BY DAVID ONJILI
The year 2004 can ultimately be regarded as the year of the underdogs in football. Less fancied Porto under Jose Mourinho went on to win the Champions League, Greece on home soil beat much fancied Portugal to win the European Soccer showpiece, The EURO 2004.
Interesting to note is fact that Greece conceeded no goals in the group stages. They were defensively effecient. Yet ,this phenomenon was not new. In boxing, Buster Douglas beat the much fancied and reigning undisputed World Champion Mike Tyson. In 2016 The Cleverland Cavailers stunned favourites Golden State Warriors in The NBA Finals to overturn a 3-1 deficit to win the series 4-3.
Leicester City have produced perhaps the biggest upset in club football by winning the English Premier League 2016 at the expense of soccer giants like Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal. Atletico Madrid eliminated European Soccer powerhouses Barcelona and Bayer Munich on her way to the Champions League finals.
At the just concluded Euros in France, fancied European nations like Belgium got eliminated by Wales, Iceland eliminated England and neither Germany nor France won the trophy but rather Portugal. Despite the fact that a few regard Portugal as an underdog because of the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, it seems unfair especially when Wales too has Gareth Bale, an equally top player.
Importance of defending and organization to the underdogs.
According to former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex fergusson, “Attack wins you games but defence wins you championships”. The misconception that defence means defenders is quite baffling, yet a coach like Diego Pablo Simeone has clearly demystified this with his Atletico Madrid team. Fernando Torres and Griezmann start pressing their opponents higher up in the pitch, most often forcing the opposition defenders into mistakes and winning the ball instantly. The collective responsibility of the team, from forwards to midfielders to defenders is the very essence of defending.
A closer look at Leicester City’s journey to be crowned English champions was exciting. They played 4-4-1-1, a compact defensive unit marshalled by Morgan and Huth, a well organised midfield orchestrated by the ever running and industrious Ng’olo Kante, yet it is their attack that was effecient. Riyadh Mahrez playing off Jamie Vardy were ruthless on the counter. All they needed was a long ball from Albrighton from defence and Vardy was running down off the defenders’ shoulder or expecting a pass from Mahrez and before you knew it they were a goal ahead.
The underdog seldom dwells on possession, these teams clearly know and understand their limitations. Most of their players may not be much comfortable with the ball (dribbling, shielding and beating opponents), they compensate this with perfect organization and ruthlessness before goal. Yet, in all this, they ensure they concede the least number of goals, a perfect example being Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
Netherlands has and continues to be home to “total football.” The brainchild of Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff. The famed Ajax Academy has produced many legendary soccer players like Arsenal’s and football god, Dennis Bergkamp. Yet, at the 2014 World Cup, Louis Van Gaal embraced a defensive formation clearly away from the expansive entertaining Dutch football philosophy. He played 3-5-2 while in attack and 5-3-2 when out of possession, a defensive formation that was ruthless on the counter and we all remember one of the goals of that tournament, when Robin Van Persie dived to score with his head from an inch perfect Daley Blind cross deep from defence. By leading the Dutch to the the World Cup semi finals, Van Gaal received many plaudits for embracing that defensive set up. Something Antonio Conte perfected at The European Championships in France with an injury ravaged Italy side.
All the teams I have mentioned; Leicester, Netherland and Italy all scored identical goals from their defensive formations. For Leicester, Mahrez received a ball in their half and hit a long ball upfront and into the channels for Jamie Vardy who had seen Simon Mingnolet yards away from his goal line and without controlling the ball, Vardy struck a diping volley to score one of the best goals of the 2014-2015 Premier League season. As mentioned earlier, Van Persie too for the Dutch connected with his head a long ball from Daley Blind to score a wonderful diving header. At the Euros in France, Leonardo Bonnucci delivered a long ball from defence to Giaccerini who controlled to score the Italy opener against Belgium.
All the above goals highlight how important the counter attack is to such defensive sides who lack the luxury of playing possession build up football. Key here is that this approach dis-orients opposition teams and gives them no room to organise their defense. Before they know it a long ball has been delivered in the channels and they are in danger of conceding a goal.
In situations where they cannot play counter attack, they normally play with a target man, a big forward like Vokes for Wales, Gradziano Pelle for Italy. He is able to hold up play upfront giving his team-mates time to join in the play and is an aerial threat to opposition defenders.
Locally, Francis Kimanzi at Mathare United and Zedekiah Otieno are masters of this craft. The ‘Slum Boys’ are comfortable allowing their opponents time on the ball, yet hit them on the counter with the ever effecient Erick Johanna who links up defence and attack. He is the key to this play for Kimanzi’s boys and this explains why it is very tough to beat Mathare United in the Kenyan Sportpesa Premier League.
The team and not individual
Wales have Gareth Bale, a galactico, yet their coach Chris Coleman understands the need to build the team. The squad players save for maybe Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey are not world beaters. Antonio Conte knew his Italy side lacked Verratti and Marchissio, so he chose to have the entire team work and not expect his star players to carry them unlike Belgium, which had a glut of stars from Eden Hazard to Kevin De Bruyne to Romelu Lukaku. Marc Wilmot’s naivety made him expect these stars to lift the team and while they had moments of individual brilliance, as a unit Belgium were wanting and it was not surprising that an underdog, Wales, hammered them 3-1 in a complete display of team effort, defensive organization and ruthlessness on the counter. Mind, that another defensively organised team, Italy, had earlier beaten Belgium in the group stages and all this show how critically poor Belgium were as a team despite the individual brilliance they had.
What managers like Mourinho, Diego Simeone, Antonio Conte understand is the importance of all players contributing 200% to the team. They are well organised defensively, concede few goals and are ruthless on the counter. Playing expansive and open football is naive nowadays and this is clearly evident in Arsene Wenger’s side which has, for over a decade failed to win the Premier League.
Arsenal are easy on the eye. The side has small technical players like Santi Carzola who are fantastic on the ball yet when crunch time comes, Arsenal cannot grind out 1-nil wins. The moment opponents start pressing them while on the ball, they buckle and concede.
The very hallmark of underdogs and champions. This lack of emphasis on defense has been Wenger’s main undoing. Yet, whenever he has played defensively and sacrificed beautiful football like against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the 2013-2014 season, he has won as evident by his 2-nil victory against Pellegrini with Olivier Giroud scoring the second.
The big shift
As more tactically suave managers continue to embrace defensive football, we have seen the underdogs going all the way to finals in major tournaments. While this has thrived, lately, tournaments are coming and going without having a stand out player. The era when Ronaldinho Gaucho or Ronaldo Lima or Roberto Baggio would single handedly take their teams to glory are ebbing. Instead, it is becoming more and more of a team effort.
Coaches are using their star players but at the same moment demanding them to be more of team players. It was evident in the semi finals of EURO 2016 when Cristiano Ronaldo, a very individualistic player was seen doing defensive job for his side. Deep down in midfield, he was present to collect the ball and help out whenever the side was defending.
Despite the injury and some lovely backheel, isn’t it odd that the Euro 2016 ended with Portugal winning and Ronaldo, arguably the best footballer of this generation not being their best player of the tournament. Would this be heard of in the Diego Maradona, Pele or Cruyff era? Surely the team is reigning over the individual.
Gregg Poppovich, arguably the most successful NBA basketball coach after Phil Jackson, had some interesting points to make on how they recuit players at their San Antonio Spurs franchise. He talked of how the coaching staff followed on a player they were interested in to see how he interacted with others, how he reacted to being under pressure and during adversity, and more important how he would give up himself for the collective good of his team. To him, talent was not that important but the personal traits of a player of self sacrifice.
Yet, therein lies the key component of all underdogs – the team, not individuals. It is a collective effort not individual glory that the players seek. As football moves from tiki taka (possession based football) the underdog are showing the new blue print of success – the team over the individual.
