Hans de Jong (1)

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HANS DE JONG, SCOUT SC HEERENVEEN ON GAME ANALYSIS

"The players should be

able to execute it"

One of the biggest tactical dilemmas in soccer is still the question whether a team can

play their own game or whether they should adjust to their opponent. The truth lies

somewhere in the middle and is dependent on many factors. The coach makes his

choices on the playing style in advance, while on the field it is the players who make the

choices. One of Hans de Jong's jobs, being an analyst/scout at SC Heerenveen, is to

provide a game analysis of the next opponent. This is how he supports sc Heerenveen

coach Jan Everse with the decisions that are needed tactically. At the amateur level

scouting your opponent is not very common. This means the coach and the players

have to be more aware during a game, and that they should quickly identify the

opportunities and threats. SoccerCoachingInternational spoke extensively with Hans de

Jong, which resulted in a series on game analysis and its effect on a team's playing

style. This first article focuses on the differences in game analysis at various levels.

Furthermore, it covers the possibilities for a coach who plays in a 4-3-3 and is facedwith an opponent who also plays a 4-3-3.

By: Hans Slender

Analysis


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"When I prepare a game analysis for SC

Heerenveen, it's mainly about looking at

very specific aspects of the opponent,"

which is according to Hans de Jong one of

the ways to make a game analysis. "I often

analyze one of the next opponents. If we

have to play, say, Heracles Almelo awaysoon, then I'll try to watch them during one

of their home games. Normally, the process

exists of observing their playing styles,

individual players and comparing their

capabilities to ours. This last step is done

by our head coach. He decides how theanalysis is used to put together our own

team. Also the playing styles often are less

relevant in professional soccer, because

everybody knows who plays 4-3-3 and who

plays 4-4-2. So we look very specifically at

individual players and the way they are

functioning in their positions. That is how

you try to collect information on thestrengths and weaknesses of an opponent.

When you do this it is important to

differentiate between home and away

games, because this can make a difference

in the playing style. For more important

matches we try to watch the opponent athome as well as away. With bigger clubs at


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the national level you rarely see an changes

in how they play at home or away. However,

the teams at the bottom of the standings dochange their playing style depending on

whether they are playing on home turf or

not. In order to analyze an opponent you

should always try to pick a game which is

closest to the actual game day, because a

lot can happen in a few weeks time. Just

think of injured and suspended players."

Tactical details

"In The Netherlands a lot of teams choose a

recognizable playing style. Most of them

play with four players in the last line. There

are rarely major diversions from this.

Another important choice is whether to play

with two or three forwards, but again there

are very few coaches who change this

around. The important factor at the

professional level is the transition phase.

How does the opponent react when they

lose possession? How is their positioning?

Generally there are two possibilities when

there's a turnover: apply full team pressure

on the ball or quickly get back into position.

Sometimes you see teams struggling with

this, as they are not sure what to do. In thiscase one or two players are applying

pressure while the rest is retreating. It is my

job to pick up on this, as these situations

provide a huge opportunity for us. Our

coach can then decide how he wants to

deal with this: immediately go deep or playon ball possession." The focus in the

analysis at the professional level is based on

tactical details and the way in which

individual players execute their tasks withintheir specific qualities. "This is where the

tactical game start: who will adjust? Are you

going to play with three defenders against

two attackers? Which striker will perform

best against the next opponent's central

defense? These are details that are very

important at the highest level, but of less

importance at the amateur level."

Top amateur division

At the top amateur level, mainly in the top

amateur division, there are several clubs

who also analyze their next opponents.

Hans de Jong once worked as a coach of a

top amateur team and so speaks from

experience. "I too wanted my next

opponent to be analyzed. It was mainly

about the bigger picture. What is their

playing style and who are their best

players? You can inform your team about

these details, but you always have to ask

yourself as a coach whether your players

are ready for such information, and if they

can do something with it. It does not have

anything to do with the quality of the gameanalysis, but more with the lack of training

time. If you only practice once or twice a

week, then you should use this time for the

development of your own playing style.

Spending time on the opponent will be less

important. Either way, it is always useful tohave information on your opponent."


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Lower level

At the lower amateur level and at the youth

level there is close to no possibility toanalyze the opponent in advance. Many

coaches nowadays use game reports from

the internet or just call friends to find out

something about their next opponent. But

it's always questionable whether this

information is reliable. And it will always be

just a guess how the opponent is going to

play. According to Hans de Jong in these

cases its a matter of 'how quickly can you

identify the playing style of the opponent as

a coach?' This is the main question for an

amateur coach. "The first thing that you

want to see as a coach is where your open

player is. And when you have spotted him,

what can you do with him? You can decide

this in advance and practice different

aspects, but during the match your

possibilities to influence your players are

limited and it's mainly up to them to decidewhat to do with this."

Open player

"If both teams are playing in a 4-3-3, then

normally you'll find the open player in the

last line on both sides. But if both sides areplaying with a triangle on midfield and with

the point backwards, then often the

defensive midfielder will be the open player.

When you play with the point forward, is the

number 10 open, or do players switch?

These are interesting questions concerningthe playing style. You often see that this is

solved by players themselves during the

game. At the amateur level you almost

always see the creation of pairs (directopponents - Ed.). They hardly ever play in


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the zone. When one team plays with a deep

midfielder and the opponent isn't playing

with a controlling player, then someone willhave to eventually pick up this deep

midfielder. You often see the left or right

midfielder shift. So with this you actually

change your own playing style. This doesn'tmean this is bad, but you should be


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prepared for it. In this situation it is the

opponent who dominates, as they forced

your team to adjust. The team who adjustswill be faced with a weaker organization.

When the opponent's right midfielder

covers our number 10, he can move a little

more to the right on purpose to force the

opponent out of their organization some

more. It's questionable how far you should

go with this, but it's definitely interesting."

Adjust?

The coach analyzes the opponent and

notices the opponents strengths and

weaknesses. But what do you do with this

information? Are you going to adjust your

own playing style or not? "There's a

difference between adjusting and adjusting,"

de Jong says cryptically. "You can adjust

because you fear your opponent and try to

neutralize their strengths. Adjusting can also

result in taking advantage of the opponentsweaknesses. This is dependant on the kind

of soccer culture you're in. In Belgium they

adjust faster by nature, and this is reflected

in their competition. Belgian coaches always

keep the opponents playing style into

consideration. In England, it is different, theyalways play in a 4-4-2. Here you will see

adjustments in players and positions. In The

Netherlands there are many coaches

inclined to play their own playing style and

make less adjustments. We can consciously

take advantage of the weaknesses of theopponent."

Recognize

What matters in the end is that players can

recognize this. As a coach, who is on thesideline you can analyze all you want, but to

quickly move things around on the field is

very difficult. "You can only adjust at

halftime and with substitutes. That is why its

important to discuss this beforehand and to

train on how to respond to different playing

styles. At SC Heerenveen we try to teach

our players, from as early as the U13s, how

to recognize playing styles and how to play

against them. They have to recognize the

open player on their own. At the under 17s

and under 19s they are capable of solving

these type of situations on their own,

without the coach's interference. We

choose for this very consciously as an

academy. When you are on the sideline you

can spot a playing style very quickly. At a

goal kick, for example, you have a great

view of both teams' playing styles, asplayers automatically take their positions.

But the players on the field are the ones that

have to recognize it and do something with

it. Teaching players to recognize this and to

make decision based on what they see is an

important factor. You should, however nottake this too far. You shouldn't create a

situation in which everyone is coaching and

positioning their teammates, because they

will forget that there is a soccer game to

play. Ideally you have one or two players

who dictate this."


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Say we are playing a 4-3-3 with the

point forward. What are the options

and problems we're possiblyconfronted with when the

opponent also is playing a 4-3-3?

"When two teams both play in a 4-

3-3, then it's mainly about the

positioning on midfield. Generally

both teams will play with four

defenders. There are only a few

teams who play with three

defenders against three attackers.

The only situation in which you play

1v1 during a game, is when the

forward-playing midfielder plays so

deep that he is essentially playing

as a forward. This creates a 4v4

situation, whereby the spaces are

pretty small. Does the opponent

play with the point backwards

(diagram 1), then there will be very

few problems. Both teams will havean open player in the last line and

the remainder of the players on the

field are all paired up with a direct

opponent. This is clear-cut for

everyone and it now all comes

down to quality. The interestingsituations arise when both teams

play with the point forward or

backward on midfield."

Diagram 1: 4-3-3 with the point forward vs. 4-3-3 with the point backward

4-3-3 with the point forward

vs. 4-3-3 with the point backward

Diagrams


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"When both teams are playing with

the point forward on midfield, then

it's about examining the qualities.Where are the qualities of the

opponent and what are our

qualities? How can we solve this

situation to our advantage?

Generally, the forward-playing

midfielder will become the open

player on both sides. One of the

teams will most likely adjust in one

of two directions. You can either

shift players and, for example, start

to play with the point backward

(diagram 2). It's important to look

how this fits with the qualities of

your players. Does your number 10

function well as a right of left

midfielder? Do you have a left or

right midfielder who can play well

as a controller. The qualities of the

players determine the solution."

"The second way is to adopt a

different playing style when the

opponent is in possession. There

are teams who can manage this.

You can choose to play with thepoint forward in possession and

when the opponent gains

possession shift and sag

immediately and start to play with a

controlling player. This shift and sag

(diagram 3) is then adopted after

Diagram 2: 4-3-3 with the point forward vs.4-3-3 with the point forward (shift and sag)

4-3-3 with the point forward

vs. 4-3-3 with the point forward

Diagrams


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every transition. You don't see this

adaptation very frequently at the

amateur level, which is often due tofear. Imagine the shifting and

sagging doesn't work, the

opponents number 10 will then be

wide open. When the opponents

number 10 continues to play deep,

then someone from the last line can

step forward to pick him up (see

diagram 3). There are a lot of

number 10s who play deep and

seek the last line (between the lines

or even a little farther). You then

have two choices, the open player

will pick him up or one of the

midfielders will follow him. This last

option will create a lot of

commotion, as you will be playing

with five players in the last line. You

often see this happen in a strong

last man/sweeper relation. A lastman like that doesn't like to pick up

a direct opponent, which has

consequences and risks. The

benefits of a very deep playing

number 10 is that the wingbacks

will be more open. All the attentionis focused on the center. When you

have good wingers in 1v1

situations, you may play with a

deep number 10, even if it is just to

create a 1v1 situation on the

flanks."

Diagram 3: 4-3-3 with the point forward vs. 4-3-3with the point forward (covering through)

Diagrams


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Di


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When both teams are playing with

the point backward (diagram 4),

then for the most part the samesituations apply as when both

teams are playing with the point

forward. One team can adjust, or

you can vary the playing style in

possession and opponent's

possession. What you often see is

that both controlling players look for

each other and that both teams

play with a flat midfield. You will

notice that in these situations no

one really dares to cover through

and the controllers are able to build

up reasonably easy. "When you

want to go further than this, you can

make the deal that two players go

and one stays in position, but that

these players don't always have to

be the same ones. This should be

executed by players who possessall-round qualities. If you have these

type of players, you can use them

and create an advantage as this

situation is very hard to defend. At a

higher level there are teams who

play with a rotating midfield. But fora lot of teams this is too much to

ask. This is all about what you

discussed prior to the game and

what tasks the players have been

assigned in certain playing style."

Diagram 4: 4-3-3 with the point backward vs. 4-3-3 with the point backward

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4-3-3 with the point backward

vs. 4-3-3 with the point backward

Diagrams

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