The announcement of Jurgen Klopp as the new Liverpool manager was a terribly kept secret, but one that has caused pandemonium around the various Reds’ supporters scattered across the planet.
The expectancy is that the charismatic German can recreate all the success he enjoyed with Borussia Dortmund at Anfield and in the process build another Merseyside legacy.
What Klopp did superbly in the Bundesliga was a tactic known as ‘gegenpressing’, which basically translates to counter-pressing. The idea behind this style of play is to win back possession of the ball much higher up the pitch and as a result, switch to attack in a more seamless fashion and ultimately have more shots and of course score some quality goals.
The formation in question will most likely be a 4-2-3-1, which is already more exciting than the defensive minded 3-5-2 Liverpool employed under Brendan Rodgers. However, for this to work it is going to take time and the current crop of players will need some further conditioning. The emphasis of this system is on a swarm like mentality when hunting to ball down and an equally wolf pack style of play when in possession.
For instance, the attacking players will be positioned extremely close together and have to distribute the ball in small channels and really condense the space. The benefit of this? Well firstly and most importantly, if Liverpool lose the ball in this scenario they are already in close proximity and in plenty of numbers to win it back instantly. Then rather than playing the ball to a defender in order to reset and start again, the Reds can turn defence into attack immediately, because the players will already be in their attacking setup.
The other dynamic of this is rather deceptive and certainly dangerous for any opposition. With so much focus centred towards the attacking players through middle, it drags in the defenders as though they were paperclips to a magnet. Which means there is acres of space out wide, perfect for attacking wing backs to exploit or combine with the midfield and add further complexities to the opposing approach.
On paper the theory is mouth-watering, however, turning that into a reality is a minefield. Obviously, there are a few individuals within the Liverpool roster that will take to this style like a fish to water. Philippe Coutinho will naturally play through the centre, while Mamadou Sakho will feature through the back. What about the fringe players? Who is going to thrive under Klopp?
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