Mihajlovic manages to push Napoli out of shape
The starting line-ups
An interesting feature of Napoli’s 0-0 draw with Fiorentina last night was the sight of a back three up against a front three, with Sinisa Mihajlovic exploiting Napoli’s weakness on the flanks.
An early season fixture in 2010/11 between these two sides provided lots of tactical interest, because Walter Mazzarri used a lopsided system to play against Fiorentina’s 4-2-3-1, with Hugo Campagnaro moving forward onto Juan Vargas when Napoli pushed forward, and leaving Christian Maggio to pick him up when Fiorentina had the ball.
Fiorentina are now playing a 4-3-3, and the action happened down the other side. Alessio Cerci stayed high and wide down the right, sometimes moving back with Andrea Dossena, but always positioning himself in a position to counter quickly. Crucially, he was bringing Napoli newcomer Ignacio Fideleff out to the flank. Fideleff made a mistake in midweek, and looked nervous throughout here.
The crucial factor in this game is not the scoreline, or even in the overall balance of play – it’s that Napoli’s shape was properly stretched and brought out of shape, something we’ve rarely seen opposition managers achieve over the last twelve months. A key part of this – although not the only factor – was that they faced a wide front three, quite rare in Serie A.
Fideleff was in such a state that Napoli were frightened to leave him 1 v 1 against Cerci, who had a very good game by showcasing his pace and dribbling ability. As a result, they sometimes had to bring Dossena back to pick up Cerci. With Vargas playing deeper on the other flank and picking up Juan Zuniga, Napoli were left with 4 v 2 (Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Fideleff and Dossan v Cerci and Jovetic.) Campagnaro could have moved forward more to make up the numbers further up the pitch, but Stevan Jovetic’s movement was good, and made him reluctant to come out from the back.
This all took place in a counter-attacking game, so the midfield numbers battle wasn’t the key. Fiorentina had 3 v 2 in that zone, with Marek Hamsik staying quite wide, and dominated possession in the first half. Napoli were happy enough with that, ready to play on the break, but they had two problems: (a) Fiorentina occupied the centre of the pitch well, making it difficult to break through there and (b) Napoli’s wing-backs couldn’t break forward unmarked – Dossena was always looking out for Cerci, whilst Vargas tracked Zuniga – although the Colombian had a good game.
Mazzarri had to make two changes to put Napoli in charge of the game. Fideleff lasted until the 54th minute when he was replaced by Salvatore Aronica, the experienced left-sided defender who plays that role well. That was an indication that Cerci was threatening, but then the next sub, on 72 minutes, was an acceptance that Napoli’s system was failing. Goran Pandev replaced Dossena, with Aronica going to left-back, Zuniga moving back to right-back and Napoli moving to, essentially, a 4-2-3-1 / 4-2-4.
That much more naturally matched Fiorentina’s 4-3-3 at the back, and Napoli dominated the final 25 minutes of the game. Cerci wasn’t such a threat and Fiorentina rarely looked like scoring. The only problem was that Zuniga, arguably Napoli’s best player in the game, now had less license to move forward and stretch the play. Napoli are so reliant on their wing-backs to stretch the play and provide overlaps – without them, they looked rather lost.
To summarise – Mazzarri had a dilemma. Play the system which suits his players best, or play the system which was logical for the game? Usually, he’s found away to subtlety move players around within the 3-4-1-2ish base formation, but here he had to move to a back four. Mihajlovic may not have won the game, but he won the tactical battle – no wonder he was so positive about his side’s performance.
Mihajlovic manages to push Napoli out of shape
Napoli – They lost the tactical battle today because they were outdone in midfield. Hamsik should have moved more central to try hand help make up the numbers, as Fiorentina were given too much time and space to create attacks. Now i know napoli usually play on the break anyway, but they still usually have a grip on the game and dont completely give away the midfield battle (Gargano and Inhler can outclass many midfield 3’s, but not today). They missed Dossena charging up the left a lot, and Walter Mazzarri should have realised a lot sooner his system at the back was not working. I agree Zuniga had a good game, and was a good outlet for napoli (very much needed).
Fiorentina – Behrami and Montolivo were fantastic in this game, they look a great partnership, with behrami providing the energy and tenacity to montolivo’s playmaking game. They created a good wall that napoli could break through. Munari did a good job on gargano as well, making it hard for him to pass out from defense. Cerci and Jovetic played really intelligently as well, with cerci occupying dossena and fideleff, and Jovetic occupying cannavaro and campagnarro. Cerci was a good threat, and jovetic showed excellent movement, i have missed this player. But i do think vargas was too preoccupied with Zuniga, so ended up playing too deep, and i think the fiorentina fullbacks could have made some runs forward, to help break down napoli.
Overall, Napoli lacked a link between defense and attack really (usually hamsik and Wingbacks) and only Zuniga was really linking play. Fiorentina could have won this game with a bit of luck and maybe being a bit more adventurous (fullbacks, Behrami and munari could have got forward more).
couldn’t break through *
I can’t find your video analysis of the manchester united vs. chelsea game. Can anyone direct me towards it?
Its not available outside the uk
I’m not outside the uk.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/22092011/58/premier-league-tactical-brain-united-diagonal-delight.html
Fiorentina’s width was a real problem for Napoli, mainly because they made the wrong adjustment, but also because they had the wrong players.
Shifting to a 4 back shape when defending is prudent against that kind of width, but they did it wrong. Sliding the three over towards Cerci, and dropping Zuniga in to cover the backside would have worked better (tactically) as Zuniga would have had an easier time stepping out from the back to make up numbers in midfield. It still would be 4 v 2 along the back, but this is true of any team defending with 2 banks of 4 against a 3 where one player continually drops off. Only Napoli was defending with 7 (another problem).
But, sliding the three left wasn’t going to work, because the wrong player for that job was fielded in the left CB role. To play a back 3, the outside CB’s have to be comfortable playing as fullbacks (like a Smalling or Jones). Part of the failure of the 3-4-3 at Inter was due to this issue. Tactics enhance player characteristics, the key is to get a multiplier on the strengths and not the weaknesses.
Speaking of Smalling and Jones, when you take their various positions thus far, and Valencia’s time at right back, I think we’re seeing Ferguson slowly evolve his defense into a fluid, shifting unit, that can morph between a 3 & 4 without player changes, and make the shift from different positions. I think he learned his lessons in the CL final well, and this fits with the continuation of the trend of favoring offensive players who are multiple in the roles they can play and extending it to the defense.
The only way to counter versatile attacking players is to use versatile defenders as well. This will be the biggest change moving forward in football over the next few years.
I agree RE: Man Utd, and I would hypothesize that by the end of the decade we will look back and comment that a fluid back 3 was a trend that picked up steam in the early part of the 10s.
You’re right that SAF learned his CL lesson, and I would add that every team with aspirations to win the CL has to have a contingency plan for when/if they meet Barca.
ZM are you going to review Ranieri’s debut with Inter vs Bologna
Mazzari is gonna have to come up with a good plan to face Bayern, who love to stretch it with Ribery and (to a lesser extent) Muller. If Robben is fit, DOssena and Maggio will be pushed back like crazy all day
A fascinating write-up ZM, thanks a million for such an interesting tactical insight
This is what’s most interesting for me. I think Napoli will have a similar dilemma against Bayern whose gameplan relies so heavily on their wide players.
Bayern will be busy sitting deep to pick up Hamsik but Napoli will have a bit of trouble dealing with Ribery and Robben who will look to push up with every attack. The question is will Mazzarri also push up his wingbacks because neither of the two Bayern wingers are likely to track back much and although they have Lahm and Rafinha, it can be used to exploit Bayern – it will all depend on what kind of outcome Mazzarri will want out of this match home and away. They lack the experience but have the tactical tools to hurt Bayern.
Fantastic reply, agree with what you said. Playing in Germany, I see Napoli taking a safety-first approach. Playing in Naples, who knows, they might just go for it and take the game to Bayern…
Using the wingbacks attacking a lot can cause a 2v1 situation (assuming Hamsik/Lavezzi stay wide enough to connect with the WB and Robbery dont’t track back) vs. Lahm/Rafinha which has the potential to do damage for sure.
I’m very very curious to see how the Napoli-Bayern games pan out.
@Forza Juve
Bear in mind that if Bayern win the ball when the Napoli wingbacks are in an attacking possession, Ribery and Müller will most likely be 1vs1 with the right and left-central backs, hence forming a 3vs3 at the back for Napoli, which could also lead to some damage.
I guess this will be a typical dilemma for Mazzarri, whether to field a 4 man-defence against a front 3, protecting the goal at the expense of lost attacking options, or play the 3-man defence as usual and make the game more interesting for both sides.
the midfielders will have more defensive duties, coming out to cover for their wingbacks.
i see Napoli’s problems/solutions all revolving around Hamsik. if he drops to midfield they can control the game, but their attack becomes predictable, lacking that alternative approach he brings. if he stays upfront, i really believe he’s not being used to his full capacities.
the threat will come if & when Robben plays. stretching one wingback, Mazzarri can manage. stretch both, and it could be a problem.
my solution would be to play Inler deeper, twin Gargano & Hamsik in the middle, free Lavezzi behind Cavani & play Aronica as the make-shift LCB. Robben won’t defend, Muller will drift to where Inler can bite him
napoli basic system can work well against robben. knowing that robben always cuts inside, as soon as he beats the wingback(dossena/zuniga), the left sided defender can play high up the pitch and stop him.
I’m not sure that Mihajlovic entirely won the tactical battle. While Fiorentina dominated the first half, passing up a number of chances to score, Napoli cam close several times in the second period. Although Fiorentina had played a game only a few days before, making fatigue an issue, and although they were probably happy to settle for a point in Naples, I don’t think that, having dominated the first forty five minutes, Mihajlovic was able to cope with Mazzari’s changes, in both personnel and tactics. Bringing on another striker for Munari or Montolivo and going to a 4231/4213 would have allowed the defense to hold firm, maintained the width, and allowed Fiorentina to continue to threaten, albeit more on the counter. Considering that, with Gilardino’s injury, Gilberto Silva is la Viola’s striker, and that he likes to drop deep, defend, and be involved in build-up play, bringing him in, then dropping Jovetic deeper to link play and occupy Gargano and Inler, would have been about as effectively defensively and considerably more threatening offensively. While a point in Naples is certainly cause for celebration, I don’t think that it was entirely a Mihajlovic masterstroke; rather, he outfoxed Mazzari to start with, but was left helpless once Mazzari turned the tables.
First off Fiorentina is good team, with a ton of talent.
Napoli almost always go up against a 4 man defense, so even with out the wing backs pushing up, I’m wondering why they had so much trouble.
Counter Attacking should be held up because of the wing-backs, if the wing backs are defending than one of the front three need to get into space or the forward Mid needs to move into space.
A shame Gasperini got sacked by Inter. Woulda loved to see 3-4-3 vs. 3-4-3/3-4-1-2 this Sunday as Napoli play Inter in the San Siro. Damn trigger-happy Moratti
It was apparent 3-4-3 was not going to work with Inter, as the players were not suitable to play that formation, especially on the defensive side. With 3 slow&old center-backs and no real wing-backs, it was suicidal to continue playing that way.
I wish Gasperini could be more flexible and played a formation that the players were suited to, at least for the first year before signing players of his request.
Napoli vs. Villarreal instead of Bayern vs. City? Seriously?
There’s not enough coverage of Bayern anyways, it’s always the Big 4 and Real and Barca. Having said this, you are doing are a great job, just hire me…
are you on crack or something?
Its Napoli vs Fiorentina. Serie A match.
Hire you? How can ZM hire you, if this entry you cant even read, let alone analyse and reason.
not in a million years.
I didn’t even cover Napoli v Villarreal for God’s sake…