Category: Coach Education

How to play with a False 9 like Guardiola and Klopp

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Formations, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Premier League, World Football

Following its popular use for Vicente del Bosque's Spain at Euro 2012, the role of the false nine has continued to evolve in the modern era of the Premier League, accompanied by a shift in mannerisms, behaviors, and positional patterns of strikers on a football pitch. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have been two of the dominating forces in world football since the mid-2010s, and both have operated throughout that time without a recognized out-and-out goal-scoring striker. For any possession-based team attempting to emulate Klopp and Guardiola, deploying a false nine presents a unique and innovative way of breaking the opposition down, and reaching new levels of performance. Some tactical experts have suggested that in the future we may see a formation without a striker at all, but truthfully, we may already be there.

Identifying players to fit your team’s style of play

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Masterclasses, Recruitment & Scouting

In the process of recruitment & scouting, an essential piece to the puzzle is in finding players to fit the team's style of play, rather than just the very best players. Without a game model that specifies how a team wants to function in each phase of the game, this is difficult to achieve. But beyond studying a game model, a recruitment & scouting analyst could use a few other methods for finding the right players, that would allow them to transform their team and achieve new heights.

How Southampton used positional automatisms to gain advantages v. Man United

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Formations, Masterclasses, Match Analysis, Premier League

Ralph Hasenhuttl's Southampton used intelligent positional patterns (or automatisms) to gain crucial advantages against United, and come out with a massive away draw. Particularly vital on the day to finding space and gaining tactical victories were Oriol Romeu and Mohamed Elyounoussi, who took on various roles over the course of the match away from their 'normal' position.

Analyzing Barcelona’s attacking brilliance vs. Atletico

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Managers, Masterclasses, Match Analysis, Most Recent, Team Analysis, World Football

past weekend, securing an easy 4-2 win against arch-rivals Atletico Madrid. With the likes of Dani Alves, yes Dani Alves, and a younger version of Xavi himself in the form of 17-year-old Gavi, Barca have a mix of incredible experience and youthful verve to propel them into the top four moving forward. Here is our match analysis of Barca's 4-2 win over Atletico, and Barcelona's attacking variety and balance throughout the match.

Why Dortmund are so bad in defensive transitions

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, German Bundesliga, Managers, Masterclasses, Match Analysis, Most Recent, Team Analysis

Any time Borussia Dortmund look like they might be in with a shot of challenging Bayern for the Bundesliga title, they go and mess it up with an abysmal performance. Marco Rose's time in charge of the Black & Yellows has been characterized by a series of questionable tactical decisions (to say the least), and an utter lack of desire to fix the team's most pressing defensive concern - their disastrously poor positioning, speed and aptitude in transitions. After the club's shocking 5-2 loss to third place Bayer Leverkusen, we take an in-depth look at why Rose's Dortmund are so poor in defensive transitions, and what they can do to fix this.

Conceptualizing positional play, positional rotation and positional interchange

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Coaching, Masterclasses, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Player Education, Subscriber Exclusives

The footballing universe is littered with terminology that only exists to us in our realm, and our game, and our sport. It can therefore be difficult for inexperienced onlookers or even just the average fan, to understand what we mean we discuss different footballing concepts and terms. So today, I take a look at the differences between positional play, positional rotation and positional interchange.

Why Bruno Guimaraes is being tracked by Europe’s elite

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Central Midfield, Coach Education, Data Analysis, Defensive Midfield, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Premier League, Recruitment & Scouting

These days, every single club in the world is in search of a top quality defensive midfielder, either to provide back-up to an already existing world star, or to transform their team in completely new ways. It seems inevitable that players like Declan Rice or Yves Bissouma will make a step up to one of Europe's elite clubs soon, but another lesser known name that's been catching the eye this season is Olympique Lyonnais' Bruno Guimaraes. Here is an analysis of why the Brazilian is turning heads, and why he should be on the radar of every single top club in Europe.

Jurgen Klopp – Liverpool – Tactical Analysis (2021-22 Edition)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Managers, Masterclasses, Most Recent, Premier League, Team Analysis

With 23 matches gone, Manchester City are evident favourites for the title. But Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool haven't been too far off, and still have both a game in hand and a game against City to play. The Reds have been brilliant this season, regardless of their competitors, scoring the most goals in the league and returning to their best under the return of Virgil Van Dijk, and other players restored to their normal positions. Through it all, Jurgen Klopp's team have continued to perform to the highest standard in all the areas expected of them, from their heavy metal pressing to meticulous methods of playing out from the back. Here is our tactical analysis of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in 2021-22.