Roberto De Zerbi – the organisation of the game model
The idea of football which Roberto De Zerbi illustrated has the footballer as its starting point. The goal is to make him express to the best of his possibilities, starting not from the collective, but from the individual. The coach’s task is to bring every element to the top of its potential, a potential that will make available to the team. It must be trained carefully because the improvements obtained on the individual will be fundamental for the whole eleven; in fact, it is the sum of the performance of the individuals that elevates the collective ones. It is therefore essential to start from the qualities and characteristics of the players.
The main difficulty of every coach, then, is the transfer to the player of the ideas he has in his head in the correct way: if the right words are not found, the effective methods to “enter” the brains of the players, everything remains abstract and not functional. It is clear to think for principles, it is no longer possible to act according to the fixed idea of a game system: in fact, the task of each coach is to understand the technical, tactical, physical and mental peculiarities of his men, to find the right position on the field for everyone in reference to interactions with his teammates and to organize their own game model.
That said, it is clear that it is advisable to coach players even in areas other than those preferred: perfecting the behavior, for example, of a midfielder in sectors other than the usual ones can become an important advantage, for example to change boots on the sidelines or when there are injuries. Because in the football that the coach has inside his head, the midfielder must act as a midfielder, not only as a right or left midfielder or as a Methodist: he must know how to act in all three typical areas of the role, because if one is occupied he must rotate in another. In fact, the rotations can also be in the departments and the midfielder can also find himself working as a ‘centre back’ in possession of the ball. But the others have the ball too. Then you have to be good at interrupting the action, ending it and repositioning yourself. Or attack!
“The football I believe in”
The first pillar of Roberto De Zerbi’s thought is “to have the ball”: the player, in fact, must have fun and manages to do it the moment he has possession. But where do you have to manage the ball? Obviously better in the opponent’s half, where you have more chances to score; moreover, it is essential to be organized to regain possession as quickly as possible in case you lose the ball. And to achieve this goal, it is necessary to convince the players, especially the quality ones, who prefer to act in the offensive half of the field, that it is better to have an immediate and quick run of 2–3–4 meters forward with a lost, perhaps a repeated and “bad” ball, than one of 60–70 back to have the team repositioned.
The last aspect is to stimulate courage and make the players the protagonists. The example given by the coach to clarify this concept is related to the defenders. Some prefer to defend in their area, because they know the ‘malice’ of individual marking, they are physically strong, skilled in a duel. Others should work further ahead, close to the middle of the field, because they are fast and ‘strong’ in readings. And since the coach’s game model provides dominance of the game in the opposing half, it’s logical that it’s critical to stay short and work in more advanced areas. And to do it well the players must be determined, brave in managing the space behind them (about 50 meters) and the one in front.
The general principles
To act in this direction, there are general principles, namely:
- The employment and dominance of space and the flexibility of the role;
- Playing safely and not forcing the plays;
- The pursuit of numerical superiority in all areas of the field; the exploitation of mobility and dynamism;
- The recognition of the game forward, lateral and backward (you tend to play for depth; if you can’t look for plays in amplitude and if this is also closed you have to go back to get around);
- The reading of the various situations that occur in the field.
Players then need to be flexible in roles. You think you have a striker who, for example, in the match against the X team, is unable to “enter the game”: he does not find enough space in the position he is occupying. If he has not been used to adapting in another sector, whether between the lines or in traffic, he is a player with no perspective in that meeting. Instead, it is enough to move a few meters to find the right inspiration. But to do this it is necessary to coach the footballer.
The occupation of the spaces is also decisive: there is no system of play that starts in one way and ends in the same, because football is dynamic, the situations unpredictable and therefore the players must know how to ‘preside over’ the field regardless of the basic sides. The idea of forcing a play, with a high ball, goes against De Zerbi’s thought of football. In fact, to play in the opponent’s half of the field you have to know how to do it ‘safely’: every lost ball becomes very dangerous for the team. It is therefore better to act the ball on the ground and ‘lift’ it only when you have the certainty of putting your teammate in 1v1 or in a clear goal opportunity. However, it is essential that the players are always in numerical superiority in all areas of the field, with priority to the first phase of construction. And for this to happen, mobility and dynamism are needed.
The phases of play
At the moment when De Zerbi had to “organize” in his head the ideas of the game he believed in, he started from the division of the field into 3 zones (figure 1): the first is called “construction” or “building” and can take on ‘low or high’ characteristics depending on the sector in which the action begins.
This is a ‘low’ construction in case of goal kick from the bottom, free kick, lineout in that space. The first principle in that case is to “release the ball” to start commanding the game. According to the pressure that the opponent exerts, players must know that in case of moderate aggression, the goal is a gradual conquest of the field, always ready for the correct behavior to regain possession in case of loss.
If, on the other hand, the opponent exerts strong pressure, the outgoing action will be more vertical, the depth and the ball “between the lines” will also be searched, with a more “violent” ascent. If you are in a parity, you direct the ball to the ‘strong’ area and look for a safe exit (“It makes no sense to ‘play’ behind, there is no need to put players in trouble. I then prepare the ball on top.”). In Figures 2 and 3 two possible options to build based on opponents’ choices.
Instead, there is talk of “high” construction when the action starts from 25 meters to the midfield line. Also in this case there is the search for numerical superiority for the “reasoned” conquest of the field. If a player finds space in front of him, he can go up in the lead, always taking as a principle not to force plays. For this, however, players not interested in the construction must offer passing lines. The goal of such a construction is to get out of the first line of pressure without “slipping over” with parabola balls. However, it is essential to be ready and prepared when the opponent steals the ball.
If, for example, from a goal kick from the goalkeeper the ball is lost by our central midfielder who had lowered and their player recovers, but is in an “uncomfortable” position, back to the goal, there is no need for strong pressure for the further reconquest: a quick reordering of the divisions is enough because the opponents are If, on the contrary, the opponent intercepts and leaves decisive vertically to score goals, then there will be a convinced defensive reaction to the lost ball.
The second sector is that of ‘management and development’, which goes up to the opponent’s three-quarters. In this space the goal is to move the ball trying not to force the plays, thus making short passes with the ball to the ground. Players must be able to occupy the field in a homogeneous manner to try to create multiple lines of play to the possessor. The management of the ball in this space must ensure that the highest possible concentration of opponents is created in the ball area with the aim of developing with speed in a more freer distant space.
If you lose possession in a moment of management in midfield and the opponent does not have space and play time, the nearest player attacks the possessor hard, while those furthest go on the references, working on the advance and interjection lines. The companions even further behind, on the other hand, read whether to anticipate or cover the depth. If, on the contrary, the opponent finds the time and space to attack immediately, then the players will have to be good at reorganising the departments immediately.
Finally, the third sector is that of ‘finishing and finalization’. Different types of approach to finishing and finalization can be distinguished:
- attack on the short side of the area – two players in maximum amplitude are needed with external overlap of the full-back, internal of the half wing, direct and indirect. In this case the attack will be called a “funnel” because the attacker’s run is aimed inside the penalty area;
- central combinations – in this case the demarcation is essential for the search for a free passing line with a correct body posture (especially the orientation of the toes). It is necessary to always take care of the first check in the direction of the door;
- ball in ‘porticina’ – in case of very closed defenses we try to put a ball to re-enter an imaginary ‘door’ that goes from both sides from the goal post to the small area (figure 4).
The transition in this area is of particular importance because it allows you to avoid backward runs of 70–80 meters. A first reaction to the ball lost is the ‘violent’ one that aims to take away time and space from the ball owner, going to attack him even with more than one footballer. The other players will have to garrison the area behind them by creating a first defensive line outside the penalty area opponent (presidium). Another 2–3 elements will be tasked with scoring opponents in advance to ensure the recapture of the ball and coverage of the depth.
Conclusion
In his coaching career so far, De Zerbi has achieved a considerable amount of success. His playing style – something of a high-risk, high-reward approach – has resulted in significant career growth. Taking over from Graham Potter, who has moved on to bigger opportunities, presents a significant challenge for De Zerbi.
Whether or not he succeeds, De Zerbi’s exciting brand of football is visible in his first few games with Brighton and will certainly entertain in the future.
Thank You for reading!
Check out Roberto De Zerbi’s masterclass webinar in which he explains his build-up prinicples. 2 HOURS 22 MINUTES/ Link given down below.
