Pointless Drivel

There had been a number of teams chasing our star midfielder, Alceu. Most of last season he was a wanted man, but I’d almost written off any real bids ever materialising. A £900,000 offer from Coritiba seemingly came out of nowhere.

We signed Alceu for free in 2009 and he was a first team regular and our first choice free kick taker — far too important to let go for cash we didn’t have a pressing need for. Thus, Coritiba’s offer was immediately turned down — even though it matched his valuation.

Undettered, Coritiba immediately came back with an offer of £975,000. At this point I wondered whether this offer might be too good to turn down; I had the very capable Paraná playing his heart out in my reserves and 15 year old prodigy Givaldo in my youth team. I decided to negotiate, asking a rather cheeky £1.4M. That kind of transfer fee could be used for real investment in the club.

Our match with Cidade Azul provided a brief distraction from the transfer saga. As if knowing this could be his last match for the Tigre, Alceu scored in the second minute, with Mateus finishing them off with another goal before half time. Alceu grabbed the plaudits of the press, Cidade’s manager, and man of the match.

The next morning, I was absolutely stunned to see  that Coritiba had come back to me and agreed to my £1.4m valuation, and I duly accepted.

There were no complaints from fans or players at Alceu’s departure, however the board were delighted with the cash injection. I plan on hiring a few more scouts, a new defensive coach, and pestering the board to upgrade our training facilities a the the end of the season.

So farewell Alceu, though your stay with the Tigre was short you served us well.

Alceu’s Criciúma stats

• 2010: Played 17, scored 4, assists 2, man of the match 2, average rating 7.28
• 2009: Played 53, scored 12, assists 8, man of the match 7, average rating 7.07

There was great rejoicing on the streets of Criciúma — and much praise for their rookie English manager — as we won promotion back to Série B as champions. It came down to the wire, too; Santa Cruz kept us honest right to the last day of the season and finished a single point behind us. Too bloody close by half…

The final standings were:

Frustratingly, we were unable to beat Santa Cruz this season; we draw at home 0-0 and 1-1 away. Our single league defeat was a shocking 0-2 loss at home to Confiança (SE). Despite these disappointing results — and near disastrous 0-0 draw with Americano on the last day of the season — I can’t complain too much about what the Tigre and I were able to achieve in our first season together.

Our cup run was perhaps a little too short, especially given the raised expectations after we eliminated Flamengo. And, believe me, we’re still bitter after losing to our Santa Catarina rivals Figueirense in the next round. Hopefully next year’s draw will be kinder to us.

Criciúma Players of the Season

The senior player of the season, for me, was our goalkeeper Zé Carlos. The keeper played all 64 matches in our season, recording an astonishing 44 clean sheets. For a player who started his career with the Tigre back in 2003 and has seen them steadily slide down the divisions, this must have felt like redemption or at least validation of his quality. To reflect just how good Zé Carlos is, there are currently eight clubs interested in him — including Real Madrid.

The young player of the season was another life-long Criciúma player, our right wingback Patric. At just 19 years of age he, at times, carried the team. His stats for the season were: played 55, scored 3, assists 18, average rating 7.17. In particular, his performance against Flamengo has him surely cemented as a Tigre favourite. He just keeps getting better.

Our top scorer was Zulu, with 21 goals in 56 appearances. The big target man also had 15 assists for the season. He was rewarded with a new three year contract for his good form and the nod as the supporter’s player of the year. We broke the bank to stop him leaving on a free, so I am expecting a serious goal haul next season.

Criciúma Transfer Summary: The Ins and Outs

Following our victory in the Santa Catarina State Championship, the Criciúma board obviously saw some potential in me and the team and coughed up a whopping £1.1M for transfers. This was timely indeed; following the season-ending injury to on-loan striker Michel, and the grudging departure of the out of contract Jean Mossoró, we were facing a striker crisis. I used the cash injection to finance the wages for a few free transfers.

Players bought: Fábio Baiano (free, no club), Fausto (free, no club), Alceu (free, no club), Ugo Casagrande (free, from Palmeiras).

Players sold: Jean Mossoró (free, to Londrina), Alex Sandro (released), Ricardo (released).

I’ve already spoken about Alceu elsewhere, but I’ve also been delighted with how Fábio Baiano and Fausto (my club captain) have established themselves as first team regulars in midfield. Both are extremely reliable players.

As pleased as I am with the other signings, Ugo Casagrande — whom we nicked off Palmeiras for nothing — comes with a weight of expectation. At just 20 years of age, he has all the physical attributes to be a dominating centre forward. As a bit-part player towards the end of our season, he managed eight goals and eight assists (mostly from the bench). The lad was actually born Ascoli Piceno (Italy), however he has declared himself for Brazil. After rotting in Palmeiras’ reserves and not getting first team football, he’s quickly established his credentials at Criciúma and the Italian clubs are already sniffing around. In fact, I was beginning to think the managers of Modena and Rimini had bought Criciúma season tickets — they were at the Heriberto Hülse every week to see him play. Stalkers!

Looking forward

With the few additions to the squad I made, Criciúma were easily strong enough to win promotion. Even though we scraped it as champions, I think we were always destined to be promoted. If we can hang on to most of our team and sign a couple of extra squad players, then we should be able to hold our own in Série B. In particular, I’ll be shopping for a spare left winback and a striker good enough to challenge Zulu’s place in the team.

Until next time: Save Criciúma, equity immortal (or however Google translates their anthem).

Absolute insanity. There’s really no better description for what just occurred at Stamford Bridge. It was also one of the most entertaining games of football I’ve watched all season. Not quite the tactical masterclass you’d expect from Hiddink and Benitez; it was much more open, even fraught at times.

I don’t know if it was nerves, but Petr Cech is looking nothing short of calamitous in Chelsea’s goal. Every time a ball came into the box — be it a cross, a pass, or a dribble — he just looked scared. He was the same against Bolton last Saturday, which leaves Hiddink with a serious dilemma. Chelsea could still win the league, but with so few games left, would sticking with a goalkeeper who seems to have no confidence best serve the team? I think not. As soon as you pick players based on reputation, you’re in big trouble.

When was the last time Chelsea conceeded four goals at the Bridge? Huge credit to Liverpool for going there and attacking in the way they did.

Roll on Barcelona vs. Chelsea…

Yesterday, Tim Vickery claimed on his blog that the early-season regional leagues in Brazil — the 27 State Championships — are “past their sell-by date”. (Basically, these Championships occur right at the start of the Brazilian football season and see teams from the same States competing against each other in a mini league. Imagine if — before the Premiership kicked off — Arsenal, Chelsea, and other top London teams, played in a local league with the Charltons, Millwalls, and Lutons of the English leagues.)

To a degree, I think Vickery is right. The disparity between the Campeonato Paulista and, say, the Campeonato Carioca, is a large one. On the one hand there’s some pretty serious teams from São Paulo (Corinthians, Santos, Palmeiras, and São Paulo themselves), whereas Rio’s top teams face comparatively weaker opposition. Vickery’s theory is that the São Paulo teams are going to be closer to their “fighting weight” by the time the Brasileirão rolls around. 

This may be so, but I wonder if he’s missing a very important point here. Brazil is massive country and not a rich one. Traveling across the country to follow your team must surely be seen as the preserve of the well off. Heck, I can’t afford to get up to Coventry very often! I can’t imagine what it would be like for a fan of Recife team Sport having to travel down the coast to Porto Alegre to play Grêmio. That’s a journey of over 2,300; or two solid days driving.

It’s always struck me that the football in Brazil is very much still of and for the proletariat; unlike our Premiership, it’s still more of a working man’s game. Being able to see the top local teams playing in your town just seems like a good thing to me; kind of like the league system of college football in America. Who can afford to travel — week in and week out — across such huge distances for games that are anything less than a final or a semi final? Not people with regular jobs and probably not a lot of regular football fans in Brazil.

The 4-2-2-2 tactic may look unfamiliar — even strange — to many European football fans, but it is very common in Brazil. Indeed, 4-2-2-2 is the typical formation of the Brazilian national team.

In managing Criciúma (in Football Manager 2009), whom I decided to try and play in a traditional Brazilian style, I have spent some time studying how this formation functions. I’m certainly no expert, and would welcome feedback, but here is my understanding of it.

It’s all about balance

4-2-2-2 is the most balanced tactic in contemporary football, offering a perfect 50/50 balance of attack and defence. There are four defenders and four attackers, whilst the two central midfielders are considered neutral.

The tactis is sometimes described as 4-2-4, which is an oversimplification, conjuring images of an attacking line of four strikers or two strikers and two very advanced wingers. Neither of which are accurate.

4-2-2-2 vs. 4-4-2

4-2-2-2 offers a significant attacking advantage over 4-4-2 because the two strikers are not isolated, constantly demanding breaks from midfield to support them; instead, the two attacking midfield players are present to continually link play between midfield and attack. In a 4-4-2 this disconnect between midfield and attack often leads to a lot of lost posession, unnecessarily difficult final balls, and a lack of flowing build up.

The attacking midfielders in a 4-2-2-2 have a very demanding role, requiring great vision, creativity, off-the-ball positioning, and the ability to open up play with technique and finesse. This is the Kaká or Ronaldinho role.

But there’s no wingers!

The tactic may look narrow, but in fact 4-2-2-2 actually encourages wingplay. When a team playing 4-2-2-2 has posession, the wingbacks orchestrate most of the wide attacks. This role demands great pace, stamina, and crossing; defensively it demands good marking, positioning, and excellent pressing. This is the Cafu role, or more recent examples include Inter’s Maicon and Maxwell, and others like Daniel Alves and Marcelo.

In addition to the wide attacking of the wingbacks, the attacking midfielders will often push out to wide link play and deliver crosses. In fact, the presence of the two attacking midfielders is essential to wingplay: when they tuck in centrally behind their strikers, it can force the opposition’s fullbacks to play more narrowly in order to mark them, thus creating space for attacking wingbacks.

Some strikers are also skilled at pushing out wide to deliver crosses, link play, and create space. For example, when the attacking midfielders push into the box, Robinho and Marquinhos are excellent at drifting out wide to deliver crosses. Even if no cross is possible, they are able to create space in the box by dragging the centre backs out of position.

It’s all about tempo…

An essential aspect to playing 4-2-2-2 effectively is tempo at which the game is played. The build up is slow, slow, quick; looking for that incisive break by drawing opposition players out of position and feeding teammates in behind them. The pace of the build up is particularly important given the flexibility of player’s positioning; time needs to be give for movement. A backwards ball may seem negative, but look closer and you will see that this holding of posession allows players to find space. A high ball pumped forward does not play to the strengths of 4-2-2-2.

More reading

There are variations of 4-2-2-2 and a particularly interesting one is how Palmeiras is playing recently. Check out Renato’s Palmeiras blog for how 4-2-2-2 has been adapted by Luxemburgo into a 4-1-2-1-2. Perhaps less popular is how Dunga has the Brazilian national team playing 4-2-2-2 with a strong defensive bias in midfield.

Life has been pretty good so far at Criciúma and I am loving the football in Brazil.

Copa do Brasil update

In March we travelled up the coast to Rio for our Copa do Brasil match against Flamengo. As I previously mentioned, we were a goal down from our home leg and we fully expected to take drubbing at the Maracanã.

The Mengão lined up with a diamond-shaped 4-1-2-1-2, which wasn’t exactly a genius move by their coach Cuca. Against our wider and more flexible 4-2-2-2, it gave our fullbacks — Patric and Wellington — lots of space down the wings to deliver crosses. However, despite plenty of early possession, we conceded a goal when Ronaldo Angelim headed in from a corner. Sadly, it then got much worse when our in-form striker, Michel, got injured. An injury that would rule him out for the season and see his loan cancelled.

In Michel’s place I brought on unproven youngster Jean Mossoró and it was looking like a case of damage limitation for the Tigre. (Mossoró, by the way, looks to be one for the future; check our this goal on YouTube.)

No doubt thinking victory was in the bag, Cuca persisted with his 4-1-2-1-2 — but our fullbacks continued to create chances. Finally, on 54 minutes, our target man Zulu headed in a Patric cross. Our consolation goal only lasted four minutes, though; Flamengo striker Obina then dribbled around Anderson Kanu and blasted it into the roof of the net to make it 3-1 on aggregate.

At this point, I adjusted our tactic from evenly balancing the distribution of our passing to focusing it entirely down the wings. Nothing to lose, I thought.

Things then started to get weird at the Maracanã.

On 73 minutes, Luis André got on the end of another Patric cross to make it 3-2 and the Mengão seemed to fall apart all over the field, having no response to our wing play. For the last 17 minutes they barely managed to get the ball into our half, until, with 8 minutes left, yet another cross from Patric flew into their box and Jean Mossoró headed home to send us through on away goals.

Epic stuff, and I rubbed Cuca’s nose in it to the press afterwards. A few of my players were unhappy at my claims that he was “tactically outclassed”; but bollocks to that, he was!

In the next round we faced state rivals Figueirense. This was a real horror show and — with Alceu, Patric, and Zulu all unavailable — we were comprehensively beaten in both legs. A freak 35 yard goal from Wellington the only consolation in a 4-1 aggregate defeat.

State Championship update

The Santa Catarina State Championship is over and it was a breeze for us. We won all of our matches, aside from one draw away at  Avaí and a loss to Figueirense. The final standings were:

The Brazilian third division proper starts next week, so we’ll see how we fair against teams we are more evenly matched against.

The Sun has published excerpts from an interview with Rafael Benitez’s former number two, Paco Herrera. He describes some of the enormous changes Rafa made to what he describes as an “antiquated” Liverpool when he took charge.

You hear a lot about how wonderful Arsenal’s training ground and scouting network are, but it sounds like Liverpool can easily rival them. The Liverpool “Rafalution” includes:

• A 70-strong scouting network, with information on over 14,000 individuals (I bet he just uses Football Manager)
• Transformation of the training ground, even building a hotel at Melwood for the players to stay at before a European match
• Revolution of the players’ diets
• Building a film room and hiring staff who can source any game from the world’s top 12 leagues

Acccording to Herrera:

“Everything started when we arrived there. I signed on as assistant manager but three months later my role changed because we all realised that there were serious problems in the technical department. Liverpool was very antiquated in that sense. So Rafa asked me to change my role and occupy myself with this issue. He wanted me to become the chief scout and start organising, along with himself, the technical department.”

Fascinating stuff.

It was interesting to read in Gavin Strachan’s blog about the use of psychologists in football; in particular some of the motivational tools that are used.

Something that surprised me — in a very good way — was Gavin’s mention of the speech given by Al Pacino in the Oliver Stone film, Any Given Sunday. I absolutely love this film and Pacino’s speech is electric. Trouble is, I can’t imagine wanting to anything other than tear someone’s head off after hearing it.

Mark Hughes’ ever woeful Man City scraped past Aalborg on penalties last night. All that money spent — mostly on the wrong players for the kind of donkey football Hughes favours — and they struggled all over the pitch against significantly weaker opposition.

Shaun Wright-Phillips continuously wasted possession; at times running into Aalborg’s players without looking where he was going, or simply passing the ball directly to their feet. Despite this — as I’d already predicted — people reckoned he was the best player on the pitch. I’ve previously explained why I think Shaun Wright-Phillips is shit, but last night was just taking the piss.

The following from the BBC’s player rater is madness:

Running pointlessly all over the pitch is playground football, not something we should be seeing from a professional player.

My first season with Brazilian third division outfit Criciúma is off to an impressive start (click here if you missed the first installment). In the Santa Catarina State Championship we have played nine and won nine, with only our neighbours Avaí looking anywhere near our pace. Life is good for the Tigre fans and their new English manager, even though I only know two words of Portugese so far (nenhum comentário, in case you wondered).

On top of the nine straight league wins, we’ve only conceeded two goals. One of these goals was particularly annoying, though. It came against a ten man Figueirense (great website, available in English) who were already comprehensively beaten. The goal was a comical defensive cock up between our keeper Zé Carlos and new star signing Alceu. Admittedly, I was playing Alceu as a centre back due to an injury to Felipe Figueiró, but it was woeful stuff. Both Zé Carlos and Alceu got an ear-full after the match, but I was more pissed off about losing Felipe Figueiró to injury. It leaves us with just two first team centre backs.

In other news, I think there’s unlikely to be a repeat of Big Phill’s famous victory with Criciúma in the Copa do Brasil. We drew the mighty Flamengo in the first round. Ugh. Next week we take a one goal deficit to the Maracanã and I’m not hopeful of turning things around. Even if Felipe Figueiró comes through a reserve game in one piece, we’re hopelessly outclassed against the Mengão.

I’m loving managing Criciúma so far and have been doing a little background research on them. Although their website is all in Portugese, I’ve discovered they have a rather good club song — Anthem of Criciúma. You can download an MP3 of it from here. Sing-a-long-tastic, although maybe not as catchy as the Sky Blues Song of my own Coventry City. Here, courtesy of Google, is a translation of the lyrics:

Remembering the heroes of the past
They wrote their names in history
Oh! Tricolor preordained
A present and future glories of

Save the Criciúma
In the National Sports
Save the Criciúma
Equity immortal
At the time of decision
A voice shouted happy
My povão

Criciúma, Criciúma
Our Club of love
Soul, heart and claw.

Will vibrate with
Your flag unfurled
Where is the most dear
The champions – our champion

Great stuff, although I’m curious about the world “povão” which Google failed to translate.