Valverde favours three different means of playing out of pressure. Fast, threaded passes towards a more advanced teammate; using a burst of pace to carry the ball between opponents; moving without the ball to behind his opponent and then attempting to receive it beyond them #RMCF
If he is convincing playing the ball with both feet, Valverde’s right foot is clearly his strongest. When he plays on the right in a 4-4-2 he often attempts to advance around the outside of his opposing defenders and to deliver crosses into the penalty area #RMCF
He makes intelligent runs while without the ball to attempt to make use of spaces in the final third by providing a new passing option. Regardless of whether his marker follows him, he is then capable of receiving those passes under pressure #RMCF
Valverde is similarly valuable when Real are counter-pressing. He is quick over the ground, and makes strong, well-timed and effective tackles. He is also adept at anticipating the opposition’s passes
In Real's 4-3-3, Valverde plays ahead of Casemiro and alongside Toni Kroos or Luka Modric; in their 4-4-2 he most commonly plays on the right, and provides support for the relevant central midfielder while still advancing from a wide position #RMCF
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Spain used a 4-3-3 structure and built play patiently from the back, despite Germany pressing aggressively from their 4-2-3-1. They moved the ball around the back line to isolate Thomas Müller, before a centre-back stepped out with the ball into midfield... 🧐🧵
Olmo continued to move inside and Asensio dropped deep, in the process pulling Süle out of his position in Germany’s back line. This helped Spain to build out from the back and get around Germany’s increasingly effective high press... 🧐🧵
Traditionally, full-backs are the widest players in a back four, and as a result they attack and defend mostly in the wide areas. However, full-backs who move inside into central spaces are known as ‘inverted full-backs’. This movement adds an extra presence centrally... ↩️🧐
Although Pep Guardiola is the coach most associated with the inverted full-back, Johan Cruyff used them with Barcelona many years before. Then, he often converted the 4-3-3 into a 3-4-3 diamond, with one full-back inverting into central midfield... ↩️🧐
Manchester United were set up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, but Fred pushed forward from the double pivot to become a number 8 and give them a stronger attacking presence in central midfield. Bruno Fernandes then adapted his positioning, moving into the left inside channel... 🧐🧵
The hosts eventually pushed both full-backs higher, primarily working around the outside of Tottenham’s wing-backs. United’s wingers then came inside, with the freedom to rotate with Fred and Fernandes, as long as both inside channels were always occupied... 🧐🧵
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Busquets dropped into defence to draw one of Madrid’s central midfielders up, and Pedri drifted wider to drag the other out. This often left De Jong as the free man to receive in the inside channel when Barcelona’s back line could access him... 🧐🧵
4-4-2 is made up of three distinct lines. The back four including two centre-backs and two full-backs. Ahead of them, a midfield four features two players in the middle and one on each side. Then the front two in attack who provide both height and goalscoring threat... 4️⃣4️⃣2️⃣🧵
In the 1950s, Viktor Maslov developed another variation of the 4-2-4, in which the two wingers dropped back alongside the two central midfielders. So originated the 4-4-2, which worked to overload opposition midfields with traditionally fewer numbers... 4️⃣4️⃣2️⃣🧵