TACTICS: THE REASON WHY BRAZIL LOST AGAINST ARGENTINA | DINIZ’S RELATIONISM VS POSITIONAL PLAY

The reason why Brazil lost against Argentina was not following one of the fundamentals of relationism, the style of play of the Brazilian manager, Fernando Diniz. Here, Bruno Guimarães has 2 possibilities, pass the ball to the right side where 7 players from Brazil would gather or switch to the left wing where Martinelli waits. In positional play, one of the keys to create scoring chances is to switch the play, looking for the pass to the isolated player on the other side so that he can play the 1v1 situation. However, in relationism, the players gather in close proximity around the ball carrier to overload the flank and progress through that area.

Guimarães decides to pass to the left despite having many teammates close to him being a lower risk pass and with Martinelli having to play outnumbered if he wants to progress.

Argentina recovers the ball due to the bad pass and since most of the players were on the other side, Brazil can’t counter-press

Argentina easily breaks the press with a pass to Rodrigo de Paul who drives without opposition and the play ends in the corner with which Argentina beat Brazil.

The importance of the style of play and that the players recognize the patterns on the field that the manager is looking for.