Category: Game Analysis

About Barça’s Start of the 2021-22 Season

Some quick comments about Barça’s start of the season, the game vs Athletic Bilbao and football in general.

Since until the last moment Messi was expected to stay, Koeman probably brought Memphis for the left winger role. He even played there during the pre-season friendlies. It made sense also because that’s Ansu Fati’s main position and it is uncertain if & how quickly he’ll be back to his previous level.

Once Messi’s gone, Koeman picked Memphis to play in the false 9 position. Which I found quite surprising. Messi’s departure meant Griezmann could finally play in a position that suits his profile & skillset. Instead, he’s stuck in a right winger position (with freedom to roam centrally) that limits him. He’s nor a dribbler nor a fast runner. I’d even argue that, if he has to necessarily play on the wing, he has greater ability to make runs from the left than the right side.

The 2nd big change is Piqué’s new position as left center back, after 10+ years playing as right center back. Because the other CBs Koeman counts on (Araujo & Éric) feel better on the right side. I’ve always been told that, if a choice has to be made, it’s the experienced CB who has to move to the less ideal side.

It’ll probably impact Barça’s capacity to build from the back, specially if we’re pressed. The ball will probably reach Alba less quickly. But it’ll also open new options : maybe Piqué’s accurate long passes could reach Alba or Fati’s runs down the left side easier. In any case, the team’s mechanisms have to be adapted in order to make a positive change.

Koeman picked Eric García to start even though the latter learned about his grandma’s death just minutes before the game. I guess Eric himself said he could handle the situation. But IMHO it was a mistake from Koeman to go with it. That kind of risk shouldn’t be taken with such a young player. In San Mames, against forwards as shrewd as Iñaki Williams & Raúl García, I don’t think it was worth it. It’s not like Eric is the new Beckenbauer and the defense would crumble without him. It’s not like there were no other CBs available. It made no sense to me.

Anyway, it’ll be interesting to follow the post-Messi era. Saying I’m excited would be a stretch. And not only because Messi’s left or the club’s dire financial situation. I don’t know what you guys think, but I feel like there’s been so many football games in the last 12 months. I’m kinda overdosing.

Last week I read FIFA wants to have the World Cup played every 2 years. Now I just learned that on top of UCL & Europa League, there’s a new European competition this season called the UEFA Europa Conference League. WTF ? Too many competitions, too many games. And like anything that becomes too abundant, it loses attractiveness & becomes a bit monotonous.

Barça Lives to Fight Another Day

This week, Barça lost to Granada (1-2 at Camp Nou) and won vs Valencia (2-3 at Mestalla). We failed to take the #1 spot, but we still alive and fighting for this Liga.

IMHO, in both games, the team had good performances during 70 minutes.

The usual patterns of play in attack were displayed effectively.

De Jong’s now famous forward run down the right half-space into the box.

Sometimes even sequences of supreme fútbol 👇🏽

Look at the speed of these combinations 🔥

But it’s always the same problems that end up complicating things : the individual errors in defense and the inability to properly manage the last 20 minutes.

About the defense : Barça conceded 7 goals in the last 4 games. That means on average you need to score 3 goals to win a game. But it should be noted that these 9 goals came from only 14 conceded shots. So there’s also the (lack of) luck factor to consider.

About the chronic fragility shown in the last 20 minutes : Some blamed the international break for disrupting the team’s momentum. Others mentioned the physical fatigue at this stage of the season (a packed calendar + few rotations). Others talked about the added pressure of being in the last stretch of the fight for LaLiga. I think it’s a bit of everything.

KOEMAN

I have to say Koeman sticking with the same plan & the same substitutions and failing to adapt to the rival or game circumstances is starting to become irritating…

Why not sacrificing 1 of the back 3 when the opponent has only 1 striker ? Why always Ilaix Moriba and no chance is given to Puig ? Why systematically depleting the midfield and subbing off Busquets when we need a goal ? Why insisting with giving Trincao 10 minutes when he’s clearly not an impact player & needs a different context to express his talent ?

Knowing where we came from, to me, Koeman has fulfilled the mission he was given & deserves a 2nd season (I’ll probably come back to this in detail in a future post). But he has almost as many achievements as flaws to work on. Starting with in-game tactical management of 2nd halves.

TER STEGEN

I know Ter Stegen is a fans’ favorite. I know data & statistics show he’s stopping shots at a high rate. But I have to trust the eye test here. And what my eyes see, in every game, is 2 or 3 situations where Mats shows signs of doubts & fragility.

My main concerns are : his tendency to stick to the goal-line and the lack of domination in aerial duels at the edge of the 6-yards box.

For every new season, Cruyff used to change a couple things : maybe try a new system (from a false 9 to bringing Romario) or sell one of the team leaders (the famous “sacred cows”). His goal : group stimulation, force the players to face new individual & collective challenges, avoid any kind of complacency.

I believe a similar approach should be applied with MATS. Challenge him! Maybe by bringing a goalkeeper of higher caliber, one who could realistically take his starting spot. Or maybe by bringing a new goalkeeping coach (instead of JR De La Fuente, who he’s been working with *for the last 7 years*) who will change the trainings & force him out of his comfort zone.

ALBA

It always amazes me how little talk there is about the quality of Alba’s crosses. He’s the kind of player who’s the first to be blamed after a loss, the last to be mentioned after a victory.

Already 15 assists this season.

JAVI GRACIA

A quick word about Valencia’s coach, Javi Gracia, one of the promising Spanish coaches (with guys like Machin & Diego Martinez).

He was given an average squad, saw the best players sold (Parejo, Kondogbia, Rodrigo, Coquelin, Ferran Torres, Costa, Florenzi) and had almost no replacements. Yet he’s managed to maintain the club in the middle of the table. And he’s been fired this morning! This trick of letting the manager coach in a difficult game (and own the L) before informing him that he’s fired is machiavelical…

Next week-end, we have the 2 games that will decide LaLiga : Atlético de Madrid vs Barça and Sevilla vs Real Madrid. Will be witness Suárez’ definitive revenge? 😀 In any case, this ending is the most interesting since the 2013-2014 season. Let’s hope it won’t have the same outcome…

Visca el Barça 💪🏽 🔵 🔴

Thanks for reading. If you found this post interesting, consider subscribing to receive a free & short weekly analysis . You can also follow me on Twitter.

Koeman Creating Ideal Contexts & Win-Win Situations : 6-1 victory vs Real Sociedad

THIS PUBLICATION WAS MOVED TO SUBSTACK : www.thecaptn.substack.com

DE JONG IN DEFENSE

I’m personally still not convinced by De Jong in central defense. It works when the team dominates ball possession and/or plays vs low blocks. And I’m waiting to see it when he’ll have to defend in the box, where he’ll have less time & space to offset errors and defensive fundamentals (body orientation, reading the striker’s movements) are needed.

In any case, he’s a talented player who learns at a fast rate (as proved by his successful conversion to a box-to-box role in the middle of the season), so there’s reasons to be optimistic.

DE JONG -> BUSQUETS

If Messi’s role was called “false 9”, then Frenkie’s role could be called “false defender”. It’s a hybrid role that evolves in possession phase, similar to the one Koeman himself played under Cruyff (see GIF).

Here’s Fdj showing a great complementarity with Busquets to help the team progress forward down the central lane (see Gif).

The back 3 & De Jong’s support mean Busquets can play a couple meters higher, which decreases the space he’d have to cover. And the packed midfield offers him more passing options, which is key to his game. Busquets’ performance VS Real Sociedad was a true masterclass!

BUSQUETS -> MESSI

“Busquets doesn’t waste even a single chance to pass the ball to Messi.” – Valdano

Few players can verticalize the play with 1-touch passes like Busquets. And this higher positioning gets him closer to Messi, which in turn enables the latter to stay closer to the box, where he’s more decisive.

A win-win situation!

And it’s been evidenced in the play that led to Dest’s goal :

BETTER PRESSING

Under the previous 4-3-3 system, the team struggled to press on intervals & close spaces (3 forwards vs the opponent’s back 4, which means synchronization & continuous adjustments had to be made).

The new system simplified everything by committing 1 more man forward, enabling man-to-man pressing (Messi & Dembélé vs the center backs, Dest & Alba vs the full-backs). Which also means Busquets has less compensatory forward runs to make.

PEDRI

Koeman tried several structures this season and Pedri, similarly to De Jong, had to adapt to several positions/roles.

Now with De Jong dropping to defense and Griezmann’s presence as attacking midfielder, Pedri is lately performing a slightly different role : closer to Busquets and the base of the game, rather than between the lines. But still doing so with ease because as Aldo said, he’s “a footballer not defined by position“.

TWEAKS

The following images give a better idea of the structure Barça is using lately :

The area targeted by Koeman : Messi or Griezmann waiting to receive the ball between the lines, on either sides of the opponent’s defensive midfielder(s). We also saw it in the return UCL game VS PSG.

BACK 3 MAN-MARKING

All of this doesn’t mean this new system is perfect. It’s rather a risky one. The back 3 often man-marks the opponent’s forwards, following them to dubious areas & emptying their zones. And as said in the previous paragraphs, the high press is quite aggressive : if bypassed, this could lead to dangerous 3v3 situations.

CONCLUSION

Koeman did a good job solving the collective dysfunctions by taking more risks in order to provide each player with ideal contexts. And the adaptability of key pieces like De Jong & Pedri is what enabled him to do so.

But risks still remain (De Jong defending in the box, the man-marking…). Will it work against teams with enough technical skills to bypass that high press and/or keep ball possession longer? We will probably soon have an answer because there’s a Clásico in ~20 days.

Thanks for reading. If you found this post interesting, consider subscribing to receive a free weekly analysis. You can also follow me on Twitter.

How The New 3-5-2 Structure Led To A Clear Away Win vs Sevilla

THIS PUBLICATION WAS MOVED TO SUBSTACK : www.thecaptn.substack.com

The structure :

Koeman opted for a 352 structure. Mingueza & Lenglet supporting Piqué at the back and limiting the horizontal spaces he’d have to cover. This back 3 also meant Busquets didn’t have to drop deep and could play/press higher (similar to the way he was used in the 1st game under Quique Setién). And Dembélé in an usual center forward position next to Messi.

The key :

This structure meant Barça’s high press could be man-to-man in equal numbers. Dembélé & Messi next to the center backs, Dest & Alba on the opp full-Backs. It was well executed and forced Sevilla’s fullbacks & goalkeeper to play 20+ long balls.

Now usually that wouldn’t be a problem for a team that has De Jong, one of the best forwards when it comes to aerial challenges. But Piqué did quite well against him, winning 2/3 of those duels.

Also, Rakitic man-marked Busquets on several sequences. But, thanks to the crowded midfield, the latter always had clear passing options he was able execute in 1-2 touches, thus nullifying the Croatian’s pressure.

Dembélé’s new position :

In the absence of Griezmann & Braithwaite, Dembélé had the task of stretching the opp defense & making off the ball runs.

Dembélé’s forward position was slightly to the left. A perfect complement for Messi who usually : 1/ operates on the right half-space. 2/ plays through balls from there towards the left side.

Now whether those runs start from the wing or from a central position, that’s a whole different story. When you’re close to the touch line, you have an ideal angle to visualize the opponent’s DF alignment and no excuses to be caught offside. But when you’re in the center, with you’re back to goal, game reading is more difficult & timing is everything.

And OD did surprisingly well in this aspect : in the sequence leading to his goal, he made a few clever horizontal steps to stay onside just before his vertical run.

Injuries :

We can’t seem to catch a break. A player returns from injury and another one gets injured. Now it’s Pedri’s turn.

I’m curious to see how Koeman will replace him. Will he go for another classic interior? Will it be Puig or Ilaix Moriba? Or will he give the opportunity to Pjanic, a player he doesn’t seem to like & whose best position is DM? Or will he just switch the system back to the 4231?

(Update : Wait, is that Really a 3-5-2 ??? )

Anyway, that’s 28 points won out the last 30 in La Liga and finally a clear win against a top team, which should enhance the team’s self-confidence before the crucial Copa del Rey return leg vs Sevilla (again!). Visca Barça 💪🏽🔵🔴

Thank you for reading. If you liked this post, consider subscribing. You can also follow me on Twitter.

2-2 Draw VS Valencia : More Of The Same…

Some quick comments (in no particular order) after the 2-2 draw against Valencia at the Camp Nou. The summary could well be : “More of the same”.

Koeman switched back to his usual 4231 in the 2nd half and played Messi as right winger. As said previously, I personally think Messi should stay central or it’ll create a tactical imbalance. As such, Valencia exploited it by launching continuous counter-attacks from their left side using Gaya (their left back) and Dest (right back) was often in 1v2 situations (happened all the time to Sergi Roberto). Thankfully, Araujo (right center back) was in a good day and helped protect that side.

If Messi has to ever play as right winger, it should be in a 433. At least that way, there’s a right central midfielder to help the right back defensively + someone close to Messi’s zone ready to counter-press.

Playing vs a counter-attacking team, having to solve many 1v1 situations, was an interesting test for Araujo & Mingueza, the young center backs duo. IMHO they made several positional & marking errors throughout the last games.

Especially Mingueza, who goes for the physical challenges too quickly and too often. Tries to anticipate (reminds me of Bartra in this aspect). And ends up making unnecessary fouls or gets fooled by his opponent’s body feints.

Let’s hope Piqué quickly recovers from his injury or Lenglet recovers his previous level. These young CBs are promising but IMHO currently need an experienced player by their side.

In any case, errors are part of the game and the playing time Araujo, Mingueza, Pedri, Dest, Aleña (all under 23 years old) are having in these high pressure games will be very valuable for the future. I see it as Barça paying currently the price (not monetary, but through errors) for having the players who will lead the team in the next 5-6 years.

There was only one change from the starting 11 who played that magnificent 1st half VS Real Sociedad : Coutinho for De Jong. And that changed everything.

Coutinho’s tendency to slow any play & his positional anarchy affected the team : against a low block who bets on counter-attacks, speed of passing (to create free spaces) & positional discipline (to be able to counter-press effectively) are key.

The team still struggles to keep a compact block. Thats why IMHO it can’t currently afford to play without Frenkie De Jong and Pedri in midfield. Not only for their mobility & skills on the ball, but also because of their work rate & physique that enables them to cover huge spaces and make constant tactical corrections.

In his quest to find a new structure, it was surprising to see Koeman not giving continuity to the 433 that performed so well VS Real Sociedad. And ditch it as soon as things got tough (2nd half).

The team is pretty inconsistent, it alternates good, average & bad games. So when an experiment works, you keep it until the mechanisms are reinforced and the new patterns get ingrained in the players’ minds. I’m all for little adjustments when necessary, but not for radical changes from game to game.

My guess is right now Koeman values the results more than the performances. Wants to stay in the fight for La Liga & thinks the performances will improve with time. Especially since he’s “improvising” without some key players (Fati, Piqué, Roberto…).

He’s not necessarily wrong : Rijkaard and Luis Enrique’s Barça started ticking around January-February. Once all top players were back from injury and a key tactical change was made (Davids’ arrival & Xavi advanced to the CM position in 2004, the 433 with Suárez & Messi switching their positions in 2015). So let’s hope Koeman has made the right bet.

Anyway, we keep fighting 💪🏽 Visca Barça 🔵🔴

Don’t forget to subscribe !

You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook & Gumroad.