Weigl and Kramer together in Gladbach’s starting eleven: is that even possible?

Weigl and Kramer together in Gladbach’s starting eleven: is that even possible?

Daniel Farke doesn’t have too many options at the moment to shape his midfield in the best possible way. Florian Neuhaus the club will be missing for a long time – due to the general squad bottlenecks Gladbach-Coach almost forced to deploy a relatively large number of midfielders at the same time. This has the effect that Christoph Kramer and Julian Weigl will often appear together. But how do these quite similar types of players fit into a team?

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What Christop Kramer and Julian Weigl have in common is that they are both seasoned professionals and good passers who can bring stability to a team. On the other hand, they are not exactly the fastest sprinters, which can be a problem against some teams when working defensively.

Daniel Farke is basically relaxed about this. “Good players can always play together. We always have the opportunity to change something in the basic formation,” the coach explained to the picture.

Farke doesn’t want to be pinned down to a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 and “act flexibly”. This was already “theoretically touched on” in training.

4-3-3 with Koné, Weigl and Kramer probably option A

The currently most coherent game formation is probably a 4-3-3. In this Julian Weigl acts as a six, while Christoph Kramer and Manu Koné occupy the eighth positions. Although Kramer is not a classic eight, he can drop a little to help Weigl build up the game. This opens up space for Koné, who with his dynamism likes to switch on the forward gear and can also regularly cause danger.

However, it is important that the 21-year-old does not neglect the defensive. Kramer and Weigl lack speed when the opponent counterattacks quickly, which is why Koné has to follow these paths consistently and quickly.

Other possible variants with a chain of four and three

A 4-2-3-1 system with Kramer, Weigl and Koné, on the other hand, does not seem particularly coherent. Koné is not a ten, so this role is closer to one Lars Stindle is predetermined and Hofmann, Thuram and Pléa (if recovered) would take the further positions in the offensive. A double six with Weigl and Kramer makes no sense, especially since both are quite similar, as described above, and need the athletic component in the person of Koné next to them, who should actually always be seeded anyway.

Accordingly, the question would arise whether to put Weigl or Kramer next to it. Weigl would probably be the better choice here, as his passing game and his strategic skills are a bit superior to those of Kramer. In principle, however, the 4-2-3-1 can only be used if all four stars up front are fit.

In a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 there would also be a lot to be said for Weigl and Koné in central midfield. In this case, Kramer would have to or could also help out in central defense, where the personnel situation would otherwise be too thin for a back three after Itakura’s injury. Next to Friedrich and Elvedi, Kramer is probably the better alternative for the vacant position than, for example, Tony Jantschke.

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This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Weigl and Kramer together in Gladbach’s starting eleven: is that even possible? released.

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