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How José Mourinho could build another a counter-attacking and high pressing team, similar to his Madrid side, with his current Spurs squad.
A thread:
#OleOut
A thread:
#OleOut
First I'll explain how Madrid set up, pressed, and organised under José;
They set up in a 4231 but when they pressed high or the opposition had the ball in their half, they reverted to a 442 shape with Özil up with the ST, ADM wide but with every player behind the ball.
They set up in a 4231 but when they pressed high or the opposition had the ball in their half, they reverted to a 442 shape with Özil up with the ST, ADM wide but with every player behind the ball.
A way Spurs could potentially imitate this would be in a 523 (4231 in possession, 532 without and 442 whilst pressing high).
Madrid's counter-attacks were near unstoppable. As just explained, Mourinho set up all his players behind the ball, this meant that the opposition usually had many players forward to try and break their defence.
Whenever Madrid recovered possession, in open play or from set-pieces, they always had players on the halfway line ready to run into space. It was usually Ronaldo and Benzema with Ozil or one of the midfielders on the ball with ADM and another, also joining the attack.
Spurs, under Mourinho, have tried to play similar at times, take Sunday for example. When Spurs regained possession, Kane ran wide, leaving room for Son centrally also Lucas/Lemela joined the attack on the other wing.
Now back to Madrid, when defending, although they were behind the ball until into their half, Ronaldo and Benzema/Higuain were the players who were ready to run.
I expect it would be Bale and Kane in the Spurs side who do this as Bale did not track back for Madrid.
I expect it would be Bale and Kane in the Spurs side who do this as Bale did not track back for Madrid.
Let's compare the players and the potential roles in the team. Son-Kane-Bale is obviously a very similar front 3 to the famous BBC because of Bale. Not just him though, they operate in very similar ways because both CF's tend to drift wide and drop back to create opportunities.
Next, Ozil. He was, most of the time, the key player in transition, if not him, then ADM. There's no one at Spurs that can directly play his role. However, GLC and Ndombele are both excellent ball carriers and could be a key part of attacks.
On the press I would expect Bale, one of the runners, to take up press the areas Ozil did for Madrid, in and around the ST. Doherty would be in place for ADM, pressing high and wide. We've seen Aurier do this multiple times under José however, he often gets caught out of position
Speaking of Doherty, he has struggled in the first couple of games of his Spurs career. On his debut, he had a good chance to score but apart from that, it is very clear he's used to 3 CB's behind him because the space left behind him, was exploited. He suits a 3/5 atb formation.
On the other side of the pitch let's look at Marcelo and José's new signing Reguilon. First thing, very similar types of fullbacks. Both better attacking than defending, both best attribute is speed and both heavily involved in build-up play and goals.
At Madrid, Marcelo was often involved in counter attacks, his pace, passing ability, decision making and the fact he was so comfortable with the ball at this feet meant he was regularly a key part of attacks and that 5th player rushing forward.
Reguilon has shown that similarly to Marcelo, he is very effective in the oppositions half. He tends to play inverted and run into gaps left by the forward in front of him when they drift wide. He is also comfortable in a back 4 and is generally aggressive with his interceptions.
Mourinho had Alonso and Khedira as a pivot in front of their back 4. Alonso was able to dictate play from deep with balls into Ozil, or to the runners in the channels. Khedira, with his strength, vision and shooting ability, was able to affect the game in either box.
Whilst at PSG, GLC played in a midfield 3 and even in a pivot. At Spurs, he's also played in a pivot and shown he can be effective as a DLP, either with his superb vision to find passes into channels and runners or with his own runs from his half, deep into the oppositions.
Lo Celso's tracking and tackling in the middle of the park is underrated too. Although I'm sure he prefers to play further forward, as he did at Betis, him and Ndombele surely have to be José's pivot. With a back 5 behind them, it's not too much of a risk.
His potential partner, Ndombele, struggled in his 1st season at Spurs with injury and form but let us look at him at Lyon. He thrived in a double pivot with Tousart (who is defensive-minded) but did show he was able to also sit and cover when needed. He's also shown this at Spurs
I think Ndombele - Lo Celso could be a real possibility moving forward for Spurs but Højbjerg can just as easily slot in for either of them or play behind them to benefit both players if needed.
Let us talk about the centre backs. Although Mourinho's Madrid is renowned for its devastating counter-attacks and the La Liga pts and goal records it broke, it also had a rock solid backline and GK.
With the additions of Reguilon, Doherty and potentially Škriniar, José has identified Spurs' defence as a weakness and tried to plug the holes. The return of promising youngster, Japhet Tanganga, from injury will also improve the team.
Škriniar played all across back 3's for club and country last season, with some of his best performances coming as a LCB. We saw Spurs use many difference CB's last summer but I personally think they're best suited to play with this.
Finally, Tanganga. He is powerful in duels, calm with the ball and can play anywhere across the back 4 with ease. He stops that space in behind Doherty even being there, let alone exploited. Big future under José.
So yes, I think Jose could imitate his former Madrid side at Spurs, in time, because of the similar profiles of the players.
However, for this moment something like this (433, 4312) will probably be the solution if Doherty is dropped.
Spurs could be scary if everything clicks.
However, for this moment something like this (433, 4312) will probably be the solution if Doherty is dropped.
Spurs could be scary if everything clicks.
A good way to read it easier. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1309779510724829184.html
