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About Valverde’s dismissal, Quique Setién’s appointment as new Barça coach, and the board’s failures.
Tag: Positional play
A Disappointing Draw (0-0) Against Slavia Praga. #UCL
The screenshot below was widely shared on social media. Obviously, a single shot cannot capture the complexity of all the events that happened during 90 minutes.
But, in this case, it sums up very well Slavia’s main plan and Barça’s ineffective structure in the first half.
So I’ll use it to make some observations about the game here below.
Continue reading “A Disappointing Draw (0-0) Against Slavia Praga. #UCL”
Getafe : First Clean Sheet And First Away Win Of The Season
More positives than negatives. An away win and a clean sheet against a very tough opponent.
A few observations about this LaLiga game.
– Getafe played with a higher block than usual and an aggressive defensive line. They were able to force some turnovers in the 1st half and get goal scoring chances.
Also, many technical errors (inefficient ball controls, misplaced passes) from Barça players made it easier for them : Roberto, Junior… and Suárez too.
– On the other hand, Getafe’s aggressive positioning meant there were constant spaces in behind their back 4, which were regularly tested by Suárez’ runs (Carles Pérez too).
– About Suárez : The further he is from the opponent’s back line, the less he provides nowadays.
We are witnessing his exponential “Dembelisation” : his declining technique makes him do regular errors when he drops deep to combine, which puts his teammates under heavy pressure (forced to track back, make tactical fouls…).
– Arthur’s skill set offers a wide range of solutions to Barça during build-up.
Pressed against the touch line by 2 players? No problem : ball protection, control, and still finds a way to release it to Junior Firpo with space in front of him.
Arthur & Frenkie’s ability to attract several rival players around them, but still hold the ball & pass it accurately is key. It frees their teammates + enables them to receive the ball with time & space to exploit.
Positional Play is not about passing for the sake of passing (that’s the dumb “tiki taka”). It is (among other things) passing the ball in advantageous situations for the ball receiver.
They still have a margin of progression, but Arthur & Frenkie are already quite good at that.
Take the same sequence. The free man in an advantageous situation = Busquets. But Junior can’t read the move adequately (a chronic problem?). Yet Arthur was still able to solve the situation.
– That move, with the central midfielder making an outside run to offer an advanced passing option on the wing (to a full-back under pressure) is interesting. It forces the opponent to move & creates new passing lanes.
Here’s also Frenkie doing it on the other side.
To end this post, here’s the greatest of them all performing a similar move. 2 touches were enough to solve the situation & go forward.
What’s pressure for Don Andrés ? 🙂
Visca Barça 🔵🔴💪🏽
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Sergi Roberto VS Semedo
THE FULL-BACKS ROLE
As said previously, the full-backs have more responsibility in the 1st phase of build-up now.
Alba’s increasing participation shows it.
IMHO, on the right side, Sergi Roberto would be more useful than Semedo when it comes to building from the back & acting as an auxiliary holding midfielder. His smart game reading & positioning, coupled with his physical attributes (pace, stamina), can also help in counter-pressing.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FULL-BACKS, INTERIORS AND WINGERS
As noted in the game vs Valencia, the interiors positioning was more flexible and they were given more freedom (stay high vs drop deep).
And I think having equally flexible and versatile full-backs would be the perfect complement and give more tools/options to the team when building from the back.
2 options here :
– wide full-backs stretching the field and deep interiors helping to build from the back.
– Inverted full-backs with more responsibility to help Busquets to get the ball forward and interiors positioned high between the opponent’s lines.
And I can’t see this working properly without Sergi Roberto. I’d even say this role seems perfectly tailored for him.
Positional Play , Structure And Messi’s Role
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I’ve been positively surprised by Valverde’s new setup this season. Positional play, wide wingers, advanced interiors, youth & energy : I’m all for it!
The games vs Betis & Valencia felt like a breath of fresh air. And I think it’s only a matter of time (new players knowing each other better, building more belief in the new system through successive wins) before it starts working in the away games too.
Because I believe in this experiment and want to see it deepened & enhanced, I hope to see Messi back at his False 9 role (“F9”).
Now more than ever, structure is everything. It is what enables the interiors to play high between the lines & what makes it easier for the team to counter-press when dispossessed.
Within this context, you need wide wingers in order to free the half-spaces for the interiors, you need a combinative & mobile #9 if you want to enable the interiors to drop deep without losing associative play a few meters higher and still be able to exploit your wingers runs into the box.
Griezmann’s performances vs Betis & Valencia already showed us how fluidity & speed of ball circulation can be tremendously improved when the team plays with a mobile & combinative #9, making it easier not only to reach, but most importantly to create, free spaces.
I have never been a fan of Messi playing on the right, because of all the tactical imbalances it creates. Keeping him as “fake” winger would mean altering the structure & also wasting Frenkie De Jong’s talent by making him perform “the Rakitic job” (constantly adapting his moves to Messi’s).
Getting Messi back to F9 is also a good way to enable him to keep limiting his physical efforts without making the team pay the price for it defensively.
Now the major problem would be to bench Suárez. A player of that magnitude, who provides so much to the team, can’t be benched for simple structural reasons. If it happens, it will be because another player is performing way better on an individual level & making the team play better collectively. And it has to leave no doubts & be clear for everyone to see in order to make the transition non-dramatic (Pedro/Henry, Piqué/Márquez, Busquets/Touré).
This will be Dembélé’s role & main mission this season. Barça needs him to correct his flaws & be more consistent in order to be able to get Messi back at F9 & keep the necessary structure to take this positional play experiment to the next level.
CONCLUSION
I say enough with the asymmetrical thingy or having players performing different roles depending on their teammates positioning.
Enough with the search for balance and compromises. It’s time for clarity.
If positional play is really how Valverde wants to roll this season, then let’s do it in its purest form and accept all the consequences. If I was given one last ride/season as Barça coach, I know this is how I’d choose to leave.
(a follow up to this post can be found here)
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