Today, we look at the world of Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching principles, which have changed the beautiful game. Bielsa’s attention to detail and relentless commitment to attacking football have inspired countless players and coaches like Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino. In this article, we explore the five fundamental principles that underpin Bielsa’s distinctive style of play.
High Intensity Pressing
Bielsa’s teams are known for their relentless pressure on the opposition. The principle of high-intensity pressing involves coordinated movement and swift transitions to quickly regain possession. Players are expected to relentlessly hunt down the ball, cutting off passing lanes and closing down opponents. Bielsa’s squads exhibit incredible stamina, discipline, and an unwavering work ethic. This relentless pressure not only disrupts the opposition’s game plan but also sets the foundation for quick counter-attacks.
For this reason, many of the top coaches now play with a high Intensity press such as Jürgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Roberto De Zerbi to name a few.
Here are few a few things that you can do in order to instill a high pressing strategy into your team;
Intensity and Work Rate: Bielsa’s philosophy revolves around instilling an unwavering work rate and intensity in players. This means constantly applying pressure on the opposition, denying them time to settle on the ball. Try to emphasize the importance of relentless effort and determination to create a high-tempo playing style.
Collective Pressing: Bielsa’s pressing strategy is built on teamwork rather than individual actions. Players must work together as a cohesive unit, moving and pressing as a team. Try to teach your players to press in groups, cutting off passing options while applying pressure on the ball carrier.
Triggering the Press: Bielsa’s teams use specific triggers to initiate their pressing. These triggers can be based on the opponent’s positioning or cues given by the coach. Help your players players to recognize these triggers and react quickly, applying pressure on the opponent at the right moment.
Defensive Shape and Compactness: Maintaining a compact defensive shape is crucial when implementing a high-pressing system. Try to train your teams to stay organized and prevent the opposition from exploiting spaces. Players should be positioned effectively, blocking passing lanes and maintaining good defensive structure.
Transition Play: Bielsa’s teams excel in quick transitions from defense to attack. Once possession is regained, they launch quick counter-attacks to catch opponents off-guard. To help bring this into your team play, incorporate transition exercises in your training sessions to help players transition swiftly and exploit the spaces left by the opposition.
In summary, Bielsa’s principles demand a high work rate, collective pressing, effective triggering of the press, defensive compactness, and quick transition play. You can embrace these principles to inspire your players to play with intensity and efficiency, creating an exciting and dynamic style of football.
Dynamic Positional Play
Bielsa’s dynamic positional play is a fundamental principle that sets his teams apart. It revolves around the concept of constant interchangeability, fluidity, and confusion for the opposition. Understanding and implementing this approach can have a huge impact on your team’s performance.
The key is to create positional flexibility among your players. Encourage your defenders to be comfortable on the ball, capable of creating attacks and breaking lines with their passing. Try to develop midfielders who have the ability to contribute both defensively and offensively, quickly transitioning between roles. Nurture forwards who can drop deep, link play, and create spaces for their teammates.
By embracing dynamic positional play, you open up many possibilities on the field. Players constantly interchange positions, creating confusion and disarray for the opposition’s defensive structure. This fluidity allows your team to exploit spaces, overload areas, and unleash quick attacks.
Instill in your players the importance of intelligent movement off the ball. Teach them to recognize when and where to make runs, exploit gaps, and create passing angles. This understanding of space and movement is vital to the success of dynamic positional play.
Having your players communicate effectively is also very important. Clear and concise communication enhances coordination and helps players anticipate each other’s movements. This unity allows for seamless positional transitions and ensures the team functions as a cohesive unit.
With this in mind, your practices should reflect the principles of dynamic positional play. You should try to deliver exercises that focus on positional interchanges, quick combination play, and exploiting spaces. Small-sided games that encourage fluid movement and decision-making under pressure are most effective when developing these skills.
Dynamic positional play is a captivating style that challenges opponents and empowers players. By embracing this approach, your team will unlock their creative potential, overwhelm defenses, and achieve new levels of success on the field.
Verticality in Attack
Bielsa’s teams are relentless in their pursuit of attacking opportunities. The principle of verticality in attack emphasizes quick, direct, and incisive forward movement. Bielsa’s players are encouraged to play forward passes whenever possible, bypassing the midfield lines to exploit gaps in the opposition’s defense. This attacking mindset requires players to be bold, make quick decisions, and take risks. The goal is to create goal-scoring chances by taking advantage of transitional moments and catching the opposition off guard.
To embrace the essence of Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching principles, it is important to emphasize quick transitions from defense to attack. Try to teach your players the importance of swift and efficient movement when gaining possession, ensuring they advance with purpose and speed.
You also want your players to Develop an attacking mindset. Encourage your players to look for forward passes and opportunities to penetrate the opposition’s defense. Create a proactive approach, instilling the mentality of vertical ball progression rather than relying solely on lateral or backward passes. We don’t want to create players who just keep possession just for the sake of it, it should be keeping possession to play forward quickly when the opportunity presents itself.
In order for this to work we must have Intelligent movement off the ball. You should educate your players on creating space, making diagonal runs, and exploiting gaps in the opponent’s defensive lines. Emphasize their role in supporting attacking movements and finding spaces behind the defense. This is something that I see Pep’s Manchester City do very well, more so when Erling Haland wasn’t their number 9. The front 3 would constantly interchange positions and they were always aware of when another player had made a particular rotation so that they could exploit the space that was left behind.
Quick combination play is a hallmark of Bielsa’s teams. If you want to implement this you should create practices that focus on passing accuracy, timing, and the understanding of when to release the ball swiftly. Encourage them to move the ball quicker when it becomes tighter and use quick combination play to break through the opposition’s defense.
As always, Incorporate small-sided games that promote this type of play. Use possession-based practices with specific objectives to allow players to hone their skills in quick transitions, vertical passing, and intelligent movement within a realistic and engaging setting.
Remember, it’s important to adapt the complexity of these concepts to the age and skill level of the players.
Overloading and Wide Play
Bielsa places great importance on overloading the opponent’s defensive lines, especially in wide areas of the pitch. By creating numerical superiority, his teams can stretch and disrupt the opposition’s defensive structure. Full-backs often push high up the field, providing width and creating space for midfielders to exploit centrally. This emphasis on wide play allows for effective crosses into the box and opens up passing options, providing greater attacking opportunities.
Encourage players to recognize and exploit areas of space by positioning themselves strategically to outnumber opponents. Teach them to work as a cohesive unit, using quick passes, movement, and off-the-ball runs to create passing triangles and open up passing lanes.
Wide play, another crucial element of Bielsa’s style, involves utilizing the width of the pitch to stretch the opposition’s defense and create space for attacking opportunities. Emphasize the importance of wingers or fullbacks hugging the touchline, creating width, and stretching the defense horizontally. Teach players to make effective runs into wide areas, deliver accurate crosses, and provide support for overlapping runs.
To teach these concepts, employ small-sided games that encourage players to implement overloading and wide play. Use practices that focus on quick passing, movement, and switching play to exploit open spaces. Incorporate game-related scenarios where players must make decisions based on the principles of overloading and wide play.
Additionally, emphasize the importance of communication, teamwork, and understanding positional responsibilities. Encourage players to constantly communicate with their teammates, providing information on available passing options and opportunities for overloading. Teach them to understand their roles in different positions and how they can contribute to the team’s overall attacking play.
By using these training methods, your players will learn to create numerical advantages, exploit wide areas, and work collectively as a team to unlock defenses and maximize their scoring potential.
Man-to-Man Marking:
One of Bielsa’s most distinctive principles is man-to-man marking, even in modern football where zonal marking is prevalent. His teams engage in intense marking from front to back, where each player takes personal responsibility for an opponent. This principle relies heavily on player discipline, awareness, and spatial understanding. Man-to-man marking creates a cohesive defensive unit, making it difficult for the opposition to find space and build attacks.
When introducing this style to young players, it is essential to focus on individual defensive responsibilities and creating a cohesive defensive unit. Start by emphasizing the importance of constant communication among players to ensure effective marking and prevent opponents from finding space.
Teach your players to closely track their assigned opponents, applying pressure and denying them time and space on the ball. Incorporate practices and small-sided games that simulate realistic match situations, encouraging players to take ownership of their defensive duties. Additionally, emphasize the significance of proper body positioning, reading the game, and anticipating opponents’ movements.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Marcelo Bielsa’s five principles of play provide a blueprint for success on the football pitch. Emphasizing quick transitions, developing an attacking mindset, creating intelligent movement, promoting quick combination play, and encouraging high tempo and pressure are all key elements of Bielsa’s renowned coaching philosophy.
By embracing these principles, you can unlock your team’s potential and create a dynamic, exciting style of play. Bielsa’s influence on the game is evident in the countless teams and players who have adopted his approach. His commitment to attacking football, relentless pressing, and innovative tactics has left an indelible mark on the sport.
As coaches, we are responsible for analyzing Bielsa’s methods, adapting them to our teams, and inspiring our players to reach new heights. By incorporating small-sided games and providing opportunities for players to apply these principles in training, we can cultivate a dynamic, cohesive, and relentless style of play.
Coaching isn’t easy, but by instilling Bielsa’s principles and nurturing a love for the game, we can guide our players toward reaching their full potential.