ons This, in turn, opens up a pocket of space that

the full-back can exploit, receiving the ball

directly from the backline and then progressing
it into the final third with a penetrative pass inbehind the opposition’s defence.
The same process can be executed with a
midfielder dropping deeper instead of the
forward, as This, in turn, opens up a pocket of space that
the full-back can exploit, receiving the ball
directly from the backline and then progressing
it into the final third with a penetrative pass inbehind the opposition’s defence.
The same process can be executed with a
midfielder dropping deeper instead of the
forward, as long as they move the markers
and create those little pockets of space for the
full-back. The role of the wingers is equally
important as they are the ones stretching the
defensive line as well.

Pressing and transiti long as they move the

markers
and create those little pockets of space for the
full-back. The role of the wingers is equally
important as they are the ones stretching the
defensive line as well.

Pressing and transitions

T he final part of this tactical analysis will look at how Ramírez likes his team to set
up
during the defensive phase and in transitions.
Generally speaking, Independiente will enforce
a high and aggressive press but this depends
on the state of the game and the position the
team is in.
There is no clear structure Ramírez has set in
stone for their pressing tactics but they do seem
to employ a mix between a zonal and manmarking system. To put it simply, his
players
occupy certain areas on the pitch and then
press an opponent who receives the ball or is
about to receive the ball in that specific zone
they’re responsible for covering.
Of course, this sometimes means they won’t
be marking their counterparts tightly but will
engage them if the ball is recycled their way
or their man has already received it. Once that
happens, they will start with the press. Let’s
observe an example of that below.
Notice how the wide player stays relatively
far from the opposition’s backline, blocking
the channels towards the central areas but as
soon as the centre-back in his zone is about to
receive the ball, he engages in a press.
It’s also worth noting down the positioning of
the other players, all of whom seem to have
their designated counterpart to mark but don’t
necessarily stay tight to them, as mentioned
earlier in this tactical analysis.
In general, there are also some basic pressing
triggers that I have noticed them consistently
follow: the opposition receiving the ball with
back to goal, recycling the ball out wide to the
full-backs or the wide centre-backs and instant
counter-pressing immediately upon losing
the ball but only when the situation and the
structure allow them to do it.
Overall, even though they are showing a
high dose of aggressiveness in their counterpressing, that is not exclusively among
their goto tactics. The reason behind that is that their
basic structure and positioning rarely allows for
successful counter-press. Let’s observe that in
the following example.
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Independiente have just progressed the ball
from the goalkeeper to the inverted full-back
and then into the final third with three piercing
through balls. However, the final ball was
intercepted and there wasn’t anyone close
enough to start the immediate counter-press.
The reason for that lies in their initial structure.
Since the pivot regularly drops between the
centre-backs and the remaining two central
midfielders are positioned between the
opposition’s first and second line of press to
achieve superiority, there are not enough bodies
higher up the pitch for an immediate counterpress.
Naturally, there will be scenarios which will
allow for it at times but if the ball is quickly
progressed through the thirds, the majority of
their man-power will stay behind. The other side
of the coin is that this allows for better counterpressing in deeper areas and is also a
good
environment to instigate transitions from.
Most of the time, Ramírez will keep at least
two forwards higher up the pitch during
the defensive phase and upon taking back
possession, they are immediately ready to
charge forward into space.
It has to be said, however, that with 7.5 PPDA
(passes allowed per defensive action) in
2019, they are among the more aggressive
pressers in the league even though they might
not always deploy those tactics. Still, with
their structure that we discussed, it usually
requires the deeper players to sprint over longer
distances to successfully press upon losing the
ball higher up the pitch.
This can make the press itself less effective
simply because the opposition suddenly has
more time to react and deploy their passes and
if the second line presses from deep, it only
leaves the centre-backs and the pivot to defend
if the press is bypassed.
We can see such an example in the image
below.
21

Final remarks
M iguel Ángel Ramírez may not have the pedigree of Pep Guardiola of
Manchester
City or Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool over in the
Premier League, but he is definitely a young
coach on the rise who could stake his claim on
the big stage sooner rather than later.
Of course, we have already seen him as a
youth coach at Deportivo Alavés and Las
Palmas so he does have some European
exposure on his CV. Still, it wouldn’t really be a
stretch to say that even bigger things might be
on the horizon for the 35-year-old coach.
Only time will tell, though.
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A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) allows you to mathematically determine
styles based on statistics. It will take in statistics and tell you the different groups of
players that most
correspond to the statistics you have fed it.

DAT
A
VIZ
Heatmap PCA of PL
Strikers 2019/20