Leverkusen 2010-2011

Jupp Heynckes has brought together some exciting talent at Bayer Leverkusen, and they are considered one of the outsiders for the Bundesliga title this season. There are, however, flagrant weaknesses in this team, that came to the fore in a highly enjoyable game against Borussia Mönchengladbach at home (3-6).

Leverkusen play a fairly basic 4-4-2, with the omnipresent attacking full-backs (Castro (purple) on the right, Kadlec (pink) on the left), with 2 wide midfielders coming inside to make room for them (Renato Augusto (green) on the right, Barnetta (black) on the left).





It is a pattern that we see at many of the top teams who play some variant of 4-4-2: it gives opposing full-backs a problem; do they follow their direct opponent (the winger) inside, leaving space for the full-backs to exploit, or do they hold their position and trust the central midfielders to deal with the threat? Gladbach chose the second option, which was the right one: Castro, but especially Kadlec, are reasonable defenders, but poor on the ball. They often had enough time to pick out a good ball, but they wasted possession too often. It didn't help that Augusto was not interested as the game passed him by, and that Barnetta was a willing runner but unable to contribute. This, however, was not what caused the humiliation that ensued.

After all, with a central duo of Arturo Vidal, who was excellent for Chile at the World Cup, and Michael Ballack, one of the legends of the game, there was still ample quality for winning this game easily enough. The problem was in the tactics, and Heynckes didn't notice or didn't want to notice until it was much too late.
There is a reason basic 4-4-2 has been going out of style. With only two central players, the tasks are usually divvied up: one man acts as a shield for the defence, the other one concentrates on supporting the attack. The problem is that in today's multifunctional game this is not enough. Players, and certainly central midfielders, are supposed to be able to defend and to attack. These players are usually extremely highly regarded by their coaches: Michael Essien, Sergio Busquets, Alex Song, to name but a few. This is why a trio of midfielders is now common: two players in this role, and one who has more license to roam free, be it in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 (like Germany's formation at the World Cup). In a 4-4-2, you need perfect discipline from your two central midfielders to keep the balance. This was lacking in Vidal as well as Ballack:



There is too much space in front of the Leverkusen defence. The marked area should be patrolled by either Vidal or Ballack, but it is completely free. The defence is exposed, and Borussia had infiltrating midfielders all day (especially Bradley, who did the same for the US at the World Cup, see his goal against Slovenia) who exploited that space expertly. It is my opinion that Vidal was the one who was supposed to be doing a more defensive-minded job, with Ballack playing a more active, infiltrating midfielder:



Vidal (purple) should have been looking to snuff out any Gladbach counter-attack, while Ballack (yellow) is supporting the attack. But we see Idrissou (to the left), a striker, completely free. He can't be picked up by either Hyppiä or Reinartz, because he has drifted intelligently in that space between defence and Vidal. Xavi Hernandez is expert at this for Spain, but he has to work with little pockets of space, of course. It was not difficult for Idrissou, who is a good, but not extraordinary, player, to destroy Leverkusen with a scintillating performance.

This space between the midfield and defence was repeated in the distance between midfield and attack: there was no one to link the two, so Leverkusen weren't able to play their favorite game of pass-and-go:



There is too much space between Vidal (second from the left) and the man in possession, so Leverkusen have to resort to the long ball. This is not their game, but with two big strikers up front it did pay off once (the last goal of the game). However, with a man in the indicated space, it would have been easier for Leverkusen to take the game to Gladbach. This is why a 4-3-3 has become the template. Heynckes brought on Bender (gold) for Ballack, and this brought some measure of stability: he patrolled the space between defence and midfield well, which gave Vidal (purple) the chance to move forward more often (until he, too, was substituted). This was, however, never going to make Leverkusen claw back from four goals down.




All in all a very spectacular game, in the most exciting league in Europe. Leverkusen should improve, but Heynckes should think about changing his formation or dropping either Ballack or Vidal, who are both excellent players, but cannot play together in a standard 4-4-2.