Lionel Scaloni’s face was wrinkled. The youngest coach at the Qatar 2022 World Cup is like a dead mind. Ten times his Argentine team was caught offside. All efforts have been expended, including replacing the midfielders with attacking type players. But let alone goals, opportunities are hard to come by.
The absolute possession of the ball is on the side of Lionel Messi and his friends. 69.2% versus 30.8%. The match is completely under the control of the Albiceleste. But is it true? Listening to Jose Mourinho’s words above, it was actually Herve Renard who controlled the game, through space control.
Since Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona have achieved success and made the public fall in love with his playing style. The term dominance of a match is often interpreted singly as possession of the ball above 60% and the ability to press in the opponent’s defense area.
This style of play is a translation of attacking football. As the antithesis, defensive football is a team that retreats very deep into its own area, closes all shooting spaces, then strikes back deadly.
The story of the team that won the match with minimal ball possession is certainly not new. But the claim of dominance without the ball will make a frown. How could that be?
In March 2018, Mourinho’s Manchester United won 2-1 over Liverpool with only 31.9% possession of the ball. After the game The Special One praised his team by saying that his team was in control of the match without the ball.
“Our team is always in control. Even at set pieces, corner kicks, dangerous situations we are in control” The media was noisy. What does Mo mean? How is domination possible without the ball?
Mou’s former protege in Madrid, Xabi Alonso in an interview on ESPN, made a statement that could be a translation of Mourinho’s sentence earlier, “There was phases of the game when we were not dominant, but we were in control. For example, there was a feeling that every corner against us was a chance for us. When we countered…Mesut (Ozil) could carry the ball 30 yards brutally, Cristiano ran up the oppsite side knowing that he woud get the ball at the end of the move, and Karim and di Maria. Pure power.”
Alonso certainly understands very well how Madrid translated Mourinho’s instructions so that he was able to break the 2011/2012 La Liga points and goals record (100 points and 121 goals) despite lack of ball possession and playing on the counter-attack, especially when dealing with big teams.
By taking advantage of space, the mistakes of the opponent and the ability of the players, Mourinho’s Madrid became very dangerous. Opportunities to win through minimal possession of the ball are usually achieved through the use of empty spaces left by opponents who are busy attacking.
The issue of space has always been a special concern for coaches and players. The team’s tactical approach is directed at creating dangerous spaces that can be exploited into goal opportunities. The tactical temperature of Italy, Arrigo Sacchi when he brought Milan to the label of the dream team introduced a high-level pressing tactic aimed at controlling space as well.
“Pressing is not about running and it is not about working hard. It is about controlling space.” Luciano Spaletti’s words are still not forgotten after his Napoli destroyed Ajax 4-2 in the Champions League this season.
“The system no longer exists in football, it’s all about the space left by the opponent. You have to be quick to recognize them and know the right moment to attack, have the courage to initiate moves even when pushed.”
What Herve Renard did last night seemed to be the implementation of Mourinho’s terms of dominating without the ball, as well as controlling space by pressing like Sacchi. Renard pushed his team’s defensive line as high as possible until it was almost close to the halfway line. This tactic as usual is also equipped with an offside trap to compensate for the wide space left behind.
This high-risk option is considered a success. A total of 10 times Argentine players were caught offside, three of which were marked by goals being disallowed. This defensive line is also walled by stacking midfielders in the middle in a 4-5-1 formation, and instructed to do aggressive pressing. As a result, Messi’s opportunity, as a source of opponent’s creativity, to get the ball can be minimized.
With a high defensive line and a full midfield, Renard controlled the Argentine space only in his own defense and to the flanks only. Touchline is the best defender. By narrowing the opponent’s playing space to the edge, the team has additional defenders in the form of a sideline. Opponent’s pass options and space to move to limited. Yes, if you can’t get past your opponent, the compensation will get the ball out. Usually, a high defensive line is carried out by the attacking team.
If you look at the team of Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, adherents of the high-defence school, this defensive style is complemented by dominant possession of the ball. Counter-pressing was also done to quickly reclaim the ball and attack.
So what Renard did last night was an anomaly. High defensive line, high pressing with defensive tendencies. Coupled with the aggressive pressing of the front players, Argentina’s playing space is getting narrower. The Albiceleste was like being locked up in his own defensive area.
The result can be seen from the equalizer goal. Pressing Messi in the halfway line succeeded in making Hassan Al Tambakti, who incidentally is a central defender, win the ball. The bait released by Abdulelah Al Maliki then bore Saleh Al Shehri’s goal.
This option is certainly not without reason. It could be that Renard noticed that Argentina’s attack line lacked fast players. Lautaro Martinez is a classy finisher, but he is not a sprinter. Angel di Maria and Alejandro Gomez are no longer young. Leo Messi is still a great player, but his speed is no longer the same as when duplicating Maradona’s first goal. This is what Renard might think
In addition, the Saudi Arabian back line also seems to have read and is ready to run with Messi and his friends. Seen in the second half when Lautaro lost in a sprint fight with Ali el Boleahi despite escaping the offside trap. The next consideration, Argentina does not have an attacker with the type of target man who is able to win aerial duels.
In the absence of this type of attacker, Argentina’s attacking options are limited to short, quick passes and the individual abilities of their players. So crossing-crossing in Maria looks like a desperate move. Nothing is capable of really threatening through the air. As a result, Argentina’s attack pattern looks monotonous by relying on the right wing alone.
To quote a tweet from the Flanker, with a high defensive line and 95 defensive action, Herve Renard and Saudi Arabia are much better prepared for this fight. His choice of tactics, coupled with the discipline, determination and heroic action of the goalkeeper proved successful.
Thomas Muller was asked to be a unique player with the role of interpreter of space because of his ability to take advantage of the smallest possible space to become an opportunity for himself and his teammates. So perhaps Herve Renard was asked to control the space for his tactical genius. At least in last night’s match.
