Question 6 – Solariball:
What's your understanding of Lopetegui's tactics & philosophy so far?
— Siddj (@siddj_14) December 11, 2018
I know the tweet says Lopetegui, honest mistakes happen! So, Solari, the man, the myth, the legend! He’s a rather strange one to figure out. I don’t feel he has a ‘philosophy’ like Lopetegui did. He doesn’t strike me as that kind of manager, however, he has certainly shown he has habits.
So, it’s clear he does like the 4-3-3 formation. This makes complete sense as it’s our most effective formation according to xG. However, tactically, he differs from the former Spain coach. Whilst we do control the ball under him, he is far more direct. You see less steady build-up and more immediate looks for getting into the final third. I also feel that he certainly likes for players to express their individualism, see Vinicius Jr completing 7 dribbles against CSKA as an example. How effective is it? Well, he’s not had a bad start but he’s yet to be really tested.
One thing I do like is his loyalty to the youth players – his rotation is fairly solid, issues with Isco aside. I would like for him to show more guts in dropping underperformers, however, but so far so good. Whatever it is he’s doing, it’s worked for the most part.