In Düsseldorf,
Didier Deschamps has been playing the same refrain for years when it’s time to dive into the deep end of a competition – we’ll call it the Walk by Richard Gasquet in C minor – that of respect for the opponent who, oulala-be careful-you-probably-have-not-seen-them-playing-football-it’s-hard, is not to be taken the slight. Moreover, we can cite here two totally distressing performances from the Blues against Romania in 2016 and Australia in 2022, which give credence to the coach’s words.
How can we not be wary of Austria in these conditions, a veritable starving team adept at fierce and continuous pressing for 90 minutes. This famous “gegenpressing” theorized by Rangnick himself is in fact the trademark of Austria, which, as Marcus Thuram recalled during his campaign meeting on Friday, has the habit of “starting its matches very, very strong”, and finishing them all right. quite correctly: only Belgium has achieved this since November 2022.
Maboule pressing and everything for the attack
In the idea of the boss, a prominent member of the “Swabian clan”, a collective of game thinkers who revolutionized the tactical approach to football in Germany, in football, everything is pressing and pressing is everything. This is what he developed in a long interview given to our colleagues at So Foot in 2020. We are providing you with the masterclass in full because it is very interesting.
“From a statistical point of view, more than 60% of goals arrive after a transition phase, and of these, only 10% occur after a time of possession of more than twenty seconds. If you take these numbers into account, you realize how important the ball recovery phase is. This is why it has become a central theme for me, both in matches and in training. If you master this aspect and are strong in transition, the chances of having a scoring opportunity are enormous. So yes, it’s more risky, especially in our passes, but it allows us to find ourselves in a better starting situation than during a long possession phase. »
With, as a bonus track, a philosophy based exclusively on attack, light years away from that of the pragmatic French coach: “In fact, I want my team to attack almost all the time: either by playing towards the opposing goal , or by attacking the opponent’s possession to then be able to project towards their goal. » Confident of his strength, Sunday, at a press conference, Rangnick did not hide his ambitions or his strategy: “With our style of play we must counter the whole team so that Mbappé does not receive balls. We studied the qualities of the opponent but we have qualities and we can win the match. »
The Blues eat with the Austrians in the background
But intense pressing, high projection and forward-facing play also means immense risks if the first curtain is pierced. However, with arrows like Mbappé and Dembélé in attack and a launching pad named Antoine Griezmann, Deschamps’ men will have plenty to do.
If it is certain that they manage to dribble out of the trap formed in the middle of the field by the trio Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich), Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund) and Xaver Schlager (RB Leipzig), all holders in their respective clubs. Having been stuffed for two weeks with Austrian matches, which Deschamps shows on the screens while his players have a snack in the refectory, they know what to expect. You too now.