The science of modern defending | Thiago Motta’s Bologna

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Analysis of Bologna in-possession: • How Thiago Motta is re...
Defensive systems are what shape modern football. And today, they're more intricate and demanding than ever before. Join me as I explore the complexity of Bologna's defensive setup, and how they starve their opponents of both time and space.
Sections:
0:00 Defending shapes football
1:08 Squarespace
1:57 Man marking vs Zonal marking
2:42 Man-oriented zonal marking
5:59 Defensive roles
7:17 Potential issues
8:06 Where are the spaces?

[@ebubechukwudi8044]

I'm a simple man, I see a Purist football video, I like it before watching

[@ashleyibanez2686]

U made me subscribe before I even watch the vid

[@solisc3]

I already know it’s gonna be between the best 8-13 minutes of my day

[@CarlosRojas-hr6ms]

I think the insane level of defensive pressure present in club football is obscuring how good players are. That’s why it feels like players used to be better, that we don’t have the same level of strikers, wingers, number 10s anymore

[@langletprolet8378]

Tbh this should be more obvious to people. Only the defending in 90s Serie A comes close to how organized and suffocating today’s defenses are.

[@necromax13]

there's a half truth there. There's also more time spent on making players proper athletes that are trained to play the modern game, and the modern game doesn't particularly allow for what we used to see as maestros, these guys that would straight up run past you with flair and grace. Centrebacks today will sprint as fast as any striker or winger, they'll leave no space. Now, it's when you look at lower levels of football that you see how much of a difference modern defensive football makes. A team that can properly press other teams will break records and whatnot. However, there's a niche that will soon begin to expand: Modern maestros. De Bruyne, Bellingham, and Müller all exhibit roughly the same quality, they exist beyond zonal marking and they make these seemingly random moves out of seemingly random locations that will lead to danger, goals, or even recoveries. We also have the strange case of Mitoma, who's a winger that specializes on 1v1 dribbling, yet he does it as a planned and studied way of adding value to the team.

[@SuccimusPrime]

I think it has more to do with what talents are considered important in modern football You can teach players to pass, shoot, dribble, etc at an adequate level You cant teach physical traits like size and speed Sure, guys like Pirlo were amazing skillful players, arguably more skilled than anyone else in this era, but these magicians were so athletically limited that they became a liability on defense, and when your entire system breaks when 1 player doesnt/cant play defense, you see why those type of players dont exist anymore

[@RralRonaldo]

Players used to look better because they played against cardboard cutout defenders

[@JobHans]

​@@RralRonaldotbh it's not really the defenders themselves who would be specifically worse, it's that today's defensive structures are just way better and more organized although today we have more fast defenders

[@FootyInsights_]

Man-oriented zonal marking reminds me a bit of switching defenses in the NBA

[@solgonzalez271]

Great comparison tbf 👍 I thought so too.. maybe more football teams should look into the different nba defensive schemes 🤔

[@FranciscoGarcia-ze5hg]

Ricardo de Leon (Uruguayan coach 1923-2010) played a pressing zone with a lineal defense (around 1976). It is said that he was inspired by basketball strategies. He played pressing zones on man and also on the ball (two different approaches). He is considered on of the greatest South American coaches, of many that have existed. The Uruguayan school of coaching is very important and has a vast and old tradition.

[@RuiLuz]

@@FranciscoGarcia-ze5hg he was man beyond his time. More coaches are taking examples from other sports and introducing them to football, it's crazy in a good way.

[@CarlosRojas-hr6ms]

I think it’s part of the same trend in sports. A lot of physical demand and the whole team moving as a unit

[@jamesbaurus5928]

It's a matchup zone. Similar concepts to how that's done in basketball.

[@tehDanielRuiz]

Im a basketball fan and played all my life (now i coach teenagers); ive never played football/soccer growing up. This sounds like the matchup zone defense in basketball, which requires an incredible amount of effort and stamina to sustain for the entire game. So the idea of doing matchup zone on the football pitch dimensions is absolutely incredible from a coaching POV.

[@majukun]

bologna's trick is that they alternate defensive intensity to rather sluggish and slow building offensive..they still can find the goal due to the tecniques shown in the previous video that aim to create space and exploit it with rapid bursts...but in transition bologna is fairly sluggish to get the ball going, and that's where they recover stamina.

[@tehDanielRuiz]

@@majukun it's crazy because where im from (Montreal, Canada), a lot of what is considered to be the "high level" club basketball leagues for 12-17 year olds is full of full-court pressing, high intensity, high pace basketball. But it's not always the most high IQ basketball games to watch; they're just really fast and athletic. And it's really great to watch because some of these kids i've seen over the years ended up playing in Canada and USA universities. But for me, i'm very much 80-20 in terms of half-court defense to full-court defense. I'd rather my players, especially teenagers in school who on average don't have that much skill and vision, focus on half-court intensity and 2-3 concepts as opposed to playing some sort of Jurgen Klopp high pressing scheme. Then if you have years where you have great players and are competing for regional/provincial championships, then i might go 60-40 in terms of half-court to full-court pressure.

[@the-arkk]

That transition from a block to a press is the reason why Odegaard is Arsenal's captain because it requires a level of technical empathy and intelligence to know how your decision to press affects your teammates. This is also why Jude Bellingham is indispensable to how Madrid setup under Ancelotti.

[@avyuktkochhar8374]

I know somewhere Jon Mackenzie is feasting watching this video

[@fplasap]

I always come here when I want to learn and implement a new tactic in fm24 😂, Always learning everyday, nice videos, Respect🖖

[@ValtteL]

"Man-oriented zonal marking" this concept has been used in many team sports for many decades. Usually they call it "matchup zone".

[@kaijusportsclub5440]

Can't remember playing any other system, in any team sport, here in the USA. It just looks slightly different depending on whether soccer, football or basketball. Key concept was tighter marking in the central areas or when your man had the ball (or 2nd player). Didn't have pressing triggers, though.

[@metrothom]

"Man-oriented zonal marking": They don't use the term but the top Ultimate Frisbee teams have been using something like this for a long time now. One key difference there is that you can swap players on and off after each point, which alleviates the physical and mental challenges you mention at the end of this video.

[@daanmarchal8503]

Yes! My local team is far from world class but we do focus a lot on this kind of zone play with high pressure, our coach loves it :)

[@findingaether]

I see some clubs doing the thing where the front 2 in charge if closing down rotates to give a break from time to time.. for e.g at Arsenal sometimes Kai Havertz or Odegaard goes to the LW or RW to have a rest while Martinelli/Saka will take over the first line of pressure.

[@ilxosarui197]

As a Bayern fan, I want Motta to be our new coach… his tactics and play style fits exactly to ours and he has already proved to have typical german ingenuity lol but him coming to Munich sadly seems highly unlikely :/ still keen to see which big club signs him first, I wanna see him in the CL

[@langletprolet8378]

Yeah, doesn’t seem to be the kind of name that a Bayern board look to hire

[@alandemaio3043]

He can’t speak German

[@casa909]

You'll see it with BFC

[@mattiamelara5429]

At this pace he may play UCL directly with Bologna and I think he's actually going to stay there in order to gain more experience in a place with lots of enthusiasm and little pressure. As a Milan fan I like him and it would be nice if he replaced Pioli, but at the moment I demand Flick or Nagelsmann because of their character and experience.Yet had Klopp not decided to have at least a gap year, he would've been my first choice.

[@it_is_mighty10]

He is more likely to join barca if they call him for the job

[@gibrandogg]

This channel has helped me understand a lot of things about the game...love the busquets video too...bologna seem like a pretty exciting team finding the way...been waiting for your leverkusen video...hopefully soon...

[@toantu3005]

Deco when asked about Motta: "I don't watch them (and Serie A)". Talking about the level of incompetency of our sporting director 🤦

[@Coach-rq6jx]

Which team is Deco in?

[@porteiromendes8466]

@@Coach-rq6jxBarça

[@daze9469]

I love this video, the way you highlight the highs and lows and very well structured. I love this system as well

[@kakazhin3244]

I absolutely love your channel, as a Roma fan I hope to see a video on de rossi’s tactics on here as well.

[@gustavogomes35]

Great video! You should analyse Dorival Junior's tactics. He won the Copa Libertadores with Flamengo in 2022 using a 442 diamond and he is now coaching Brazil's national team

[@jamesmccaul2945]

Excellent as always!

[@tylerwelch5253]

Not sure why Barcelona doesn’t seem to be considering him for next season. Seems he’d be more tactically and culturally suited than Flick or Marquez

[@toantu3005]

because our beloved sporting director (Deco) don't even watch them (and the Serie A). Just simply incompetent 🤦

[@varunbukka9225]

He has a release clause which Barca can't afford at the moment

[@varunbukka9225]

​@@toantu3005it's not that. Motta has a release clause much higher than what De Zerbi has at Brighton. Hence Barca will be trying to avoid both.

[@KyoFanDuB]

Because he doesnt won anything important. Marquez its just the last option

[@it_is_mighty10]

He needs to come to barca after one year at champions league.

[@idrissbenaissa8421]

It's like 🏀 and switching during à basket-ball match

[@Swoldridge]

I'm a super casual for international football but am a hardcore American football fan. This is called "Match Zone Coverage" over here. Basketball also has match zone coverage but it's only good against really bad teams.

[@ferdinandibegbulam5429]

Every nice video with a video example,, kudus bro

[@patrickdawson6281]

If you want to see the absolute peak of complex defending watch the first 5 minutes of man city vs arsenal in october, its actually obscene, both teams flicker between formations and pressing styles on the fly with at least 4 different identifiable defensive shapes from arsenal in about 3 minutes with man city constantly changing the build up unit rapidly rotating. It's crazy how much better the very top end of the premier league is than the rest of it.

[@juandiegoarango3526]

The win of arsenal?

[@chris.48]

They done it today too

[@patrickdawson6281]

@@chris.48 yh it was very impressive, they struggled to play at all in the middle 3rd but thats no surprise given how strong both teams are, the narrative won't reflect this but i think arsenal were closer to winning than city overall

[@pritapp788]

And incredibly boring and mind-numbing for the people who pay to watch. If it were Inter and AC Milan grinding out such a 0-0 draw, people would be all over the Italians for being so defensive.

[@boford7702]

What's really crazy is that with how much better the really top end of the Prem League is so much better than the rest of it, but there are still 3 out of 4 teams left in semifinals of UCL are supposed "farmers league" teams while there are zero(0) Prem League teams. Now THATS crazy.

[@user-qw9mw5bb7q]

It’s essentially: if the field is put into 3 vertical zones, from end line to end line, the defensive unit must be in the 2 zones nearest to the ball, while man marking in those 2 zones. And looking for specific cues to press their on. 2:42

[@dezhun]

Thanks for this video. How do Inter defend so well? Do they combine zonal and man marking schemes similar to Bologna or are they using some other kind of hybrid? Thanks

[@BaterdeneBadmaanyambuuuuuuu]

Hey, I love your videos, Do you have any tips for making my own real life tactics?

[@UwU19Bricks]

While you are very keen to see the different types of pressing and movement used in soccer, what you’re forgetting is that putting this all together is what makes you a pro. By dividing each individual little piece into separate specific areas, you dilute the intensity that is required of the player. By this I mean that you begin to overthink about it too much, and that is never right. You’ll miss a tackle or a shot by playing like that. Playing in rhythm means being able to feel the pressure of the other team while flowing with your own team’s energy. Find your rhythm in the game and begin to feel the game in your heart. Trust me you’ll feel powerful on the field when you begin to play like this. I’m not saying don’t learn about the Individual tactics and technique of the modern game, I just mean that when it comes down to it, don’t think just do.

[@majidmenouar2444]

A note on the last quote from Spaletti: that's why we r seeing the emergence of skillful 8s & 10s (Wirtz, Musiala, Brahim Diaz..) Juego bonito is coming to Europe again

[@viktortousseyn7698]

Can you do a video on the special pressing of cercle bruges in belgium?

[@ROYal_FC]

Could you maybe make a video analysing psg's tactics and what we should expect tp see from them on Wednesday?

[@hungotuan4431]

Defending is an art ❤

[@amanvalodia3669]

Please Do Xabi Alonso philosophy Next 🙏

[@michaelbadejo966]

ruben amorim vid would be great.

[@ijustlovefooty]

Hi Mate, love your stuff! what editing software do you use to create these annotations?

[@CAVALIERKOBE]

Seguo

[@enricocorica5074]

The Zonal Man Orientation Marking is the supreme defensive technique of Jose Mourinho, who his turn learned it from Van Gaal… Motta won the UCL under Mourinho so this is a legacy

[@fillipe4700]

thanks

[@chemsdinesidha5254]

An évolutive science. The good idea survives and the bad one dies. The football has a hierachical configuration. In other words : getting around the big obstacles and letting go and acepting thé small résistances.

[@Peterigepan]

Will you ever cover miron muslic ? He’s doing something special too😊

[@WillMiall]

Really should be seeing Motta linked to the Liverpool job more!

[@brunosouza12277]

que video maravilhoso.

[@eddowling1937]

This is hybrid pressing. araola, emery, pep are all using elements of this style of defending. It is very switch heavy and you need intelligent players to carry it out effectively

[@howiebiteme]

Different league but this is how Danny Rohl has Sheffield Wednesday pressing - zonal, pressing triggers, pressing traps. It works well but it does leave the team exposed if the ball makes it past the press as midfielders and full backs will often press high. This system requires extreme mobility in central midfielders and as said in the video, a ridiculous physical engine and mental discipline/ constant communication.

[@arias7440]

The Purist, I'm a Tricolor fan who is a big fan of Fernando Diniz, and I see that you also find his style interesting. If Southgate leaves the team, do you think the Brazilian Genius would be a good option? I see that for his style of play, the English team has great talents but I think the biggest problem would be the lack of interaction with this a-positional style of play, what do you think?

[@shaggy5718]

Can you do Ruben Amorim's Sporting next?

[@Lore_96]

Do As Roma pls

[@Kveite1]

Can you try to explain what Ten hag is trying to do at ManU?

[@jeevav3532]

Do one for arteta

[@channelcustomaztion]

Make a video about if hary Kane hurting or benefiting bayern munich

[@yosefsilalahichannel]

As Juventus fans, comparing watching juventus under Dinollegrisaurus and bologna under motta is like watching hand drawing on cave and watching movie on 87 inch OLED TV.

[@RenatoFitness-od6er]

I agree. I'm a Juventino, and I'm sick of Allegri and his useless tactics. Even when we're playing a relegation team, we just sit back and defend. They always outplay us and have more ball possession. We're in the top 4 only because we have better players. Thank God we're getting Motta next season.

[@yosefsilalahichannel]

@@RenatoFitness-od6er I agree. Although I must say I don't agree with 'useless tactics' ? It's not a tactic. You're too kind to call that a tactic. Lord Dinollegrisaurus instructions is to sit deep, and pray that the individual skill of the midfielder and forward will help the teams to score goals. His tactics works well before because Buffon, BBC on the back, and Pirlo, Vidal, Prime Pogba in midfield and Higuain Dybala are there. Every professional coach could win Serie A with those kind of players. Now with Lord Dinollegrisaurus can't hide anymore with less experienced and much younger players on the squad. So yeah, I don't mind if next season we don't win serie A but at least we can see identity of tactics under Motta.

[@ohimats]

This is exactly the same system Pioli applies since the scudetto winning season.

[@saudshg]

Pioli's HaramBall tactics

[@vishunt]

difference between this and Rayo Vallecano under Iraola?

[@99visionefootball]

Just checked Serie A Table... And Wow, Just Realized

[@ayeTobi]

This is the only tactic that I understand without spending much time.

[@omaari155]

Amorim plz

[@01enkidu]

Rúben Amorim next!!!

[@bagtea]

drop ruben amorim's tactical analysis

[@tyylit]

serie a is pure greatness currently

[@silviustefan113]

Can you please do with Rafa Marquez if he would be good for Barcelona please

[@kalfriksen6974]

Zonal-man orientations. What made Mourinho Mourinho.

[@einejunge7115]

Almost all Bundesliga teams have been practicing this form of defending for over 10 years

[@braulio849]

I'd like a vídeo about Brazil's New manager

[@aslannurzhan8070]

Jose Felix Diaz wrote that if Davies arrives, Real Madrid will not leave Mendy. What do you think about this? In my opinion, such transfers will lead to failure

[@tanveer6067]

This is what we used to do, people hated us, coz our attack was mid but this was basically our defensive system without naming it 😂

[@MohamedKhaled0110]

do terzic tactical analysis

[@MM-qy7si]

Gallardo's River Plate pressed the same way

[@necromax13]

against teams that played extremely outdated football lol. The argentinian league is trash, and river's lack of success at the copa libertadores while having such monstruous budgets, talent, and overall presence and reputation is telling of this, and that "gallardo's river" wasn't all that. They still have two striker teams in argentina. 442 cross centered tactics.

[@88balloonsonthewall70]

@@necromax13 Point is, its not new. Simeone have been using this in Ateltico Madrid. and i can remember old Man United games against teams like West Brom where we had to face this too. Football goes through constant RE-evolution with its evolution.

[@cpfyp3548]

“An idiot admires complexity, a genius admires simplicity, a physicist tries to make it simple, for an idiot anything the more complicated it is the more he will admire it, if you make something so clusterfucked he can't understand it he's gonna think you're a god cause you made it so complicated nobody can understand it. That's how they write journals in Academics, they try to make it so complicated people think you're a genius” ― Terry Davis, Creator of Temple OS

[@Thegamer-qd7eh]

except isn't this made to confuse the opponent.

[@mosinali1302]

I guess José Mourinho did it with Inter against Barcelona in 2010 Champions League Final.

[@trichon3575]

But doesn’t man oriented zonal marking only work if a player leaving your space, gets replaced by another? Aren’t you going to run into issues of overloading

[@88balloonsonthewall70]

Yes everything always has a weakness. If you look how narrow the midfield four is we see that they choose to give up space on the flanks and get overloaded in the middle is unlikely.

[@pravinpokhrel3162]

Please make a video about football intellect of PAU CUBARSI.

[@rizkisasiy2067]

just imagine if bologna meet leverkusen next season 🧠

[@jimbojimbo6873]

A team that tackles a lot never impressed me, when the attack is suffocated by positioning and makes a mistake im more impressed

[@varunbukka9225]

It's not about putting in tackles all the time. Sometimes it's just normal pressing which makes the opponent to put a wrong pass.

[@miljanangelovik1712]

Send this video to Pioli !!!

[@danielberg5908]

Do Löw

[@uyetman501]

Is this really new , this has always been there , simeone did it with atlectico Madrid during their La liga wining era

[@aleyzeeo-aleyzee2101]

Could be managed in just one single reel

[@henkkoonstra4014]

the pitch and goals need to be bigger because modern football defending is becoming like handball defending

[@davicosta3915]

Looks like we're on the cusp of great changes in the way that football at a high-level operates, with the emergence of Alonso, Nagelsmann, Motta, Diniz and many others. Excited to see

[@necromax13]

bro tried to sneak diniz in there as if we wouldn't notice.

[@88balloonsonthewall70]

Diego Simeone have been doing this in Atletico Madrid for ages now.

[@hegeliandianetik2009]

Arteta is at the top of these lists

[@iXpertMan]

Defending Ai 🤖 is OP - just like in FIFA video game 😂😅 - needs a nerf lol

[@r1katek151]

🎉🎉🎉

[@evrenerakcora3432]

It is man modern man marking system. Old times, they mark the man all the times. when oppenet goes to wc you must go with him :)

[@ozodovalibek1331]

Barselona please sign with Motta

[@onelazarya]

Bring him to barca asap

[@kdodo4546]

Does anyone know what program he uses?

[@crazybkfanisthebestyoutbub1265]

Motta to replace Klopp?

[@bagtea]

nah. Naglesmann would be a better shout for Liverpool. or even Thomas Frank

[@crazybkfanisthebestyoutbub1265]

@@bagtea yeah a guy that’s in a relegation battle with Brentford should manage Liverpool😬 My wishlist is 1. Simeone 2. Motta 3. Nagelsmann 4. RDZ 5. Fernando Torres and inshallah

[@bagtea]

@@crazybkfanisthebestyoutbub1265 well he struggled cuz of Toney not being available this season. Still a brilliant coach and would do wonders with Liverpool’s budget and players

[@whythoughbeats6335]

@@crazybkfanisthebestyoutbub1265Zidane?

[@crazybkfanisthebestyoutbub1265]

@@bagtea over the last 10 games Brentford are 16th. He’s an ok prem manager at best.

[@stephendelacruzone]

💎✨👌

[@user-co2gb6cc7g]

If Erik Ten Hag get sack. Manchester United should get this manager.. Thiago Motta 👍

[@Ryan-C]

Be interesting to see how you would of analysed ten hags ajax team and compared it to quite frankly the worst football I've ever seen man utd play. I know man utd are an absolute cesspool right now but the motta's and de zerbis of this world only one bad move away from being ridiculed to high heaven like ten hag. Or are they different?

[@RenatoFitness-od6er]

He's going to Juventus.

[@brahmiaanis960]

spaletti got a philosophy but he dont have the way to reach it

[@andriajovannie7541]

This is Why I want him to take club in England or Germany. Coz it's both competitions are different from Seri A

[@iXpertMan]

If Balogne is so tactical good - why are they not on top of Seria A? 😅

[@nickyheart]

worse players

[@RenatoFitness-od6er]

Because Bologna doesn't have the best players. Inter, Milan, and Juventus all have better players who can change the game even if their tactics aren't the best.

[@cesco7]

Tactically no league comes close to Serie A.

[@user-vc1nt1kp2n]

This is not new haha

[@necromax13]

yeah, not really.

[@funkyrodent66]

this really isnt new wtf

[@oliverleigh9854]

All I'm hearing is blah blah blah, The sport is dead. Reason is simple. Taking physical contact out of a contact sport. The purist from of defending is using your physical attributes to dominate your opponent with intelligent in positional awareness of space( you don't need to be technical gift for this). For the last 14/15 years most contact in this sport results in fouls which in fact created the death of football. We need to focus on pressing to force opponent into errors as defending. Rather seeing proper defending by seeing players pocketing their opponents. Out muscles technical players off the ball by brute force. Today we are watching a sissy fest rather than a contact sport.

[@ArtisticRenaissance]

It’s always the worst players who need physicality to make up for a lack of technicality. Games are still physical to this day but now even your defenders need to know how to be good on the ball.

[@oliverleigh9854]

@ArtisticRenaissance what you're on about? You don't need to make a tackle to use your physicality. Having a brain on your head to anticipate movement, positional awareness to nullifying space. A defender doesn't need to be technically to do this, nor do you need to be violent to break peoples bones. Get your head out of your bikini bottom.

[@Leonidas-eu9bb]

tactics are very overrated. This is so wrong. The best teams don't think much ingame. They play with instinct. Godd instinct is what great players/teams need.