Football: The Journey of a Coach

56. Gegenpressing Formation

Gegenpressing is a German word, if translated in English means Counter-Pressing.

Counter-Pressing is widely known as the tactic of pressing an opponent when not in possession of the ball, with the intensity of high pressure the pressed player will often lose control of the ball.

And Gegenpressing was even higher, with the pressure itself being set up as a system to attack the opponent when things were still not ready.

If you look at its history, Gegenpressing actually comes from the land that Daniel is currently working on, the land of England.

Starting from the 1960s, teams in England at the time emphasized the style of play pressing opponents to try to seize the ball.

It spread further to the Netherlands, where teams such as the Netherlands national team and Rinus Michels' Ajax Amsterdam, implemented an opponent pressing system in their Total Football approach.

As the game changed further, the Counter-Pressing system spread far into Italy.

In the late 1970s, the idea of using Gegenpressing ideology really began to strengthen with Arrigo Sacchi as a pioneer at the time.

Back then, in Italian Serie A it was increasingly difficult for a team that liked to dominate the ball to win the game. Italian clubs developed their tactics around their defensive blocks, which were very difficult to break through, and recorded an average number of goals scored per game dropped to under 1.9 per game.

Arrigo Sacchi's response at the time to his Milan team, was to integrate a pressing system in which his team immediately shut down opponents whenever they lost the ball, especially in the attacking area.

Sacchi found that winning possession back on the field was the best way to create weakness in the opposing defensive block, and create scoring opportunities before the opponent had time to recover.

Since then, many other managers in the world have also tried to modify the system in their own way, with varying degrees of success.

Some important examples that are remembered by Daniel in the future, are RB Leipzig team led by Ralf Ragnick, Dortmund team and Liverpool, and Jurgen Klopp, then there is Julian Nagelsmann who coached three big German clubs, such as Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich.

It was an example of Germany, the country that really re-popularized the Gegenpressing tactics with the innovation of each coach.

' Gegenpressing allows you to win back the ball closer to the goal. There was only one pass from a very good chance. No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good gegenpressing situation, and that's why this is so important. '

Those were the words that came out of Jurgen Klopp's own mouth, proving how much he loved Gegenpressing's ideology.

Indeed, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are what Daniel tries to emulate in coaching Crsytal Palace cs at this time, from the selection of players, to the organization in the game.

Daniel is not ashamed to admit that he did choose to imitate the Gegenpressing tactical system of innovation Jurgen Klopp.Even the classmates of Arrigo Sacchi, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp themselves did mimic the tactics of their predecessors, the statement said, then innovate according to their own desires and ideologies.

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As of right now, if only Deco was five years or three years younger. Daniel believes Crsytal Palace's midfield will not be easily isolated by Tottenham Hotspur's players.

" How about Daniel?. " Lawrence asked, wanting to ascertain whether to change tactics to be more defensive, or leave it like this first.

Daniel stood up and walked to the sidelines, leaving the two of them on the bench looking at each other.

Daniel watched the development of the game after Crsytal Palace were one goal behind, having observed for a while. Daniel sees the situation still the same as before Crsytal Palace were one goal behind, Deco still in brackets in midfield.

David Bentley managed to secure the ball using his right foot, he was then blocked by Butterfield, 29-year-old Crsytal Palace left-back.

But unfortunately for Bentley, Butterfield assisted by Derry and Vardy who dropped down, was unable to penetrate the triangular defense of Crsytal Palace players. The ball was secured by the captain, Sean Derry.

Daniel walked up to Lawrence, and said. " Evote Alan to retreat slightly to the centerline, he will become the pedestal for the team's attack!. "

" Alans?, then who will be the finisher on the opposing goal line!. " Lawrence asked, a little confused by Daniel's decision to get Alan Lee, the Crsytal Palace striker down helped the midfield.

" The attack will be carried out by Jamie Vardy and Wilfred Bony, more emphasis to attack through the inside!. " Daniel explains why he wants a striker to go down to help the midfield.

Daniel intends to get Alan Lee to play as a shadow striker, with the winger going to be the mainstay of Crsytal Palace's attack.

By getting Alan Lee to step down to help the midfield, Daniel hoped this would be enough to stay in the first half, he did not want to rush to change the formation of the team.

After saying his wish, Daniel returned to the bench to sit down and re-observe how Tottenham Hotspur would react.

As expected, with Alan Lee down, the midfield commanded by Deco became more lively. Although the skill of the Palace centre striker is mediocre, it is covered by his hard work ethic.

Alan Lee this season played almost every game, with only twice he missed it due to a minor injury at the start of the season. By scoring 14 goals in the league, he is one of the top scorers of the season.

In the 42nd minute, Daniel saw the situation on the field is still going, both teams hit for opportunities to help their respective teams win the game.

But nearing the end of the game, Butterfield, who had played well throughout the game, made a fatal mistake.

Butterfield, who was carrying the ball from behind, made a mistake to pass the ball in his own defensive area.

Jermaine Defoe managed to read the ball from Butterfield, Tottenham Hotspur's main striker this season after Berbatov's departure to Manchester United, did not waste the golden opportunity he got.

In the 47th minute, Jermaine Defoe managed to tear the net Crsytal Palace for the second time.

The visitors were 0-2 up, further making it harder for Crsytal Palace to advance to the league cup final this season.

Seeing his players make fatal mistakes, Daniel is just flat-faced. He knows not to show his disappointment when the game is still going, it will further degrade the mentality of his players.

" It doesn't matter!!. Stay concentrated, the match is still going on!. " Shouted Daniel from the sidelines, cheering his players on.

Prittttttttt....... Pritttttttttttttttttttttttt.

And like that, the referee blew a long whistle marking the end of the first half. With the home side two goals down, the atmosphere at Selhurst Park stadium became a bit quiet.

The players of both sides went into their respective dressing rooms, a break before the start of the second half.