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While much of the debate during and post the Young Socceroos’ fortunate 1-1 draw with Ecuador at the under-20 World Cup centred on the midfield, where there were clear issues, most of Jan Versleijen’s problems stemmed from the inability of the back four to control the powerful and quick Ecuadorian front three.
Many football fans will remember the edict of Guus Hiddink when he was in control of the Socceroos.
Put simply, he argued that in order to control the opposition you have to control all the thirds, starting with the backline.
Hiddink often spoke about having one man spare at the back, so from a numbers perspective, Versleijen had that right, four against Ecuador’s trio, Juan Govea, Marlon De Jesus and Marcos Caicedo.
But the issue for the Young Socceroos on Monday, as it has been all along under Versleijen, is that the defending was too often reactive, rather than proactive.
Instead of stepping up and pressing the opposition as a unit, therefore winning the ball early and stopping the opposition from turning and facing goal, Versleijen’s sides drop off and give up space.
Inevitably, there is a disconnect between the back four and the midfield.
This is undoubtedly the safest way to defend, for it gives you a chance to protect the goalkeeper and minimises the potential for individual error.
Hiddink argued, however, that to control the opposition you have to take a risk in defence, win the ball early, and keep the team structure compact.
In essence, by doing this, you are controlling the opposition.
Against Ecuador, it was Versleijen’s backline that was being controlled, the Ecuador front men allowed to turn and hone in on Mark Birighitti’s goal.
What this created was a massive space that the central midfield trio of Ben Kantarovski, Dimitri Petratos and Mustafa Amini had to try and cover.
Little wonder then, there was so much space between them, with Amini trying to get close to Kerem Bulut and Petratos looking raw in an unfamiliar, withdrawn central midfield position.
The space between Amini and his two screeners was glaring. Compare it with the in-touch work of Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets, for example, emailed the always tactically-astute reader, Peter Kandy.
Meanwhile Ben Kantarovski had a particularly average hour, with his passing off. Analysing his performance afterwards on SBS, Paul Okon made an excellent point about the Newcastle Jets man.
Kantarovski, he argued, was more suited to playing in the last line, where he can face the play, rather than in the holding role, where he had to face his defence, receive and turn. This isn’t his strength, noted Okon.
It’s a compelling argument, and Kantarovski’s aggression might indeed allow the back line to press and win the ball higher against Costa Rica tomorrow.
Certainly, the defence appears to lack a leader and Kantarovski might be just the ticket, ensuring the defending is far more offensive and in-sync, rather than the one-out stuff we’ve hitherto seen under Versleijen.
And after an eye-catching cameo off the bench, Terry Antonis would assume a spot at the base of a more compact midfield. One thing that was patently obvious was how much more comfortable Antonis was, at receiving, finding space and turning, than his skipper.
If Versleijen is thinking of restoring Petratos to his more natural spot on the right side of attack, in place of a quiet Kofi Danning, then another option in central midfield is to play Rhyan Grant alongside Antonis.
What Grant might lack in technique, he makes up for with aggression, and if you are trying to win the ball early, then that could help.
Brendan Hamill would likely be the natural option at right back.
Irrespective of what Versleijen does with his 11 tomorrow, one of the keys to a more controlled performance against Costa Rica will be whether he can encourage his last line to step up, allowing the team to press as a unit.
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