After a disastrous week for
Italian clubs in Europe decided to write about one among many things calcio clubs
have lagged behind – Pressing / counter-pressing .
Gegenpressing
Gegenpressing is winning the
ball back from the opposition as quickly as possible with well choreographed movements
or by setting up traps . In modern day football you see sides making an
attacking transition with no more than 3 passes . Which is where
counter-pressing serves the double purpose – a) prevents opponents attacking
transition b) Helps you win the ball higher up the pitch .
The difference between a normal “pressing”
and counter pressing is – with counter-pressing you try to win the ball back as
early as possible , many a times higher up the pitch in a direct way .
Player positioning before when a team tries to press is the key
to the success of winning the ball back . It requires all 10 outfield players
to work as a unit and to think as one . And if a side cant recover the ball
with the initial press then the whole pressing fails and have to work back
covering their zones . Even if one player switches off after losing possession
the whole pressing fails . Which is why it requires highly optimized player positioning and drills to make the
intial press work . Extremely wide formations with overloads may not be
suitable to counter press .
Red Bull Salzburg
Among many styles of
counter-pressing one side which excelled and surprised many was Roger Schmidt’s
Red Bull Salzburg . People are getting to see his work recognized in a larger scale
after his move to Leverkusen .this summer . Which is leeway oriented pressing variation .
First and foremost target is not to let your opponent play through the middle . In the centre a player can have many passing angles and its improbable to cut them all or let a single channel open in order to press .
Most of the times the pressing is based on a trigger – the trigger can be of the opponents choosing a passing lane to weak link in the opposition eleven . Salzburg tend to press in the final third of the pitch which heavily involves immense workrate from the two strikers Alan and Soriano and also immensely gifted wingers in the form of Sadio Mane ( now at Southampton ) and Kevin Kampl .
These four work in tandem to set up traps , cut down passing lanes , press the opponent on the ball – which in most cases result in Salzburg winning the 2nd ball high up the pitch . Which is where Ilsanker’s role in the side is crucial . Yes it’s a whole team effort – when you press a side like Salzburg does you are in theory vulnerable to counters . Ilsanker is the key to the defensive stability of the side – which comes by winning the ball back .
When Salzburg lose the ball in
most cases he is the first person to press the ball carrier . You will very
rarely notice him keeping the ball for more than 3 seconds after winning it , a
vertical pass towards more technically gifted team mates will always be made . He is certainly not he quickest player on the
pitch , which he compensates with his positioning . His outstanding offensive
and defensive outputs makes him the best in the league .
Salzburg create immense pressure
on the ball right after losing it makes them one of the most dangerous sides on
the counter . Because of such strong counter-pressing they even use them as a
offensive ploy to lose balls at certain zones ( depending on the opponent ) to
immediately win it back to counter . When they leave a passing lane open for
the opponent – its for the their central
mid to win the ball back . When you see them not competing for a header in the
final third – its usually to win the 2nd ball of the opponent .
Its humanly impossible to
maintain this style of pressing throughout the 90 minutes . There were games
where they just let limited passing lanes open and maintain a higher defensive
block closer to opponents – to counter exhaustion . Which you can also term it
as a plan B , which they rarely use . No matter what the scoreline is or
whoever the opponent is their motto is to press and score goals .
Their dynamism in their game
what attracts so much interest . Direct short / risky passes by keeping their
front four close and forming spectacular combination plays to open up defenses
is mind boggling . Due to this same factor you wont find them having higher
passing accuracy .
Conclusion
Roger Schmidt has taken the same style and tempo to his new club and so far has managed to do well with a point behind CL qualification and 5 point behind league leaders . Bayer have also done well in champions league group stages and are currently leading their group table . With Dortmund’s success in recent years with leeway oriented pressing it should not come as a surprise to see Schmidt having a good start
Conclusion
Roger Schmidt has taken the same style and tempo to his new club and so far has managed to do well with a point behind CL qualification and 5 point behind league leaders . Bayer have also done well in champions league group stages and are currently leading their group table . With Dortmund’s success in recent years with leeway oriented pressing it should not come as a surprise to see Schmidt having a good start
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| Bayer Leverkusen pressing against Zenit |
Its one of those cases where a
system/style has multiplier effect on the playing eleven . How often do we see sides having a real go at Juventus ? most of them are content to get anything
out of the game by setting up a deep defensive block . It’s a lot easier to hide behind lack of financial wealth than to see the real issue , Likes of Borrusia Dortmund have shown otherwise . We can either open up ourselves to new ideas / current trends or just watch the game move ahead and live in the past
