The question flying about after Adelaide United’s 2-0 win over Gamba Osaka on Tuesday night is why do the Reds look so good in the Asian Champions League, yet have struggled in the A-League?
While there are a myriad of reasons for their disappointing domestic season, the ACL has provided John Kosmina and his men an opportunity to start again and put all the issues of the A-League campaign behind them.
With this in mind, Kosmina has set about changing the way Adelaide play, from the diamond 4-4-2 he used for most of the season to a 4-3-3, ironically a system favoured by his predecessor, Rini Coolen.
While it has been a change in formation, more telling has been the shift in emphasis from trying to play an offensive game to sitting back and absorbing, and relying on the counter attack for much of their forward thrust.
In many ways it’s the prefect strategy for the continental tournament. Not enough to win games in the A-League these days, the safety first approach appears to be working a treat against strong continental sides from the J-League, K-League and Uzbekistan.
Realising that Pohang, Gamba and Bunyodkor are all likely to try and get on the front foot and dictate, Kosmina has set his unit up to defend deep, screened by a three man central midfield made up of workers.
On Tuesday, at Hindmarsh, it featured ball winner Francisco Usucar, deep lying playmaker Osama Malik and the slightly more advanced, but far from attacking, Zenon Caravella.
Not far from them, on either side, were Dario Vidosic and Iain Ramsey, charged with the task of tucking in, then breaking forward with pace in support of the lone target-man, Bruce Djite.
By congesting the midfield and remaining compact, Adelaide have looked very hard to break down in their opening two games. Kosmina’s decision to choose a destroyer in Usucar over Evgeniy Levchenko for his ACL squad told much about his plans.
When they have won the ball, there’s been a real purpose about the way they’ve moved the ball forward swiftly.
In many ways, the formula being adopted by Kosmina is exactly the same one used by Aurelio Vidmar at the start of the 2008 ACL campaign, the one that saw the Reds march all the way to the final.
Then, coming off a season in which Adelaide finished near the bottom, and having leaked goals at the back end of the season, Vidmar was adamant about building his unit from the back.
He spent the two months between the end of the domestic season and the start of the ACL working on his back four, getting that right, ensuring the likes of Richie Alagich, Angelo Costanzo, Robbie Cornthwaite, Sash Ognenovski and Cassio were versed in the concept of staying organised and compact.
Ognenovski, you might remember, was immense.
From that platform came the countering strategy, with the likes of Fabian Barbiero, Diego, Lucas Pantelis and Travis Dodd taking turns to burst forward and support Djite and Nathan Burns, and later Cristiano.
As I wrote at the time:
“Tactically, Vidmar built a disciplined template that took United all the way through six group games and four play-offs; defend deep, stay compact, congest the midfield and spring forward through the power of the wide men and central striker.”
Sound familiar?
Kosmina didn’t have the luxury of time to work on things between the end of the A-League and the start of the ACL.
In some ways though, that’s been a god-send, with the players able to shift their focus immediately to Asia. As well, having domestic games on the weekend has given Kosmina the option to experiment.
He did exactly that a few weeks ago in Sydney, starting Djite on the bench and Sergio van Dijk alone up font.
More recently it’s been van Dijk warming the bench while Djite makes the most of his latest opportunity.
Against Gamba Djite was a menace, all physicality and desire, playing the hold-up role to a tee. Try as he did, Sota Nakazawa couldn’t handle him.
Adelaide weren’t alone in congesting of the midfield, with Graham Arnold adopting a similar process.
After the 1-1 draw at Bluetongue on Wednesday, Nagoya Grampus’ manager Dragan Stojkovic expressed some surprise at how deep the Mariners sat.
Arnold shifted from his standard 4-4-2 diamond, essentially for two reasons. First, he wanted to incorporate his two gun youngsters, Mustafa Amini and Tomas Rogic in the same formation, something I’d suggested he should do a few weeks back.
As well, he wanted to make it difficult for Nagoya’s midfield to feed Josh Kennedy, and there’s no doubt the Mariners, set-out in a Christmas tree 4-3-2-1, did a very good job at stopping the Japanese midfield.
It provided the platform for the prodigious individual talent that is Rogic to go to work at the other end.
While these pragmatic strategies might need to be loosened at a later point in the tournament, when the offensive cream tends to rise to the top, there’s no doubt, for now, the United and Mariners players should be commended for adapting to the changes smoothly and getting the job done.
j binnie
Guest
Youve got it in one Cattery and who can blame JK for trying something out of the norm. jb
j binnie
Guest
Ben - I take it from your answer you have never seen 'total football" or "catenaccio" played at the highest level.Let me explain. Total football is an idea that originated in Austria & called for the "perfect " team to be able to move positions on the field & play that position until they moved to a different part of the field where they stayed & played that position until their natural movement took them to another part of the field where the practice was repeated..It was of course a theory only,known as Meisl's ,or The Viennese, Whirl. The Dutch 1974& 78 World Cup teams are credited with coming closest to the idea & were given the title of "Total Footballers" On the other hand "catenaccio" was first mooted in Switzerland pre-war, where it was called "Verrou" & originated as a system to be used against what might be deemed "better" teams. The Italians adopted it in the very early '50's & took the idea to its optimum useing it successfully for years. It's main aim was to let the opposing team come at them,drive a wedge between their players by taking up a triangular formation ,spread them wide, & then break quickly out of their defensive area which they had purposely allowed to become "packed" with bodies,their own & their opponents. This is a very simplistic description for it is an intensely disciplined system to play well, & at the high level also needed a very quick & skilful forward who could not only hold the ball when the occasion demanded,but ,if the opportunity arose, was quite capable of scoring himself. From those 2 descriptions I have given you I think you would find it easy to pick the system used by our boys in their Asian Cup endeavors. Cheers jb
Midfielder
Guest
Fuss I was at the match we did everything but score another goal ... what I would have given for Matty Simon back or an Archie up front... we played four [4] kids under ... Matty Ryan, Musty, Tomas, Bernie, .... with two more under twenty [20] on the bench... I saw Musty play a game as a number 10 the like I have never seen anyone play in an NSL or A-League game... his touch under pressure, closing down angles and closing out options in defence... the way he got away from his marker most of the night... had two players marking him most of the night... TBH we should have won ... I was very proud of my team... and gained even more respect for GA ... After the match GA did something I have never seen before at a professional level... he gathered his players including bench players and coaching staff and made them all sit in a kinda semi circle he then sat at the tip of the semi circle and he just talked to the team.. would give anything to have been their ... but it takes me back to the days as a kid and as a coach when the field is better than the shed to just let it all out .... I saw he took his tie off sat down on the pitch legs open and was just talking to all assembled and I guess they were talking back... But proud of the way we played ... and proud of the club for sticking by its guns on youth development ... and very impressed by GA am getting huge respect for this man and only hope we can keep him for next season...
The Cattery
Roar Guru
AU currently practising for the ACL tonight against the Heart, actually, it's even more severe, 11 behind the ball for much of the match.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
I am not entirely sure as to how big and strong you need to be to score an opportunist goal from a rebound............twice More of a total football approach than catenaccio (and yes, I consider both to be philosophies)
Tony Tannous
Expert
Interesting what you say about CCM Fussball, Stojkovic said a similar thing after, but if you listened to Arnie before the game, he dropped a hint that he would be cagey and be happy with a point. I sense he was expecting more from Nagoya. Good point re Schalke, it was the same for Adelaide back in 2007/08 (a-league) an 08 (ACL)
whiskeymac
Guest
it was goodtosee HAL success in the ACL, long may it continue.
Behold
Roar Rookie
Adelaide were great this week and dour in the match before. CCM are just boring but thats what you get when Arnold is your coach.
Matsu
Guest
At the risk of emphasizing my advanced age, Burriam looks a lot like a modern version of the Farmers Bank teams that were a major force in the old Asian Champions Cup and Cup-Winners Cup tournaments, back in the 80s and 90s: Not too big or physical, but fast and technically skillful. They play a very compact formation and press the ball relentlessly no matter where it is on the pitch. I have no idea if they did pre-tournament homework on Reysol or if their normal style just happens to coincide with the strategy that J.League teams have developed to try to contain Reysol, but they implemented it extremely well - double teaming the ball regardless of who was in possession, and maintaining good position and spacing. If you let Reysol do so, their midfielders will draw you into man-marking, and all of a sudden a big empty space will appear on one of the wings for someone to run into. With only a few exceptions (including one of Reysol's goals) Burriam refused to get lured out of position. In other words, they seem to be extremely smart and well disciplined players. I dont know if BU have the physicality and depth to make it all the way to the final, but they definitely look like a team to be reckoned with this year.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I always thought AUFC & CCM would be the more likely teams to get results in the ACL than BRI. I must admit I expected a bit more from CCM at home but, lucky for them, all sides in the Group have drawn at home & drawn away and are equal on 2 pts. Wouldn't it be amazing if AUFC finished bottom of the HAL this season but went all the way in the ACL? Similar happened to Schalke last season - 14th in Bundesliga but made SF of the UCL.
j binnie
Guest
Tony- it amuses me greatly to read your,and your contributors views on the formations played by both teams when playing in Asia. I do appreciate that most readers would be a bit young to recognise the team formation but in fact it is a zonal tactic that the Italians christened "catenaccio" and was practised very widely by that country's teams from around 1957 through to 1967,when the "masters" of the tactic,Herrera's Inter, finally succumbed to speed allied to aggression.As Danny Bhoy said previously if you enumerate the system it becomes 4-5-1 and the Italians went on further using a sweeper at the back so the old triangle of 2-3-5 was finally and totally "inverted" hence the name of Wilson's excellent publication on tactical development. One thing you did not mention was that the 3 goals scored by CCM and Adelaide United were all scored by "defensive" players using their height and strength to get what they were seeking.Strange but true.Anyhow good to see our local coaches learning how to play away from home, or against what might be superior players. May their good results continue.jb
Bondy
Guest
The Roar . I've been watching your sports news vid 'Sports Highlights " Channel 10 don't show any football on their sports news bulletins .Is there any worth of that being on a football thread or tab . The sports news is that there's no football . Cheers .
Bondy
Guest
I'm quite pleased at the mental strength of Adelaide I thought they'd pack it in in the Champs Lge but to my suprise they've turned things around dramatically compared to their H.A.L. campaign possibly the Champs Lge was an escape for them .
Midfielder
Guest
Just to highlight the ACL...here are some youtubes of the Mariners match.. Video highlights (Arabic commentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViG-2VjZJXY English Commentary ... ESPN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViG-2VjZJXY Match Report from goal.com arguably the biggest football site in the world http://www.goal.com/en-au/match/76570/central-coast-mariners-vs-nagoya-grampus/report
Griffo
Roar Guru
I saw their first half against Kashiwa Reysol - similar if not quite as organised at the back as the national team, but technically very good. The energy and passion of their fans was also amazing ;-)
nordster
Guest
cheers for the article Tony, its more than just offensive vs defensive in a way... our teams are still far better when playing in a reactionary way. Ie having a superior opposition to focus on and base tactics around. Brisbane being the exception who are attempting to dictate. Failing for now, still hats off to Ange for attempting this fundamental shift in thinking. Going from reactive to proactive mentality. Saw some of this from the younger players for CCM on wednesday night also.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Farina's Roar, one season when they finished around 3rd, played a crowded midfield, extremely crowded, blocked like a dunny, they would use Zullo and Kruse as rapid release valves to get it out once the opposition had been sucked down the gurgler, and of course, despite Reinaldo's many flaws, in that season he played a vital target man role, where he could compete against two defenders, and hold it up for the support (which was better than letting him have a shot). No A-League team has ever played the crowded midfiled the way the Roar were able to, although when the Jets won the championship, they were pretty close (actually, it might have been the same season - the season of crowded midfields).
Nathan of Perth
Guest
No, although I'd like to. Surprised to see them knock over a pair of pretty damn big names.
Nathan of Perth
Guest
Umm. Ummmmmmm.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Incidentally has anyone seen a game featuring Buriram yet? I cannot help but wonder if they are playing a similar style to the War Elephants that was so successful in upsetting the rhythm of the Socceroos.