Introduction
Part 1 – Velocity
Part 2 – Pressing
Part 3 – The Libero
Part 4 – Bringing The Attack Together
As everything comes together in Atalanta’s tactic, let’s move a bit back on the pitch and dive deeper into the duties of the midfield and defense. While the attack is the glue that brings a cohesive press together, the men further back the pitch must be just as ruthless in providing a second wave of bodies for the opposition to pass. Atalanta’s defense has become notorious for its smothering press, but what makes it so effective is the symbiosis that the midfield and defense have with each other.
Its not uncommon to see either Remo Freuler and Marten de Roon drop deeper and offer support when Berat Djimsiti or Rafael Toloi inches forward. The overlaps and coverage both lines provide for each other is why they work so well in unison. It takes a special kind of footballer to play further back on the pitch for Atalanta, and even sometimes La Dea’s backups are not equipped to pull it off. Everyone remembers the disaster that went down when Atalanta lined up with Remo Freuler or Marten de Roon for the first time in three years against Torino. Mario Pasalic and Matteo Pessina either did not have the strength, or awareness to click in the double pivot; as a result, Ivan Juric’s men ran wild in the middle of the pitch. So, what does a Gian Piero Gasperini midfielder need to have to excel in the midfield?
THE MIDFIELD
Looking at Marten de Roon and Remo Freuler’s statistics, nothing will make you jump out of your seat. Neither really contribute goals or assists in significant quantities. However, the intangibles that both exude helps wrap the chaos going on all around them into a nice clean package. The forwards, wingers, and defense can run wild – but as long as de Roon, Freuler, and now Koopmeiners play more grounded, it guarantees that there is not just pure carnage all over the pitch. However, this doesn’t mean that the double pivot is sitting back in safety – quite the opposite. De Roon and Freuler are still working overtime in pressuring opponents, most importantly doing it in the all-important middle of the pitch – in dangerous areas right before the opposition gets a chance to transition into offense.
Both Freuler and de Roon live to hassle opponents, and they’re good at it! Last year in Serie A, the duo finished 2nd and 3rd in the league in total pressures applied, bested only by Morten Thorsby (remember that name). Its worth noting that they also put up those gaudy statistics inside a Gasperini tactic that holds onto the ball more frequently than opponents. So, when the pivot looks to press, let them do it, sparks can fly. Just ask Marcelo Brozovic what it’s like to be hassled by Freuler!
However, where the pivot sets itself apart is the innate understanding it has with the backline. The likes of Rafael Toloi and Berat Djimsiti love working so far up, that someone must cover them. In what was one of Atalanta’s most unique and entertaining goals of the year, what I liked the most is what happened far off the ball that permitted everything to unfold.
Merih Demiral’s goal may be one of Atalanta’s best of the season, but everything that leads up to the goal allows the bedlam to blossom. While Demiral is sneaking around at the far side of the photo ready to complete a forward run like Duvan Zapata, everything that makes this goal happen occurs in the back. Why Demiral is up front is irrelevant, instead what matters is that both midfielders recognized the fluidity in the formation and worked their way back to let the defenders have their fun. Both Marten de Roon on the ball and Remo Freuler (whose legs are just visible at the top of the photo) properly took their places further back on the field, with Jose Luis Palomino marshalling in the middle. This sequence permits Toloi to stay further up the pitch, and of course for Demiral to put on his best striker display. In normal situations, chances are low that Demiral even gets on the end of a ball in the box. Napoli would more likely rewin possession and begin a counterattack with two defenders out of position. Instead, Freuler and de Roon’s position brings stability to a confusing situation. Bad for opponents who are not prepared for the unexpected; yet, good for Atalanta who lives on confusion.
THE TRANSITION
Given Atalanta’s propensity to send defenders forward, the midfield and defense already have a great relationship with how their positioning affects one another. Marauding defensive runs can make opponents uneasy, and in rare instances can lead to not just shots, but goals. To never get stale tactically, one of the most obvious tweaks that Atalanta can make to its strategy is the interchange between the midfield and defense. Currently Freuler and de Roon can moonlight as centerbacks in a pinch. Similarly, Toloi, Palomino, and Djimsiti are comfortable on the ball and can handle short spells of double pivot duties without too much difficulty. So, why not just have a continuous fluid defense and midfield that switches position north and south on the field?
To illustrate: on the right side of the pitch Toloi gets forward so often, de Roon supports in defense to cover – the next step would be for them to not have defined positions, moving as the match dictates. Now this is not a call to have Toloi and de Roon split midfield duties in a 50/50 manner, but instead do it in spot situations for extended periods. If Toloi is still far up the pitch after an attack fizzled out, let him stay further up to participate in the press and potentially the next attack that results from it. De Roon already knows what to do at the back, and he can hold steady in defense for two to three minutes, and even sniff out counterattacks if need be. I feel this setup, while aggressive, can in fact help lead to more defensive solidarity at the back.
Let’s look at Arnaut Danjuma’s goal for Villarreal, and how Marten de Roon may act differently if there was a constant interchange between the positions. Immediately once Demiral starts going forward, it may signal to de Roon to start reverting deeper to offer support not just for Demiral but Toloi as well. Instead, he is in no man’s land offering minimal support either in the midfield or back where he would be needed in defense.
While the idea may be a bit outlandish, it simply forces and reiterates the idea that players to be continually aware of what is happening on the pitch, and act as cover for what their teammates are doing on the pitch. Preaching unpredictability will make it easier for the players on the pitch to read; also, add confusion to opponents who would have even more trouble reading the match.
THE DEFENSE
As we transition to the final position on the pitch, the defense ties the final knot on the tactic. This piece will focus more on the wider defenders, as we already know what the libero’s duties will be, and nearly an entirely article focused on his specific role. Ultimately the defense becomes an extension of what the midfield already does. They press, harass attacking players, and contribute on offense when the time is right. In fact, they even get more liberty to be more aggressive in attack than the midfield, if the situation calls for it.
Now it goes without saying that the defense’s primary objective is still, well, to play defense. Having three guys at the back who are aggressive, aerially competent, and good at one-on-one battles is essential.
But on top of that, ball playing duties are also compulsory, which in today’s game it isn’t difficult to find a defender who excels with the ball at his feet. So much of Atalanta’s beauty comes from the centerbacks moving forward and interchanging with the midfield, that it is easy to forget how good of defenders these guys can be. But when good defense and good offense is tied together, it can truly be a match made in heaven – providing Atalanta with even more firepower.
Let’s take a look at a great play by Rafael Toloi against Hellas Verona that led to a point-blank shot from Mario Pasalic that unfortunately clanked off the post. When a good defensive shape is set up, Atalanta can stymie counterattacks, and in this specific instance Toloi combined his awareness with freedom to be aggressive to sniff out a pass to the man closest to him. He’s afforded this freedom because of the coverage on the Hellas player in the green circle, but more important he’s provided deep coverage by Merih Demiral who can still take on an opponent one-on-one if need be (the Turk didn’t make this photo because his positioning is so good in safety!). This is vintage Atalanta defense work, set up both by coverage from de Roon who will eventually interchange with Toloi and deeper libero-like coverage from Demiral. If the safety around a wannabe marauding centerback is still present, there should be no reason why Toloi and Djimsiti cannot continually get forward to bring their offense skill to the match, and of course add to the confusion for the opposition.
TYING EVERYTHING TOGETHER
The last few articles have covered a bunch, but it can be condensed quite easily in a digestible fashion. The press, everything starts with the press! From attackers to the defense, everyone must do their part to make life difficult for the opposition. A good press negates the opposition’s attack, but more importantly shrinks the size of the pitch and gives the offense higher quality possessions to convert. But in case everything breaks down and the press fails, there is no need to worry. Extra safety provided by the libero can help to stifle quick counterattacks and permit everyone to get recover and regroup and put in a shift (hopefully a short one) on defense.
The beauty (at least what I hope) is this tactic doesn’t pigeonhole any one player into a specific role. Obviously, there’s attacking duties that the libero won’t partake in, but the well roundedness of the players should guarantee that one player is not required to carry too much burden in one specific area of the pitch. All the goal scoring impetus doesn’t fall on the striker, pressing isn’t just a duty of the midfield, and the defenders can participate more frequently in the buildup. A unit, a fluid one, where everyone subconsciously knows what his teammates will be doing on the pitch. Honestly, Atalanta is close to this already – let’s just turn the screws up on the press, learn to think a few possessions into the future, and always have a backup plan for when things may go haywire.
