Pep Guardiola’s stubborn insistence in playing out from the back provoked the self-righteous defenders of English football’s most hallowed relic: the long ball. Antonio Conte is outpacing Guardiola by balancing England’s traditions with his European style.
Pep Guardiola’s style of play was hailed as revolutionary and derided as naive when he arrive it England. For all the success it brought him, many believed it would not work in England. For once, the pundits were not entirely wrong.
The narrative ahead of the Manchester City vs Arsenal game revolved around first balls, tackles and second balls. These are the most cliched English commentary buzzwords. Witnessing two aerial gladiators compete for the first ball has been a foundation of English football.
The long-ball tradition is so ingrained that anyone who dissents or tries something new is branded a heretic. English pundits are ever ready with their pitchforks to fend off the European sacrilege of playing from the back.
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English forwards of old built their reputations on the ability to bully opposition defenders into submission. The big English center-forward was the starting point of all attacks.
But in the past six years or so, English football has lost its foothold at the top of the European hierarchy. This realization left Premier League clubs scrambling to ensure that they are not left behind by Europe’s tactical domination.
Spain’s and Germany’s continued success through possession-based football sets the standard for the rest of the continent. Their example shows England that it must adapt its game if they hope to win international trophies. But moving away fully from the traditionally physical nature of the game has proven impossible. Many before Pep Guardiola have tried to find the right balance, and have not succeeded.
In a very short time, Chelsea and Antonio Conte have quietly done just that.From the start, Conte insisted that he wanted Chelsea to play out from the back. His summer targets were players who would enable his team to safely play the ball out from under pressure and pass it to the feet of the attacking players.
Why is this so important for Chelsea? Why not boot it up the field like the Sean Dyche’s and Tony Pulis’s of the world?
The answer boils down to where the Blues’ attacking threat lies. Didier Drogba is no longer around to harass opposition defenders until they submit to his will. While Diego Costa has the same bullish spirit, he cannot reliably take the ball down on his chest while holding off three players.
Costa wants to take the ball in his stride already moving. He looks to have the ball played into space or where he can turn into space. Eden Hazard likewise wants the ball fed to his feet so he can turn and terrorise opposition midfields and defenses.
The other rationale in favor of playing out is how it opens space to exploit behind the defense. This makes Costa’s and Pedro’s job that much easier. They can attack this space with relish and create high quality chances. This was on full display vs Everton. Chelsea played their way out of Everton pressure and found space where they normally would not have. Everton helped matters by playing a very poor three-man backline, but the result would have been very similar.
Chelsea have displayed various styles of football, patterns of play and front-to-back ball movement in their run of 11 victories. At times, it looked like Chelsea had been found out. Each time, Conte adjusted formation mid-game. He could shift the emphasis from Cesar Azpilicueta to Gary Cahill. He could have David Luiz step up, or play it long to Marcos Alonso. Alonso’s size and leap enables him to win headers much as Branislav Ivanovic did in his heyday.
The tactical shifts are the method behind the apparent madness of wanting to invite pressure onto Cahill and Azpilicueta. Neither inspire confidence on the ball, yet they capably execute the play. They practice these patterns time and again on the training pitch. This translates into fluid ball movement during the game to the attacking players.
Remarkably, Chelsea accomplishes this without the best passer in the team. So far, Cesc Fabregas has been a secret weapon held in reserve. Conte may be preparing to unleash Fabregas on the league in the second half of the season to continue Chelsea’s momentum and extend their Premier League lead.
The Premier League has shown that it has the best collection of managerial talent in the world. The only way a manager can stay at the top is to be unpredictable. Jose Mourinho failed at this, unable or unwilling to evolve his title-winning team.
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Antonio Conte faced just this criticism during his Juventus days. Since then he has learned his lesson, showing a remarkable adaptability even in his early days at Chelsea. The extra midweek preparation time he has is helping him train Chelsea for games at a microlevel. But it is also an opportunity for Conte to lay a good foundation of tactical work. He could take the final step for a team that has struggled to adopt modern styles of football.