This is a specific tool used to be able to advance the ball up the field all the while minimizing the risk of losing possession and creating conditions to be able to defend if the ball is lost.
The idea is very simple...🧵👇
The idea is very simple.
You play forward to a 'deep player' - deep is entirely relative - who then plays it back to a player who is facing the opposition's goal.
The reason Guardiola loves this is that it allows the team to progress together.
By progressing together they create conditions where there is always someone behind the ball to be able to press in case they lose possession.
Consider the idea that as the team progresses the ball, they are moving two steps forward and one back.
Who does the beautiful game of football belong to? It's a question worth pondering, and in this thread, we explore the answer with the help of the great Juanma Lillo.
Spoiler alert: it's not coaches! 🧵👇
The laws of the game do not state anything about a coach or manager.
This means that in order to play the game of football, you do not need coaches.
Let me reiterate this.
Coaches are not necessary in football.
Now, let’s get some help from Juanma Lillo to figure out why the coach has become so important.
“A manager is nothing more than a facilitator, at the very most. The players are what’s truly important, with good footballers everything is easier.” - Lillo
This is a fantastic conversation where Mourinho describes with several examples what the difference is between game principles and systems of play.
Listen to Jose carefully 🧵👇
PRINCIPLES OF PLAY
“One thing is tactical systems, another thing is principles of play. Principles of play have to be permanent.” - Jose Mourinho
Example of a Principle:
“All the good teams they defend compact... It’s just a basic principle; you have to defend compact.”
Another example of a principle:
“There is another principle… I think when a team has the ball you have to anticipate the moment you are going to lose the ball. But the moment we lose the ball, it’s the moment you have to anticipate and not react.” - Jose Mourinho
Positional Play isn't simply about static positions.
It's how to adjust your position to create favorable conditions to attack.
Let's break down this Arsenal Build-Up
🧵👇
There's a lot going on in this picture.
It's interchanges (2 players change positions) and rotations (3 or more players change positions.
When you simply view it from fixed positions, it's hard to wrap your head around it.
However, when you look at this situation as the team is responsible for occupying certain areas it's more manageable.
1. Threatening space behind the back line 2. Pin outside backs wide (width) 3. Provide passing options through middle. 4. Provide passing option behind (depth)