Sublime Ruben Amorim Tactic
This season, Sporting Lisbon is running away with the league title. After a very poor last season, by their standards.
This season, besides some smart transfers, Ruben Amorim has implemented a tactical system which took almost everyone by surprise.
I say almost, as they lost a game here and there.
The tactical system relies on smart reading of the game, picking up the best possible pass and moving the ball fast when possible.
Also, the players are required to interpret various roles in the final third, interchanging positions as per each game moment.
Ruben Amorim is not a stranger to success. For me, but maybe for other football fans as well, he was noticed after the results he had at Sporting Braga.
He took the club to a famous win in the domestic league cup final against FC Porto, after a late goal by Ricardo Horta. All this, before moving to Sporting Lisbon.
The former Benfica player brought the Primeira Liga title to Estadio Jose Alvalade after 19 years. The irony in that.
The tactical style for this season is made of a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 formation, which requires the players to play close to each other and bounce off passes across the pitch to try and destabilize the opposition’s defence.
This 3-4-3 formation is unusual, as in possession, it becomes a 3-1-6, especially in the opposition’s defensive third.
The formation is intentionally designed as narrow, to attract the play in the middle of the pitch and release players in the half spaces and on the flanks.
The center-backs play a very important role in this tactic, being required to pick up through balls at times, should they get the opportunity.
A sweeper keeper on attack duty as the goalkeeper. This is chosen as the goalkeeper must become a passing option when the team is in possession and must sweep up loose balls when the defense is surpassed.
In front of him, the back 3 is made of a wide center-back on defend duty. Thew wide center back role is preferred here, as it tells the player to stay wider and occasionally cross the ball from deep.
Here you need a player comfortable on the ball, able to spring forward passes when needed.
Two ball playing defenders on defend duty are chosen then. These two are required to form the back 3 line when the team is in possession. While the left sided one is required to stay wider but is told to hold position.
In this way we make sure that the half spaces and the flanks are also covered in case of counterattacks.
Of course, these 3 players are not going to hold the opposition off for long, so a defensive midfielder is chosen as a shield in front of them.
This player is required to recover the ball as fast as possible and release it to his attacking teammates.
The support role is used as we need him to step up in the central area of the midfield, but not go too much forward.
For this reason, dribble less is chosen as a player instruction.
A Segundo volante is his midfield partner. The attack duty is chosen as we need the player to make late runs forward, becoming an attacking midfielder if possession is prolonged. Congesting the final third and creating space for the attackers by drawing one of the opposition players onto him.
Dribble less is chosen, as we need him to just go forward and play a simple passing game, without too much time spent on the ball.
Two wing backs, one on support and one on attack duty are needed. Sporting Lisbon focused their attack on the left side of the pitch more often than on the right one.
For this reason, the left sided wing back is required to go further forward, to become a threat on his flank when his team crowds the midfield area.
Stay wider for both, but the left sided one is also required to take more risks and cross more often.
Two inside forwards are chosen, one on support and one on attack duty. These two players are required to sit narrower, to draw opposition defensive players onto them and free up space on the flanks.
They are also asked two mark tighter as them and the striker are the first line of the counter press.
The left sided one must be more dangerous and become a second striker at times, when his teammates need the final pass to be sent to someone and the striker is occupied.
The striker is a complete forward on support duty, as he must come deep to pick up the ball, to draw a defender onto him and create space for the inside forwards to run into.
This player is the goal scorer but also the pivot of team. In Sporting Lisbon’s tactic, Viktor Gyokeres is playing in this role.
He scored 33 goals this season, so far. And in the same way, my complete forward scored 32 goals in our season.
No special player instructions for him.
As mentality, I went with positive. You can also use attacking if you are the best team in the league or the match.
In possession, narrow attacking width, pass into space, underlap on the left side and play out of defence. Underlap is used as we need the team to hold onto the ball on the left side until the Segundo volante comes forward, to congest the area in front of the goal.
Shorter passing directness and a slightly higher tempo. And low crosses.
In transition, counter press, counter and distribute the ball quickly, to the defence and through short kicks.
Out of possession, high press, standard defensive, trigger press more often and step up more. You can use the higher defensive line and tick off the step up more option, but you must have fast defenders to use this setting.
With step up more and a standard defensive line, the defensive players keep the line a little deeper and step up only when required.
The same way as Sporting Lisbon this season, we have also dominated domestically. Winning the treble, scoring 110 goals and conceding 32 in the league in my building a nation save in Romania, with FC Voluntari.
Of course, this may be aided by the quality of my team compared to the rest of the league, but we also had a very good season in the Champions League.
We won 4 games, against tough opposition like Real Madrid or RB Leipzig and drew 2 games against Nice and Atletico Madrid.
we have also dominated domestically. Winning the treble, scoring 110 goals and conceding 32 in the league.
Of course, this may be aided by the quality of my team compared to the rest of the league, but we also had a very good season in the Champions League.
We won 4 games, against tough opposition like Real Madrid or RB Leipzig and drew 2 games against Nice and Atletico Madrid. And were knocked out by AS Roma after we won 1-0 in Romania but lost 2-0 in Italy.
Ruben Amorim is considered Jurgen Klopp’s successor at Liverpool and rightly so. As he seems to have a talent in pushing any team to become its best version.
