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It turns out Thomas Tuchel was right.
England manager was only a few weeks into the football season expressed his beliefs The old tactics are making a comeback.
Long throw-in. Long clear by the goalkeeper. A cross into the box for the tall striker.
“All these patterns are back,” Tuchel said, causing mild consternation among an English soccer audience that has for the past decade been fascinated by a Pep Guardiola-inspired style of play where possession is key.
Now, Tuchel’s assessment has proven accurate, as the lucrative and glamorous Premier League teams – and even Guardiola’s crafty Manchester City side – have shown a bias towards the antiquated tactics that were once the mainstay of English football but have largely been obsolete.
Here’s a look at how soccer, almost a tactical revolution, went back to basics in the pursuit of marginal profits.
rugby style kickoff
Instead of focusing on retaining the ball, many teams are happy to quickly get rid of it in a style reminiscent of how rugby matches start.
Mimicking the approach taken by Paris Saint-Germain in their quest to win the Champions League last season, some teams, such as Newcastle, Arsenal and Crystal Palace, have opted to launch the ball out of play deep in the opposition half from the moment of kick-off. Any ideas? They corral their rivals into their own half and force turnovers from throw-ins.
Next up is Bournemouth. In one match this season, the ball was given back to a Bournemouth player at kick-off, and with his teammates chasing him, the Bournemouth player teed it up to himself and launched it high into the opposition penalty area. This is a common play in rugby. But soccer?
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola described it as a tactic to “generate momentum”.
“The important thing is that we always want to get the first chance, the first set piece before the other team starts the game,” he says.
long throw-in
About 20 years ago, Rory DelapThe Stoke midfielder became famous for launching a throw-in into the opposition penalty area during a Premier League match.
This tactic is suddenly back in fashion.
According to competition statistics provider Opta, there were 262 long throws into the opponent’s penalty area in the first seven matches of this season’s Premier League. According to Opta, this is already 45% of last season’s total.
Benjamin Sesco’s first goal in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Sunderland in the final match came from this point. The next day, Brentford defender Michael Kayode attacked Man City’s area with a throw-in from almost anywhere beyond the halfway line.
Long throw-ins can be difficult to defend because they have a lower trajectory than crosses, which increases accuracy. It can also cause confusion.
Clubs may even hire specific throw-in coaches such as: Thomas GronnemarkHe worked under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and more recently at Brentford, a team famous for acting on data, for the past three seasons.
“Soccer is a low-scoring sport,” Gronnemark told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “For example, it’s different in basketball where you score 100 points, but in football, just one goal can make the difference.”
Grönnemark said his team is just scratching the surface of what they can get from throw-ins.
“I still feel like I’m lacking movement and creating personal space,” he said. “We hope to see more creative and great throw-ins in the future.”
big number 9
During the 1970s and 1980s, English football had a reputation for being less technical and physical than much of European football, often relying on the presence of tall, physical strikers to push the ball towards them and release pressure.
guess what? This type of centre-forward has been the most sought-after commodity in the recent transfer market.
Manchester United signed the 1.95m (6ft 4) Sesco, while Newcastle signed the 1.99m (6ft 5) Nick Waltemaide. Chelsea and Arsenal have signed Liam Delap and Victor Gokeres respectively. They are two strikers who like physical battles. Manchester City already had one of them. erling haaland.
It’s a sign of the times.
long ball is
In recent years, essentially since Guardiola came to England in 2016, there has been a tendency for goalkeepers to initiate attacks by making short passes to defenders, rather than kicking long balls to larger strikers as is traditional.
With more teams pressing higher up the field in an attempt to regain possession, goalkeepers are given the option to send the ball long and break the press, which is what is happening more and more now.
Even Guardiola abandoned his long-held beliefs. For the past month, he sold the goalie to play the ball He led Ederson Moraes for the past eight years and established the City like never before. Low block against Arsenal Rely on counter-attacks or long balls to Haaland.
Guardiola said: “I prefer not to do it, but at this level you can’t expect me not to do it.” “That’s impossible.”
set play
Set-pieces are the ultimate leveller, a way for teams to pick up cheap goals or play against their opponents without spending tens of millions of pounds on superstar players.
Their importance in the Premier League has skyrocketed and most clubs now have specialist coaches in this area, such as Arsenal’s Nicolas Jobar and Aston Villa’s Austin McPhee. keith andrews He was employed by Brentford as a set-piece coach and is currently the team’s manager.
According to the BBC, 28.4% of the goals scored in the first six matches of the Premier League came from set-pieces, the highest in the past 10 seasons.
Under Jover, Arsenal have improved in this area, scoring 36 goals from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season, 15 more than any other team.
Strong against set plays. Utilize long throw-ins and strategic kickoffs. A new physical number nine — Arsenal may be the embodiment of this back-to-basics approach in English football.
The team is naturally at the top of the standings.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
