COACH DE ZERBI FROM U.S. SASSUOLO TO BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION F.C. 1-4-2-3-1 and tactical developments TACTICS
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COACH DE ZERBI FROM U.S. SASSUOLO TO BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION F.C.
COACH DE ZERBI FROM U.S. SASSUOLO TO BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION F.C.
THE AUTHORS
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COACH DE ZERBI FROM U.S. SASSUOLO TO BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION F.C.
INTRODUCTION
Among all Italian coaches, Roberto De Zerbi is one of the most influenced by Positional Play. De Zerbi has been considered a young and rising Italian coach who has never managed top-table clubs until now (currently in charge at Brighton & Hove Albion), but he has always had the courage to make his players willing to be part of something more than defensive and counter-attacking teams, producing entertaining soccer in Italy as Sassuolo’s head coach and taking Brighton to the club’s top positions ever in Premier League during 20222023 season. Nowadays, he should be considered a young but established coach, providing some of the most entertaining soccer in Europe; the results he has achieved with middle-table teams prove it. Roberto De Zerbi deployed the 1-4-3-3 and the 1-3-4-3 at Sassuolo, asking the holding midfielder to help the center-backs in the build-up phases (first system of play), and the wingbacks to support the center-backs when using the second system of play. Apart from the system of play, two principles have never changed: build up slowly and transition quickly with vertical passes through the center, changing pace from the middle to the final third to unsettle the opposition. Again, in both cases, the wide forwards or wingers usually drop in the center sideward the center striker. In the 1-4-3-3, he asked the wide midfielder to provide width by exchanging positions with the full-backs or directly overlapping onto the space that the wide forwards left free by tucking in. When Sassuolo attacked wide, 7
COACH DE ZERBI FROM U.S. SASSUOLO TO BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION F.C.
After losing Moisés Caicedo (to Chelsea) and Arthur Mac Allister (to Liverpool), the average distance of the back line with the team in possession seems to be lower than the average after the first five matches of the EPL 2023-2024 (37 meters). Otherwise, the front-line distance is just meters higher than in the previous season. Both the average positions with the team in possession1 and the next average passing network (picture 15) of the most employed 11 highlight the tactical tendency to combine through the center channel before playing wide from the middle third or the first third, driving the ball toward the gaps created in the opposition’s defensive shape through possession.
Picture 15 - Brighton’s average 2022-2023 season (from day 9 to 38) pattern of play. Source: footovision.com.
However, the next ones are the recurrent play principles Brighton is showing since the Italian coach took seat on Brighton’s bench (table 5). 1. Control the rhythm of the game; the indirect style of play and the territorial dominance are indicative of a team that has no fear of trying to control the game by ball possession.
1. The players’ positions are the calculated average of their positions with the ball and without it when Brighton had possession. 20
1. ROBERTO DE ZERBI AT BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (2022-2023)
Passes per sequence
Sequence time
Direct speed
4,13 (3rd)
11,17 (3rd)
1,26 (3rd)
10+ Open play passes
Build-up attacks /
Direct attacks / per match
551 (3rd) / 16,2
133 (3rd) / 3,9
53 (9th) / 1,55
Shots from open play /
xG / xG per match
Scored goals / per match
425 (2nd) / 12,5
51,25 (3rd) / 1,5
52 / 1,52
per sequence / per match
per match
per match
Table 5 - EPL 2022-2023 Brighton & Hove Albion attacking data - 1. See the glossary of abbreviations on page 92. *Stats referred to the whole season; De Zerbi took charge at Brighton after EPL week 8. Source: theanalyst.com. Brighton
Season 2020-21
2021-22
2022-23*
PassesAttempted/90
512.00
534.13
611.71
PassesCompleted/90
410.47
430.05
512.74
PassesProgressive/90
32.95
31.84
49.65
KP/90
9.18
9.03
12.65
FinalThirdPasses/90
28.53
29.47
39.41
PPA/90
10.03
9.16
10.35
Touches/90
618.92
653.53
713.00
CrsPA/90
2.39
2.18
2.03
Table 6 - EPL 2022-2023 Brighton & Hove Albion attacking data - 2. See the glossary of abbreviations on page 92. *Stats referred to the whole season; De Zerbi took charge at Brighton after EPL week 8. Source: soccer-pelican-search.herokuapp.com.
Table 6 shows the huge improvements in possession stats that De Zerbi helped to create at Brighton & Hove Albion, leading the club to the Europa League groups stages, qualifying in a European Cup for the first time in the club’s history. It’s not only about the final seat in the table and result, it’s a matter of the mentality and style of play they showed and that took them to be at the top of the EPL. De Zerbi increased possession by +5,35% concerning 21
COACH DE ZERBI FROM U.S. SASSUOLO TO BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION F.C.
Brighton have improved the assists per 90’ data, which are very close to the expected ones, the shots creating actions per 90’ (+ nearly 9%), and goals creating actions per 90’ (1,4%), as well as the non-penalty goals per 90’ (+0,5%) - table 7. Looking at the expected goals, we can find a common factor and a connection with positional play, which usually looks at the penalty area as the main shooting and finishing zone, much more than the spaces outside of it. After 34 matches (and yet 4 to go), Brighton scored 48 non-penalty goals, all of them from the center of the penalty area. Brighton invades the final third and the penalty area much more than a classic “positional play team”; they look for through passes in behind, but De Zerbi’s team also deploys cross passes after penalty area invasion. 6. Another recurring principle, as the goals and expected goal data show, is that once the ball is in the opposition’s half and the final third, Brighton reverses the direction of the ball’s drive from the wide areas toward the center and overloads the opposition’s back line and the penalty box with three, four or five players (picture 22).
Picture 22 - Brighton reverses the direction of dribbles to play cross passes.
To finish the analysis of the attacking phase, Brighton attacks in numbers inside and around the penalty area. The ball carrier drives the ball from the touchline to the sideline of the penalty area and has a passing option around the corner of the box; three team26
1. ROBERTO DE ZERBI AT BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION (2022-2023)
mates are already placed in the penalty area along the lines of the post and of the penalty spot (picture 23). These two players attempt again to invite the defenders out of the goal space to prevent the opponents from condensing the center of the penalty area and free an attacker in front of the goal.
Picture 23 - Brighton’s average positions in the oppositionʼs final third after a change of direction.
A first cross attempt was made in this example (picture 24), but the opposition countered the overload of the penalty area. Brighton always supports the finishing phase in number (picture 25); in this example, the opposite full-back has the possession on the other side
Picture 24 - Brighton’s average positions attacking the opposing goal from short distance cross passes.
Picture 25 - Opposite right full-back lays off pass to maintain the attacking momentum in numbers. 27
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PRESSURE PHASE AGAINST THE OPPOSITION’S BUILDING PHASE: 6 V 6 + GOALKEEPER
DRILL TYPE
Game-related practice
DURATION 27 minutes
PREPARATION
EQUIPMENT • • • • •
4 poles 1 goal 2 mini-goals 6 vests Balls
OBJECTIVES • • • •
Pressing Individual pressing 1v1 Intercepting
Playing area: 65×50 yds Players: 12 + 1 goalkeeper Series: 4 of 6 minutes each with 1 minute of recovery after each round
ORGANIZATION
Create a playing area of 65×50 yards and place two mini-goals along the long side of the field that is opposite to the regulatory goal. Divide the players into two teams (6 v 6). The goalkeeper defends the goal.
DESCRIPTION
The red team must build up from the goalkeeper and score to the mini-goals (either side). The blue team must press out wide, after forcing the opposition’s building phase pattern of play toward the touchline. The attacking team is shaped in a 1-4-2 formation, and the defending team is shaped in a 2-3-1 formation. The first phase of the exercise is the real focus, as the defending team must provoke a long pass and press near the ball out wide. • The Reds’ goalkeeper starts the build-up phase passing to a center-back (H-1) • The defending center forward and advanced midfielder must force the first receiver toward the touchline through their body shape when shifting across off the ball to press the oppositionʼs full-back (F/D-1) • H passes toward the full-back (I-2) • The winger C, the advanced midfielder D and the forward must now aggressively press near the ball to close the passing lanes and win the possession (2) • The opposite winger must make the playing space smaller for the opposition by shifting across and being ready to press the right center-back and full-back (2) • If the full-back can play through the pressure, the center midfielders of the defending team (A and B) must shift across and prevent any opposition’s receivers from turning and recover the possession (3)
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RULES
• There aren’t specific rules in this tactical exercise, except the principles of play to follow for the defending team
COACHING POINTS
• Choose when to close the passing lanes only, and when to aggressively press to recover the possession • Provoke the opposition’s wrong tactical choices when the recovery of the possession is not possible • Choose to counter-attack or maintain the possession after a ball’s recovery concerning the situation • Congest the ball’s area near the touchline to use it as an extra defender
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COACH DE ZERBI FROM U.S. SASSUOLO TO BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION F.C.
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