5 teams which showed that they could succeed without ball possession

Possession does win football games, and there’s hardly any way to score without having the ball. Some teams thrive on keeping it, while others would rather soak up a bit of pressure with the aim of hitting back on the counter-attack.Both methods work pretty well, and probably produce goals at similar rates. For teams like Arsenal and Barcelona – more so Barcelona – possession ranks pretty high on the priority list, but there are also teams which make the best of the little that they keep.Let’s take a look at five teams, which showed that they could still flourish without possession.

#1 Borussia Dortmund

German outfit Borussia Dortmund were highly successful under the management of now Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp.

They overthrew Bayern Munich to win two consecutive Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, also reaching the Champions League final in 2013, where they were usurped by a vengeful Munich team.

Dortmund’s success, during that period, was highly dependent on counter-attacking. They were quite happy to sit back and soak up a bit of pressure, but once they recovered the ball, the break was swift and incisive.

Nuri Sahin’s ability to quickly facilitate the transition from defense to attack turned Klopp’s underdogs into big time achievers during the 2010/11 season, before Shinji Kagawa took over the reins from the Turk and registered a career high 14 assists in the 2011/12 season.

During the last five years of the manager’s reign, Dortmund had the most counterattack shots in the league, with 1.17.

However, after his team had well established themselves in the Bundesliga, Klopp was forced to tweak the system a bit when teams refused to open themselves up to the counter. It was only then he employed the method of gegenpressing; a tactic which encourages ball recovery immediately after losing possession.

#2 Jose Mourinho\'s Madrid

Real Madrid have been a dominant force in Spain for as long as we can remember. In recent times, however, rivals Barcelona have become near unstoppable, seemingly poised to run away with the title every season; that is until Jose Mourinho came along in 2010.

It did take the Portuguese coach some time to get things into full swing, but he would overthrow the Catalan giants during his second season, beating them to the La Liga title by nine points.

Madrid also set several records that year. They won 32 games, which at the time was the most ever recorded in La Liga (equalled by Barcelona two years later), scored the most goals in a single season with 121, and finished with 100 points, the most in any of the top European leagues.

During this run, Los Blancos were comfortable with little possession, as they had the quickest and most deadly counter-attacking unit in the land.

Most times, they unleashed their attacks from their own box, and led by the midfield genius of Mesut Ozil, coupled with the electric pace of players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Marcelo, Madrid’s counter was impossible to deal with.

#3 Chelsea

Chelsea got off to an awful start this season, and it took them until December to recover some semblance of form. Despite their turnaround, they are well-nigh hopeless in the Premier League. However, they still have lifelines in the Champions League and FA Cup competitions.

If they could go on to replicate their 2012 campaign, it would all be worth it.

Back then, the Blues were struggling in the league, eventually finishing sixth that season, but would find redemption by winning both the Champions League and FA Cup.

The Champions League, in particular, was won mainly on the counter. After an offensive display, during which they reversed a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Napoli in the round of 16 - winning 4-1 in the second leg - Chelsea took a conservative approach.

They got past Benfica in the quarter-finals, only to face a potent Barcelona team, which was allowed 72.8% of the possession over both legs. Chelsea, however, went through with a 3-2 aggregate score.

The Blues would find themselves pitted against Bayern Munich in an epic final, and were dominated in the possession category once again.

They were on the brink of defeat after going down to Thomas Muller’s late strike, but Didier Drogba pulled them back with a last-gasp equalizer which eventually sent the game to penalties.

The rest is history.

#4 Jose Mourinho\'s Inter Milan

Inter Milan no longer dominate Italian football, but playing under Jose Mourinho between 2008 and 2010, the Nerazzurri were a force to be reckoned with.

They completed the treble in Mourinho’s last season, winning the Serie A title, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League. They accomplished all of this by allowing the opponent loads of possession, then unleashing an unforgiving counter-attack whenever they intercepted the ball.

One of the most memorable examples is their semi-final clash against Barcelona in 2010.

The tactic was executed perfectly. Inter produced a defensive masterclass, hitting the La Liga team on the break in both legs. The second leg, most notably, saw them sit quite deep, in an attempt to protect their 3-1 advantage from the first leg.

They were forced to play with 10 men for over an hour, as Thiago Motta had been sent off, and Barcelona did score in the match. But the single goal wasn’t enough to prevent Inter from going through to the last stage.

Mourinho and his men would go on to beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final, using the very same tactic to snag the coveted trophy.

#5 Leicester City

The biggest surprise out of Europe this season, Premier League leaders Leicester City are living the dream.

Surely, no one could have thought that Claudo Ranieri’s Foxes would still be leading the pack at this stage, but here they are, still gunning for the title, having only lost three games this term.

Ranieri has his men playing some great football. They have already scored 48 times, and their striker Jamie Vardy currently leads the league in scoring with 19 goals while his midfield teammate Riyad Mahrez is trying to catch up with 14 strikes of his own.

Amazing stuff right? But what amazes even more is the fact that Leicester have achieved all of this while maintaining just 43.3% possession. Only West Brom and Sunderland have had less this season, and they sit in 14th and 19th respectively.

Their counter-attack is the most effective, and they use it to perfection. It will be interesting to see how this fairy-tale season turns out for Leicester City. Don’t be surprised if they pip all challengers to the title.

Edited by Staff Editor