlights that the protection of the centre of
the pitch relies heavily on the team’s organisation,
as well as the concentration, work-rate and
speed of the central midfielders.
Additionally, due to how Irles has his central
midfielder press aggressively and stick quite
close to opposition midfielders when they do enter
their zone, it’s possible for a team to overload the
centre of the pitch to get past Quevilly-Rouen’s
block by manipulating the central midfielders’ On the ball, Irles has an effective, organised way
positioning through movement.
Conclusion
T o conclude this tactical analysis, if you were
to describe Irles’ philosophy in just one word,
‘efficiency’ may be the most fitting one to use. It
seems every aspect of Quevilly-Rouen’s game
sees them get maximum results from the physical
effort or the technical action that they put in.
Out of possession, Irles has his men drop
into their compact 4-4-2 block to defend in a
disciplined and organised way, with the midfield
duo particularly carrying a lot of the weight for
the team in terms of winning the ball back, via
their aggressive role.
of playing to get the ball from one end of the pitch
to the other efficiently, in relatively few passes,
with all 11 players playing a clear, defined role
within the system.

Another notable weakness teams can exploit

in Quevilly-Rouen’s defensive tactics is the big
gap that opens up between the backline and the
midfield line in transition to defence. This gap
can be seen in the next image.

This gap can be exploited by central overloads

which make it very hard for the central midfielders
to compensate for, with players either advancing
into this space from deep or dropping into this
space from a more advanced position. Creative
players can cause Irles’ side great problems by
exploiting this weakness.

52
DATA VIZ
Serie A 2020/21: Number of scorers in each team

VENKATANARAYANAN VENKATESAN // @VenkyReddevil

A fter 15 rounds in this season’s Serie A we have a surprising, but familiar, leader at the top of the
table. Stefano Pioli’s Milan are top of the ladder leading rivals Inter by just one point. Defending
champions Juventus, under new manager Andrea Pirlo, are fifth in the table with 27 points. Milan are
the only team in the division yet to lose a game.

Milan’s excellent start to the season must be attributed to their excellent goal scoring run. The
Rossoneri have scored in every league game so far and are joint-top for the number of scorers in the
team (12). Second placed Inter have scored the most goals in the division with Conte’s men having
10 different scorers in the league so far.

Torino, who are joint-top of the pile for number of different scorers, yet are 17th in the league table.
Parma, who only have six different scorers are struggling to score goals this season with Fabio
Liverani’s men scoring only 13 goals so far. Atalanta, who scored 98 goals last season, are once
again on track to achieve the same with Gasperini’s men having 12 different scorers to their name
so far.

Please note that the data used to find the number of different scorers in each team is pertinent to the
Serie A’s 15th game week and could differ when you read this.

53
54
 Tactical Theory:

Defending the half-space

CAMERON MEIGHAN // @cam_meighan

55
T he half-space is an area of the pitch in
football which has been the subject of much
writing from an offensive point of view, with its
offensive qualities and advantages making it a
frequently used and targeted area for build-up.
Because of this, the half-space is obviously a
key area to defend within football, particularly
when facing teams who prioritise positional play,
however there has been little writing around how
to actually do this. With this looking like becoming
a facet of football with increasing importance, it
makes sense to consider methods of defending
this space.
This tactical analysis presents methods and
fundamental ideas which are vital to protecting
the half-space, taking lessons from the likes
of Diego Simeone, Julian Nagelsmann, José
Mourinho, Lucien Favre, Antonio Conte and
many more.
Protect the centre first
the methods around limiting progression through
this area in particular. The piece will also only
focus on mid/deep pressing, as we are looking
more at maintaining coverage of the half-space
and limiting progression, rather than looking for
ways to recover possession.
A key concept: Limiting
responsibilities and
overloads
O ne of the key concepts that will feature in all
of the systems in this article is the concept
of limiting responsibilities. Within any pressing
structure, an individual player has a role to carry
out, and it is these roles which positional play
looks to manipulate and exploit. Therefore, one
of the key areas of defending in a compact shape
is limiting responsibility on certain individuals. If
you do this, you limit the ‘decisional crises’ that
good positional play sides create. We can see

A prerequisite to defending the half-space is an example here where limiting responsibility

to defend the centre of the pitch. The very helps to increase coverage of the centre of the
reason the half-space is valued is because it pitch. Here, Roberto Firmino cuts access to the
offers some of the same characteristics as the Manchester City pivot with his cover shadow.
centre of the pitch, for example a better field of This means that Jordan Henderson, the closest
vision and more passing angles. The centre is midfield player to Rodri, no longer has the
therefore the most valuable area of the pitch, responsibility of pressing Rodri if he receives the
and so naturally it needs the most protection. ball. As a result, he can focus solely on protecting
If you protect the centre, you can force the ball the central lane by shuffling across, and there is
wide, which is often the poorest place to be no opportunity for Manchester City to create a
on the pitch. If you then protect the half-space decisional crises for Henderson.
from here, then ball progression becomes very
difficult for the opposition. Therefore, everything
stems from staying centrally compact, and this
piece incorporates this into defending the half-
space, as the two are dependent on each other.

As a disclaimer then, this piece could also just

be general methods of defending in a deep/mid
block, as most teams specifically look to cover
the half-space, but this piece focuses in detail

56
It is a basic idea, but the less roles you can
assign to defenders in key areas, the less likely
you are to be overloaded. The following systems
and ideas showcase how to do this.
cut access to the half-space also by applying
pressure on the ball. Gladbach remain vertically
compact also which helps to limit space, and
Kramer can cover the half-space and prepare to
step forward with the whole defensive unit.

Methods:
The 442
T he first system we will look at is the 442,
which we have already seen briefly in the
Liverpool example earlier. This is a system which
has been used with massive success by the likes
of Mourinho, Simeone, and Favre. Another method Gladbach used to limit central
play was to have their strikers back press to cut
This example here from Favre’s time at Gladbach access into pivots, which we can see Raffael does
shows an ideal mid-block scenario for the here. This again prevents central play, and limits
442. The two strikers drop off to become more the responsibilities of the central midfielders.
passive, and instead cut the passing lanes into
the Bayern Munich double pivot. The ball near
central midfielder then simply has to cover the
half-space as mentioned, while the wingers can
press the full-backs or remain more passive,
depending on the formation of the opponent.

One of the disadvantages of this system is its

This structure therefore cuts central access
almost completely, and so the ball is forced
either long or wide. When the ball is forced wide,
the defensive team can stay in a stable shape,
with the winger able to put pressure on the full-
back, and the central midfielder able to cover the
half-space without being occupied by a central
midfielder in front. We can see an example here
of this happening, with Herrmann here able to
use of only two central midfielders to cover the
half-spaces, and as a result, defensive shuffling
and compactness after switches in play is vital for
the success of this system. In another example
from Favre’s side we see here how they prepare
to get compact on the other side. Nearby strikers
back press to cut immediate switching options,
forcing the ball back and then horizontally. Left
central midfielder Granit Xhaka here can begin
to shuffle across to the left thanks to Raffael’s
positioning.

57
As a result, six seconds later when the ball is
switch is about to be completed, Gladbach are
in a very stable structure, with three players
covering the half-space. Favre’s side were
famous for their position oriented marking, where
they moved as a block in the same direction and
covered space respective to teammates. If you
shift horizontally poorly, teams will find holes in
the pressing structure.
Mourinho’s central midfielders are generally
deeper in the half-space, and will sometimes be
just a yard or two in front of the defence, but their
role remains the same, just that they may be
slightly more zonally oriented than other teams,
in that players will still cover the half-space
if there is no immediate threat, as we can see
here, with Højbjerg well prepared to occupy the
half-space from deep, with the advantage of this
being that he can cover players in front of him
(which he can see), rather than having to defend
space that is behind him.
58
A key factor in all back four formations is the
roles of the wingers within a compact block,
with another key concept of limiting space being
to limit engagements. If the aim is to stay in a
compact block and limit progression, certain
areas of the pitch want to reduce how often
they engage the opposition in a press, and the
wingers and full-backs are particularly in this
regard when defending the half-space.
Limiting a full-back on full-back press is absolutely
vital to maintaining coverage of the half-space,
as we can see in this diagram below illustrating a
bad press from the 442. Lots of teams will often
drop into a back three with the aim of opening up
the half-space, and we can see the team in red
do this here. Against the back three, the winger
now presses a wide centre back, meaning the
full-back is now free in a very wide area. If the
team want to maintain pressure on the ball, the
full-back has to step up and wide to press, and
so with the defensive winger narrower, and the
defensive full-back higher and wider, the half-
space opens. Furthermore, the defensive team
now have a centre back occupying the half-
space, who is likely to be matched up against a
smaller, trickier inside forward.

Atlético Madrid are usually excellent at preventing
a full-back on full-back press, as their wingers
remain passive and narrow in order to increase
coverage of the half-space. We can see here
Henderson picks up the ball as a wide centre
back for Liverpool, and is given lots of space to
move forward into. The left-winger is drilled not to
engage Henderson in this situation, as doing so
would open the half-space. Instead, both himself
and the full-back behind him stay narrow until the
ball is played wide, where they can then press
the nearby players.
Mourinho’s wingers will become so passive at
times that they will form a situational back six,
with the midfielder tucking into the half-space,
and the full-back becoming very narrow. This of
course makes it very difficult to build through.
59
4-5 -1 and its variants
T he 4-5-1 naturally gives greater lateral
coverage in the midfield line, however it also
reduces coverage in the forward line, so how does
the 4-5-1 look to limit half-space progressions?
To answer this, we will look at Dieter Hecking’s
Gladbach and Julian Naglesmann’s Hoffenheim.
In the particular game in question, a 3-0 victory
away to Bayern Munich, Dieter Hecking’s side
used a 4-1-4-1, although in pressing moments
it would also switch to a 4-4-2. We can see their
pressing scheme here in a deep block, with the
4-5-1 allowing for greater horizontal coverage in
the midfield line. The widest central midfielder
would often push higher to press the centre back,
in which case the central midfielder (Kramer)
would look to press across to cover the half-
space. This example here is a nice one in that
Neuhaus is able to apply pressure on the centre
back and cover the half-space.
You could then call this shape a 4-4-2 with Neuhaus
jumping, however jumping from this midfield line
is a different proposition to acting as a striker.
Firstly, the player is always pressing from in front
of the centre back, which isn’t always possible
as a striker. Secondly therefore, in theory, better
angles can be covered around the half-space. We
can see in this example here an example where
the central midfielder gets their pressing angle
perfect, and so the half-space is covered. The
deeper central midfielder can step into the centre,
or into the half-space for further cover.
The problem with this pressing scheme though
is that the perfect pressing angle may not always
be achieved, and having only one player covering
the opposition back line immediately can reduce
deeper central occupation and some pressure on
the ball. Here for example, the pressing midfielder
gets his angle spot on, and covers the half-space
well. However, because he is arriving from deep
and pressing from directly in front, the sideways
pass into the central option becomes available.
This could be solved by a 4-5-1-0 formation at
times, with the striker marking the pivot, however
this greatly reduces pressure on the ball. As a
result, this system has its own advantages and
disadvantages, as does the 4-4-2.
60
Against Peter Bosz’s Leverkusen, Julian
Nagelsmann used a 4-3-3 which dropped into
a 5-2-3 situationally. The front three would look
to apply pressure to the Leverkusen back line,
with the striker cutting off the lone pivot, while the
wide forwards would press the full-backs or wide
centre backs. Therefore, at times there would
be a full-back on full-back press. However, the
Hoffenheim central midfielders acted within the
half-spaces, and would mark players once they
moved into these areas no matter how deep they
went. Therefore, Hoffenheim would often drop
into a back five, meaning that the pressing full-
back now had cover and the half-space wasn’t
poorly covered.
Here they even end up in a back six, due to
Leverkusen switching from one half-space to
another. The system fluctuates between a 4-3-
3 and a 5-2-3 depending on the opposition’s
movements in the half-space, and so because of
it’s situational nature it becomes very adaptable
in game.
Therefore even when the opposition create a
structure like double width, the half-space can
have ip to five players within it, depending on
how narrow the full-back wants to tuck. If the directions, which is difficult to do, as Manchester
opposition don’t create double width here and City and Juventus found out.
instead just invert one of these wide players,
Hoffenheim still have a nearby central midfielder
who can cover the half-space overload, which
takes advantage of that increased horizontal
coverage.

To reduce responsibility on the centre backs,

Antonio Conte often used a 5-4-1 formation in
which midfielders provided excellent coverage
of the half-space to limit progression. The shape
would act like a conventional 5-4-1 at times, but
a particularly interesting tactic massively helped
Back three systems to limit progression- favouring a wing-back on
wing-back press.

T his fluid Nagelsmann system naturally

leads us into looking at how back three/
five formations cover the half-spaces. Here we
The aim of this was to increase the winger’s half-
space coverage, which in turn helps to protect
can see a fairly traditional back five pressing the wide centre back. We can see an example
structure, with wide centre backs often given of this pressing scheme below, where Eden
the role of occupying inside forwards due to the Hazard stays very wide here while Alonso gets
increased coverage along the back line. This ready to jump and press the City full-back. In a
illustration shows Lyon’s pressing structure in conventional 5-4-1, you would rely on the ball
the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League near central midfielder and centre back to cover
last season. They operated within a 5-3-2 and the half-space here.
would look to cut access centrally to force the
ball wide, where their ball near central midfielder
would press wide, leaving the wide centre back
and shuffling central midfielders to occupy the
half-space. This system means that half-space
occupation is virtually always existent by the
centre-back, unless they are dragged wide,
and so to play through it, this centre back has
to be either dismarked or overloaded in both

61
The main danger of forcing a full-back to engage
high is that the half-space is left open due to
the winger also committing, however if the
winger doesn’t commit, you are left with more
occupation of the half-space. Chelsea therefore
jump into a 4-5-1 all of a sudden due to Alonso’s
jump, and so Hazard can now tuck in to cover the
half-space, while N’Golo Kanté can press higher
to cover the pivot here if needed. This job could
also be fulfilled by the striker, leaving Kanté deep
to protect the half-space also. The positioning of
Hazard here limits ball progression through the
half-space massively, and so City are forced
backwards.
Here, even when Manchester City create double
width, pinning the full-back deeper and forcing
the winger to press wider, the ball near central
midfielder is able to come across and cover the
half-space. City work the ball down the line, but
by this point the near central midfielder has easily
recovered to prevent the ball being progressed.
62
Conclusion
T his article has sought to look at a few
methods good defensive teams have used to
limit ball progression both generally and around
the half-space. This article only tells a small part
of the story around these defensive systems, as
another large factor to consider is how to either
win the ball from such scenarios, or how to then
attack from them. The topic of pressing traps
within the half-space (and whether this is a good
idea) is something I am experimenting with at the
moment, and so I will likely write about it in the
future.
Overall then, the half-space is a sought after
area of the pitch by positional play sides, and
with fans of this style of football growing over the
last decade, it only makes sense that methods
of limiting such teams have also become of
interest and had success. A key part of any
defensive side’s success is their inability to limit
progression, and with the half-space being a key
area for ball progression against deeper blocks,
knowing how to stop this is a useful tool to have,
with this analysis hopefully triggering an interest
to consider this topic more.
 Joey Veerman:

Is he ready for the Premier League?

Art by TOM PEARCE // @PearceTom4

Haris
Prasad V.T
63
C OVID-19 cancelled not only matches but
a lot of transfers which could have been
completed but were not due to financial fragilities.
You would imagine, after his stellar first season
at SC Heerenveen, Joey Veerman would have
been on the shortlist of many European clubs if it
were not for the global pandemic.
Capable of playing equally well as a #6, #8,
or #10, he is the sui generis of the Eredivisie.
At 6’0”, Veerman is a player worthy of that
compliment. He has made tremendous growth in
the 17 months of playing time at the summit of
Dutch football. He has become the fulcrum of a
side looking to rise the table.
His mentality cannot be placed under question
either. He got a broken bone in his foot in 2018,
which manifested itself in other areas of his foot,
side-lining him for a longer interval. Heerenveen
took advantage of this down period, paying
€550,000 for him, much less than his asking
price before the injury. In this scout report, we
will analyse what value Heerenveen are getting.
As we mentioned, Heerenveen took advantage
of a down period, bringing him in for a snip
of what he will eventually be sold for. Fans of
the club can be very grateful for this decision,
as not only is he a fantastic midfielder, but he
can be mesmerising to watch on the field too.
Veerman glides across the pitch with an elegant
poise so reminiscent of some of the very best
to come out of the Netherlands over the years.
He possesses excellent technical ability with a
range of surprises up his sleeve.
Veerman has two outstanding talents: press
resistance and passing. As a central midfielder,
being press resistant is becoming ever more
significant to make it at the highest level,
especially in a division such as the EPL, where
you are allowed very little time to think on the
ball. He regularly scans his vicinity, so much so
that it sometimes feels like he has a bird’s eye
view on the pitch. It enables the Dutchman to
receive possession in any situation and operate
with a controlled tempo.

In this tactical analysis, we will cover his

various roles in Johnny Jansen’s tactics, his
distinguishable attributes, and the player he
could become, potentially in the Premier League.

Player profile
V eerman began his footballing career at his Veerman’s player profile, created by the
local club, FC Volendam, a short distance wonderful Sathish Prasad (@SathishPrasadVT
north-east of Amsterdam. He broke into their first on Twitter).
team as a 17-year-old in the Eerste Divisie, after
making a wonderful first impression with his well-
versed skillset. It was not long until he won the
club’s Player of the Year award, in fact, it was
Veerman's role in
that very same season. Eredivisie clubs were
quickly made aware of his talents, but Volendam
Jansen's system
kept him for another season.
A
s we hinted to earlier, Veerman has played
as a #6, #8, and #10 this season for
Heerenveen. Though, only once has he played

64
as a pure-bred attacking midfielder (against ADO
Den Haag back in November). Most frequently,
Veerman will find himself operating as the left
central-midfielder in a 4-3-3, with free license to
roam up and down the channel. He has the work
rate and stamina gauge to do so.
Positioned on the left of a midfield three, Veerman
uses his right foot to open up play. He can use his
stronger right foot to pass down the channel with
a curve on the ball which can take the ball away
from a defender. This is how Jansen’s team like
to begin their attacks, and Veerman is constantly
the author of their progressive endeavours. He is
a vital player to Heereveen’s build-up, dropping
much deeper than he would last season.
Veerman’s heatmap for the 2019/20 Eredivisie
season.
If we compare Veerman’s heatmap from last
season to the current one, we can see he has
played a much more reserved role in the side.
This season, he would look to collect the ball
and look to play the vertical pass from a deeper
position. He completes the second-most passes
in the Heerenveen squad per 90, with 51.2
(Pawel Bochniewicz, centre-back, completes
52.7 per 90).
65
Even in an advanced attacking situation,
Veerman is the least far forward, as he can scan
all the options and play the unexpected pass.
He is an all-action midfielder in every sense of
the meaning. He ranks second, first, and first,
respectively for shots, key passes, and dribbles
per 90 in the Heerenveen squad. That is some
feat and is emblematic of his importance to
Jansen’s side. Chipping in with 3.2 tackles
and interceptions for a side who hold just 45%
possession is respectable too, and now, we will
detail just how he brings his value to the side.
Veerman's unyielding
press resistance
In possession and under pressure, Veerman’s
quick-thinking and scanning stay at a high level.
He keeps his composure with touches of close
control that keep the ball shielded away from his
opponent at all times. He is very quick to identify
pressure and react accordingly, either by shifting
the ball to the other side of his body or freeze
his opponent with a couple of intricate touches to
take it past them.
What he does best is to not overcomplicate things.
Seldom will you see Veerman’s dabble in flicks
and tricks which do not help his primary objective;
to escape opposition pressure. His smart, small
touches create time for him to dictate the game
at his pace, helping his team gain a foothold
in possession. He attempts a high volume of
dribbles, typically down the left half-space, at a
commendable 61.11% success rate.
Scatter plot of Eredivisie midfielders’ dribbles per
90 compared with successful dribbles %.
It is not uncommon to see more than two
opponents entrench themselves into Veerman’s
vicinity, before losing their man as he shifts his
body and feet to escape any danger. More often
than not, with a positive frame of mind, looking to
get out of danger, then position his body to pass
forwards and progress play. It helps that he has
a modest weak foot, which he uses sparingly to
aid him in these tricky scenarios.
Overall, his ability in tight spaces should not go
under the radar, as it is one of his best attributes,
and one more and more elite clubs are calling
out for in the modern game. Talent is sparse
in this regard, and this is part of what makes
Veerman such a precocious individual. Pressing
the deepest midfielder (which Veerman often is
in this system) is a common tactical instruction,
so being able to avoid the dangers of losing the
ball in this area is very useful.
66
With an opponent applying pressure, Veerman
remains composed, swiftly jinks his body, and
moves forwards into space.
There is an air of simplicity to this piece of play.
He moves forward with the ball, invites pressure,
then plays a straightforward one-two to bypass
the press.
His first-touch is consistent, and it aids him in
receiving the ball and immediately upping the
tempo of the match if necessary. He is an elegant
ball carrier, as we have discussed, but there is
room for improvement certainly. His agility is
sometimes left wanting in congested zones, and
sometimes he can be too calm under pressure
and waits too long to release the ball. Thankfully,
this is usually further up the pitch, where the
penalty for losing the ball is much less fateful.
Veerman's passing ability
V eerman’s calm nature in possession
translates well to another side of his game,
his passing. He has a range of passing which he
can adapt to whatever the situation necessitates.
This season, more so than last, he circulates
possession in deeper areas, links play across
the pitch, and plays long diagonals that find
wide attackers. He has built a relationship with
young Benjamin Nygren (19 y/o) this term, who
is constantly found in space in a wide-right zone.
His weight of passing is something worthy of
note too. He can attack teams with a high line
through the use of his direct balls over defences,
or he can break lines with quick, accurate
passes that progress possession. The ingenuity
required to pull off these high-speed passes is
tough to defend against. This range of passing is
enhanced by his expansive style of play; he is a
high-risk, high-reward player.
Top 10 ranking for progressive passes in the
2020/21 Eredivisie season so far.
While he is not exactly efficient – you only have
to look at his 76.2% pass accuracy this term – he
is certainly ambitious and valuable in the right
moments. He does not hesitate to attempt to find
a teammate between the lines, or an attacker
making a run beyond the defensive line. His
deep completions per 90 (1.9) rank third in the
league for central midfielders with above 450
minutes of playing time, illustrative of his actions
on the field.
From inside his half, he carries the ball into
space, before spotting the left-winger in space,
and finding him ably with a direct, long-ball.
He is the orchestrator of this side, despite never
occupying the lone defensive-midfielder role. His
regular scanning aids his excellent vision so that
he is aware of all of his teammate’s movements
67
further up the pitch. His understanding of
different game scenarios, and what they require,
is extremely valuable since he can act on those
impulses too. Although he is only in his second
season with the club, as vice-captain, he can be
seen frequently waving his arm to beckon players
into position, to complete attacking rotations.
It is quite difficult to show without video, but here,
Veerman glances up the pitch, before calling to
receive the ball. He does this so he knows his
next action before he takes it.
He is one of the most creative midfielders
in the Netherlands, and this is thanks to all
the fundamentals he lays down before even
engaging in the play. He creates time for himself
in harried situations and dictates the game at his
tempo. He can switch from a sensible passer,
who acts as a facilitator pivot in the build-up with
quick, short passes, to a roaming-playmaker,
who wastes no time in carrying the ball past the
press and looks for an opening to break the lines
and a variety of chances.
 a cut above his 0.25 xA per 90, but both metrics
are excellent and lead the league for midfielders.
He reads play intelligently and only goes forward
when the game necessitates it. Playing for a
more dominant side, his final third production
could potentially be even higher, and make for a
really useful player to have as a left-sided #8 in a
4-3-3, which is commonly needed by a plethora
of top sides.

Veerman's defensive
promise
Veerman’s attacking & creativity radar for the
2020/21 Eredivisie season so far. Standing at 6’0”, Veerman’s physicality
and speed are of good value in defensive
situations. He has a willingness to work hard
While his press resistance is his distinctive across all sectors of the pitch and defensively is
attribute, his passing and passing range is where no exception. It is his application of these assets
he provides the most value on a football pitch. He which sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. His
could feasibly fit into either a possession-based awareness in low blocks is occasionally lacking,
side, with his orchestrator qualities, or a team and he can switch off in these scenarios, making
who rely their attacks upon the counterattack as, it sometimes easy to take the ball past him.
when required, he needs very few touches of the
ball to gather and release it, often doing so in What he is aware of is his limitations and thinks
one fluid motion. rationally in knowing when or when not to go into
duels. He will not thrust himself into improbable
scenarios, nor will he look to stab at the opponent
to get the ball back immediately after losing it. His
intelligence does stem across to the defensive
phase and frequently exploits a loose touch, if
not by winning the ball back but by pushing the
opposition backwards.

Scatter plot of Eredivisie midfielders’ xA per 90

compared with assists per 90 (above 0 in both
categories).

In the final-third, the data backs up our claim that

Veerman is the Eredivisie’s single-most creative
central midfielder. His 0.29 assists per 90 are just

68
 Veerman does the right thing here by not letting
his man get goal side, but his lack of pace means
he cannot prevent the cross into a dangerous
area.

Here, Veerman spots the sluggishly-placed pass

Veerman’s defensive actions radar in the 2020/21 and quickly acts on it by intercepting the ball
Eredivisie season so far. before it can reach the intended target.

From this radar, we can understand that Overall, there is promise in his defensive
Veerman is below league average for all but two application. He manipulates his body well in
of the selected defensive metrics for a midfielder. defensive situations and is not overly clumsy in
Although, it is nice to know that when he does the tackle. He has a basic understanding of which
contend for aerial duels, he is moderately way to face an opponent when defending in his
successful at winning them, which is an important team’s defensive third and pushing his opponent
asset to have, depending on a team’s goalkeeper away from the goal is his primary objective in
distribution style. these situations (typically down the channels).
What he does need to work on is his defensive
Outside of that, it is true that he comes across positioning and awareness, as sometimes he
as a below-average defender in the statistics. A can be found napping, leaving his side more
lack of awareness in these situations though can vulnerable than it needs to be.
be improved upon with more game time at the
top level. Just a quick reminder that he is only
in his second season of Eredivisie football at
22 years old. He is an excellent technician, and
Forecast for the future
there is a potential for this to be carried over into
his defensive intensity. S ince he has been given the chance to play
at the top level by Heerenveen, Veerman
has not looked back. He has burst onto the
scene with an appetite to impress that remains,
irrespective of his side’s dips in form, which
happens fairly frequently in a mid-table team. He
is irrepressible in his determination to assert his
authority on a football match, and some of these
mental attributes will make him a great leader
sometime in the future.

69
The big question persists; he ready for the
Premier League? Strong links to Southampton
have returned from the previous transfer window,
and only time will tell if Heerenveen are willing to
let their vice-captain (recently tied down to a new
contract) halfway through the season. A thought
lingers that Veerman’s calm nature might not
suit English shores, and maybe a side in Serie
A would get better value out of him, where the
football is played at a slightly slower tempo
overall. One thing is for sure, he has outgrown
the Abe Lenstra.

70
 Moises Caicedo:

The man to replace Nemanja Matic at Manchester United?

HARSHAL PATEL // @HarshalPatel93

71
M anchester United have been linked with
bringing in an eventual successor to
Nemanja Matić at the base of midfield for some
- he has often played as part of a midfield pivot
as well, and therefore he does advance to
higher areas of the pitch when his team is in
time now, given that the Serbian will turn 33 possession. Largely, though, his role is to stay
next year, and the latest name doing the rounds deeper and dictate, whether that is from his own
in this regard is the Ecuadorian midfielder, half, or from the opposition’s half when his team
Moisés Caicedo. The 19-year-old, who plays has a sustained spell of possession and has
for Independiente del Valle in Ecuador, has also pushed up the field. Out of possession, Caicedo
been reportedly scouted by Brighton, who are is tasked with protecting the central zone in front
apparently ahead in the ‘race’ for his signature of his penalty area, as can be seen from the
this month. Despite being just 19, he has already heatmap as well.
been capped four times by his country and looks
to be a star of the future. Statistically, there are quite a few interesting
numbers from Caicedo’s career so far. The first one
In this scout report, we will look at Caicedo’s is his pass completion rate. Caicedo has averaged
playing profile, strengths and weaknesses, in order a pass success rate of 92.08% in his career so
to provide you with an overall assessment of the far, making just over 46 passes per 90 minutes.
player, and where he could fit in at his next club. This is an excellent rate by any metric, although
it does not indicate anything about the nature
and difficulty of those passes. Looking deeper,
Playing and however, we get the sense that the Ecuadorian is
superb at ball retention. He makes 11.53 forward
statistical profile passes per 90, on average, being successful with
84.2% of them, while the equivalent figures for

C aicedo has been largely used as a central sideways and backward passes are 27.18, 94.2%
midfielder in his short senior career so far, and 7.72, 96.5% respectively. Thus, we can see
but has also played in defensive midfield, and that even when passing forward, Caicedo is largely
even at centre-back on a couple of occasions. His able to keep possession, which is a very important
career heatmap, provided by Wyscout, shows the trait for a defensive midfielder. Another metric to
areas where he has been predominantly active - look at when assessing the potential threat that
his passes can create is passes to the final third.
Caicedo averages 6.17 such passes per 90, with
an accuracy rate of 85.8%. Again, this shows that
the 19-year-old is able to get the ball into relatively
dangerous areas from his deeper midfield position
fairly often, and quite accurately as well.

Playing in a deeper role in midfield, he is not

As we can see, Caicedo has largely been
responsible for the middle third of the pitch. He
has not necessarily been the deepest midfielder
expected to provide the final killer pass or the pass
which unlocks the defence, and this can be seen
from a few metrics as well. Caicedo only makes
1.32 passes per 90 into the penalty area, and just
0.67 through passes per 90. Thus, it is evident
from these numbers that Caicedo’s role so far in
his career, both for Independiente and Ecuador,

72
has been to facilitate play and retain possession,
rather than providing a direct creative threat.
Despite this, it is interesting to note his goal
and assist numbers so far. Caicedo has scored
eight goals and notched four assists in his senior
career to date, at a rate of 0.27 and 0.13 per 90
respectively. Taken together, this gives him a goal
involvement rate of 0.4 per 90 minutes, which is
more than respectable for a defensive midfielder.
Taken over the course of a season, this would
mean that the Ecuadorian would have around 16
goals and assists from 40 full games, which is
excellent output from a player in his position. It
is also interesting to note that his career xG is at
4.44, while his career xA is 2.02.
He has outperformed on both these metrics, but
given his role in the squad, that is more likely to be
down to luck and his teammates’ excellent finishing
rather than his own output. This is borne out by our
earlier passing statistics, as well as the fact that he
has averaged just 1.21 shots per 90 in his career
so far, and that he makes just 1.05 touches in the
opposition penalty area per 90. Nevertheless, this
is an area to keep an eye out for, given that deep-
lying midfielders who can also provide a goal threat
are worth their weight in goal.
Finally, it would be instructive to look at his
defensive numbers. Of course, these will be
conditioned by the amount of possession his
team have had since higher possession would
mean fewer opportunities to make tackles,
interceptions etc. Nevertheless, it is still an
important indicator of a player’s ability to be
proactive and affect the game without the ball.
Caicedo makes 6.58 recoveries per 90 minutes,
with more than 40% of them taking place in the
opposition half. This is merely a reflection of his
deeper position in midfield, and shows that he is
largely disciplined and is not asked to hunt for the
ball upfield. He has averaged 3.24 interceptions In this image, we can see that the opposition’s
per 90 minutes, while engaging in 1.79 aerial defensive line is quite narrow, creating the space
duels per 90, winning nearly 57% of them.
These numbers show that Caicedo is a
disciplined defensive midfielder, whose first job
in possession is to keep the ball, rather than try to
provide a defence-splitting pass. In that regard at
least, he would be a good potential replacement
for Matić, even though the Serbian has a much
wider range of passing. His defensive work, at
least based on the numbers, seems to be more
about positioning rather than getting into duels
and tackles, which is again a good indicator for
those considering him to be a Matić replacement.
We will now look at some in-game examples to
better understand his style of play and attributes.
In possession
O n the ball, Caicedo is generally reliable,
able to keep possession with short passes
either backwards or sideways, depending on the
situation. He is also good at playing quick, one-
touch passes to get out of crowded areas and
potentially advance the ball upfield. However, on
watching him play, it quickly becomes apparent
that he likes to have time on the ball to then pick a
pass, either out wide or ahead of him. Switching
the ball wide to the flanks to a winger or a full-
back is also a favourite trait, and one he will often
try if given the time and space to do so in a game
by the opposition.
for the winger out wide if he can be found in time,
which Caicedo does.
73
A similar situation, this time down the
Independiente left flank - the opposition defence
is extremely narrow, creating space for the full-
back to run into if the ball is switched out to him.
Caicedo is also fond of pulling the strings from
higher up the pitch, when the opposition is
playing in a deep block and he is able to advance
into their half. This allows him to be able to pick
out runs into the box by his teammates, over
the top of the defensive line. The next couple of
images are taken from the same game, where
Independiente were trailing and the opposition
had camped themselves in their own defensive
third to try and see out the lead.
Notice how deep the opposition defence and
midfield is. This gives Caicedo plenty of time
and space in front of the box to pick a pass, and
he does so, chipping a ball into the box for the
winger to run onto.
74
Here, Caicedo plays another dinked pass into
the area, but for the deeper player on the edge
of the box, who is able to get a looping header
away but unfortunately off target.
These are just a couple of examples which show
the Ecuadorian’s ability and willingness to be a
playmaker when needed. This is true when he is
in his own half as well, as seen in the next image -
Caicedo receives the ball from his centre-backs,
looks up and plays a flat, whipped pass to his
teammate, who is in space ahead of him and in
position to be able to launch an attack. Note that
the opposition are not pressing him at all, and
that Independiente are up 3-2 in stoppage time,
and yet his instinct is to try and play an attacking
pass.
This is not to say that he always plays a risky
pass. Far from it - the statistics mentioned earlier
make it clear that he is reliable and safe in
possession. It only indicates that Caicedo is a
player who is always looking for opportunities to
create chances, wherever possible, but he does
not take undue risks in possession when the
situation does not demand it.
Here is another example of his playmaking ability Here, he is in a slightly wider position on the left,
from a deeper position - from where he plays a pass infield, before turning
and darting into space…

Once again, we see the 19-year-old pick up

possession, under no pressure, just inside the ...which allows him to then receive the ball in a
opposition half, and then look for his teammate’s dangerous position just outside the penalty area.
run in behind the opposition’s defensive line.
His positioning when his team is in possession
These examples are meant to show the is not conservative - he does attempt to get into
Ecuadorian’s passing range, as well as his space and attack if possible.
vision and tendency to try and find teammates
in dangerous positions when possible. It is again
worth reiterating that this is not something he
does throughout a game, it is only when such
situations arise that he looks for a potential
killer pass. During buildup as well as when the
opposition are pressing high, he looks to keep
the ball moving with short, sharp passes and
movement off the ball, and rarely tries a risky
pass when being pressured in his own half.
Albeit he is aided by some horrendous pressing
Caicedo does get forward to support the attack by the opposition’s midfield, Caicedo has been
on occasion, and he is capable of playing quick able to drift into space, completely unmarked
combinations to move into space as well - and thus in a position to receive the ball and set
up a 3v2 counter-attack.

As we said earlier, he is also not shy of getting

into dangerous areas if possible -

75
Caicedo (yellow arrow) makes a dangerous run Better luck on this occasion, where he beats the
towards the box which is found by his teammate keeper with a fierce drive from outside the box.
(orange arrow).
Realistically, Caicedo is not going to be scoring
However, when he does get into threatening too many goals. He is rather going to be the
areas, his end product can leave a lot to be player who knits the team together, keeping
desired. The 19-year-old is not skilful enough to possession with short, safe passes when
be able to dribble past opponents, and neither needed, but capable and willing to switch the
does he have the body strength (yet) to be able tempo with a long pass out wide or into the
to barge them off the ball. This does result in box to catch the opposition out. This makes
him being dispossessed quite easily in such him a very good candidate for teams which will
positions, although he can also end up winning dominate the ball, as well as counter-attacking
fouls for his team. sides, since he has attributes which can be a
good fit for both styles of play.
His outperformance of his career xG so far by a
pretty big margin can be explained by the fact
that he usually likes to take long shots from
outside the box, which will generally have quite
Out of possession
low xG values. As we saw in the statistics earlier,
he rarely takes shots in the first place, and when A s we said earlier, most of Caicedo’s
good work when his team do not have
he does, they are usually from outside the box - the ball comes in the form of his positioning,
anticipation and defensive instincts. He can
put in the heroic blocks and challenges, as we
will see later, but his intelligence and ability to
sniff out danger are far more important when it
comes to screening the defence.

A left-footed effort which drew a decent save

from the Flamengo goalkeeper.

76
This is a good example of his defensive instincts. In fact, another example from the same game
As the opposition’s attack develops, Caicedo can tells us that he does, in fact, know when to be
easily get drawn towards the player on the ball active and go in for a challenge -
(orange path), which would leave a lot of space
behind him for the player to his right to get into,
and it would also be a simple pass to find him.

It is another attack developing down

Caicedo does hold his position, with the opposition
playing a one-two pass. However, the fact that
he held his position means that he can now track
the run, rather than being caught advancing and
leaving space centrally for the attacker to advance.
This, along with the left-back covering, means that
his opponent is forced to play the ball out wide
rather than try to get into the box with the ball…
Independiente’s left flank, but this time, Caicedo
chooses to step up and attack the situation, safe
in the knowledge that there are three defenders
covering behind him, and at least two others who
can get back rapidly if necessary. He wins the ball
and is able to set up a counter-attack for his team.
Of course, this is not to say that he does not
make mistakes. It needs to be remembered that
Caicedo is just 19-years-old, and he is also not
the most physically imposing player, at 5 ft 10 in.
Thus, he can be outmuscled sometimes in duels,
and this can be dangerous if it happens near his
own penalty area -

...and it is Caicedo who gets on the end of the

attempted cross to head it away from danger.
Note that this was relatively early in this match,
and conceding a goal at that time could have
changed the complexion of the game. The At first glance, this situation seems to be under
Ecuadorian therefore shows great defensive control. Caicedo is goalside of his marker, and in
awareness to know when to hold his position and position to be able to hold him up and therefore
when to press, and also displays his athleticism in delay or prevent his movement into the box.
getting back into the box to head the cross away.

77
 The Ecuadorian flies into a last-ditch block to
save what would almost certainly have been a
goal.

Conclusion
M oises Caicedo is a gifted young footballer
from Ecuador, who has been getting a lot
However, he gets tight to the attacker, who is able of attention from a number of English clubs in
to use his strength to get past him and run into this transfer window. In terms of his playing style
the box unimpeded. He goes on to score from and profile, he is a busy player, always looking to
this move - a direct error on the part of Caicedo. get involved, especially on the ball, where he is
a reliable passer, but also capable of increasing
Of course, these physical limitations can be the tempo of his team’s play and switching the
improved to an extent with work in the gym. ball out wide when needed, or even playing
It is much more important that Caicedo has accurate long passes for runners into the box.
the defensive instincts which are crucial for a
player in his position, as being quick or strong Defensively, he has good instincts, which
will usually not be enough to compensate for an help him in terms of his positioning, as well as
error in positioning or timing. decision-making, both of which are extremely
important skills for a defensive midfielder. He
We did say that Caicedo is capable of putting in the does have the energy to be able to play in a box-
‘spectacular’ tackles and blocks for the cameras - to-box role, but is perhaps best utilised at the
base of midfield at present, till he fills out a little
more and can be a more robust presence higher
up the pitch. Manchester United and Brighton
are the two clubs who have been mentioned the
most in dispatches, as Caicedo could be a very
good option for either club.

His passing range and defensive instincts would

Here, the 19-year-old uses his long legs to win
the ball back cleanly, despite going to ground.
make him a good eventual replacement for Matić
at Old Trafford, while he could perhaps be an
insurance policy for Yves Bissouma leaving the
Amex Stadium. Curiously enough, United have
been linked with Brighton’s Malian midfielder as
well. While it remains to be seen as to where
Caicedo ends up and whose place he takes, it
can be said for certain that the Ecuadorian is
already at a pretty decent level, and can expect
to get first-team football in a top European league
in the near future.

78
DATA VIZ
Premier League 2020/21: Tanguy Ndombele’s impresssive start

VENKATANARAYANAN VENKATESAN // @VenkyReddevil

T ottenham are at the right end of the table after 16 games into the new Premier League season. In
manager Jose Mourinho’s first full season, Spurs are fourth in the table at the time of writing, with
29 points to their name having played one game less than leaders Liverpool. Aside from Harry Kane
and Hueng-Min Son, one player who has stepped up for Spurs this season is Tanguy Ndombele.

Signing from Lyon in the summer of 2019 for a club record fee, Ndombele started only 12 games in
the league last season, partly because of injuries, and was very much out of favour under Mourinho.
This season, Ndombele looks to have won his manager over (for now, atleast) and is already close
to overtaking his minutes tally from last season.

The following visual shows the percentile ranks of Ndombele from the current Premier League
season and the numbers look quite impressive.

79
Ndombele has played behind Harry Kane in most of the games so far, which has allowed him to
take up the responsibility of creating in this Spurs team. Among Spurs players, only Harry Kane
has made more key passes per 90 minutes than Tanguy Ndombele, and no Spurs player has more
successful attacking actions per 90 minutes than Ndombele.

Ndombele came to Spurs with a lot of expectations on his shoulders. After a difficult start to life in
London, the player looks to have started well this season and may have just given us a small taste
of what we can expect to see from the Frenchman going forward.

80
 AC Milan:

Analysing their unbeaten run

LORIHANNA SHUSHKOVA // @LorihannaSh

81
T here have been some intriguing displays all
over the top European leagues since the start
of the 2020/21 season. From Liverpool showing
Pioli’s team perform an intelligent football and
smartly manage to take advantage of their
opportunities. Opportunities that they have
atypical vulnerability, through Atletico Madrid’s created with well-measured movement, creative
uplifted performance in La Liga to Bayern passing and balance between the lines.
Munich’s continuous dominance in Bundesliga.
The 4-2-3-1 set-up is their most-used formation,
But none of the above raised the eyebrows of but their strategy always depends on the
the football world more than the completely opposition and how they could effectively expose
transformed Milan who blossomed under Stefano them. The main principles that always stay the
Pioli’s guidance. same are consistent defence, constant pressing
and explosiveness in attack.
The team changed their ways and reached
the top of Serie A. They sat there comfortably
and unbeaten until round 16, where they were
painfully defeated by Juventus.

Rossoneri’s balanced performance brought them

consistency which led to outplaying almost all of
their opponents so far, resulting in being the only
unbeaten team in Europe’s top 5 leagues at the
beginning of 2021. Milan’s intense pressing strategy.

While the expectations towards Pioli weren’t The pretty young and consistent starting XI
very high with his arrival, he managed to build have managed to achieve fluidity, versatility and
a tremendous young squad able to conquer the complexity. The players look prepared against
biggest opponents and surprise with quite an different approaches and always find a way to
effective football which brought them 12 wins threaten the goal. Their ability to play with width
and four draws in 17 games. but also use the central areas is one of the
reasons for their efficiency. The explosiveness
This tactical analysis examines what is the key to in their attacking actions often forces their
their solid performance and what in their tactics opponents to play aggressively, leading to a lot
makes them that successful. of fouls against them and respectively many
opportunities upfront.

A look into
Milan's main traits
Milan’s style of play looks quite simple at first
glance, but there’s actually a complexity that
helps them in winning games. While they don’t do
anything too unusual, their versatility allows them
to adjust well to different opponents and situations
while sticking to the main principles of the game.
The team have the Serie A one of the best
records in terms of goals scored – 37. They are
also one of the most successful teams in terms
of converting attacking set-pieces into goals.
The Rossoneri have currently scored 15 goals
from set-plays (eight penalties)
But how do they achieve that consistent
performance? Is it they talisman Zlatan
Ibrahimović or is it the manager Pioli?

82
Further in the analysis, we dive into the team’s
best assets and how they successfully outplay
their opponents.
Counter-attacking
proficiency
T he team mainly rely on their counter-attacking
actions which are successful thanks to their
pressing strategy and ball recovery abilities. They
would constantly try to catch their opponents
off guard and use pace and smart off the ball
movement to expose them.
There are two different patterns in terms of
catching their opponents on a counter and
creating opportunities. They’d either use the
attacking midfielder (who’d always position on
the counter) for his movement and passing skills
to spread out to his teammates or they’d directly
use Ibrahimović for his hold up play, aerials
presence and work under pressure.
In the first case, they’d use a lot of movement
and would focus on overloading the advanced
areas and crossing, whilst in the second one,
they would often find the 39-year-old with a long
ball and use him to either shoot or lay the ball
back for one of his teammates (most frequently
Hakan Çalhanoğlu) to shoot from outside the
box. Milan are among the teams with the most
efforts from distance with 37% of their shorts
coming from outside the penalty area.
Çalhanoğlu’s positioning on a counter.
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The Turkish international is their power engine
as his movement and passing abilities are
most frequently use to spread the ball out to
the attackers and help them in executing the
counter-attacks. He is always positioned in a
way to be able to receive the ball once the team
gain back possession and quickly progress it to
the advanced areas either with a long pass or a
progressive run and through ball.
The team’s defensive actions have improved,
which is one of the reasons for their dominance
on a counter. Their press intensity often fulfils
its purpose and results in recovering the ball,
which gives the Rossoneri perfect opportunities
to counter-attack. Their man-to-man marking
strategy and the intense pressure they apply on
the opposition are successful for the most part
and result in many goal scoring chances.
They recover the ball 78.14 times on average,
while their 4.86 counter-attacks per 90 increase
their explosiveness and help them in creating
more opportunities in front of the goal. Their
awareness and concentration help them in ball
interception and constantly looking to gain back
possession instead of defending in a passive
manner has turned into a winning strategy for
them.
Another example of Çalhanoğlu’s importance.
Here you can also see the attackers’ readiness
to expose the opposition.
 pass combinations and circulate the ball inside
and out, in efforts to move off it and smoothly
Build-up versatility progress it. The team often look to play with
width, and the positional play helps them in that.

W e’re not continuing with pointing out

Ibrahimović not because of underrating
his impact, but because he is only the final asset
in a well-working machine that Milan became.
He, along with his teammates, is part of a well-
thought strategy, using the players’ strengths
in the best possible way and challenging their
opponents constantly.

What makes the difference for the Italians is
their thoughtful and versatile build-up approach.
While the team don’t overcomplicate things with
their movement, their successful adjustment to
the opposition’s different strategies makes them
unpredictable in attack and allows them to break
through different defensive structures.
Looking into Milan’s build-up patterns, their
reliance on the wide areas is clear, but they
could often be seen using different movement
depending on the in-game circumstances.
Positional play
and width
The team’s positioning when building-up from
the back.
The full-backs are always looking for overlapping
and underlapping movement, which forces their
opponents to cover them tightly, often leaving
more space for the centre-backs to move in and
exploit. That helps a lot with ball progression due
to the constant gaps that occur, allowing a lot of
movement.
The full-backs would make positional changes
with the wingers and rely on link-up-play in the
advanced areas. While they often rely on crossing
(13.81 crosses avg), one of their best assets is the
movement of Çalhanoğlu and Ibrahimović. The
two wouldn’t only wait to receive the ball in the
central areas but would support the movement

I n their usual set-up, the double pivot of Franck on the flanks too, constantly providing passing
Kessié and Ismaël Bennacer would stay close options and dragging players out of position.
to each other in order to protect the central
areas and support the four-men backline. They The use of the half-spaces is extremely important
wouldn’t only offer support as a second line of too. If we look at the regular starters Çalhanoğlu
defence, but also often drop back in the defensive and Alexis Saelemaekers are the key players in
line, allowing the full-backs (especially Theo these areas. Whenever the team want the right-
Hernández) to move to more advanced positions back, Davide Calabria, to exploit the advanced
and help with ball progression. areas, Saelemaekers would cut inside and join
the attacking midfielder, both acting as passing
They aim to build-up from the back using outlets or engaging defenders. Çalhanoğlu’s
positional play, relying on the centre-backs and control and passing abilities are key for creating
the full-backs who are most likely to be positioned chances. He is second in the league in terms
half-way to spread out. They would use short of 1vs1 dribbling success rate – 73.17%. His

84
dribbling is often key for ball progression and for
the team’s actions in the final third.
Çalhanoğlu’s movement in the half-spaces and
his ball progression efforts.
Switch of play and
playing through
the central areas
M ilan have a solution against well-structured
teams that employ low-blocks too.
Whenever they struggle in positioning between
the opposition’s lines and finding a way to
penetrate, they would switch play and use the
wide players’ movement to quickly break through
and exploit the empty spaces while the defensive
structures are leaning towards the overloaded
areas. That would often happen on the right in
order for Hernández to be used as a direct threat
on the other side.
The team, though, wouldn’t only use the wide
areas to expose their opponents. They can
successfully penetrate through the central areas
too. There, Kessié helps with ball progression
but the key role goes to Çalhanoğlu who would
drop deeper, often on the central line, to pick up
the ball and advance it. He would be the main
passing outlet whenever the team are looking
to build-up through the central areas and then
eventually spread out wide.
85
Direct play against
pressing teams
T he team’s 4-2-3-1 formation usually allows
the players to position well and open the
passing lanes without many efforts. That makes
them rely on short pass combinations and well-
measured actions.
When they need to find a solution against
pressing teams who try to pin them back they’d
either switch to a direct play and try to deliver
the ball to a goalscoring position as quickly as
possible or rely on counter-attacking.
They wouldn’t usually go for long balls since
it’s riskier and it doesn’t offer a lot of options
but would use them occasionally to utilise on
the attackers’ good placement in the advanced
areas.
Set-play dominance
R ossoneri’s record from set-plays has been
impressive so far. Due to their attacking
approach and the other teams’ aggressiveness
against them, they often get handed set-piece
opportunities, which they don’t take for granted.
The team take the most out of their corners.
With 6.5 corners on average per 90, and more
importantly 37.4% of them ending up with shot
they perform way better than the 30.8% average
for the league. Their positioning in the box
and their aerial superiority often give them the
advantage in these situations.

Milan’s positioning during attacking set-pieces.
Here they eventually scored. Daniel Maldini’s
positioning in efforts to cover the counter is also
very important.
the Swedish doesn’t show any selfishness and
tries to support his teammates’ movement all
the time. His experience and vision help him
in providing smart passes and through balls in
order to create opportunities for the Rossoneri.
His 3.05 smart passes and 2.57 through balls
per 90 add up immensely to his value. Not only
he is always a constant direct threat with his 5.45
shots per 90, but he also provides quality passes
to his fellow attackers.

They often get awarded with penalty calls thanks

to their positional awareness and flair. They
often have advantage due to their opponents’
aggressive play. They have now scored eight
penalties in Serie A, all thanks to the clinical
finish of both Ibrahimović and Kessié. Ibrahimović’s hold up play and vision were
beneficial for the team in that situation. Despite
The team have now scored 15 of their 35 goals the pressure he managed to retain possession
through set-plays which is an impressive record. and assist for a goal after passing the ball to the
uncovered area.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hernández’s impact has been equally

impressive. The left full-back transformed into
Theo Hernandez a key player for the team in the last couple of
seasons thanks to his irreplaceable support to

A part from Çalhanoğlu who we already the ball progression and the attacking actions.
mentioned as the creative force of the team, While he has defensive responsibilities, his main
it is only right to praise the other two leading role lies in advancing the ball using his control
figures – Ibrahimović and Hernández. and pace.

Despite featuring in only six games so far, the
39-year-old is still their leading goalscorer with
10 goals. His presence in and around the box
has been crucial for Milan’s successful attacking
actions. Not only thanks to his smart positioning
and outstanding finishing abilities but also due to
his aerial presence, hold-up-play and vision.
While being their target man and dominating
with his height (10.27 aerials per 90 with 60.9%
success) has been one of his main responsibilities,
Despite his wide position, crossing isn’t his
biggest asset. Although he does provide with
them, supporting his teammates in attack, the
23-year-old likes to cut inside and act as a direct
threat. His movement towards the central areas
has been extremely beneficial for the team. Also,
surprisingly for his 184 cm, he provides good
aerial coverage and 58.8% of his aerial duels.
All of the above has led to four goals and three
assists in the league so far.

86
Here Hernández recovered the ball and direct
cut inside to shoot.
After Milan switched play to the right, Hernández
was able to exploit the half-spaces on the left They usually win a high percentage of their
and receive a cross. He eventually scored.
Pressing strategy and
defensive actions
A s already mentioned, Milan’s defensive
actions start with their pressing strategy
in 4-4-2 out of possession. They are usually
quite aggressive in their high press and tend to
pressurise the defenders and the goalkeeper
intensely. They try to block the passing lanes and
trouble the opposition’s build-up often forcing
inaccurate passes. That aims to recover the ball
in the advanced areas and immediately using
their counter-attacking abilities to expose their
opponents. Their pressing strategy and man-to-
man marking lead to their high counter-attacking
frequency and their success.
87
Milan’s high press.
The wingers would cover the full-backs, while
the striker and the attacking midfielder would try
blocking out the central areas. In case they don’t
manage to stop them from breaking through, the
double pivot steps out. Their main responsibility
is providing support to the backline, either by
acting as a second line of defence or covering
depth in case any of the defenders are out of
position.
defensive duels, but expectedly their opponents
try to hit them on the flanks, where the full-backs
are frequently too high up to be able to drop back
and defend properly. They also do sometimes
leave gaps centrally due to their high positioning
and involvement in attack.
While they are outstanding in their corners, the
team have conceded six goals from set-pieces
so far this season and do need to improve on
their reactions in the box.
Final thoughts
M ilan’s balanced performance and versatility
in attack have led to their long unbeaten run
and respectively the leading spot in Serie A.
The above analysis shows that Milan have
become a side that play intelligent football
without overcomplicating it. The players trust
their senses and use their strengths to expose
their opponents which leads to fluidity in building-
up and explosiveness in attack.

Relying on consistent defensive line has helped

them in performing solidly in defence and despite
some notable mistakes their overall actions have
been smart enough to keep their opponents
away from the goal.

88
Gabriel Martinelli:

A spark of hope for Arsenal

TONI BILANDZIC // @ToniBila17

89
In the summer of 2019, Arsenal signed a young
forward and many were surprised with the sum
they paid for a player who played in the Brazilian
4th tier for Ituano. It mostly takes time for young
South Americans to adapt to England, but
Gabriel Martinelli adapted quickly and impressed
fans with some excellent performances since his
arrival at Arsenal. Even Jurgen Klopp labelled
him as a ‘’talent of the century’’ after his fine
display against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.

This scout report will focus on Martinelli’s

strengths and weaknesses. Through this tactical
analysis, we will try to point out some details
in Martinelli’s playing style which will help us
understand him better as a player. We will also
use data analysis to compare him to the other
players in the Arsenal squad, and we will also
mention how he fits into Mikel Arteta’s tactics
and what he can bring to the team now after he
has recovered from knee injury.

Player overview As we can see on his heatmap, Arsenal mostly

used him on the left wing. What is important to

G abriel Martinelli is a right-footed Brazilian see on the heatmap is that frequency of actions
forward who was born in 2001, one year in his own half, and further in this analysis, we will
before his country won their last World Cup mention his high defensive work-rate. Martinelli
where his idol Ronaldo was the top scorer of possesses an impressive combination of pace
the competition with 8 goals. Because of his and stamina which is supported by his work rate,
directness with the ball at his feet, he is often determination and aggression. Those qualities
compared to Ronaldo who liked to take on are something that every scout in the world looks
defenders using his pace and dribbling. Martinelli to find when it comes to physical and mental
is versatile and can play as a centre-forward and attributes. Through the next sections, we will
also on both wings. make a more detailed analysis on his qualities.

90
 Attacking
I n this section, we will take a look at Martinelli’s
attacking qualities. We will consider his
movement, creation and link-up play to be able
to determine how he makes an impact on the
pitch. The first thing we want to evaluate is his off
the ball movement to see how he gets into good In this situation the ball is played between the left-
positions and how he creates space for himself. back and left centre-back towards the Arsenal
player on the right side. Martinelli makes a direct
run towards the goal before slightly slowing
down and separating himself from the opponent
creating enough space for him to receive the
cut-back pass from his teammate in a promising
situation. This is something that Martinelli often
does, especially when he plays as a winger, when
the full-back on his side makes an overlapping
run, he drifts towards the area around the penalty
spot anticipating a cross or cut-back pass. He
In the image we can see a situation where positions his body to be able to attempt first-time
Arsenal left-back Tierney is in a crossing shots with the inside of his foot. Martinelli rarely
position. Moments before this frame Martinelli shoots with power and most of the time attempts
was in an offside position after an unsuccessful placed shots trying to hit the corner of the net.
run behind, but Arsenal regained the deflected
ball and he reacted quickly to move onside by
making a curved run between the two centre-
backs into the open space. For Martinelli the near
post area is an area from where he is often quite
dangerous, he is always trying to get into that
spot, and his acceleration and agility helps him
to be a step ahead of his marker. His heading
ability is very good even though he is not tall,
and most of his headers come from his runs
at the near post crosses rather than jumping This example shows how Martinelli can stretch
to head the ball. Martinelli powers headers by the defence and use his pace to exploit the
meeting the ball at pace which is hard to defend space behind. In the moment Arsenal regained
against, because defenders can’t get in front of possession Martinelli times his run perfectly
him in these situations on the near post. Another allowing his teammate enough time to see him
example is shown in the next image, showing the and attempt the pass between the right-back and
timing of his run to anticipate the cut-back. right centre-back. Martinelli’s reading of the game
can be valuable in counter-attacks and his pace
can give his team the edge in those situations.

91

In the next example is the situation which
happens often when Martinelli plays on the
left-wing. Martinelli cooperates fantastically
with the Arsenal full-backs; last season he
showed great chemistry with Bukayo Saka, but
he also co-operated well with Tierney in a few
matches together on the pitch. In this specific
situation, Smith-Rowe passes the ball towards
Martinelli who is positioned in the half-space.
In the moment when the pass is attempted
towards Martinelli, the Chelsea full-back James
makes a move towards him to close him down.
Martinelli doesn’t rush into dribbling or cutting
inside, but rather waits for Tierney who makes
an overlapping run from deep. Martinelli does
well in 2v1 situations, draws the opponent by his
movement and passes a through ball for the full-
back. He is aware that it can lead to a chance
for him because he continues his run into the
penalty area opening himself for cut-back pass
like we saw in the few examples above.
When it comes to crossing Martinelli shows a
slight pattern where he aims his crosses. If he
decides to go on his left foot, he uses his pace
to bypass the opponent and then attempts to
cross near the corner line. When in that position
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he looks to play a low cross through the 6-yard-
box or if there is an open teammate he tries to
find him with a cut-back pass. Mostly he looks to
attempt ground passes with his left foot and he
has the ability to find his target with those passes.
Martinelli creates space to cross with close ball
control before adjusting himself on his right foot.
When he makes that move he has a tendency
to aim for the far post. It seems like Martinelli
is aiming at positions where he would move if
somebody else is crossing, which makes sense
for him because he often gets to the right spots.
Here is another example of his chance creation.
Martinelli gets to the edge of the box and
recognises that both of his teammates could
hardly get first on the ball into the 6-yard-box
before the opponents who are focused on that
area. He saw Saka unmarked on the penalty
spot and attempted a low hard pass towards him.
The defender disrupted Saka, but Aubameyang
managed to receive that pass and score a
goal. Martinelli looks at where his teammates
are before crossing which is a really important
attribute, many wingers cross just to cross which
rarely produces chances. Martinelli rarely plays
on the right-wing, but this season we could see
him more in this position as well.
 to defending. However the first situation we
will discuss is his positioning in the opponent’s
build-up.

The last situation we will analyse in this section

is his link-up play and cooperation when he is a
receiver of the ball. In this situation his body is
positioned laterally because he moved from out
wide towards the middle and found enough space In this example, Martinelli shows impressive
to receive the ball into his feet. Saka passed the positioning. He is not too wide which would
ball towards him and he recognised Saka’s run open a passing lane towards the player behind
between the opponent players, playing a one- him, while also not too far from the opponent’s
two with him. Martinelli is in a great position to wide players. It is smart to position himself to
decide to move with the ball or pass the ball. We cut passing lanes through the middle, because
already mentioned his chemistry with Saka and if the ball is played towards the wide players his
they cooperate very well in those situations. We pace allows him to close them down quickly,
can also see if Saka made a pass into the penalty while allowing a pass through the middle could
area, Martinelli would be first on the ball which just endanger his team. The next example will show
points out how he positioned himself well. us one situation where the opponent broke
through the first line.
We made a detailed analysis on the offensive
skill set Martinelli possesses. His recovery offers
Arsenal another dimension which they were
lacking this season - directness and creativity.
He is dangerous in 1v1 situations and tends to
move towards the opposition goal on and off
the ball. Martinelli demands the ball from his
teammate and his stamina allows him to threaten
the opponent each time he has the ball.

The opposing midfielder dribbles past Willock and

Defending makes a run to the side. Martinelli accelerates to
track him, but he makes an unusual path going

In this section, we will conduct an analysis

on Martinelli’s defensive qualities. Martinelli
showed some quality offensive performances for
Arsenal, but what is astounding is his defensive
contribution when he plays on the wing. We
have already mentioned his physical qualities
and work rate which are on point when it comes
around him before dispossessing him. It is not
a rare situation that Martinelli chose a slightly
longer path, but it proved effective for him. His
pace allows him to quickly arrive into the duel, but
the opponent rarely sees it coming as he often
arrives from their blindside. It is a big mistake
for his opponents to relax thinking that they have

93
enough time with the ball around him, because important especially if playing against offensive-
he never gives up. minded full-backs. He has the ability to play in
high-pressing systems as a winger, but also as a
centre-forward.

Weaknesses
W hat Martinelli needs to improve is his
strength and cutting inside with the
ball. Strength is the obvious one, he is lean
and because of his pace, defenders will try to
In this example, we can see how he intercepted overpower him in duels before he is able to avoid
a dangerous pass in the final third. In this contact. The Premier League is a physically
situation, it wasn’t his duty to block the passing strong league and he must prepare his body for
lane towards Doucoure, but it was quick thinking defenders just enough to deny their initial contact
and awareness on his part, to react on time before he overruns them.
and intercept the pass. We can see that if the
pass was successful, Doucoure would be in a Cutting inside is important when he plays on the
dangerous position and would have enough time left-wing. Because he mostly places his shots, he
and space to get into the penalty area. needs to cut inside at least till the penalty area
arc which will increase his chances of scoring.
Shooting from 22+ metres out won’t produce a
lot for him and he needs to make the most of his
powerful shooting ability.

Conclusion
It is obvious Martinelli has everything needed
to become a star. Hopefully he will overcome
The last situation in this section is how he Arsenal’s unstable performances and improve
reacts in defensive transition. Arsenal lost the with each match. Jurgen Klopp called him “a
ball in their own half and Brighton tried to play talent of the century”, which is a big statement, but
it quickly to hurt them. Martinelli was aware of Klopp has shown that he can recognise quality
the situation and he tracked back in order to youngsters in the past which means that Arsenal
cover the opponent’s arriving wide player. The have a gem in their team. Martinelli is a spark
opponent player passed the ball into open space of hope for those Arsenal fans still reminiscing
for his teammate, but Martinelli intercepted it of past days when the King of Highbury was
with a quality tackle. bringing them joy, and while he has a long way to
go before emulating Thierry Henry’s exploits at
The youngster shows a lot of responsibility during the club, there is quite a lot of similarity between
the defensive phase, sometimes even more the two players, and it is now down to both the
than is expected from him. Martinelli shows that player and his manager Arteta to get the best out
he wants to help his team in defence which is of him.

94
 Michael Olise:

Reading’s breakthrough teenager

Art by MARIO HUSILLOS JR // @camusuno

Haris
Prasad V.T
95
F or anyone who had the chance to watch
him live when he played for Reading U23 in
the Premier League 2 it was obvious that Olise
it all the time and we can often see him on the
left side too. He moves mostly between the lines
and in the half-spaces but every now and then
was a special player. Aged just 16 and playing he drops deeper and helps his team’s buildup
against much older players, his technical ability when needed. He fits perfectly in Reading’s fluid
and his confidence were already outstanding attacking tactics.
and it seemed a matter of time until he made his
first-team debut. As we can see in the previous statistical
profile, Olise ranks in the top 50% among the
His first match for Reading came aged 17 in Championship central midfielders in every
the 18/19 season but his presence was almost attacking and creativity metrics we have
testimonial. It was in the last 15 games of last considered. He’s exceptionally good at assisting
season when Olise really established himself in his teammates with defence-breaking passes,
the first team and started to show his potential. achieving 0.23 xA per 90, and also getting the
But this season he has exploded and become one ball into dangerous zones with 1.21 through
of the best attacking midfielders in the league, passes and 1.31 smart passes per 90. His 4.98
having played over 70% of the minutes at the successful attacking actions per 90 are also in
moment of writing and impressing everyone with the top 5% of the league.
his fantastic performances.
His technical ability combined with his pace
This progression from the 2001-born France and creativity makes him a great dribbler,
U18 player has attracted the interest of lots of almost unstoppable when he’s on his day. Per
clubs in the Premier League that see him as a 90 minutes, Olise attempts 5.74 dribbles, gets
very good young prospect, who can develop into involved in 10.49 offensive duels and completes
an exciting attacking player given some time and 2.62 progressive runs, all of them being in the
patience. top 10% compared to players in his position and
league.

Player overview His defensive work isn’t great and even if he tries
to recover the ball right after losing it, he doesn’t
track back very quickly and is still developing his
defensive abilities.

Total Football Analysis’s exclusive tool xGold

identifies FC Barcelona’s Pedri, RB Leipzig’s
Szoboszlai and Crystal Palace’s Ebere Eze as
some of his closest statistical matches in the top-
5 leagues, giving us a good idea of his potential
and playing style.

In the next sections of this scout report we will

O lise is a very creative number ten who can

also play from either wing but enjoys having
freedom to roam around the final third. He’s left-
go into depth about Olise’s playing style and
abilities.

footed, so he prefers to drift right but doesn’t do

96
Attacking positioning &
progression
W hen Reading build from the back, Olse
usually moves between the lines trying
to create passing lanes and getting into the
half-spaces to leave space for the wing players When on the ball, Olise is a very agile and mobile
to attack. Once Reading have established player, capable of turning quickly and with great
themselves in the opposition half, Olise moves acceleration and change of pace. If we add this
around the edge of the box and in small pockets to his top-level technique, Olise becomes an
of space looking to receive the ball to assist his outstanding dribbler, capable of taking on players
teammates and create from there, but he can from either wing or progressing with powerful yet
also drop slightly deeper and try to progress into accurate runs through the center of the pitch.
dangerous positions.
He’s very confident in attacking situations and
One of Olise’s most interesting qualities is his plays knowing his technical superiority. This
patience, which isn’t normal in a teenager like leads to some spectacular and very creative
him. He doesn’t feel the need to be involved and pieces of skill which can remind us of players
touch the ball all the time and knows when to wait like Neymar. This confidence is boosted when
in advanced positions to get the ball in the best Reading are winning and in those situations Olise
possible conditions instead of coming too deep likes to provoke his rivals, getting fouled very
and losing effectiveness in his attacking actions. often (2.13 fouls suffered per 90) and getting his
rivals booked. The French wonderkid attempts
He makes good movements behind the rival more dribbles
midfielders and creates passing lanes to help his
team progress. When the ball is on the other side Excellent technique. Elite first touch, dribbling in
of the pitch, Olise often hugs the touchline and tight spaces and quality details under pressure.
creates space for his teammates to play long Very confident in his attacking actions, knows
balls, creating one-vs-one situations against the he’s above the rest of the players in terms
full-back. of quality. When things go well for him he’s
capable of spectacular skills, similarly to what
In the next picture, we can see Reading’s right- Neymar does, and provoking fouls, bookings
back cutting inside and Olise making a run into and the delight of Reading fans. Attempts more
the half space to receive a pass between the dribbles than 98.1% of the Championship central
lines. From there, Olise is capable of turning and midfielders (5.74 per 90) and completes 56.57%
creating dangerous actions. of them.

Even when he’s dribbling in very tight spaces

or running with the ball, Olise always plays with
his head up and scans his surroundings very
often. He has the vision and quality to attract
players and pass the ball to free teammates in

97
the exact moment. In this aspect, Olise isn’t one options. His overall passing accuracy is 81.79%,
of those players who just look at the ball and try but his progressive passing accuracy is even
to progress by themselves. higher (82.02%) and he ranks among the top
central midfielders in the Championship in his
In the next example, we see Olise holding the ball passing success rate for other kinds of creative
and attracting the attention of two rival defenders. passes. Also, when he drops deep he shows an
When both of them try to take the ball from him, impressive passing range, completing 60.98% of
he drags the ball back and makes a backheel the 2.69 long passes he attempts per 90.
pass into the run of the overlapping right-back,
who then has space to progress into the box. His In the next play we highlight, we see how Olise
technical quality is outstanding and he feels very can also progress under pressure. He receives
comfortable in these difficult situations. the ball in the final third and despite being
quickly pressed, he manages to pass the ball to
a free teammate on the other side of the pitch.
This ability to move the ball quickly relies on his
constant scanning as it would be impossible
to make that pass without knowing where his
teammate is beforehand.

Another example of his ability to attract players

and then make the correct pass can be seen in
the next screenshot. In a quick transition, Olise
takes the ball in his own half and runs towards
the goal. When the player on his right tries to
stop him and leaves the right wing-back free,
Olise makes the pass and his teammates can In this section of Olise’s analysis we have covered
continue progressing without opposition. his ability to dribble with his head up, his patience
to get the ball in the best possible situations and
his creativity to progress and choose the best
passing options. In the next part, we’ll cover how
he applies his quality to assisting and scoring.

Another standout trait of Olise’s game is how
much he values possession, which is also
linked to his patience. He doesn’t risk the ball
O ne of the main reasons why Olise is attracting
unnecessarily and likes to play short quick
passes when he doesn’t see any progressing
Creating, assisting
and scoring
attention from some of the biggest clubs
in the EPL is because he has found the way to
translate all his conditions into numbers. At the
moment of writing, Olise has scored four goals

98
and assisted another eight in 22 matches. Or his head and spots the run of his teammate,
what’s the same, he has 0.73 goal involvements playing a perfectly weighted and aimed pass
per 90, which is an outstanding figure for a player between four defenders and leaving him alone
in any position and league in the world. against the goalkeeper. This play requires quick
thought, excellent vision and a perfect pass, and
For a player who moves across different zones Olise combines it all.
around the attacking third, having the ability to
assist from a wide range of positions is a key
asset and Olise has it. This is surely one of
the things clubs find most attractive in him, as
he could also fit in more positionally disciplined
tactics without losing his effectiveness.

We have already mentioned Olise’s vision and

technique. When it comes to assisting, this
means he can hit great crosses from both wings,
assist with intricate balls from the edge of the Next, we see Reading counterattacking. Olise
box and also play perfectly weighted passes in receives the ball from the left wing inside the
counterattacks. Olise’s delivery is also excellent midfield circle, turns quickly and makes a deep
from set pieces and he has grabbed some assists pass with the outside of his left foot. Despite this
from corner kicks and wide free-kicks too. In the being a very quick play, Olise had already seen
next four examples we’ll see Olise assisting his teammate on the right side, so he knew what
his teammates in different situations and from to do before receiving the ball. The pass itself is
different zones. technically outstanding and puts the striker in a
one-vs-one situation with the goalkeeper.
In the first one, Olise cuts inside and gets into
the right half-space, which is one of his favourite
zones. He fakes a pass to the left side of the
pitch and hides his real intentions until the very
last moment, when he puts a perfect pass into
his teammate’s run without looking.

Finally, in this last example, we see Olise on

In the next one, Olise is on the opposite half-
space, which could seem a more difficult zone for
a left-footed player. But not for him. Surrounded
by five Nottingham Forest players, Olise raises
the left wing. He receives the ball and before
a Brentford player comes to press him, he has
already seen the run of his teammate and puts
a perfect cross to assist him. For teams wanting
Olise to play in wide positions, his crossing ability
is a key aspect and he completes 33.96% of his
attempted crosses, which is a good proportion.

99
 and we can expect him to score some goals like
this one every season.

Last and most important, Olise can also score,

which means he’s a complete threat. His finishing
is tidy and effective and he can shoot from
distance or from volleys, which explains why he
has overperformed so far with four goals from
2.68xG. He has also created danger from direct
Conclusion
free-kicks, hitting the post on several occasions,
so we can expect him to score some in the future. Aged only 19 and in a league as tough as the
English Championship, Olise is already one
Apart from his finishing, we have already seen of the best attacking midfielders. He combines
that Olise is an excellent dribbler, so he can set excellent physical conditions for his position -
up opportunities for himself. pace, mobility and acceleration - with outstanding
technical ability and a football IQ rarely seen
In the following example, Olise is running towards in teenagers. Reading’s free-flowing attacking
the goal when the last defender starts running football perfectly fits his playing style and he’s
at him. He continues his run and with a great responding with goals, assists and excellent
change of pace leaves the defender behind and performances week in week out.
finishes with a strong and accurate low shot to
the far post when the goalkeeper comes out. With a reported release clause of 8 million in his
contract, most clubs in the EPL will be tempted
to sign him in January, especially considering
he’s a homegrown player and still under-21 so
he wouldn’t be difficult to fit in the registered
squads. Even if he’s very complete, his playing
style would fit better in the tactics of attacking
teams that can get him the ball in good positions
around the box from where he can create and
score.

The next one is an example of his shooting ability
from distance and in difficult situations. After a
corner-kick in which he was positioned outside
the box, the cleared ball fell to Olise’s feet.
Instead of controlling and trying to play, he hits a
fantastic first-touch volley that goes in very close
to the post, leaving the goalkeeper motionless.
He has hit some very good volleys and far shots
It wouldn’t be surprising either that teams from the
German Bundesliga or even big clubs in France
attempt his signing as English homegrown
players, especially when they have a British
passport like Olise, are a very appreciated asset
and will continue increasing their value after
Brexit.

100
DATA VIZ
Premier League 2020/21: Who are the league’s U21 regulars?

VENKATANARAYANAN VENKATESAN // @VenkyReddevil

W henever a new football season begins, fans are always eager to know which youth players
are ready to make the step up to the senior level from the academy. Some teams also sign
youth players from foreign countries. A few of these youth players make an instant impact and look
as if they were made for the senior most level while some players never get going at all. In the early
stages of their careers, people mainly want to know how frequently these players are playing for
their respective teams. Analysing everything else comes after.

The following graph shows the U21 regulars in the Premier league. Some of these players made their
debut a couple of years ago and still haven’t fully got going yet while some of them are established
players in their respective lineups.

101
One of the best u21 players over the last couple of seasons has been West Ham’s Declan Rice.
Rice has been an integral part of West Ham’s resurgence under David Moyes and has played every
minute of the league season so far. Rice also captains the side in the absence of club captain Mark
Noble. Another youth player who has been quite impressive this season is Leicester City’s James
Justin. Justin, after the sale of Ben Chilwell and in the absence of Ricardo Pereira, has been a regular
in Brendan Rodgers’ side and is the only outfield Foxes’ player to have played every minute of the
season so far. Chelsea’s summer signing Kai Havertz has really struggled to get going because of
COVID-19 and injuries, but the German seems to be getting back on track recently. Phil Foden was
expected to be a regular in this City side after the departure of David Silva during the summer but
the England international has once again struggled for regular minutes and only just sneaks into
the top 20. Mason Mount, Pedro Neto, Tariq Lamptey, Wesley Fofana and Mason Greenwood all
deserve a mention too.

102
 Toni Kroos:

Meet the heir to the regista throne

SCOTT MARTIN // @CoachScottCopy

103
R egista, an Italian word that translates to
“director” in English, is a term tied to former
greats like Andrea Pirlo at Juventus and Real
Madrid’s maestro, Xabi Alonso. At its core,
regista are deep-lying playmakers with limited
defensive responsibilities. From that deep
role, they structure the teams attack, set the
tempo and use their passing range to break the
opposition’s press.
Though players like Pirlo and Alonso have
moved on to management, the role is still used
by many possession dominant teams around the
world. The most famous example is the heir to
the regista throne, Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos.
The objective is to position himself outside of the
opposition’s press, creating more time in space
to scan the field and deliver his pass.
Our first image has Real Madrid engaged against
Eibar’s middle block. In each of the images,
Kroos is marked out with a circle beneath him.
Here you can see he is offset to the left, joining
Sergio Ramos and Raphaël Varane in a virtual
back three. A recent trend in their tactics has
Kroos drop into the left half space while Ferland
Mendy inverts near the central channel. You can
see him on the right side of the field, just outside
of the centre circle, leaving Rodrygo to offer
width in the formation.

Much like Pirlo, Kroos was a more advanced

midfielder in his younger years, playing as a #10.
However, as I discussed at some length in my
book, Revitalizing Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane
has dropped Kroos deeper into the midfield in
an effort to better the team’s rest defence. From
that deeper role, Zidane has transformed the
German into the team’s tempo setter.

In this scout report, we’ll take a look at Kroos’s role
within Zidane’s tactics. Our tactical analysis starts
with Kroos’ more common regista responsibilities,
particularly as a deep-lying playmaker. Once that
portion of the analysis is complete, I’ll show how
he sets the tempo from that deeper role as well
as how his defensive responsibilities are tailored
to his attacking contribution.
The technical qualities of a regista are of the
utmost importance. As a deep-lying playmaker,
he’s often the central figure in the build-out. Real
Madrid is fortunate enough to have turn highly
capable centre-backs within their ranks, easing
the pressure on Kroos. Between those three
and Casemiro, possibly even Luka Modrić as he
swaps roles with the Brazilian, this side is difficult
to press high up the pitch.

Deep-lying playmaker Even still, Real Madrid enjoy funnelling play to the
left-hand side so that Kroos and Ramos can lead

L ike the registas before him, Kroos does his the attack. One of the benefits is that both players
damage from the deeper regions of the pitch. are press resistant, allowing them to absorb the
It’s common to see the German move into the opponent’s press well safely circulating the ball
deep end of the left half space. From there, he’s in tight spaces.
on his preferred right foot with an open body
orientation that allows him to play to any part of Another advantage is that when Kroos and
the pitch. In addition to moving wide, Kroos will Ramos circulate the ball on the left-hand side
also drop nearly in line with the centre-backs. of the pitch, the defence collapses around

104
them. Once the opponent has over-committed,
becoming unbalanced in their press, Kroos and
Ramos have the ability to play the long diagonal
to break pressure. In fact, as they’re circulating
the ball short, both players are actively scanning
the pitch, looking for high targets that can help
the team break pressure.

Since the two players are so similar in their

distribution qualities, you might even see Ramos
split out to the left while Kroos takes his place
centrally.
Kroos’ player profile offers a nice understanding
of how he occupies the pitch. His heat map
shows his two hotspots in the left half space, one
on either side of midfield. You’ll find him in the
deeper of the two as Real Madrid encounters the
middle block. As they progress into the attacking
half of the pitch, the concept remains the same.
Even as Real Madrid push their opponents into a
low block, you still see Kroos positioned outside
of the opposition’s press, looking to find pockets
of space that will enable him to receive and set
up a dangerous pass forward.

This is especially helpful if Kroos is experiencing

extra pressure in the build-up. If opponents
commit a player to mark him, or at least keep
someone near enough to quickly pressure Kroos
when he receives a pass, the German will look
for another patch of space outside of the press.
Central movement with Ramos splitting out wide
can create enough of an advantage to break the
opposition’s pressing structure.
From a statistical standpoint, Kroos rates as
Even though Kroos can swap starting points one of the best in nearly every passing category
with Ramos, he’s clearly most comfortable in among La Liga midfielders. He’s both highly
the left half space. in The 36th minute of the involved and has the pinpoint accuracy that
match against Eibar, Kroos settled into one of makes him so valuable.
his hotspots outside of the opposition’s press.
With time and space to analyse gaps in the His defensive numbers are rather poor, but,
opposition’s press and identify runners, Kroos again, registas are not expected to shoulder
played a brilliant ball over the top, right into the much of the defensive load. Deep-lying, creative
path of Benzema. Had the Frenchman managed playmaking abilities are what make him so
to stay onside he would have put Real Madrid up valuable.
3-1 before half time.

105
When Real Madrid is playing well, Kroos’ ability Then you have his passes to the penalty area
to stretch the pitch is among the reasons for their and losses in his own half. In losses and draws,
success. He rarely puts in a bad touch when his Kroos completes 39% of his passes to the
opponents engage in a high press or middle block, penalty area, but in wins, his accuracy improves
so it’s really his ability to break the opponent’s to 74%. To some degree, this is explained by the
defensive structure with this intermediate to long- more dire situations experienced when either
range distributions that makes him so important losing or drawing late in the game. At some
to Real Madrid’s tactics. point, you have to take a chance and try for lower
percentage passes.
Madrid has dropped a number of points this
season so, it begs the question, is there a If there’s any hope for Real Madrid’s opponents,
distinction between Krooss performances in wins it’s that putting a little bit of extra pressure on
versus matches where they’ve dropped points? Kroos is strongly correlated to negative results
for Los Blancos. In a recent 0-0 draw against
Osasuna, Kroos was rarely given time to play
his trademark long diagonals. Though the game
ended 0-0, Madrid had two goals taken back due
to offsides, Kroos providing the would-be assists
on both plays. When he was able to get longer
range passes off, they were dangerous.

Finally, much like Pirlo, Kroos is responsible for

Crunching the numbers produces some
interesting conclusions. This barbell chart
represents Real Madrid wins with a blue circle
and matches with dropped points in red. Each
of the categories addresses his success
percentages. We want to see if there’s a drop in
efficiency between a 3-point performance and a
loss/draw.
Real Madrid set pieces. His distributions have
been on point this season with two goals on or
immediately following set pieces against Atletico
Madrid among the highlights. Whether from
a deep position in the flow of play or from set
pieces, Kroos has shown a golden touch that
makes him the world’s top regista.

Interestingly, in losses and draws, Kroos saw

a small improvement in the success of his total
actions and back passes per 90 minutes. He also
saw a reasonable improvement in his offensive
duels.
Other than those three categories, decreases in
efficiency from a win to matches with dropped
points range from minimal to significant. Kroos
really can’t improve his passing efficiency much,
at least not in regards to passes and forward
passes, but it’s interesting to see that is long
passes and passes to the final third are at least
6% more efficient in wins.
Setting the tempo
O ne of the advantages of playing outside
of the opposition’s press is that a regista
has time to pick up his head, scan the pitch and
dictate the tempo. What’s meant here is that, as
the deep-lying playmaker, Kroos is the one who
determines how quickly or slowly Real Madrid
are going to play. Casemiro has stated on
numerous occasions that Kroos pulls the strings.
If the team wants to pick up the pace, it’s Kroos
who signals the transition in tempo. If there is a
need to slow it down, either because the game is
becoming too chaotic or there’s a lack of control

106
in possession, the German puts his foot on the a numerical superiority for his side, a scenario
ball so his teammates can catch their breath, Eibar was not equipped to handle.
regained their composure and move into better
starting positions. Though his distributions will typically come from
the left half space, you will recall that Kroos
If the game calls for a slower tempo, you’ll often does occasionally move into the central channel.
see Kroos receive the ball and either swing it While the centre is typically occupied by Ramos,
across the backline or play into teammates in when Kroos is there, you’ll often see him use his
his immediate vicinity who have no other option long diagonals to play to one of the two wings.
than to play back into Kroos. If a teammate has Against Osasuna, Mendy had acres of space in
pressure on his back and it’s dangerous to turn, the left-wing. From there, it was a simple switch
Kroos can use that pressure to force him to play of play for Kroos.
the way he faces, which is right back into the feet
of the German.

The image taken from the 13th minute against

Eibar shows the transition from a low to a high
tempo attack. With time in space on the ball,
Kroos identifies the runs of Karim Benzema and
Dani Carvajal. With the two players making their
runs into the central channel, Kroos knows that a
long diagonal into their path is a low percentage
pass, so he instead plays to Lucas Vázquez,
who’s alone in the right-wing.
Don’t get the impression that this has been
an easy season for Kroos. Madrid do face a
significant number of teams who have played
with two forwards who prefer more direct,
counterattacking styles while keeping numbers
behind the ball defensively. When opponents
elect to play with two forwards, those half spaces
can become a little more compact, dislocating
Kroos or, at the very least, putting him in a
position where he has too little time and space to
execute the long diagonals.

Once Vázquez received the ball, Real Madrid Early in the season, we saw these issues come
quickly progressed up the right-wing and into the to light against Inter Milan. The Serie A side used
box. A nice combination play produced a Modrić Lautaro Martínez to limit the space available to
goal, giving Real Madrid 2-0 lead. Kroos. The Argentine had a busy match, chasing
down both Ramos and Kroos to limit their ability
But without Kroos’ long diagonal pass, this goal is to play forward.
not happening. With Eibar in a vertically compact
4-4-2 middle block, Kroos’s ability to play over
the press freed Vázquez to make his move up
the right-wing with Carvajal for a 2v1 high the
pitch. Ultimately, Kroos’ distribution produced

107
 moment earlier, Benzema’s offside issues
were the culprit. With a clear sight of the entire
backline, his timing had to be better.

For the most part, it worked. Without room in the

left half space, Kroos would occasionally drift
into the central channel, but Inter’s three central
midfielders were quick to deny entry. Again,
target Kroos and the Real attack becomes much Kroos does show an ability to diversify his
less fluid and dangerous. deliveries. In a massive win against Atletico
Madrid, Kroos was again stationed outside of
Engaging in a middle block, much like Inter did, the opposition’s low block in the left half space.
seems like the best way to negate Kroos. As As Vinícius Júnior checked into midfield, pulling
teams slide into a low block, there are simply Stefan Savić with him, Benzema darted into the
too many threats to account for, preventing space behind the centre-back, a near vertical
opponents from giving Kroos the required delivery that Kroos completed with ease.
attention. As Real Madrid enter the final third,
they’ll often set up in a 2-3-5 or 2-2-6 before
starting the move towards goal.

Kroos is a vital part of that shape. As we find

against Osasuna, he’s positioned just outside
of the opposition’s low block, both allowing him
to pick out advanced targets and taking up an
important role in Madrid’s rest defence.

Finally, as Real Madrid enters the box, Kroos

doesn’t make too many runs into the penalty
area, taking a more opportunistic approach while
also prioritising his place within the teams rest
defence. He often finds pockets of space 25 to
30 metres from goal, so the burst into an already
crowded box rarely makes sense.

Even though Osasuna played really well against

Kroos, he nearly set up the game-winner in the
89th minute with a deft chip to Benzema. Right
on the money, Kroos’ delivery led to a disallowed
goal. Though Kroos could have played it a

108
 against Atlético Madrid, Kroos was situated in
the central channel but recognised that Atlético’s
first pass would go negative. He sprinted over
and got a poke on the ball, knocking it free to one
of his backtracking teammates.

However, when he made his run into the box

against Osasuna, the delivery into Benzema,
who was again offside, was perfect, but it was
the intelligence Kroos showcased that was most
significant. He helped Real Madrid win the ball
in a counterpressing scenario, then passed the
ball to Eden Hazard. The moment the defence
collapsed on Hazard, Kroos made a run into the
box, finding just enough space to play the ball
into Benzema’s path.
Role in defence
Much like the combination with Hazard that led
to the disallowed goal, Kroos’ is counter pressing
against Eibar, which saw him intercept the ball
twice in a span of 10 seconds, saw him use his
high recovery as an opportunity to slip Rodrygo
behind the line. The Brazilian saw his shot saved,
but, again, Kroos was the danger man in the
sequence which started with his counterpressing

I n the last sequence, we described Kroos’ interceptions.

contribution in a counterpressing situation,
so this is the perfect time to jump into Kroos’
defensive role within the team. Even though
his defensive contributions are secondary, I
argue in my book that Zidane’s greatest fix in
Real Madrid’s La Liga winning team was their
rest defence. Kroos played a major role in that
tactical development. Previous years saw him
positioned higher up the pitch. Between Kroos
and the marauding runs of Marcelo, opponents
found a lot of joy attacking Real Madrid’s left. Real Madrid does enjoy a good high press,
especially if they can incorporate a man-marking
However, with Kroos transitioning into a regista scheme. As Madrid engages in the man-marking
role, his very presence prevented opponents high press, Kroos does have the freedom to
from playing leading passes into Real Madrid’s move as high and wide as necessary. He will
left-wing and half space. So even though he’s not frequently move near the highest positioned
a great defender, presence alone was enough to attackers, occasionally joining Benzema in
solve the problem. pressing the centre-backs.

That said, when Real Madrid does counterpress, As opponents push Madrid into a middle or low
Kroos is up for the task. For example, in the match block, Kroos will typically recover his ground,

109
staying closely connected with Casemiro. role. However, again, if the backline is covered
However, if the opportunity to press higher up and Casemiro doesn’t need his help in midfield,
the pitch presents itself, Kroos is quick to take it. Kroos will likely push higher up the pitch to move
closer to a higher opponent or reduce the angle
In the match against Eibar, we saw Kroos not of play into one of the opponent’s overloads.
only pressing in line with Benzema, but also high
on the right-hand side of the pitch. In the 17th minute against Atlético, Real put
pressure on the ball, triggering bendy to move
higher up the wing and cueing Ramos to move
closer to his mark. Seeing Ramos move higher
up the pitch and the pair of Mendy in Casemiro
in good shape defensively, Kroos maintained a
higher starting point to limit the angle into Atlético
central overload.

Far from his left central midfield position, Kroos

has a fluid pressing role that allows him to press
higher up the pitch if the opportunity presents
itself. He has to ensure there is coverage behind
him before leaving and that there’s an opportunity
to force a turnover. If the opportunity is there, it’s
his to take.
Finally, as Real Madrid retreats into a low block,
If Real Madrid has settled into a middle block, you’ll often see Kroos either in the central
look for Kroos to at least slide into the central channel or the left half space. The orientation
channel, if not into the right half space to make of the ball and opponents will certainly factor
the field horizontally compact. If the opponents into his starting point, but Kroos does make an
don’t carry much of a threat in the central channel, effort to recover his ground and contribute to the
he’ll squeeze closer to the ball and eliminate one team’s low block.
of their shorts or intermediate options, much like
he did against Atlético.

That was very much the case against Eibar. In

the sequence, Eibar initially had the ball in their
If the opponent is circulating the ball along the left-wing, which forced Kroos to move in that
backline, Kroos will start in a more conservative direction. However, as Eibar broke Madrid’s

110
press and played out of pressure, Kroos was
quick to recover his ground and offer support in
the central channel.

So, sure, he’s not the greatest defender, but much

like Pirlo , he benefits from a relationship with a
midfield destroyer. Pirlo had Gennaro Gattuso,
Kroos has Casemiro. Pairing a regista like Kroos
with a ball-winning midfielder limits the scope of
the regista’s defensive responsibilities. In most
cases, presence is the most important factor.
As long as that player is present, especially in
coverage of higher positioned players, they
can help the team avert danger by keeping the
opponent from playing into open spaces.

Conclusion
A fter a phenomenal 2019/20 season, Kroos is
back at it in 2020/21.

While it’s fair to say he hasn’t produced a

masterclass in each match, which is evident in
his statistical performances in Real Madrid’s
losses and draws, especially in comparison to
his statistics in wins, he’s very much running
the show. It’s his ability to be a playmaker from
deeper parts of the pitch, as well as his role in
setting the team’s tempo, that makes him so
valuable.

For Real Madrid to close the gap against their

cross-town rival, Kroos must stabilise his side
with consistent performances. When he is able
to find his spaces outside of the opposition’s
press, few in the world can match his production.
After all, he is the heir to the regista throne.

111
 Igor Angulo:

The cleverest striker in the Indian Super League

Art by SATHISH PRASAD VT // @SathishPrasadVT

Haris
Prasad V.T
112
It’s not even two months since the Indian Super
League began, but already many new signings
have marked their footprints in Indian soil and
have adapted well to conditions. Igor Angulo is
one such player who is not only admired by the
fans of FC Goa but also by the entire nation.
In this tactical analysis, which would be in
form of a scout report we will be analysing his
contribution so far with the help of data and will Into the final phase of his career, Angulo has
also be looking at why I claim Angulo to be the had a wonderful footballing career so far with no
cleverest striker this season.
Player overview
Igor Angulo, the 36-year-old Spaniard has
a variety of experience as he has played in
various leagues throughout his career. He has
played for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga and has also
been part of European competitions such as the
UEFA Cup and the Europa League qualifying
stages. He has played for nine different clubs in
his entire career including FC Goa, among which
he has made the most number of appearances
(154) for Górnik Zabrze in Poland.
Looking at the player profile one can easily see
that Angulo is a serious threat to any opponent
when attacking. His passing and progression
are quite average when compared to the other
strikers in the league, but all that could only
mean that Angulo loves to be at the receiving
end to score rather than creating chances which
is well supported by the fact that he’s the leading
goal scorer in the ISL so far.
With such an extraordinary performance upfront,
one shouldn’t worry about his defensive numbers,
but Angulo performs equally well when without
the ball by influencing the play with his off the
ball movement which we will see later on.
record of major injuries and won many awards
such as the top scorer of the league and also
was the striker of the year when in Poland, in the
2018/19 season.
Initial data-check
I n the upcoming analysis, we will only be looking
at strikers who have played a minimum of 300
minutes. To be able to identify Angulo quickly
in the upcoming visualisations, he is marked
green while the remaining players are marked in
shades of red.
To begin with, we are looking at expected goal
contribution per 90 and actual goal contribution
per 90 this season. His expected goal contribution
per 90 stands at an average of 0.55 while his
actual goal contribution per 90 is 0.96 leading
to a difference of +0.41. This very big difference
could only mean that he has been a clinical
113
player in front of goal and has a brilliant goal
conversion rate.

Next on the list would be how dangerous he is

What makes him the
inside the box and his shot frequency. We would
look at metrics such as touches in the box per
cleverest striker?
90 and shots per 90 which would be on the axes
while the radius of the circle indicates the shot on
target percentage.
#1 Positioning at
the time of attacking
F or a player like Angulo experience is
everything. Over the years, by playing in
different leagues with different players, he has
mastered the attribute of being positioned
intelligently at the time of attacking. The reason
why I deem this to be his vital attribute is that he
isn’t very fast in general. His quick sprints are
good but he isn’t the type of player who can take
on many players and sprint past them.

Angulo on average takes 3.91 touches in the box

per 90 and takes 2.99 shots per 90. He is above
average by a fair margin for both the metrics
which only six players have managed to achieve.
55% of his shots are on target making him
very dangerous once inside the box. From the
heatmap in his player profile, we can also notice
that his movement is usually in and around the
box explaining his positional play.
In the two previous scatter plots, we have
analysed his performance so far based on
data, but one question that would arise is, what
influences these stats? Now we will be answering
such questions on how he’s so successful and
ahead of so many other fellow strikers and what
makes him different. We will also analyse his
unique attacking traits which makes him the
cleverest player this season.
Often strikers are found to stick to the last
defender’s shoulder and make runs to meet
through balls which is not the case with
Angulo. He positions himself diagonally to the
ball possessor and away and in-line with the
opponent’s centre-back. But why? With the
complete concentration of the defenders being
on the ball, they fail to notice someone far away
from them. Defenders often get the sense of
relief that there’s no one around but Angulo is
always there to make those runs.

This not only helps him to go unnoticed but also

gives him enough space and time to control the
ball and take decisions.

114
In this picture, we can see a run by Angulo behind
Hyderabad’s defender while the ball possessor is
trying to pass it through the gap in the middle. Such
situations put extreme pressure on the defence of
any team. If Hyderabad’s defender moves inside
trying to close the gap to avoid the through balls,
then the ball could be passed to Angulo through
the air. Being unmarked would give him an ample
amount of time to control the ball and progress.
But if the defender decides to stay close to Angulo
just like the above picture it would still create a
gap in the middle and the through ball if timed
perfectly could reach Angulo quite comfortably.
His clever positioning is the reason for such a
match situation. If a defender decides to stick to
him based on his positioning then it would lead to
holes in the organisation given how wide Angulo
#3 Decision making
operates and if the defender opts to maintain
balance, then Angulo would go unnoticed basically
and unpredictability
indicating a win for him in either situation.
#2 Runs from blindspot W
H is greatest asset I believe is the fact that he
puts pressure on defenders and weakens
their decision making and takes advantage of such
situations. Runs from the defender’s blindspot is
another asset which isn’t widely spoken about.
115
We all must have heard about blindspots of attackers
which is a term often referred to when defenders try
to win or recover the ball from the ball possessor.
Similar to that, a defender too has a blind spot which
can be exploited if there’s a lack of communication
between the defenders. From the picture, we can
see Angulo making a diagonal run from behind the
defender to in front of him. The reason why he cuts
inside is to avoid the off-side call but runs like these
also take the defender by surprise.
These runs come in the least expected moments for
the defender as he thinks there is no one around him.
In such situations, the defender’s decision making is
put to the test. This results in defensive errors which
would later be capitalised on by the attacking team.
hen I say decision making, I mean his ability to
decide quickly and react in intense moments
of the game. His decision making is so strong that
four out of his nine goals so far have been scored
during stoppage time which is when players are
tired and tend to make bad decisions and mistakes.
His decision making helps him to be unpredictable.
At the time of the cross, he sprints towards the
goal attracting several defenders with him, but
in the last second, he decides to withdraw which
helps him to not only escape the defenders but
also creates space for him right in front of the
goal. The defenders have their eyes on the ball
and fail to notice that Angulo has halted his run;
they continue sprinting, giving him space in a
very dangerous position. This match is an example of Angulo’s vital role
in ball recovery in the defensive phase of the
When he is man-marked, or if he’s forced to run game. His experience helps him read the game
into a defender, Angulo manages to escape their and he positions himself accordingly. Although
attention by being unpredictable in his movement. his defensive stats are below average, we can
see that he has performed well for possession
adjusted interceptions (4.19 per 90).

He also plays an active role while defending

corners and is quite strong in aerial duels. He
involves himself in fewer aerial duels, but sees
success in a majority of his involvements.

From this picture, we can see a defender running

along with Angulo and at the same time trying to
maintain the balance and shape of the defence.
It’s only when Angulo decides to change direction
T he above discussed examples are a few of
and puts pressure on the defender nearby and
accelerates when the ball is passed to him.
#4 Defensive duties
Conclusion
his traits which I personally admire and think
makes him the cleverest striker this season.
There are still a lot more of his traits which are
beautiful to watch and notice. Angulo who is
in the final phase of his career has a wealth of
experience, having played all over the world, and
it is this knowledge that the local Indian players
can use to their advantage in their own careers,

A ngulo’s defensive numbers are not the best,

but in reality, it is his off the ball movement
which plays a very big role in the team’s
by watching and learning.

Will he go on to win the golden boot is a question

initial defending. As soon as the team loses that I can’t answer, but something I’m confident
possession in the attacking third, Angulo’s main about is him going on to score more and more
role is to block the nearest passing lane while the match-winning goals for Goa.
midfielders act as a hindrance to progress the
ball and force the opposition to find an option in
their defending third itself. It’s these options that
Angulo blocks, intensifying the pressure on the
ball possessor.

116
 Jakub Sylvestr:

Can he fill Nerijus Valskis’ shoes at Chennaiyin FC?

Art by SATHISH PRASAD VT // @SathishPrasadVT

Haris
Prasad V.T
117
E ver since Nerijus Valskis’s move to
Jamshedpur FC was confirmed, the entire
Chennaiyin FC fanbase was curious to know the
for xG per 90 but has a very low goal conversion
rate, which is perhaps an indication that he is
not a clinical finisher, even if he gets into good
identity of the new striker for the team. Anyone goalscoring positions. His passing and progression
who had watched the Indian Super League last look convincing as he has managed to perform
season would know the role and value of Valskis very well when compared to other strikers in the
at Chennaiyin and how important he was in their league. His defensive actions too are convincing
road to the finals, and recruiting a player to fill and explain his work rate in the game.
the shoes of Valskis was pretty much close to an
impossible task. In the following sections, we will be comparing
Sylvestr’s stats from this season to Valskis’s
In this tactical analysis, we will be looking at stats from the previous season at Chennaiyin
Jakub Sylvestr, the Slovakian footballer who and analyse where he’s lacking and performing
now plays as a striker for Chennaiyin FC. The better. We will also try to reason out the factors
31-year-old has only found the back of the net influencing his stats and also look at his traits
one time in his eight appearances so far, leading and behaviour on the pitch.
to many people questioning his contribution to the
team as a striker. Since people are questioning
his recruitment, we would be analysing in detail if
Sylvestr is filling the shoes of Valskis or not.
Attacking and Shooting
Player overview T
he first criteria we will be looking at is the
player’s attacking and shooting ability. In this
section, we would compare their performance
and try to figure out the factors behind the

J akub Sylvestr is an experienced striker who numbers.

has played for 13 different teams before
joining Chennaiyin. He has also played in both
the UEFA Champions League and Europa
League previously and has made the highest
number of appearances for Slovan Bratislava.

Looking at his heatmap one can notice the fact After taking a quick look at the radar, one can
the Sylvestr loves and prefers to operate in the make the claim that Valskis has indeed performed
opponent’s half. Analysing the attacking and better than Sylvestr for Chennaiyin, but we should
shooting metrics of his we see that he stands out also consider the fact that Sylvestr has been

118
performing better than Valskis in a few metrics. in them from his player profile. For a player
xG per 90 and xG per shot along with touches in to drop deep and still have quite a number of
the box per 90 are a few metrics where Sylvester touches inside the box explains Sylvestr’s
has outperformed Valskis. But one should keep excellent work rate.
in mind that Sylvestr has only been outstanding
in the expected metrics, but falls short when we The below scatter plot is of strikers who have
take a look at goal conversion and non-penalty played more than 350 minutes and every player
goals per 90. is marked in shades of red while Sylvestr is in
green for easy and quick identification.
Just one goal from his eight matches with such
an extraordinary xG per 90 is an area of concern.
But one should also think about the reasons why
he’s struggling. Firstly any foreign player will
take time to adapt to Indian conditions. Valskis
himself took time to adapt to the conditions last
year and went goalless for the first 769 minutes in
the season. It’s only a matter of time for Sylvestr
to get settled and get back his confidence.

There are some very good behaviours while

attacking from Sylvestr which need to be
recognised. Sylvester has a very good scan
rate and is aware of the spaces around him.
He mentally prepares for the next move and
executes it quickly.
He has the second-highest number of touches
inside the penalty box per 90 (4.28) while he is
also above average for the number of shots (2.85)
he takes per 90. His shots on target percentage
is also pretty decent at 35%.

This shows that he is doing a lot of things right at

the moment, and it may just be a matter of time
before he begins to score regularly.

Passing and Progression

Sylvestr’s first touch into empty space is a very
good asset for him. If observed closely, one can
T he next criteria we are looking at is both
players’ passing and progression ability. As
modern-day football demands every player to be
notice that he scans the spaces and takes a equally good in every aspect of the game, we
quick first touch into the empty space to avoid would be looking at how Sylvestr stands when
and break the press. Since his scanning for compared to Valskis from the previous season.
spaces has been very good, he also gets into
the right positions at the right time.

We will talk about his passing and progression

in the next section, but we did see that he excels

119

Sylvestr dominates Valskis in this particular
aspect of the game. Not just by one metric, but
Sylvetr looks to have performed better in every
single metric except average length of a pass
which isn’t a big worry. His numbers in passes
into the penalty area per 90 (2.42), key passes
per 90 (0.43) and smart passes per 90 (1) are
some of the best figures in the league so far.
The reason behind this is because of how deep
Sylvestr plays. Valskis too used to drop back to
combine with the three attacking midfielders,
but Sylvestr has a habit of dropping even further
to create spaces and link play. His habit of
dropping very deep has opened up chances for
Chennaiyin. With no striker to operate high and
with a numerical advantage in the middle, the
opponents’ defence pushes high, which means,
a properly timed through-ball is sufficient for them
to create a threat as Lallianzuala Chhangte, one
of the fastest in the league is capable of chasing
down the ball and scoring.
120
One perfect example of such a situation is
Chennayin’s first goal against SC East Bengal
where Sylvestr perfectly times a through ball and
onto which Chhangte sprints, takes a touch and
scores. He is also a physically imposing player
and loves to dribble the ball which, as a result,
helps him to avoid defenders and help him to
create those gaps for the through balls.
Sylvestr’s ability to find space has been excellent
as he manages to find room even in tight and
confined areas, with many opponents around.
He becomes unpredictable once inside the box
and it’s hard to predict if he’s going to opt to shoot
or to pass.
His one-touch football inside the penalty area
along with his vision for spaces has helped him
supply some wonderful passes to his teammates.
He alone has created 15 goal chances for
Chennaiyin this season out of which only one
was converted. He does bring the best out from
the team in the attacking third along with Rafael
Crivellaro and the other Chennaiyin attackers.
Defensive Action
A s we have done by analysing the players’
attacking and passing quality, we will now be
looking at their defensive numbers which would
be the last section of this analysis.
 Sylvestr never competes for an aerial duel.
Knowing that an aerial duel is a 50-50 opportunity
he tends to draw fouls. In this match against ATK
Mohun Bagan, one can see Sylvestr withdrawing
from an aerial duel and is trying to draw a foul.
This as a result gets the ball back to the feet of
his teammates and they continue to attack.

But he doesn’t shy away from a situation which

demands him to meet the ball in the air. At
both attacking and defending corners, Sylvestr
confidently heads the ball.

Sylvestr looks to have outperformed Valskis in the

Conclusion
defending metrics too except in the aerial duels
which we will be analysing in a while. Again the
reason behind this is the fact that he drops deep.
W e did begin this piece by asking ourselves
if Sylvestr is filling Valskis’ shoes at
Chennaiyin, and by now I’m pretty convinced
Dropping deep has helped him to see more of that Sylvestr has managed to effectively replace
the ball and to defend more. Any team would Valskis, and in fact is performing even better than
appreciate their striker falling back to help out him for the team. The only thing that he is lacking
during defensive transitions. He involves himself is his number of goals but I believe it’ll come in
in 4.71 defensive duels per 90 and sees success time as he’s getting better and better with every
in 51.52% of them. The reason behind his better match.
performance in interceptions is because of his
ability to read the game quickly. One thing that we should remember is that even
though he fails to score, he manages to create
He is also underperforming in aerial duels, not a goal-scoring opportunity for others which too
only when compared to Valskis but also the other is something to be appreciated. One thing that I
strikers in the league. He involves himself in an admire the most about Sylvestr is his work rate
average of 4.7 duels per 90 and sees success in and how hardworking he is. He will surely start
only 30.3% of those duels. It’s interesting to look shining sooner rather than later, and until then all
at how he converts these aerial duels which is an that he needs is every player in the team to take
area of improvement into a situation that favours up responsibility and the trust and confidence
him and his team. from the coach, players and fans.

12 1
DATA VIZ
Premier League 2020/21: Each teams’ progress compared to last season

VENKATANARAYANAN VENKATESAN // @VenkyReddevil

T he 2020/21 Premier League season is 17 game weeks old, which means 45% of the season
has been completed. The fixtures are coming thick and fast because of the delayed start to the
season. Some games have also been postponed, resulting in some teams, including Manchester
City and Manchester United, having played fewer than 17 games. However, all the teams in the
league have at least played 15 games, and now is a good time to compare the current season’s
points tally with last season’s tally after 15 games played.

The following graph shows the points obtained by all the Premier League teams, excluding the
teams promoted from the Championship (Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham).

Defending champions Liverpool have already lost a couple of games this season with the Reds
11 points behind their league winning tally, after 15 games, from last season. Sheffield United are
yet to win a league game this season and are rock bottom of the table with the Blades having only
two points to their name so far. After 15 games last season, Chris Wilder’s men were ninth in the
table with 19 points to their name. Leicester City, who lost only two out of the 15 league games last
season and were the closest challengers to Liverpool up until December 2019, are seven points
behind their tally from last season after 15 games. Chelsea, in spite of their huge investment in the
summer, are four points behind their tally from last season. Newcastle United are the only team to
have the exact points tally from last season after 15 games.

12 2
Everton, who were in the relegation zone after 15 games last season have the biggest positive
difference and are one of six teams to have bettered their points tally this season. Ancelloti’s men
are in the title race with 29 points after 15 games this season. Another team to have impressed
everybody with their start to the season is Aston Villa with Dean Smith’s men 11 points better than
last season. Spurs, Southampton, West Ham and Manchester United are the other four teams to
have a positive difference in points.

123
124
125
 Birmingham City:

Analysing their defensive woes

Art by MAK PAKHEI // @MakPakhei

Haris
Prasad V.T
126
B irmingham City have spent quite a number
of years in the EFL Championship already,
rarely coming close to a promotion challenge.
interceptions per min of opposition possession)
as well, where Birmingham have averaged 5.8
only, much lower than the mean (6.65) for the
Jude Bellingham, the 16-year-old wonderkid, was Championship, and it is the joint lowest among
a rare bright spark last season, and he earned all 24 teams. While being a passive side out
a move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of possession is not an issue by itself, but, as
window. Another key personnel change was in we will see later, this can tend to create issues
the dugout, where former Real Madrid defender elsewhere.
Aitor Karanka took over the team and looked to
implement his tactical philosophy. BCFC have faced 10.62 shots per game, slightly
higher than the league average at 9.51. This is
With nearly half the season having passed, now not extremely poor considering some mid-table
is a good time to assess the state of this project. teams such as Preston North End and Bristol
Sadly, things have not been too positive at the City have conceded more than Karanka’s men.
St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium as we saw The number of conceded goals is very good
BCFC earning just 23 points from 22 games, considering the team should have given away
leaving them with only a four-point margin from 33.7 according to xGA, which means that they are
the relegation zone. Even a head coach who already overperforming from a defensive point of
was once José Mourinho’s assistant, has not view. Credit should be given to the goalkeeper
been able to fix the defensive issues of the team. Neil Etheridge, who has been a big reason for
this outperformance of xGA.
This tactical analysis summarizes why the
defence of BCFC looked vulnerable up until the The cruel fact is that Birmingham was already
end of 2020, with some repeated issues and little doing a lot better than the expected metrics. At
evidence of sustained improvement. the time of writing, their xPts was 21,the lowest
in the league and 8.68 below average. In reality,
they had 23 points, showing how they were
slightly better off than they should have been,
and only staying out of the relegation zone due
to even poorer performances from other teams.
Thus, rapid improvement is needed in 2021 if the
club is to survive this season.

The bar chart shows a few key metrics for

BCFC compared to other teams in the EFL
Championship after 22 games.
In terms of PPDA – an indicator that shows the
pressing intensity of a team, BCFC have averaged
12.88 which is slightly above the league average
(11.24), showing that they are a fairly passive
team this season. This is backed up by their
numbers for challenge intensity (duels/tackles/
Man-oriented high
pressing at flanks
T he analysis begins with a look at the high
pressing of BCFC. This may not have been
apparent when looking at PPDA and challenge
intensity, but Karanka’s team press high in the
first phase of play. In fact, this was the best area
of their defensive work.

127
The first layer was formed by two players, who
do not initiate the press until the trigger – a wide
pass to the opposition full-back was made. A
numerical deficit against teams playing a back
three can be expected, so one of those two
covers the pivot, while the other splits the centre-
backs through his body orientation.
The first image in this section shows the features
of the press. The 2 v 3 underload at the centre
is clear, and the striker did not press, prioritizing
the coverage of spaces behind him. The BCFC
winger is ready to press wide once the pass is
played out to the full-back.
Karanka’s preferred shape has varied between
a 4-2-3-1 and a 3-5-2, but the pressing concepts
have been the same. When the ball was moved
to the flanks, BCFC looked to trap it and kill all
the options around by man-marking them tightly.
In such a case, the offensive team would find
it difficult to play out from the back with short
passes. If they tried to bypass the press with long
balls forward, the City defenders were expected
to win the ball back in the air.
The tactic boards show the differences in
Birmingham’s press – just a matter of spacing,
direction, and timing. When defending in a back
five, the wing-back was expected to mark the
winger, so it was the wide midfielder’s job to press
the full-back, while the strikers carried out their
duties as explained. The drawback of this system
was the large space for the midfielder to cover in
order to access the wide full-backs, which gave
the opponents more time to play the pass.
128
However, in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4-2, two wide
players positioned themselves initially on the
flanks, so the distance was shorter while both
full-backs and wingers were under control. The
midfielder was still tasked with man-marking a
counterpart on his side, and those areas would
be more congested than when playing in a back
five system. Therefore, Karanka played his team
in a back four more often (43%) compared to a
3-5-2 (18%).
The pressing was very predictable as rules were
simple. Sometimes it might not work well when
facing teams which interchange positions a lot in
the offensive phase. For example, when Reading
FC pushed the left-back high and dropped the
midfielders, the BCFC winger would be confused
as to who to mark. For example, Iván Sánchez
did not know what to do in this case.
Another issue was the defensive awareness
of the first layer. The strikers tended to pay
attention to the centre-backs, but left the pivot
free as the play developed. This meant that the
opposition pivot could be free to receive the ball
in the build-up.
This image shows the situation – the spaces
between the first and second layer were too large,
while the midfielders were never aggressive
enough to cover those areas behind the strikers.
Due to losing vertical compactness, this poor
spacing was exploited by the opposition and the
press collapsed.

Even in situations where they had numerical equality
or superiority on the flanks, sometimes BCFC failed
to recover possession in man-oriented situations
without pressing the closed bodies. Here, they had
a 3 v 2 benefit in the area highlighted in blue, but
the higher player did not press from the blindside
or block the return pass. Instead, he stood still and
allowed the backward pass.
Then, often following the return pass was a
switch. The opponent would take advantage
of the weak side of the press and develop the
attack there. Note how large the yellow zone is
- Watford went this way as BCFC committed the
press on the other side.
Spacing behind the
backline leading to
crosses
D espite the pros and cons of the press being
very clearly explained, this was not the
worst part of Birmingham’s defending as they
still had enough numbers to defend at the back.
129
The real problems were seen in the remaining
parts of the piece, mostly occurring in the low
block, which can be attributed to player traits,
behaviour and errors.
One particular recurring issue was the spacing
behind the backline. BCFC were weak at
defending through balls. The opposition often
found themselves in zone 16 or 18, and crossed
into the penalty box to create an opportunity.
There are some factors leading to this issue
– suboptimal body orientations of the wide
defenders being one of them. The wing-back in
this case was shaken off-balance by the double-
movement of the winger, and hence was unable
to chase or cover spaces behind.
Another part of the reason was the lack of
support from teammates. In fact, BCFC had a 3
v 2 on the flanks to defend this attack. However,
none of the players in the half-spaces tried to
help. If the midfielder pressed the ball before
the releasing pass, the quality of the delivery
could be worsened; and if the defender in the
half-spaces provided cover, then the receiver
would not be able to score in the 1 v 1 against
Etheridge.
There are a few more issues related to this: the
concentration level of the players. Sometimes
the defenders were caught ball-watching, and
no one tracked the runners. Here, David Brooks
simply released the runner behind the defence
and BCFC could merely react.

Another example which led to a goal being
conceded in the Bournemouth game. The centre-
back – Marc Roberts left the backline to press
the ball. This was a commonly seen behaviour
from the defenders, but what they did badly was
the defending of half-spaces.
This image shows the right wing-back orienting
his body in a suboptimal manner. He was
not ready to turn quickly to chase the runner.
Combined with the open half-spaces channel,
Bournemouth easily penetrated into the penalty
box and scored.
The weak protection of space behind the
defence also happened as a result of defending
long balls and counter-attacks poorly. In both
cases, the BCFC midfield was not covering the
backline enough, leaving it exposed against the
opposition. This scenario was moments before
the penalty conceded against Watford, which
was a huge blow as they played really well in
that game.
It was notable that the centre-back once again
stepped up to press the opponent behind the
midfield, but the left-back wrongly oriented
130
himself towards the ball and neglected the
outside runner. Rarely did the centre-backs show
enough aggression to win the ball back or stop a
release pass when stepping up. Defending these
conditions effectively would be pivotal to avoid
conceding clear-cut chances.
Inadequate midfield
protection and isolations
C onceding crosses is not dangerous in itself,
but it can be costly if the team fails to defend
them effectively. In terms of the coverage of
midfield, it was not enough, and BCFC conceded
huge chances (xG>0.2) and goals because of this.
They have defenders who are good enough to
defend balls in the air, and the backline had a good
collective habit of retreating towards the six-yard
box to prepare for the deep deliveries. However,
this also means spaces around the penalty spot
remained open and required coverage.
The City midfield should do more in these
situations. Very often we saw that the backline
moved deep but the midfielders did not follow.
When the opponents cut the ball back, Karanka’s
men would not be able to prevent shots from
those areas. For example, this goal conceded
against Norwich was a result of lacking midfield
protection. Look at the position of the midfield
when the cross was delivered, it was too far
away from the attacking players, especially at
the spaces around the penalty spot.

Their goal conceded against Stoke City earlier
this season was a result of the weaknesses
mentioned in these two sections. The light
pressure on the ball when defending in a
deeper block always allowed a good through
pass to be played.
In the first image, the Stoke player easily played
the pass and released the runner behind the
wide defender, who was caught out of position.
And very quickly, Stoke were in zone 18 and
ready for a cross. This was not a big issue itself
if BCFC could clear it. However, this was where
the problem came in.
Firstly, the backline dropped deeper towards
the six-yard box with suboptimal body shapes –
orienting to the byline and leaving the blindside
for the opponents. Secondly, the midfield line was
far from the defenders, none of the midfielders
showed sufficient defensive awareness to
anticipate the potential dangers and opened
spaces at the penalty spot.
Here comes the recurring pattern: through ball
– cut-back – shot – goal. The BCFC defenders
131
were not able to defend the cross if they were
going back towards the penalty spot.
As the subtitle suggests, insufficient midfield
protection also led to defenders being isolated,
as the above examples have shown. Considering
the above cases might be due to tactical reasons,
we also include this goal to further investigate
whether the issue was purely tactical or not.
Here, the BCFC defender was isolated in a 1 v
1 situation, while the half-spaces were opened
once again as highlighted in red. The ball-carrier
simply dribbled inward and shot with his weaker
foot given the large spaces available which
resulted in a goal.
And, what if the midfielders did better in this
case? For example, Riley McGree could
aggressively attack the blindside of the dribbler
to help his teammates. Or, the player at the edge
of the box could be more alert to cover the red
spaces. In reality he was too late to do so. Is this
passive defensive behaviour by instruction from
Karanka, or the players’ poor performance? Only
those on the inside will know the answer to this.
 Final remarks
A s shown in this team report, BCFC have
been in trouble due to their issues when out
of possession. These issues have happened
more often as the season went on, and some
new issues have also cropped up, such as
their man-marking scheme at defensive set-
plays – Birmingham City conceded a few goals
from corners and indirect free-kicks recently,
which was not seen as much during the start
of the season.

Karanka and his coaching staff must find the

solution as soon as possible to rectify these bad
habits, or else the team might be in for a long
relegation battle for the rest of the season.

132
Wolverhampton Wanderers:

Has their back four experiment worked?

HARSHAL PATEL // @HarshalPatel93

133
E ver since Nuno Espirito Santo’s arrival at
Wolves, their subsequent success has
been based on a very recognisable style and
brand of football. The Portuguese manager
has become known for putting together a well-
drilled, disciplined unit capable of scoring goals,
and he did so on the back of an almost-constant
formation. Wolves have played in a 3-4-3 or a
3-5-2, for the entirety of Nuno’s tenure, right
from their Championship win to the last couple
of seasons in the Premier League. This season,
however, has seen a change, with the manager
occasionally moving to a back four. Wolves have
used a 4-2-3-1, and occasionally a 4-3-3, this
season, in a bid to improve their creativity and
possession while also being able to retain the
solidity that has been a hallmark under Nuno.
However, the jury is still out as to whether this
shift has been successful, and the team have
been changing their shape frequently, playing
with a back three in one game, going back to a
back four for the next couple, and again reverting exposed in 1v1s and individual duels, but that
to a back three for another match. Thus, this
tactical analysis piece will attempt to determine
if Nuno’s switch to a back four this season has
been successful, or whether they are better
served by sticking to what they know so well.
The shape and personnel
Nouri as the full-backs, and Leander Dendoncker,
João Moutinho and Rúben Neves in midfield. It
was also surprising that Kilman and Boly played
on the ‘wrong’ sides i.e. the left-footed Kilman
played on the right and the right-footed Boly
was on the left. Since then, Wolves have started
with a back four in seven of their ten games in
all competitions, with Coady also being slotted
into the back four, despite not having played in
that system for Wolves previously. The likes of
Kilman, Boly and Romain Saïss have partnered
Coady, as well as forming pairs themselves
occasionally.
It was always thought that Coady would be the
man to miss out if Nuno ever switched to a back
four, since he was playing in such a specific role as
the sweeper in the three, that there were doubts
about his ability to play in a different system.
Wolves’ system also relied on organization and
partnerships, which meant that Coady was rarely
would be much more difficult to do in a back
four. This was also the reason why he was not
called up to the England squad for so long, before
Gareth Southgate switched back to a three at the
start of 2020, and this opened up a spot for him. It
is ironic for Coady that he is once again playing in
a different system to that which England employ,
albeit it is the other way around, with Wolves in a
back four and England employing a back three.

W olves first lined up in a back four for the He has been able to adapt well to this change so
game against Southampton, where Nuno far, but like his teammates, there have been some
was without Conor Coady. The former Liverpool struggles as well.
player, and Wolves captain, has been a big part
of their rise over the last few years, and has been Of course, asking a team to play a completely
exceptional at the heart of a three-man defence, new shape for the first time in nearly three years
which has recently elevated him to being capped is bound to bring some teething problems, and it
for England as well. Coady has been ever- has been no different for Wolves. However, what
present under Nuno, and this game marked the will worry Nuno is that they have continued to look
first time in three years that he would miss even fragile at the back. Wolves have conceded 13
a minute of league action. However, nobody was goals in the seven games they have played with
expecting Nuno to send the team out in a 4-3- a back four, although that is inflated somewhat
3 as a result, with Willy Boly and Max Kilman by the four strikes that Liverpool put past them.
at centre-back, Nelson Semedo and Rayan Aït-

134
We will look at their shape and certain issues
that have arisen from this approach next.
Early on in the game against Southampton, we
can see Wolves’ shape clearly -
while their creativity has not been too high either.
Wolves have had the ninth lowest non-penalty
xG this season (21.06), while they have had the
second-lowest xG per shot as well (0.116). Given
that Wolves are taking nearly the same number
of shots per 90 this season as last season (10.60
vs 10.31), this is a clear indication that they are
not getting into good goalscoring positions. Thus,
it is understandable that Nuno has opted to try
and improve the side’s creativity and attacking
threat by changing the team’s shape, and we will
see how this has helped improve various aspects
of their attacking gameplay.

One of the ways in which this shape has helped

Wolves are in a 4-1-4-1 without the ball. Moutinho
is the anchor in midfield, with Raúl Jiménez
leading the line. This basic shape has been
tweaked a little, with a 4-2-3-1 also being used, but
the principles have remained the same. Playing a
back four has meant that the defensive line has
stayed narrow, with the wingers expected to track
back and protect the full-backs during opposition
attacks, while we will also see variations where
one of the central midfielders has dropped into
the full-back positions, to allow the full-backs
themselves to bomb on higher up the pitch.
Wolves is by improving their threat from wider
areas. Playing a full-back and a winger naturally
means that there are greater opportunities for
overlaps, underlaps and other combinations,
which can allow the team to break down opposition
defences. This also stretches the opposition,
which can then create space in central areas for
the other attackers. We will see examples of all
of this in Wolves’ play this season, which is an
encouraging sign.

We will now look at some of the consistent

traits and patterns of play that Wolves have
employed in this shape, as well as errors, which
may be a result of unfamiliarity with the shape
or individual mistakes.

In possession This is a great example to show the effect of

playing with wingers on team shape. As Wolves

O ne of the most basic, but important, build-up from deep in their own half, notice how
reasons for Nuno to play a back four was wide their attacking line is. At the same time,
to get another attacker on the pitch, to hopefully Vitinha (marked in red) is playing as a number
increase Wolves’ offensive threat. The team have 10, allowing for combinations with the striker as
struggled to score goals this season, as can be well. The shaded areas in yellow are approximate
seen by the fact that they have only scored 18 markers for where Wolves’ wing-backs would
goals from 17 games (1.06 goals/game), which is have been if they were playing a back three, and
the fifth-lowest in the league at the time of writing, it is immediately evident that they would be much

135
deeper and therefore would not carry the same
threat in behind the opposition’s defensive line.
Another consistent facet of Wolves’ play in this
shape has been the insistence on holding width,
even though the identity of the players’ staying
wide has changed.
Note how Aït-Nouri can come infield on the ball,
because Pedro Neto is staying wide.
A similar situation in a different game – Neto
is once again wide on the left, which allows
Fernando Marcal, playing at left-back, to move
into the central spaces.
This has been seen on the opposite flank as well
– Adama Traore stays wide which allows Nelson
136
Semedo to make a run infield. Note how Neves
(highlighted in red) is moving across to the right
to cover for Semedo. This has been a feature of
Wolves’ play, with this positional rotation allowing
the full-back to take up positions high and wide
on the pitch, and subsequently bringing the
winger infield, as we can see in the next image.
Neves is in the right-back spot here, with Semedo
having advanced high up the pitch
Here, Traore comes deep and into a central
position, opening up the flank for Semedo to
bomb into.
These positional rotations out wide are a great
way to create space in dangerous areas, and
it is a very encouraging sign that the Wolves’
players have already been able to make these
movements, despite having not played in a back
four under Nuno before this season.
The effect of having width from both full-backs
and wingers can be seen in the next image –
 from the central midfielders, who will need to
either stay deep or drop into the wide areas, like
we have seen with Neves, to maintain the team’s
defensive structure. Therefore, it is encouraging
that Wolves have been able to create such
opportunities, even though their goalscoring
itself has not improved by too much since they
started playing this system. Jimenez’s injury has
a lot to do with this, since it has robbed the team
Here, Wolves have a winger and a full-back of their most effective and clinical striker, and it
advanced down their left, which has caused Villa will be interesting to see if there is a change in
to shift over to that side. This has opened up a lot their goalscoring output should they sign a new
of space for Leander Dendoncker in the centre striker in the January window.
circle, who can then play passes to Fabio Silva
or Traore in dangerous positions, if he receives
the ball quickly from Moutinho. Out of possession
As the move develops, we can see exactly how
this shape allows the Wolves attackers to get
into threatening positions.
T he team has needed to adapt a lot more when
out of possession, especially the centre-
backs. It is quite a change to go from playing as
a centre-back in a back three to one in a flat back
four, which is why there were concerns around
whether Coady, in particular, would be able to
adapt. While the Englishman has taken to this
system well, there have been teething issues
across the backline for Wolves, largely to do with
positioning, especially for the full-backs, as we
will see next.

Playing as a full-back in a back four usually

We can see how Pedro Neto has been able to
pick up a position between the Villa lines, and is
actually gesturing for the ball to be played into
his feet. Semedo opts to play the ball out wide to
Traore instead, but it is the Spanish winger’s wide
positioning in the first place which allows Neto to
find that space between the lines – something
that would not have developed if Wolves were
playing with a back three and wing-backs.
The advantage of playing with a back four is
that it allows players to get into the central half-
spaces, by coming infield from the wider areas,
due to the full-backs being able to occupy the
wide spaces. Of course, this requires discipline
requires the player to be a lot deeper than
he would be as a wing-back, with the winger
offering support and additional protection. This
transition has been tricky for some of the Wolves
players, who have sometimes been caught in
positions where they may have been had they
been playing in a back three. At other times, this
has affected their decision-making in regards
to tracking runners. All of these issues are to
be expected, and can be erased with work on
the training ground, but they do offer opponents
openings in dangerous areas.

137
 back five, Neto would probably be in a higher
and central position, with Aït-Nouri responsible
for the flank.

We have another example of wide runners not

being tracked effectively.

The Wolves backline is narrow here, as

expected. However, the midfield is woefully out
of position. The line is too high, giving as many
as three Brighton players space in between the
lines. There is an argument to be made that the
defensive line is too deep – in any case, the
space between the lines is too great. There is
also too much space in front of them, with Yves At this time, there is not much wrong with Wolves’
Bissouma having all the time in the world to be shape. Semedo has moved infield, tracking
able to pick a pass out to Solly March on the left, Jack Grealish, while Moutinho has dropped into
who is also in a lot of space. the backline while following John McGinn from
midfield, and Neto is in the right-back zone (red
This is, to an extent, the result of playing marker) to pick up Matt Targett.
against a back three with wing-backs, as
Brighton deployed in this game. Nevertheless,
it also shows that the midfield and defence were
uncertain as to how high or deep they should
be, and this was the result.

However, a mistake occurs as the move develops.

Here, we see an example of runs in behind not
being tracked. Both Pedro Neto and Aït-Nouri are
attracted to Trossard, which allows Ben White
to be able to find Joël Veltman, who makes the
run behind the defence. Neto should be tracking
that run here, with Aït-Nouri picking up Trossard,
but they fail to communicate effectively. This can
be attributed to the change in shape, since in a
As the ball is played into Grealish, both Semedo
and Moutinho rush to close him down. While
this is somewhat understandable given the Villa
captain’s threat and influence, it leaves McGinn
completely free in a very dangerous position,
with Neto unable to move to cover him due to the
presence of Targett. Here, again, we see a little
bit of disorganisation between the midfield and
defence, which could have cost Wolves dearly if
Villa had found the pass to McGinn.

138
The first goal that Wolves conceded against
Brighton can be directly attributed to a lack of
communication between the centre-backs, as
well as the change in shape.

When the ball is delivered from the right, Aaron

Connolly has managed to find himself unmarked
in the box, despite the presence of three Wolves
players in his immediate vicinity. Coady is
concerned with Neal Maupay, and Semedo is
picking up March, but Moutinho has let Connolly
run off him, while Saïss is caught ball-watching
and is unaware of what is going on behind him.
The Moroccan could have been forgiven for
thinking that Coady was mopping up behind him,
as would have been the case in a back three, but
this was still an error of judgement which allowed
Brighton to take the lead.

Conclusion
I t is impressive that Nuno elected to switch systems
during the course of this, of all seasons, where
sustained time on the training ground has been hard
to come by. Wolves have done well enough in their
new shape – their attacking fluency and threat has
definitely improved, even if this has not directly been
translated into goals yet. However, the defensive
side of things is taking a little more time to settle, and
individual mistakes have cost them in a few games.
The gamble always was to give up some defensive
solidity in exchange for a greater attacking threat,
and so, Wolves will need to start creating more
clear-cut chances, and taking them, for their switch
to a back four to be deemed a success.

139
 Scout Report:

Nayef Aguerd

Art by LEE SCOTT // @FMAnalysis

Haris
Prasad V.T
14 0
 about Aguerd, however, is that he is equally
capable of playing vertical passes that break
the lines of the opposition defensive structure
or in carrying the ball forward himself in order to
provoke the opposition to engage the ball and
break from their defensive structure.

In the defensive phase, Aguerd is comfortable

when asked to hold a line and defend his
penalty area or when pulled out and isolated
in wide spaces against quick attacking players.

N ayef Aguerd is a 24-year-old Moroccan He displays the strength needed to hold up to

international central defender who is aggressive attacking players while also having
currently contracted to Rennes in the French the balance needed to quickly shift position and
top-flight. Aguerd is listed at 188cm | 6’2” and turn when expected to defend space behind
is predominantly left-footed. He initially moved the defensive line as the opposition look to play
to Europe in 2018 when he left FUS Rabat in more direct passes. He opens his hips well and
Morocco to move to France with Dijon. In the anticipates the movements of the opposition
first instance, Aguerd played for the second forward.
team at Dijon before establishing himself as
a first-team regular for the French side for the In this scout report, we will break down the
2019/20 season. In August of 2020, he made a tendencies that make Aguerd such an interesting
move within France to join Rennes for a reported player both in and out of possession.
£3.6M. Rennes are, of course, renowned as a
side who like to develop young players and allow
them to become difference makers in the first-
team. They are, however, also strong from a
Defensive profile
recruitment perspective and this season, prior
to their debut in the Champions League, they O ut of possession Aguerd is a proactive
defensive player who likes to defend on the
added the likes of Jeremy Doku, from Anderlecht, front foot. When we use data to view the player
Serhou Guirassy, from Amiens and Martin this is shown further as he averages just 4.15
Terrier, from Lyon, alongside Aguerd. Arguably defensive duels per 90 with a success rate of
though the Moroccan defender has made the 74.67% but this is coupled with 7.7 possession
most significant impact at the club so far. adjusted interceptions. Aguerd likes to read the
attacking intent of the opposition before looking
As a left-footed central defender Aguerd is a to step out and in front of the ball in order to break
big part of the build-up phase for Rennes. He is up the threat from the attack before it can fully
comfortable receiving under pressure or on the develop. For a player who is so aggressive in
half-turn and has the vision and passing range terms of his playing style, however, it is notable
that allows him to access all areas of the field. that Aguerd is conceding just 0.39 fouls per 90.
It is common to see the ball recycled by Rennes
back to his slot, typically in the left half-space,
before the Moroccan plays diagonally to access
space behind the opposition defensive line on
the opposite side of the field. What is interesting

14 1
 defending the edge of the penalty area he is
perhaps more measured in terms of not moving
out quickly to engage the ball as much as he
does when defending higher up the field.

In this example we see a situation where the

opposition have worked their possession onto
a more advanced position. We can see how
well structured the back four is and Aguerd is
In the modern game it is essential that central in position maintaining the spacing between the
defenders are comfortable defending both in second central defender and the left-back. As
central spaces and when pulled out and isolated the opposition shifts the ball inside to the player
in wide areas. Fullbacks today tend to be at the edge of the penalty area it is Aguerd who
aggressive in their movements in the attacking reads the danger and moves to challenge and
phase with a clear tendency to move quickly to win the ball. If he had been aggressive too early,
a higher line in order to support the attack. This, however, then he would have left space behind
combined with the nature of football to be more that the man originally in possession could have
transitional than positional these days, means exploited.
that central defenders have to be mobile in order
to compete at the highest levels.

In this example we see the opposition looking

to attack quickly down their right-hand side with
a pass over the head of the left-back with an
attacker moving outside in order to access the
space and receive the pass. Aguerd has read
the danger and moved out into the wide space
in order to cover the threat. As he does so he
not only engages the ball carrier but also comes The ability of Aguerd to read the game extends
away cleanly with the ball before calmly looking to his capacity to provide cover for his defensive
to find a progressive pass in transition. teammates when they are caught out of position.
In this example we see a situation where Eduardo
Camavinga, the mercurial Rennes midfielder,
gives away possession cheaply in the midfield
and the defensive unit of Rennes are caught out
of position.

A quick give and go from the opposition sees an

While Aguerd is capable of defending out in wide
areas he is also comfortable when acting as part
of the defensive line. He understands how to
keep balance in the defensive phase and when
attacking player released into space with a clear
run on goal. That was, however, not accounting
for Aguerd, as the Moroccan defender not only
read the threat but showed the physical capacity
to get back and recover his position to challenge
for and win the ball.

14 2
 Attacking profile
R ennes are a possession orientated side and
Aguerd is a key aspect of this. He is averaging
56.46 received passes per 90, further showing
that he is a player that the other defenders in
the Rennes system rely on and look for. He is
averaging 71.9 passes per game and 31.33 per 90 Here we have another example of Aguerd
of these are forward passes. This extends to 7.8 showing his passing range in order to progress
passes to the final third per 90 and an impressive the ball for his team. This time the opposition
12.62 progressive passes per 90. are Lorient and their defensive structure at first
glance leaves a lot to be desired.

There are four opposition players relatively close

to Aguerd as he receives the ball but none of
them make any immediate move to engage the
ball and apply significant levels of pressure. This
means that, once again, Aguerd is capable of
reading the defensive block and identifying the
correct passing option.

Aguerd is especially effective for Rennes when He, again, has the technique and passing
they are looking to progress the ball through the range to access this space via a diagonal pass
thirds against a team that plays in a deep and that releases the far side winger in behind the
compact defensive block. We see an example of defensive line.
this here as Nantes are defending in a compact
4-4-2 block. As Aguerd receives the ball there is
no direct threat in terms of pressure and even
the players who are positioned closest to the
ball are passive and not looking to move across
too quickly.

This allows Aguerd the time and space to read

the movement of the attacking players ahead of
the ball. As two players look to attack and exploit
the space behind the Nantes defensive line we
see that Aguerd has the quality on the ball to find
the pass that accesses this space and creates
an attacking opportunity for his team.
While Aguerd is more than capable of finding
these passes when given the time and space to
do so he is equally capable of making the correct
choice when moving at speed into congested
areas of the pitch.

In this example we see Aguerd moving initially

past the first opposition defender towards the

14 3
half-way line. As he does so the midfield block will
look to engage and prevent him from continuing
with this attacking momentum. While still moving
at speed into this area Aguerd is able to identify
the run from the far side winger, who is making
a forward movement from a deep position, and
Aguerd finds the pass to release the run.
As well as being able to pass intelligently
we see Aguerd carrying the ball towards the
opposition half when the opportunity presents
itself. This forces the opposition, when they
are defending deep, to break players from their
defensive structure to stop the forward run from
the central defender.
In this example we see Aguerd having received
the ball just inside his own half. As he does so
he recognises the press from the first opposition
player and chooses to move quickly away from this
pressure to access the space in the shaded area.
This movement from the central defender forces
the Angers right-back to move out to engage the
ball and Aguerd is able to play the through pass
that releases his winger into space on that side
of the pitch.
14 4
Finally, we again see Aguerd carrying the ball
forward, this time from the match between Rennes
and Metz. As the central defender receives the
ball he is put under immediate pressure but the
man applying the pressure is too aggressive and
Aguerd is able to comfortably outplay him as he
carries the ball into the opposition half.
Once again we see that this movement affects
the opposition right-back, who has to advance
and engage the ball. Once again we see that
Aguerd has the quality to release the ball at the
right time to find the left-back who is moving high
in space.
Conclusion
T here is no doubt that Rennes have unearthed
a potential star in Nayed Aguerd. He has
not looked out of place when playing in the
Champions League and his profile is that of the
perfect modern centre-back. Perhaps the main
knock on him is that he is short of top-level pace.
This is mitigated somewhat, however, by his
positional sense and ability to read the game.
Aguerd is a player to watch closely over the next
18 months.
Scout Report:

Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe

LEE SCOTT // @FMAnalysis

14 5
 As a right-footed player who plays from the right-
hand side you would expect Ebimbe to be a
traditional winger type who attacks on the outside
of defensive players when he is in possession of
the ball. Instead the youngster is a dynamic force
in the attacking phase with a broad and powerful
frame. He carries the ball positively and will attack
from outside in a diagonal line to access the half-
space or central areas. It is not unusual to see
Ebimbe burst past two or even three defensive

E ric Ebimbe is a 20-year-old French winger or players in a movement that creates chaos for the
midfielder who is currently on loan at Dijon opposition defensive structure. He is a creative
from Paris St-Germain. Ebimbe is a French passer who likes to make probing passes when
U21 international but also holds Cameroonian crossing into the final third. What is especially
citizenship through his father’s side. Ebimbe is interesting about Ebimbe in the attacking phase,
listed at 183cm | 6’ and is predominantly right- however, is that he displays a tendency to move
footed. Ebimbe is a player who tends to play back towards the ball when Dijon are building the
from the right-hand side of the attack, although attack. He takes up intelligent positions in pockets
his profile does suggest that he would be an of space and can receive the ball in space to help
interesting free 8 on the right-hand side of the his team to progress the ball cleanly.
midfield three. He is a product of the youth
academy at Paris St-Germain and he signed his In the defensive phase Ebimbe is active both in
first professional contract at the club in 2018. This terms of pressing and engaging the ball and when
followed a loan spell for the 2019/20 season with moving back to provide cover for his fullback. At
Le Havre in the second tier, where he played 25 the time of writing the youngster is averaging
matches. With that loan spell proving successful 7.53 defensive duels per 90 with a success rate
as the youngster gained his first exposure to of 51.4%. He also recovers on average 4.81
first-team football this season saw a move to balls per 90 in the opposition half.
Dijon as Ebimbe sought to test himself against
top-level competition. At the time of writing
Ebimbe has played 17 times for Dijon and he has
adapted to this level well. This, of course, does
Carrying the ball
not mean that Ebimbe can expect to make the
breakthrough when he returns to his parent club T here is no doubt that in the attacking phase
Ebimbe’s capacity to progress the ball is a
in the summer. Paris St-Germain are renowned real strength of his game. At the time or writing
for developing young players who then have no the young winger is averaging 6.47 dribbles per
realistic pathway to first-team football at the club. 90 with a 53.9% success rate. This is combined
The list of players who have left the club, or who with 2.64 touches in the opposition penalty area
were born and raised in Paris before moving which shows that Ebimbe tends to play high up
elsewhere for their footballing breakthrough, the pitch.
is incredibly long and there is every chance
that Ebimbe will end up moving elsewhere to
establish himself as a first-team player.

14 6
 give him too much space to receive the ball then
he can face them up and beat them with a dribble.

This time he is positive in attacking towards the

opposition half. He engages and beats three
defensive players with quick ball manipulation
and powerful movements through the press.
In this example he comfortably takes three
opposition players out of the game.
Here we see an example of Ebimbe in action in
the match between Dijon and Nimes. This is a
moment of attacking transition for Dijon as they
are looking to exploit gaps in the opposition
defensive structure. Ebimbe has drifted across
into central spaces to collect the ball and as he
receives possession he is immediately under
pressure.

Ebimbe is positive in possession as he takes

the ball and then cuts back and then through the
defensive player before finding a through ball
that breaks the line of the opposition defensive
line and releases a forward in behind.
As well as being effective when carrying the ball
through the thirds and progressing the attack for
his team we also see Ebimbe make intelligent
movements in order to receive the ball in the final
third and interlink with his teammates.

In this example we see Ebimbe acting in a

This time we see Ebimbe in action in the match
between Dijon and Marseille as Ebimbe receives
the ball in his own half of the field before driving
forwards in order to progress his team into more
advanced positions.
central role as the ball is on the left-hand side
of the attack and he has occupied a central line.
As the ball is played in, initially to the ‘9’, Ebimbe
moves towards the ball and connects the attack.
He receives the ball when moving in a sideways
motion but can still find the diagonal run of the
left-sided attack to release that player through
and into space.

As he collects possession he is immediately put

under pressure. Ebimbe, however, is extremely
pass resistant as he can take physical contact
before holding off and turning the defender.
Indeed, if defensive players get too tight to him
then he can turn them and burst past but if they

14 7
Ebimbe has an eye for a creative pass and possession and looking for a progressive pass.
he averages 0.46 key passes per 90 and 1.44 Ebimbe makes the movement back towards the
passes to the penalty area per 90 along with 1.5 ball from his initial position and ends up occupying
crosses per 90. the space between two players in Nantes midfield
line. While there is another option with the right-
In this example we see that Ebimbe has collected back looking to move high this is a less safe and
possession wide on the right, just inside the clean progressive option.
opposition half of the pitch. As we mentioned
above you would expect a player with Ebimbe’s Instead, Ebimbe receives the ball and then
profile to take the opportunity in this situation to can turn and attack the defensive line of the
attack down the outside. Instead, he immediately opposition.
moves in a diagonal line to commit and outplay
three opposition players.

What is key here, however, is that the young

winger then has the quality to release the ball at
the right time to access the run of a teammate
making a central run in support of the attack.

Helping the ball We see another example here with Dijon recycling
to progress possession back to the first line when Marseille
apply pressure in the midfield. Once again it is

W hen a team looks to progress the ball and

attack through positional attacks, as Dijon
do, it is important that they have defenders who
are capable of progressing the ball cleanly from
the first line. This is only possible, however, if there
are players ahead of the ball who understand how
to move in order to occupy pockets of space in
which they can receive these forward passes. This
is an area in which Ebimbe is extremely strong.
Ebimbe who moves back towards the ball in
order to supply an option for the progressive
pass to be played into the opposition half.
Improvements to be made
W hile Ebimbe is an effective attacking threat
at Ligue 1 level he still needs to add a
more effective end product to his game. He
carries a goal threat in terms of the positions that
he occupies and the runs that he makes but he
does not always translate this into the goals that
he should.

Indeed, at the time of writing Ebimbe is averaging

0.07 goals per 90 from an xG of 0.17 goals per
90. This comes from 1.89 shots per 90. That is
not to say, however, that Ebimbe does not get
We see an example of this here from the match into good attacking positions.
between Dijon and Nantes with the defender in

14 8

We see an example of this in this image as a
midfield player for Dijon carries the ball centrally
and commits defensive players to the ball. As the
central defender presses out from the defensive
line to engage the ball the left-back for the
opposition is dragged inside as cover.
Conclusion
A t this stage it feels unlikely that Eric Ebimbe
will make the breakthrough at first-team level
with Paris St-Germain. Instead, it is increasingly
likely that his future will take him elsewhere.
While he is still raw he has an intriguing profile
and if his end product can be improved he could
become an extremely interesting player over the
next 18-24 months.

Ebimbe is intelligent enough in these areas to

pause and allow separation to build. He was then
in a position to get the through ball and shoot low
and hard across goal. A good idea but the shot
was narrowly wide.

This time Ebimbe makes the opportunity for

the shot at goal himself as he makes a clever
movement across the areas in order to receive the
ball. As he does so he is put under pressure but he
has the balance and quick feet in order to create
a yard of space on his right foot before firing low
towards the near post. This time the goalkeeper is
down quickly in order to make the save.

14 9
DATA VIZ
Brasileirao 2019/20: Who is in the race for the Golden Boot?

MARTON BALLA // @MartonBalla1

T he Brazilian Serie A is slowly reaching the final stage of its season, with most clubs having
already played 28+ games. The race for the Golden Boot is still very much up in the air, so I have
decided to take a look at the most impressive number nines from the Brasileirao.

The first name we will look at may be one familiar to those who don’t regularly follow the league.
This name is Gabriel Barbosa. The former Inter player is still only 24 years old, and after winning
the Copa Libertadores in the previous season with Flamengo, many supporters already forecasted
his return to one of the European top leagues. Unfortunately, due to injuries, he has only played 15
games this season, which would result in some problems in Flamengo’s attacking selection. That’s
where Pedro enters.

The 23-year-old Pedro is also a Serie A reject, (looks like there is a pattern in Flamengo’s transfer
policy) who used to play for Fiorentina before returning to Brazil. Before the lockdown, Pedro only
played sparingly, but Gabigol’s injury gave him a window of opportunity. He certainly seized this
opportunity. The young striker played 25 games scoring 11 goals, and created the highest xG/90
stat during this time.

Another interesting name on the list is Internacional’s Thiago Galhardo who, at 31 years of age, is
running into the tail end of his career. With 16 goals he is currently the top scorer of the competition
and has had an undeniable part in Internacional’s second place ranking on the table.

150
The Brasileirao is always packed with gems, so I can’t finish the piece without mentioning at least
two future prospects:

The first one is the 20 years-old Brenner, who emerged as Sao Paulo’s most prolific goalscorer since
football returned in July. Brenner has netted 11 goals so far in the league and his performances have
already drawn attention from top clubs such as Arsenal, PSG and Juventus.

The second is one of RB Bragantino’s brightest prospects, Allerrandro. The young number nine
has only played slightly over 1000 minutes, but his stats projected per 90 minutes are looking very
promising and suggest that it is worth keeping an eye on his future progress.

151
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153
 Editor-in-Chief // Chris Darwen // @ronniedogchris
Lead Analyst // Lee Scott // @FMAnalysis
Magazine Design // Jamie Brackpool // @jamiebrackpool

Contributors
Analysis Pieces
Abdullah Abdullah // @kunabd
Adam Scully // @ascully24
Cameron Meighan // @cam_meighan
Domagoj Kostanjšak // @BarcaFront
David Astill // @DavidPAstill21
David Seymour // @davidseymour_
Fintan O’Reilly // @FintanFootball
Harshal Patel // @HarshalPatel93
Ian O’Neill // @easytactics
Jaime FV // @jaimeferva
Joao Ruivo // @__joaoruivo
Lee Scott // @FMAnalysis
Lorihannah Shushkova // @LorihannahSh
Mak Pakhei // @MakPakhei
Mario Husillos Jr Mario Husillos Jr. // @camusuno
Sathish Prasad VT // @SathishPrasadVT
Scott Martin // @CoachScottCopy
Tom Pearce // @PearceTom4
Toni Bilandzic // @ToniBila17
Data Viz
Marton Bala // @MartonBalla1
Venkatanarayanan Venkatesan // @VenkyReddevil

All statistics, data and match footage was procured via Wyscout and InStat.
Special thanks to Work DigitalPolo.com and Haris Prasad V.T for their contributions to the
magazine artwork.

totalfootballanalysis.com and the Total Football Analysis Magazine

is owned and published by Ronnie Dog Media Comm. V.

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