Guide to Analyzing Football Matches

By: Adin Osmanbasic

(twitter: @counterpressing)

Guide to Analyzing Football Matches

INTRO

This is some insight on how I look at games and I hope this guide can give you the tools

you need to better understand the games you watch.

I will describe things to look for in a match, and picture examples of each thing I list.

However, I couldn’t possibly list every single thing that happens tactically in every single

match. Each game of football is different, there are various different formations, various

different coaching philosophies, and various different players with different playing

characteristics on a field at one time. That’s part of the reason we love the sport though,

because so many different variables go into creating a single football match that its

impossible for two matches to be exactly the same, every game is new so the sport will

always be exciting!

TEAM POSITIONING

It is important that you understand how positioning and movements affect the game

overall. Learn to watch the game as a whole and understand how each action of a team

causes a reaction and how that affects the game.

Here we have an example of Dortmund playing vs. Bayern in the 2013 CL final,

Dortmund is playing a high line, but their forwards are not aggressively pressing.

The

forwards

are laying

off the

Bayern

defenders

and

covering

passes into

the Bayern Munich central midfielders, this makes the midfield very congested and

forces Bayern’s defenders to try and play long balls over the midfield in behind the

Dortmund defense to their forwards, or else they would lose the ball in a dangerous

area and risk being countered while they are very disorganized. Dortmund’s

positioning and movement of their defensive line and forwards forced Bayern to

alter their approach in their offensive organization and made them play long balls,

they found Robben in behind Dortmund a couple of times throughout the match.

FORMATION MATCHUPS

Pay attention to the formations (and change of formations) of both teams and how they

match up with each other during a game.

Here we have an example of a 4-4-

2 vs. a 4-3-3 formation in the 2010

CL Final with Barcelona vs.

Manchester United. As you can see

the matchups show that Barcelona

have 3 central midfielders

(sometimes 4 when Messi drops

deeper) vs. United’s 2 central

midfielders (sometimes 3 when

Rooney drops deeper, but he did a

poor job of marking Busquets in

this match), you can also see that

United has 2 wide players and 2

strikers matched up with

Barcelona’s back 4, so there is a 4 vs. 4 situation there.

Another interesting formation matchup is Bayern vs. Napoli in the 2011 CL, Napoli

plays a 3-4-3 in this match and Bayern played their usual 4-2-3-1, The Napoli wide

midfielders and Bayern’s wide midfielders matched up man to man, and Bayern’s

two holding midfielders matched

up man to man with Napoli’s 2

central midfielders, the interesting

part here is that Napoli should

have had a 3 on 2 man advantage.

Their 3 center backs vs. Kroos and

Gomez, but what Kroos did

intelligently was he played deeper

as 3rd central midfielder instead of

closer to Gomez. This gave Bayern

a 3 vs. 2 advantage in the center of

the field with Napoli having 3

center backs on only Mario

Gomez. Kroos would make runs

from deep unmarked and eventually scored from the edge of the box.

Here we have an example of a formation switch in the middle of a match, in this El

Clasico in 2011, Barcelona and Real Madrid initially matched up man to man in the

center perfectly and each had a spare man in defense.

20 minutes into the match Guardiola switches the tactics. He pushes Alves high on

the right, moves Sanchez into the center forward position and drops Messi deep into

a #10 playmaker role. This formation switch left Barcelona at the back 3 vs. 3

against Madrid’s attackers, but it gave them a 4 vs. 3 advantage in the center.

These are some examples of formation matchups and how they effect a football

match tactically, it is very

important to always know how the

teams on the field set out to play

each other.

PLAYER CHARACTERISTICS

Look at the characteristics of each player and how they affect the team’s formation and

the opponents positioning. Always note the horizontal width of teams that you are

watching, see if the team is playing very narrow, or very wide. Also notice whether the

team is vertically compact or not. If they are vertically compact the space between all the

lines would be very small and hard to play through, if they aren’t compact vertically there

would be more space in between the lines and it’d be easier to play through the midfield.

Here is an example of Silva and Iniesta as wingers, they like to drift inside and

combine with the central midfielders which makes the Spanish team very narrow up

top. This forces them through very congested areas in order to break through a

defense, they occasionally had a tough time breaking through defenses in the Euro

2012 tournament. The width in that team was more so offered from the fullbacks

Arbeloa and Jordi Alba.

In contrast, Pedro and

Navas are wingers that prefer to

get wide. Having them on the field

instead would have more

than likely stretched the

opponent’s defense wider.

This would leave more

gaps to be exploited in

between defenders, but

the wingers would be farther away

from the central attacker.

Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan (The great Milan side of the late 80s) was vertically compact

at all times, he had a rule where the maximum length allowed between his attacking

line and his defending line would be 25 meters. They were very hard to play

through.

Bayern in 2013 are also vertically compact and great at moving as a as a unit on the

pitch. Here we see them vs. Arsenal in the 2013 CL away, this moment is in their

defensive organization after extended periods of Arsenal possession. They are very

compact and narrow, they are looking to push Arsenal toward the sidelines with

their defense. They defended very well in this game, they got back quickly in

transition, and defended as a unit when they got organized.

Another good example is Kroos vs. Schalke this season. He moves very intelligently

in the #10 role. In this game he would move wide to drag the single holder with him

and leave space to be exploited by Muller. If the holder didn’t follow Kroos wide,

then Kroos knew he could

overload the flanks with his

wingers vs. just one fullback. It is

important to watch out for these

little positional movements during

a game because they can be game

changers.

PATTERNS AND PARTNERSHIPS/MINI-SOCIETIES

It is also important to notice when certain players have a partnership with each other. In a

4-4-2 the front two strikers could have a tendency to try and combine with each other and

play 1-2s in behind the defense instead of playing it wide or back to the center. They are

more likely to try and create in their striker-partnership than with other players.

An example of this would be the

striker partnership of Manchester

United’s Dwight Yorke and Andy

Cole in the 1999 season, these two

would always look to combine with

each other through wall passes or

lay offs to attempt to create goal

scoring chances for each other.

A group of players close to each other on the field who look to make plays within

their group are called a mini-society, they have certain tendencies/patterns. An

example of a mini-society is when Iniesta played left winger, Fabregas played left

center midfielder, and Jordi Alba

played left back in 2013 for

Barcelona. Alba would push up

the flank and Iniesta would drift

inside and these 3 would

constantly combine with each

other and look to create dangerous

offense. It is important to notice

when a group of players have a

tendency to try and link up on the

field so it can be analyzed and

prepared for properly.

SET PIECES

Set pieces are different for almost every team, but there are things to look for in each

team. During kick off look for what a team likes to do most of the time. Maybe they like

to play a long ball immediately down the flank and begin pressing immediately, or play

the ball back to their defenders and keep possession.

Notice if teams are good or at defending or attacking goal kicks, or whether they like to

play long or short goal kicks. If they play them long, do they play it down the flanks or in

the center? Notice if they have a ball winning player during long kicks. If a team likes to

play short goal kicks, who do they like to play it too and what’s their routine?

Here we have an example of how Barcelona like to take short goal kicks if everyone

is marked. Barcelona like to take short goal kicks because they are a shorter team

and they are more likely to keep this way. We see the two Barcelona center backs

split very far apart being marked,

while the fullbacks push up very

high. Once the center backs are

split Sergio Busquets (Barcelona’s

holding midfielder) likes to drop

in-between them and collect the

ball usually not being pressed.

If Busquets is being pressed he comes deep and drags the defender with him. This

means that the two center backs and Busquets are all covered, this leaves the 2

fullbacks, the two central midfielders, and usually Messi (who likes to play deeper)

around the center of the field. This is usually in numerical favor for Barcelona so

Valdes will look for the best option and pass it to them safely.

Note if the team has accurate and dangerous set piece takers. When attacking a free kick

look at how many players the team usually puts into the box, around the box, and how

many they leave behind to defend against the break. It’s also worth noting if a team is

very good or bad at defending counter attacks after a loss of possession during a set

piece. Watch for any tricky set piece plays. It is important to note if a team is very

aggressive at attacking 2nd balls into the box. A 2nd ball is when the initial cross isn’t

successful but the ball is still in the area. Notice if the team has any dangerous player who

can do a long throw into the box. On corner kicks a lot of different teams have different

routines. They would just have to be watched to understand what they like to do. Note if

the team prefers attacking the near or far post, if they like short corners, and how many

players are attacking the corner.

When looking at how a team defends free kicks, it is important to notice how many

players they put in the wall, and if those players like to jump during a free kick. Notice if

they leave any free men outside of the box to stop set piece plays, and how many players

they leave up top ready to counterattack.

In the 2012 CL Madrid scored their only goal in a 2-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the

first leg of the semifinal after leaving 4 players up top and counter attacking after a

set piece.

Notice if their keeper is solid during set pieces or if he makes any mistakes. When

defending corners look if the team is using man marking or zonal marking.

Here we have an example of how Barcelona like to defend corners using zonal

marking. Regardless of what the opponent is doing Barcelona like to put their two

best headers of the ball defending the front post zone, and the zone around the

penalty spot about 6 yards out from the goal, because these are the most dangerous

areas. They usually put Pique near the front post and Puyol near the penalty spot

zone. They also put a man just in front of the front post man, his job is to cut out

and low and short corners that a team might try as a surprise. This man is usually

Xavi. They also have a man sitting just at the edge of the box anticipating a cross cut

back into that area, and they block any shots from outside of the box. The other

players defending in line with the 6 yard box make sure the back post is covered.

Barcelona also usually have 2 or 3 players around the penalty spot about 10 yards

out from goal defending any runners into the box, and not allowing them to get a

running jump. Another important thing to note is that Barcelona never have any

players on either of the posts, this is because as soon as the set piece is cleared, they

like to immediately push up and play an offside trap, and if players were on the

posts, this would be very difficult to do.

4 MOMENTS OF THE GAME

Pay attention to how both teams react to the 4 moments of a match.

Those moments are: Offensive Organization, Defensive Organization, Offensive

Transition, and Defensive Transition

Offensive organization - This is when the team with the ball has settled into possession

and begins to build their attack, attempting to dis-organize and unbalance a team that is

set up in defensive organization.

If the team wins the ball high up the field they can either try a quick counter attack

against the unorganized defense, or they can begin to set up their offensive organization

in the opponents half, but if the team starts to set up offensive organization in their own

half (ball won deep in own half), how does the team attempt to progress the ball up the

field?

A good example here is when Barcelona are trying to build the play from the back,

their goal keeper has the ball and the two center backs spread out wide, which

pushes the fullbacks very high up the field. When the two center backs split, their

holding midfielder, Sergio

Busquets, drops in between the

two center backs and collects the

ball and looks to play it

immediately forward to one of the

fullbacks to progress the play up

the field.

Also note that when building from the back if teams like to use their goalkeeper,

and if he is a good long and short passer. Bayern used Neuer very well in their 4-0

victory over Barcelona.

Pay attention to how the team in possession attempts to disorganize the defense. Do they

have appropriate width? are they are too narrow? These are questions you must ask

yourself. See if they circulate the ball with good speed or if they circulate it too slowly.

A good example here is how Barcelona attempted to break down the narrow AC

Milan side in the 2012 CL. Barcelona are usually very good at moving the ball with

speed and unbalancing the defensive team with the movement of the ball. As a

result, the defensive team doesn’t

have time to read the passes and

set up comfortably. Milan played a

very narrow 4-4-2 diamond

formation vs. Barcelona. The

center of the pitch was very

congested, but that’s where

Barcelona like to play. Even if

Messi dropped deeper there would

be a 4 vs. 4 situation in the center.

So what Guardiola did to counter this was he set out in a 3-3-4 formation. The two

wide players in the front 4 (Alves and Cuenca) were always on the sideline, giving

maximum width and stretching the Milan defense as much as possible. The two

wide players allowed for more

space in the center for Barcelona

to play in and more gaps in the

defense to possibly penetrate. The

central two of the front 4 were

Messi and Fabregas, Fabregas

would drop deeper to create a 4 vs.

4 situation in the center when

needed, while still supporting the

attack. Barcelona still had the 3 vs.

2 man advantage in defense vs.

Milan’s two forwards. Barcelona

ended up winning this game 3-1

because they set up their offensive

organization very well in order to

unbalance this AC Milan side.

Notice how the team looks to penetrate the defense, do they use long balls or short

passing? Do they mainly look to cross the ball into the box, to penetrate with runs in

behind the defense, or direct dribbling?

A good example of a team who can

do all of this is Bayern Munich.

They have the 2nd best possession

% in Europe so they are very good

at penetrating defenses with quick

passes. At the same time they have

target men strikers like Mario

Gomez and Mandzukic who can

pose as an aerial threat from

crosses and occupy the center

backs. They also have good

dribblers who can beat players

and drag other defenders out of

position. Arjen Robben and

Franck Ribery are great examples, and their actions can cause an imbalance in the

defense. Robben and Ribery also provide quick runs that can break through a

defensive line with a well timed ball. Lahm and Alaba also provide runs in behind

the defense along with width on the pitch.

Keep an eye out for any tendencies a team may have when crossing into the box.

Here is an example of Lewandowski attacking the far post whenever a ball is being

crossed in from the left.

Defensive organization - This is when the team without the ball has settled into their

defensive shape and begin to try and stop the opponents attack, attempting to stay

organized and balanced while pressuring the opponent into mistakes and regaining the

ball.

Pay attention to how the opponent sets up on defense, look at how high their defensive

line is. Pay attention to how narrow the team plays horizontally. How narrow is the team

vertically? Are they allowing space in between the lines? These are some basic questions

to ask yourself when looking at a team who is set up in defensive organization. Does the

team press or do they aim to sit off and cover passing lanes? Are the defenders trying to

pressure the opponents to the sidelines, or inside into traffic? There are different types of

presses. Do the pressing team press aggressively in large numbers? Or do one or two

players aim to press the ball with the rest covering the nearest passing options?

A good example of a team set up in defensive organization is the example I used

earlier, Bayern Munich defending against Arsenal after extended periods of Arsenal

possession in the 2013 CL. Here Bayern have all 10 of their players back defending

in a compact unit, with their defensive line on the edge of their own box. They don’t

allow any passes in between their lines, they play very narrow and allow Arsenal

space out wide. Once Arsenal are out wide, Bayern shift over as a defense and don’t

let them pass back across the field and pressure them into mistake against the

sideline. Pep Guardiola is quoted saying “The sideline is the world’s best defender.”

When Bayern were in defensive organization they aimed to push teams against the

sidelines and regain the ball.

Offensive transition - When the defensive team regains possession of the ball, they have

the option of either quickly counter attacking if the other team is defensively

unorganized, or beginning to build their offensive organization.

Take note of whether the team would rather build their offensive organization or try to

quickly counter attack. How does the counter attacking aim to attack? Are they

immediately and quickly trying to exploit the unorganized areas, and which areas of the

defensive team are unorganized and open to attack?

Here we have an example of Real Madrid exposing

the unorganized areas in Barcelona’s defense

immediately after winning the ball in the 2013

Copa Del Rey semifinal. Barcelona’s fullbacks

(Alves and Alba) like to move up very high, this

leaves space in behind them down the flanks for

Madrid’s wingers (Di Maria and Ronaldo) to

exploit. This means that the only defensive players Barcelona have back are Pique,

Puyol, and Busquets. Madrid’s wingers are extremely quick and were too fast in

transition for Barcelona’s center backs and holding midfielder alone, Madrid ended

up winning this game 3-1. Pay attention to what style the team likes to counter attack

in. Do they like to counter with a lot of players going forward or do they like to counter

with only a few quick players?

Madrid like to play an out ball to Ronaldo usually through the defense. Ronaldo

positions himself to be very dangerous on the break and then he either scores,

assists, or plays a good pass for the team to continue the break. The down side to

that is that Ronaldo neglects his defensive duties in order to be in a good position to

break and that can be taken advantage of.

Barcelona like to close down the ball high up the pitch and once they win the ball

they are usually around 30 yards away from goal instead of 80, then they try to

quickly break through the defense of the team who just lost possession because they

are unorganized.

How do they get the ball outside of the pressing zone once the ball is won back? Does the

team usually try to play a long ball forward immediately after winning it or use short

passing to try and get out of the immediate pressing zone? Once a team has lost the ball,

they usually have a large amount of players around the ball. Those players then

immediately try and pressure the team who just won the ball into making a mistake. This

is what’s known as a pressing zone. Some teams might not have the ability to short pass

their way out of an immediate aggressive press so they might launch long balls as soon as

they win the ball. This can be very risky and lose them the ball very quickly after

regaining it.

Defensive transition - When the offensive team loses possession of the ball, they have

the option of immediately pressing after losing the ball to try and regain it quickly, or the

team can get back quickly in transition and set up their defensive organization to try and

regain the ball.

Is the team very organized and hardworking in getting back in defensive transition? If so

then team who just won possession might look to build offensive organization more often

than trying to counter attack.

Bayern Munich get back in defensive transition very well so it is hard to counter

attack them. They are also very organized in defensive organization which makes

them a very good defensive team. They have had an amazing defensive record in the

2013 season and its due to their great defensive transitioning and their great

defensive organization.

Is the team weak in defensive transition and leaves spaces open to be exploited? If ball is

lost in dangerous area with defense exposed, how do they drop back and set up their

defensive organization? There are different things certain teams might do when their back

line is exposed in transition. Some may keep dropping back very deep with their back

line looking to hold off the attack until the rest of the team transitions back, others may

look to hold their line and catch the opposition offside.

When Barcelona’s back 4 are exposed in transition, they change formation. The

closest defender steps out and presses the ball, and the other 3 form a solid back 3

behind the defender who stepped out, this way they still have depth in their defense

and can stop most attacks until the rest of the team gets back in transition.

How aggressive is their pressing zone is once the ball is lost? Do 3 or 4 players

immediately press to try and win the ball back as quick as possible, or does the team

cover up and make one man press? Notice how the team reacts to losing the ball. Do they

all immediately look to drop back and set up defensive organization, or do they all look

to push up and press to win the ball back quickly. An important thing to look for is how

quickly the other team reacts to losing the ball. Do they react slowly when switching their

mindset to defense and getting back, or pressing the ball? If they are too slow they can be

exposed.

GREAT COACHES

The best coaches can analyze all of this in a game and make the right adjustments to their

team to give them the best chance of victory. Pep Guardiola is one of the great coaches

who can change formations in game and make substitutions in positions where he thinks

a player with different characteristics could help the team win if they played that certain

position. He is a coach that is constantly evolving and changing how his team plays while

keeping the teams core beliefs. This makes him difficult to figure out and read. If you

play the same way every game you will eventually be figured out and will begin losing.

There are also other great coaches capable of this in the game today, Pep is just a great

example I used.