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Tattica: Toronto FC's striking options for 2013
Heading into the 2013 MLS season, Toronto FC currently have Danny Koevermans, Eric Hassli, Ryan Johnson, Quincy Amarikwa, Justin Braun, Joao Plata and Andrew Wiedeman as potential forwards. An interesting approach could be to start the year with two tall and physical forwards up top with Johnson, Hassli and Braun all as options until Koevermans returns from injury. Is this a good solution for the Reds?
See also: Montreal's final piece of the calcio puzzle?
As many teams tinker with 4-3-3, and have technical players from Central and South America, MLS still has strong influences from the English style of football, where teams exploit rivals¹ weaknesses by playing a direct style of football, going over the top as soon as possible. Utilizing a big man as a central striker isn¹t unusual in modern soccer: just take a look at the way Stoke¹s manager Tony Pulis used Peter Crouch in the EPL.
However, playing with two big players as forwards is uncommon in the modern game. Lining up two ’towers¹ in front of the attack often lends to playing an old British style brand of soccer. Generally, larger-sized forwards are not very capable with their feet, but this isn¹t the rule. Eric Hassli has shown to be very proficient and technical with the ball at his feet and outside of the 18-yard box has been very dangerous.
As well, having two big men in and around the opponent¹s penalty area, whether they are able to produce with the ball at their feet or not, brings an opportunity to have two large players giving the centre-backs tough, physical pressure throughout the match. The real question is: how to provide good service to those difficult-to-cover players? First and foremost, it depends on what are their skills and attitude.
Toronto has some big forwards that like to receive the ball in front of the goal, others that prefer play with their back at the net and others that are a mix between. These kinds of players are generally suited to play balls coming in from the flanks. This is maybe the better way to utilize them and to made defenders panic, because the ball coming from the outside area is the hardest to defend. The defenders have to choose, depending on the coach’s approach, if they will play zone coverage or if they will engage the forwards in man to man coverage. In both case, the defender has to make the choice between looking for the ball or looking for the forwards inside the penalty area. It¹s a difficult decision to make.
Coming back to Toronto, there are rumors circulating that TFC¹s coaching staff are considering experimenting with playing Eric Hassli as an attacking midfielder. This option makes sense if they choose to employ a counter-attacking style relying on the direct fast-break. In fact, it isn¹t unusual to see two players up top with height, and the taller or the one with better heading ability playing as an attacking midfielder behind the centre forward. This way, coaches can ask their defenders to play long, and direct balls from their own defensive third of the pitch to the attacking forward who can play a header onto the first striker.
Two big players up top allows teams to find advantages in the middle when they are outnumbered, as it happens in i.e. in a 4-4-2 versus a 3-5-2. They can avoid going from the defense to the attack through the midfield, which can be difficult when the opponent’s midfield is loaded with much more talent than yours.
In the end, having both the central strikers, in a 4-4-2 system, capable with their heads and their bodies to keep and protect the ball, gives coaches the possibility to play quick counter-attacks sending the ball up top as soon as possible. The players high up can control it and wait for oncoming midfielders and in this approach you can beat the immediate pressure from the opposition if or when the ball is lost.
Michele Tossani is a football tactician with a Ph.D. in History. Michele resides in Florence, Italy and is a tactical analyst for Futbol-Tactico.com
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