Socceroos: Postecoglou’s tactical decisions leading to risky outcomes

When Las Palmas faced Real Madrid in September 2016, a significant point about football resurfaced.
In charge of Las Palmas at the time, chess enthusiast Quique Setién said this about Luka Modrić: “Modrić would be the queen [on the chess board] because he’s so versatile and understands all the little nuances of the game. He controls the midfield and dominates all possible situations and has the mobility of a chess queen.”
Football as chess is not a new concept, but Modrić’s ability to affect a given match both with and without the ball makes for strikingly transferable logic.
In Australia’s 1-1 draw with Syria on Thursday night in Melaka, Setién’s idea about the modern midfielder’s fundamental responsibility in controlling tempo was all too apparent.
After a positive start to the match, the Socceroos gradually lost control in the middle of the park and left the king – the defence, in footballing terms – exposed.
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou’s main issue in this World Cup qualifying campaign has been maximising the individual attributes of Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogić. Dominating possession in most of its matches necessitated the switch to a three-man defence.
Although the formation switch has been highly criticised by the Australian football public and media, it was a must to increase numbers in attack.
But Postecoglou has struggled to find the right balance, which was most evident against Thailand last month.
Despite 45 shots and 75.7% of possession, Tim Cahill and Tomi Juric on the pitch at the same time helped make the Socceroos debilitatingly lateral. With Cahill effectively playing on the shoulders of the Thai defence, Mooy was not able to make a single pass to him. Numbers then converged around Rogić in crucial phases of possession closer to the Thai goal.
Of the shots generated in the opening 57 minutes against Thailand, 78.3% came as a direct result of crosses and cutbacks or spills that came from them. Australia looked fluid only once Robbie Kruse came on as a substitute.
With Kruse starting against Syria and then making way for Massimo Luongo, the team’s ability to penetrate again fluctuated. Only this time, it was in reverse.
Rogić started on the bench, but what Kruse and Matthew Leckie provided as the advanced players in Postecoglou’s box midfield was abundantly clear. There was constant movement in central areas, with the two fluidly looking to split defenders as phases of possession unfolded.
In contrast to his struggles in finding Cahill against Thailand, 15% of Mooy’s total completed passes against Syria were to Leckie and Kruse while they were both on the pitch.
Their movement underlined a critical component of play the Socceroos have lacked throughout this qualification campaign.
Considering a collective shortage of players capable in one-on-one situations, where Kruse and Leckie received the ball was dangerous in itself, as opposed to what they did with it. Their assertive positioning led to the Socceroos going 1-0 up five minutes before the interval.
Miloš Degenek’s pass forward to Leckie was a dicey one, but the initial movement forced Khaled Al-Mobayed’s attempt at full-stretch to intercept. This failed and space then opened.
Kruse’s consequent movement put him in position to give Australia the lead it deserved at that point. That same movement contributed to Tomi Jurić hitting the post in the 49th minute. But after that, Syria secured control of play.
Mooy was only able to complete one pass each to Luongo and Rukavytsya, who struggled to find any sort of rhythm.
Setién’s thinking regarding the central midfielder as queen on the chess board manifests here. As a duo in the centre of midfield, Mooy and Milligan are lacking in verticality, both in positioning and dribbling ability.
Instead of being able to create panic without the ball or attract closer attention on their first touch, they need movement in front of them in order to penetrate defensive lines. Postecoglou’s decisions to move Leckie to the right flank and replace Kruse with Massimo Luongo deprived them of it. Without that movement, Mooy is reminiscent of a dribble-happy point guard in basketball.
He is a fine passer but due to his demand for the ball and tendency to move towards it, the offence is dependent on him by extension. The collective stagnates as a result.
Against Syria, Australia’s tempo in possession became increasingly sluggish once Luongo and Nikita Rukavytsya were introduced. A drop in energy from Mooy and Milligan – who was the victim of numerous harsh fouls – also contributed, enabling the Socceroos to continually lose possession in their own half.
Removing Kruse and shifting Leckie to Josh Risdon’s initial position amplified both the lack of energy in central midfield and absence of movement in attack.
Australia’s capacity to keep the ball suffered dramatically and allowed Syria to position themselves higher up the pitch, putting the defence under pressure. Consequently, Trent Sainsbury, Degenek and debutant Matthew Jurman were forced into riskier passes closer to Mat Ryan’s goal.
In the final 27 minutes, Degenek and Jurman accounted for 37.5% of Australia’s losses of possession in their own half, which disturbingly went into double figures.
Meanwhile, Mooy was only able to complete one pass each to Luongo and Rukavytsya, who particularly struggled to find any sort of rhythm. Australia’s sole shot in that same period of time came from a dead ball, compared to 13 shots in the 63 preceding minutes.
Although the 85th minute penalty Omar Al-Soma converted was a very fortunate one, it ultimately came as a consequence of pressure from Syria. In effect, Postecoglou either ignored or sacrificed the importance of his own queen on the chess board.
Chess great Garry Kasparov wrote results are “feedback we get” on the quality of our decision making. With the crucial away goal, Australia are still in the more favourable position to progress.
Despite the positive effect Postecoglou has had on this generation of Australian football, the quality of his decision making in the search for tactical balance is leading to unnecessarily risky outcomes.

SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
posted by CAMPUS94