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Subject: [NT] Austria
Underway against Austria. Thanks for Slavko and Raskal for their input this week.
Austria has shown a clear trend of moving the defense up against weaker teams (Greece, BiH) and backing the defense off against better teams (Lithuania, Brasil). Canada being a better team, one would expect their defense to back off in this one - would perhaps be a good time for them to cross things up. I’d rather take a few offsides then run at the defense, so I’ve planned for the deeper positioning. Wang is positioned a little more cautiously then Amado.
Playing a 442 with one wider midfielder (not a real winger). Those who watched the cup final had a preview - it was a bit of a field test. Midfield is asymmetric, so the top 3 midfielders should all have different passing lanes to the strikers. Hopefully they will move the ball around until they find an open one. I expect it to be a strong possession tactic - a somewhat aggressive defensive line should help in this aspect. Square throws where possible - Austrian Coach tends to take line throws away.
The Austrian Coach posted in their forum that he intends to use 2 wingers and a striker. Suggests the tactic they used against Brasil (which got them their best result so far this season). I would be pretty happy if they used it - has a fairly porous central midfield, and wingers pinned right against the touchline. But it could well be a ruse. I did not adjust the Canadian game plan based on what was said. I’m not overly impressed with what I’ve seen of the Austrian wingers (Mahlich looks alright). And the fact that the Austrian Coach uses a DEF order on the wingers suggests they are not strong technically. I’m optimistic our wide defenders will deal with them (should Austria use 2 wingers as advertised). I think perhaps a better approach from them would be sacrificing one winger for some extra central midfield presence or a second forward. I guess we’ll see.
After much deliberation I’ve sat Bradshaw and moved Dehere into the DM spot. He performed well in that role against Lithuania.
I’ve got a bit of a bad feeling about the game. Not so much the tactic or the players. More that the referee might work against us. Probably nothing. :)
Line-Up
Parker
Malhotra, Mayard, Fichaud, Abbas Musa
Caron (Barrera ~60 & shift Iginla), Omar, Dehere, Iginla
Amado, Wang (W Lavrynenko ~75)
Bench
Clemens
Bradshaw
O’Hara
Austria has shown a clear trend of moving the defense up against weaker teams (Greece, BiH) and backing the defense off against better teams (Lithuania, Brasil). Canada being a better team, one would expect their defense to back off in this one - would perhaps be a good time for them to cross things up. I’d rather take a few offsides then run at the defense, so I’ve planned for the deeper positioning. Wang is positioned a little more cautiously then Amado.
Playing a 442 with one wider midfielder (not a real winger). Those who watched the cup final had a preview - it was a bit of a field test. Midfield is asymmetric, so the top 3 midfielders should all have different passing lanes to the strikers. Hopefully they will move the ball around until they find an open one. I expect it to be a strong possession tactic - a somewhat aggressive defensive line should help in this aspect. Square throws where possible - Austrian Coach tends to take line throws away.
The Austrian Coach posted in their forum that he intends to use 2 wingers and a striker. Suggests the tactic they used against Brasil (which got them their best result so far this season). I would be pretty happy if they used it - has a fairly porous central midfield, and wingers pinned right against the touchline. But it could well be a ruse. I did not adjust the Canadian game plan based on what was said. I’m not overly impressed with what I’ve seen of the Austrian wingers (Mahlich looks alright). And the fact that the Austrian Coach uses a DEF order on the wingers suggests they are not strong technically. I’m optimistic our wide defenders will deal with them (should Austria use 2 wingers as advertised). I think perhaps a better approach from them would be sacrificing one winger for some extra central midfield presence or a second forward. I guess we’ll see.
After much deliberation I’ve sat Bradshaw and moved Dehere into the DM spot. He performed well in that role against Lithuania.
I’ve got a bit of a bad feeling about the game. Not so much the tactic or the players. More that the referee might work against us. Probably nothing. :)
Line-Up
Parker
Malhotra, Mayard, Fichaud, Abbas Musa
Caron (Barrera ~60 & shift Iginla), Omar, Dehere, Iginla
Amado, Wang (W Lavrynenko ~75)
Bench
Clemens
Bradshaw
O’Hara
My apologies everyone. Sometimes I wonder why I enjoy being an NT coach. :)
The Austrian Coach said in their forum that we would likely underestimate them. I assure everyone that was not the case. I put proper diligence into the preparation of this match. I watched every Austria match this season (a couple twice). I watched three of Andreasson's club matches. I spent hours agonizing over the tactic. Just wasn't to be.
When the two teams took the field, I thought we were going to kill them. We controlled the middle of the park, and were able to defend their wings well with the 4 defenders. I think my striker placement could have been better. I will watch for that on the re-run.
Congratulations Andreasson. A feather in your cap to be sure.
The Austrian Coach said in their forum that we would likely underestimate them. I assure everyone that was not the case. I put proper diligence into the preparation of this match. I watched every Austria match this season (a couple twice). I watched three of Andreasson's club matches. I spent hours agonizing over the tactic. Just wasn't to be.
When the two teams took the field, I thought we were going to kill them. We controlled the middle of the park, and were able to defend their wings well with the 4 defenders. I think my striker placement could have been better. I will watch for that on the re-run.
Congratulations Andreasson. A feather in your cap to be sure.
Phuuu...
The perhaps biggest win in Austria Nationalteam history! We used so much luck and a divine keeper (Preiner). At the moment I can`t believe what I have seen. Bad luck for you, Amado and Wang could score 4-5 goals. Sorry for Wangs injury and the red card.
So we see us soon again... :)
The perhaps biggest win in Austria Nationalteam history! We used so much luck and a divine keeper (Preiner). At the moment I can`t believe what I have seen. Bad luck for you, Amado and Wang could score 4-5 goals. Sorry for Wangs injury and the red card.
So we see us soon again... :)
Well, this match today reminds me of the last WC match Germany vs Canada. This time the bad luck was on your side, no doubt about that!
2 shots against you, 2 goals, one of them from a bad angle, the other one from a midfielder!
And after Wang's injury and Caron's red card it didn't look that great anymore ...
In the first 40 minutes you could have scored a few times and even in the second half you had much more of the game ...
Well, looking at your tactics, the only thing I didn't really like is that your strikers returned too much.
Ok, in the last couple of matches Austria's defense stood a little bit higher than today, but they were facing a weaker opponent. Against Lietuva and Brasil, both much stronger, they were standing excactly like today ...
Well, that's a small point, if it had worked better then, I don't know ...
Anyway, I liked the way your team was playing, it was nice to watch, and hopefully you'll get to the WC together with Austria and Lietuva!
Good luck for the next matches! ;-)
2 shots against you, 2 goals, one of them from a bad angle, the other one from a midfielder!
And after Wang's injury and Caron's red card it didn't look that great anymore ...
In the first 40 minutes you could have scored a few times and even in the second half you had much more of the game ...
Well, looking at your tactics, the only thing I didn't really like is that your strikers returned too much.
Ok, in the last couple of matches Austria's defense stood a little bit higher than today, but they were facing a weaker opponent. Against Lietuva and Brasil, both much stronger, they were standing excactly like today ...
Well, that's a small point, if it had worked better then, I don't know ...
Anyway, I liked the way your team was playing, it was nice to watch, and hopefully you'll get to the WC together with Austria and Lietuva!
Good luck for the next matches! ;-)
It wasn't quite Canada - Germany. Germany's luck that match was legendarily bad. Slavko was in charge then anyway (he seems to have a little more amiable relationship with the ME). This match was more reminiscent for me of the Canada - France match in the WC a few seasons back.
Wang's injury probably hurt more then the card. Lavrynenko is a 1-dimensional player. I only intended for him to play 10-12 minutes. The card wasn't all that bad initially. Caron was the only Canadian midfielder that was marked at all. Unfortunately the 60th minute substitution for Caron included a player shift, so Iginla switched sides and effectively disappeared.
I regret the defensive midfielder. With such weak Austrian presence in the middle Dehere didn't have a lot to do. An offensive midfielder tucked in behind the strikers would have been more effective. I was counting on the midfield being accurate enough with their passing to hit the gaps in the defense. An offensive midfielder would have pulled defenders out of position and really opened up those gaps. Easy in hindsight. :)
Wang's injury probably hurt more then the card. Lavrynenko is a 1-dimensional player. I only intended for him to play 10-12 minutes. The card wasn't all that bad initially. Caron was the only Canadian midfielder that was marked at all. Unfortunately the 60th minute substitution for Caron included a player shift, so Iginla switched sides and effectively disappeared.
I regret the defensive midfielder. With such weak Austrian presence in the middle Dehere didn't have a lot to do. An offensive midfielder tucked in behind the strikers would have been more effective. I was counting on the midfield being accurate enough with their passing to hit the gaps in the defense. An offensive midfielder would have pulled defenders out of position and really opened up those gaps. Easy in hindsight. :)
Easy in hindsight. :)
Definitely!
Nevertheless I think it was a pretty good match from your side! ;-)
Definitely!
Nevertheless I think it was a pretty good match from your side! ;-)
Austria Stats
There is a typo - one of Wang's shots missed the net. Corrected on my sheet. I also think I shorted Amado with shots on. Think I saw 5 during a re-watch.
Had hoped for a better passing performance from Omar and Iginla. With no defensive midfield blocking passing lanes they could well have had better efficiencies.
Another poor shooting performance from Amado.
Not a great match for Malhotra - tackling or passing. Though his missed tackles weren't costly - Mayard covered him up well.
(edited)
There is a typo - one of Wang's shots missed the net. Corrected on my sheet. I also think I shorted Amado with shots on. Think I saw 5 during a re-watch.
Had hoped for a better passing performance from Omar and Iginla. With no defensive midfield blocking passing lanes they could well have had better efficiencies.
Another poor shooting performance from Amado.
Not a great match for Malhotra - tackling or passing. Though his missed tackles weren't costly - Mayard covered him up well.
(edited)
Nevertheless I think it was a pretty good match from your side! ;-)
Heehee. You might say that. :) We dominated the match with 11 men. And with 10. And with a key player injured. Shots were 13 to 2, but that doesn't accurately reflect the lopsidedness. There was all kinds of play in Austria's 18 yard box that did not result in a shot.
And it wasn't just because of the players. Though I always nitpick my tactics, I thought Canada's approach was far stronger then Austria's. We wanted to attack the middle (where the high percentage chances are), and Austria obliged by leaving it wide open. I still can't believe middies like Iginla and Omar didn't carve Austria up.
Heehee. You might say that. :) We dominated the match with 11 men. And with 10. And with a key player injured. Shots were 13 to 2, but that doesn't accurately reflect the lopsidedness. There was all kinds of play in Austria's 18 yard box that did not result in a shot.
And it wasn't just because of the players. Though I always nitpick my tactics, I thought Canada's approach was far stronger then Austria's. We wanted to attack the middle (where the high percentage chances are), and Austria obliged by leaving it wide open. I still can't believe middies like Iginla and Omar didn't carve Austria up.
Well, I'm kinda neutral because I'm not involved in any NT anymore! ;-)
Of course I hoped that my two Austrian players do well, but I'm always hoping for an interesting match!
We dominated the match with 11 men. And with 10. And with a key player injured.
Yep, definitely!
Shots were 13 to 2, but that doesn't accurately reflect the lopsidedness. There was all kinds of play in Austria's 18 yard box that did not result in a shot.
That's a strange thing happening sometimes in Sokker ... :-(
Most of the shots were from far away or from a bad angle ...
We wanted to attack the middle (where the high percentage chances are), and Austria obliged by leaving it wide open. I still can't believe middies like Iginla and Omar didn't carve Austria up.
Yep, everything was open.
But in my eyes, when Iginla or Omar had the ball, the other midfielder was completely free, so they often played to each other, even though a pass to the striker would probably have been more successful ...
I just wanted to say that your team is [b]playing[/i], it's not just get the ball and kick it forward! They played with each other, even the defenders (apart from Malhotra) mostly succeed in passing to a midfielder!
And that's why I wrote that I think it's a pretty good match!
And I'm looking forward to the match in 2 weeks! :-)
Of course I hoped that my two Austrian players do well, but I'm always hoping for an interesting match!
We dominated the match with 11 men. And with 10. And with a key player injured.
Yep, definitely!
Shots were 13 to 2, but that doesn't accurately reflect the lopsidedness. There was all kinds of play in Austria's 18 yard box that did not result in a shot.
That's a strange thing happening sometimes in Sokker ... :-(
Most of the shots were from far away or from a bad angle ...
We wanted to attack the middle (where the high percentage chances are), and Austria obliged by leaving it wide open. I still can't believe middies like Iginla and Omar didn't carve Austria up.
Yep, everything was open.
But in my eyes, when Iginla or Omar had the ball, the other midfielder was completely free, so they often played to each other, even though a pass to the striker would probably have been more successful ...
I just wanted to say that your team is [b]playing[/i], it's not just get the ball and kick it forward! They played with each other, even the defenders (apart from Malhotra) mostly succeed in passing to a midfielder!
And that's why I wrote that I think it's a pretty good match!
And I'm looking forward to the match in 2 weeks! :-)
Most of the shots were from far away or from a bad angle ...
I don't think this is a fair comment. I suppose it depends on how you define "far away" and "bad angle". For me, anything inside the 18 yard box is close enough to be considered a high quality chance. And anything inside the lateral boundaries of the 6 yard box is considered a good angle. If these two criteria are met, I think it's a "good" shooting opportunity and a quality scoring chance.
High Quality Shots - all these were within 18 yards of depth and within the 6 yard box laterally.
(Minute ... Shooter ... Distance Estimate)
3 - Wang - 15 yards
4 - Wang - 16 yards
10 - Amado - 8 yards
19 - Amado - 6 yards
29 - Amado - 18 yards
35 - Amado - 16 yards
40 - Amado - 18 yards
Poor Quality Shots (Either too long or too wide)
22 - Amado - 24 yards, dead center (blocked)
39 - Amado - 25 yards, dead center (goal)
80 - Amado - 25 yards, just outside 6 yard width
87 - Lavrynenko - 24 yards, edge of 6 yard width
88 - Amado - 24 yards, dead center
Opportunities in the box that could easily have resulted in a shot.
12 - Amado tackled 14 yards center
18 - Wang half-tackled 8 yards center
21 - Wang half-tackled 12 yards edge of 6 yard width
49 - Lavrynenko tackled 15 yards center
76 - Lavrynenko tackled 5 yards but wide left
Other Close Calls
22 - keeper just beats Amado to the ball
67 - running pass just missed
68 - running pass just missed
Other play in the 18 yard box
30 - Wang just outrun to ball by defender
33 - loose ball swept
48 - loose ball swept
52 - loose ball swept
57 - Amado offside
81 - ball straight to keeper
89 - loose ball swept
By Contrast, for Austria
High Quality Shots
28 - goal - 6 yards
59 - goal - 16 yards *
* - I hesitate to call this a high quality shot since it was taken by a midfielder. To me that makes this a lower percentage chance even though it was taken from a good spot.
Poor Quality Shots
none
Opportunities in the box that could easily have resulted in a shot.
none
Other Close Calls
none
Other play in the 18 yard box
36 - loose ball swept
44 - 50/50 ball won by Fichaud
45 - loose ball swept (striker was offside anyway)
77 - straight to keeper
I don't think this is a fair comment. I suppose it depends on how you define "far away" and "bad angle". For me, anything inside the 18 yard box is close enough to be considered a high quality chance. And anything inside the lateral boundaries of the 6 yard box is considered a good angle. If these two criteria are met, I think it's a "good" shooting opportunity and a quality scoring chance.
High Quality Shots - all these were within 18 yards of depth and within the 6 yard box laterally.
(Minute ... Shooter ... Distance Estimate)
3 - Wang - 15 yards
4 - Wang - 16 yards
10 - Amado - 8 yards
19 - Amado - 6 yards
29 - Amado - 18 yards
35 - Amado - 16 yards
40 - Amado - 18 yards
Poor Quality Shots (Either too long or too wide)
22 - Amado - 24 yards, dead center (blocked)
39 - Amado - 25 yards, dead center (goal)
80 - Amado - 25 yards, just outside 6 yard width
87 - Lavrynenko - 24 yards, edge of 6 yard width
88 - Amado - 24 yards, dead center
Opportunities in the box that could easily have resulted in a shot.
12 - Amado tackled 14 yards center
18 - Wang half-tackled 8 yards center
21 - Wang half-tackled 12 yards edge of 6 yard width
49 - Lavrynenko tackled 15 yards center
76 - Lavrynenko tackled 5 yards but wide left
Other Close Calls
22 - keeper just beats Amado to the ball
67 - running pass just missed
68 - running pass just missed
Other play in the 18 yard box
30 - Wang just outrun to ball by defender
33 - loose ball swept
48 - loose ball swept
52 - loose ball swept
57 - Amado offside
81 - ball straight to keeper
89 - loose ball swept
By Contrast, for Austria
High Quality Shots
28 - goal - 6 yards
59 - goal - 16 yards *
* - I hesitate to call this a high quality shot since it was taken by a midfielder. To me that makes this a lower percentage chance even though it was taken from a good spot.
Poor Quality Shots
none
Opportunities in the box that could easily have resulted in a shot.
none
Other Close Calls
none
Other play in the 18 yard box
36 - loose ball swept
44 - 50/50 ball won by Fichaud
45 - loose ball swept (striker was offside anyway)
77 - straight to keeper
I’ve got a bit of a bad feeling about the game. Not so much the tactic or the players. More that the referee might work against us. Probably nothing. :)
This is only the second time in recent memory I've had this feeling. The last time was before New Zealand took on Chile in the last season's World Cup. New Zealand went on to take 2 straight red cards and suffer a crippling injury.
I suppose it's comforting to know my radar is working properly. :S
This is only the second time in recent memory I've had this feeling. The last time was before New Zealand took on Chile in the last season's World Cup. New Zealand went on to take 2 straight red cards and suffer a crippling injury.
I suppose it's comforting to know my radar is working properly. :S
I don't want to criticise you Seca but my approach for this game would have been very different, not that you didn't do good job. Don't take this so serious, we all know you are our best NT manager and tactician but I didn't like this tactic at all or the players didn't fit for positions you place them. Bad luck on top of all that, you didn't get rid of it from last season as NZ NT manager.
I was surprised to see Caron today playing that wide, better option would have been Iginla which you intend to switch later but to late.
Dehere is a nice player but just don't fit as DM.
Like you said our strikers positioning today just wasn't good.
Lavrynenko as a sub stiker for this tipe of games is not a good move, SI Cochran or Biron and even Manohar would have been better options.
Above of all that luck wasn't on our side today at all. 2 shots 2 goals from Austria, 13 shots 1 goal for Canada and both divine keepers?
I was surprised to see Caron today playing that wide, better option would have been Iginla which you intend to switch later but to late.
Dehere is a nice player but just don't fit as DM.
Like you said our strikers positioning today just wasn't good.
Lavrynenko as a sub stiker for this tipe of games is not a good move, SI Cochran or Biron and even Manohar would have been better options.
Above of all that luck wasn't on our side today at all. 2 shots 2 goals from Austria, 13 shots 1 goal for Canada and both divine keepers?
Most of the shots were from far away or from a bad angle ...
After having watched the match again I take this sentence back, you're right, you had some good opportunities!
Well, like I already wrote, you were much better and you had the better chances!
Austria had one chance and scored twice ...
And look, you had enough chances, Austria had almost none, so actually you could be satisfied with your tactic!
I mean, what do you wanna do more? Your strikers don't score, you can't do anything about that! They had enough chances ...
Reading this thread I think you did enough, you spent a big amount of time in your tactics, I guess everybody saw that! And your tactic worked ...
Well, I know it's a cold comfort, but sometimes such matches happen in SK ... :-(
Maybe in 2 weeks it looks completely different!
After having watched the match again I take this sentence back, you're right, you had some good opportunities!
Well, like I already wrote, you were much better and you had the better chances!
Austria had one chance and scored twice ...
And look, you had enough chances, Austria had almost none, so actually you could be satisfied with your tactic!
I mean, what do you wanna do more? Your strikers don't score, you can't do anything about that! They had enough chances ...
Reading this thread I think you did enough, you spent a big amount of time in your tactics, I guess everybody saw that! And your tactic worked ...
Well, I know it's a cold comfort, but sometimes such matches happen in SK ... :-(
Maybe in 2 weeks it looks completely different!
and both divine keepers?
The Austrian keeper is magical as far as I know ...
At least he was magical a few months ago, and he wasn't trained till then ...
The Austrian keeper is magical as far as I know ...
At least he was magical a few months ago, and he wasn't trained till then ...
Andreasson to Seca 2007-12-08 12:31:39
Phuuu...
The perhaps biggest win in Austria Nationalteam history! We used so much luck and a divine keeper (Preiner).
His words.
Phuuu...
The perhaps biggest win in Austria Nationalteam history! We used so much luck and a divine keeper (Preiner).
His words.