6 tactics that changed the football forever

#1 GEGENPRESSING

This is the latest trend in world football. 'Gegenpressing', unlike the others on our list, is not a complete gameplan. It is a variant of classic pressing football. The pressing broadly means closing down opponent's passing lane and trying to win the ball back as soon as possible. The pressing system used by every team varies according to the formations.

Klopp's Borussia Dortmund lifting Bundesliga

Some teams prefer to press halfway up the field while others will go all the way to the opponent goalkeeper. Some will let the opponent reach the defensive half before springing an ambush with defenders running to put the opponent on the ball under pressure. The father of pressing is Marcelo Bielsa whose 3-3-3-1 formation with Argentine and Chilean National teams were designed specifically to create a numerical advantage for his team in any situation. His high energetic playing style has inspired a generation of managers such as Mauricio Pochettino, Jorge Sampaoli. Guardiola called him the greatest manager of all time. Guardiola's pressing system in Manchester City is vastly inspired by Bielsa's strategy.

But the ‘Gegenpressing’ system is mostly popularised by Jurgen Klopp who called ‘Gegenpressing’ the best playmaker in the world. His high up-the field pressing brought Borussia Dortmund two consecutive Bundesliga title in 2011 and 2012 and led to a Champions League Finale.

Klopp’s Gegenpressing is broadly based on a principle of winning the ball back. According to Klopp, the best moment to win the ball is immediately after the team has lost it. The opponent is more likely to lose the ball at this very moment as the opponent is still looking for passing options and probably have taken his eye off the game to win back the ball and evidently would be exhausted after making the tackle. All these factors make the opponent most vulnerable at this very moment.

Borussia Dortmund's Gegenpressing system

There are numbers of variants of Gegenpressing. For instance, if the man on the ball does not possess a remarkable passing skill, he might not be pressed much. But the passing options must be blocked i.e. intercepting the ball from reaching to possible recipients. At Dortmund, Klopp insisted on pressing the ball carrier and pressing as much as possible even if the team loses some shape here and there.

The teams have to be absolutely compact and everybody should put a collective effort. If a gap remains open, the opponent would be able to play a pass through the gap. In Dortmund, when they played with the 4-2-3-1 formation and the wide players would drop back to help the defence.

The pressing team must also realise when to stop pressing because firstly, the energy level will drop. And secondly, the opponent will be able to play a long ball in space behind the defence. If the opposing team manages to make a breakthrough by playing a long ball behind the defence, a sweeper-keeper (for example Manuel Neuer) would be effective in preventing the counter-attack.