2 replies on “Juventus’ struggles in possession against Porto”
It’s very interesting analysis. I don’t think you’ve got upon the actual problem though. There is no way Pirlo has sent them out without a plan. At this level of football that simply wouldn’t happen. That then leaves the question: what was the tactical plan? The fact that it’s almost completely incomprehensible to determine what it’s supposed to be is actually the biggest problem. Clearly it’s some sort of tiki taka, otherwise what the heck is the excuse for the constant passing at the back and Scezny refusing to kick the ball long. They are obviously trying to draw the opponent’s forward but the patterns of play are so bad, positioning non existent and individual role in each phase of play clearly lacking. It’s not just this match.
Would you look at Ronaldo and question his lack of discipline. He roams the pitch, trying to get involved when it’s going badly but he makes more problems than he solves. He comes too deep, then the long ball isn’t on…..I could go on but it’s so frustrating
Hi Giuseppe,
Yes, my intention wasn’t to draw any conclusion at a higher level than this only match. I think it’s impossible from the outside to determine what the actual causes are, and there were some good games this season, that shouldn’t be forgotten as well.
I think there can be a lot of different reasons really:
– Physical condition is a big one. There have been a lot of games since January, few injuries, but also we need to bare in mind that this is the 3rd coaching staff in 3 seasons, all with different physical preparations, so it’s fair to assume that players lack consistency at this level
– Some of the problems we see, like multiplying short passes at the back even though pressure has been drawn, are recurring from last season, so it raises the question: are the players simply not understanding what they should do, or are they encouraged to do this? The latter would be very worrying as this would go against the basics of playing from the back
– I think a major question as well is is Pirlo trying to force players into a system/style of play independently of their attributes? Does he really have what he needs to implement what he wants? That was again something we could wondered under Sarri
It’s hard to know what Pirlo really wants to do though as he has no previous experience to base a judgement on, and all we know about him as a coach is what we’ve read in his thesis.
2 replies on “Juventus’ struggles in possession against Porto”
It’s very interesting analysis. I don’t think you’ve got upon the actual problem though. There is no way Pirlo has sent them out without a plan. At this level of football that simply wouldn’t happen. That then leaves the question: what was the tactical plan? The fact that it’s almost completely incomprehensible to determine what it’s supposed to be is actually the biggest problem. Clearly it’s some sort of tiki taka, otherwise what the heck is the excuse for the constant passing at the back and Scezny refusing to kick the ball long. They are obviously trying to draw the opponent’s forward but the patterns of play are so bad, positioning non existent and individual role in each phase of play clearly lacking. It’s not just this match.
Would you look at Ronaldo and question his lack of discipline. He roams the pitch, trying to get involved when it’s going badly but he makes more problems than he solves. He comes too deep, then the long ball isn’t on…..I could go on but it’s so frustrating
Hi Giuseppe,
Yes, my intention wasn’t to draw any conclusion at a higher level than this only match. I think it’s impossible from the outside to determine what the actual causes are, and there were some good games this season, that shouldn’t be forgotten as well.
I think there can be a lot of different reasons really:
– Physical condition is a big one. There have been a lot of games since January, few injuries, but also we need to bare in mind that this is the 3rd coaching staff in 3 seasons, all with different physical preparations, so it’s fair to assume that players lack consistency at this level
– Some of the problems we see, like multiplying short passes at the back even though pressure has been drawn, are recurring from last season, so it raises the question: are the players simply not understanding what they should do, or are they encouraged to do this? The latter would be very worrying as this would go against the basics of playing from the back
– I think a major question as well is is Pirlo trying to force players into a system/style of play independently of their attributes? Does he really have what he needs to implement what he wants? That was again something we could wondered under Sarri
It’s hard to know what Pirlo really wants to do though as he has no previous experience to base a judgement on, and all we know about him as a coach is what we’ve read in his thesis.