What we learned from Denmark vs Albania
Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2015 10:00 am
1. Gashi is not suited to play on the wing. He's a poacher type player, similar to Salihi. Roshi should play instead.
2. Cikalleshi is great stricker, very slick with the ball at his feet. Yes, he made a pretty bad mistake when he slowed down the game, when he should've passed the ball more quickly to Basha. It was pretty much the only mistake of the game if my memory serves me right though. Remains our main stricker.
3. Xhaka as a right defender. Djimisiti wasn't bad, but was a bit rusty, especially in the beginning. I think we should play it safe and introduce Xhaka in that position and give Gym time to adapt. Either Kace/Memushaj can replace him in midfield. (Hopefully, Hysaj will be back from injury)
4.Sadiku: No offence, but the moment he entered the game I knew he would make a mistake. And he immediately did. Sadiku is a poacher not a player who can play with the ball at his feet. Aliji would've been a much better choice.
Specifics about the game:
The players and coach said: "Do te bejm lojen tone qe e bejm gjithmone"
Not true however. This game was not a typical albanian game where they bunker with 10 compact defenders and move together as a team in attack, this was a team who was way too streched out. A team who tried to keep possession, and as I predicted, wouldn't turn out so well. The bunkering method is extremely effective and when used, Albania has always had more chances in attack (although this is counter intuitive) but it's the way it is. We produce much more in our bunkering formation then what we did tonight. That was the main mistake. Not defending as usual with all of our players. If we had done that, it would've been much easier to play.
Why the match with Portugal will be easier:
Your probably thinking "what?" But seriously Portugal will attack of from all positions and I love that. It will give us a chance to forget possession and use our special bunkering method which has ALWAYS proven effective against bigger teams, always. When we are in that 10 def position, we have never eaten a goal. The same should be done in this match. Since Portugal will be attacking though, we have no choice but to bunker, which is again good. If we wan't to win this match, bunkering is a necessity. Keep it tight, 10 players when defending. When this happens, the momentum of the game always adds on our favor and our chances should come by themselves with perfect timing. That's how it was proven to work in the past.
A further analyses on defending vs attacking: Why is hard defending more effective?
Defending with all of your players is easier then attacking. When you have possession and you decide to attack, once is suddenly confronted with too many possibility of play. This causes confusion and overthinking. Only high caliber players can handle this.
But, when one defends, one is generally reduced of any possibility and simply does the most simple obvious thing possible, which is to defend. When the counter breaks it will usually be clear which passes to make since the players will be in quite obvious positions. Again, you can see how we counter with other teams in the past. It was obvious which passes should've been made, and all that was necessary was usually a simple pass. This method of play takes the most out of out players and compensates pretty well for the lack of quality that bigger teams have.
Verify what I've said from watching this game: Against Denmark we were not bunkering. We had fewer chances, and our defence was much more exposed. The team was very stretched, and the players were isolated at times. Not a good choice. This is the number 1 mistake we can do as a team. Try to hold possesion. I think it's all about the path of least resistence. Doing what you can, and doing it 100%. And usually defending is done easiest.
Sorry if you guys think I sound incoherent. It's my first time writing my thoughts about this. Feel free to ask for any questions/disagreements.
Who I think should play against Portugal: 4-1-4-1
Berisha
Xhaka Cana Ajeti Agolli
Basha
Roshi Memushaj Kace Lenjani
Cikalleshi
I think it's best to surprise them with a fresh midfield look. These players have played enough together and have known to be very effective together. The centrel midfielders I've chosen are slighly more offensive minded and will look to make more long passes. This will compensate for the heavy bunkering we will probably do. Plus, the game is in two days and it's good to play with rested players. Probably, the formation will be completely different, but these are my two cents.
2. Cikalleshi is great stricker, very slick with the ball at his feet. Yes, he made a pretty bad mistake when he slowed down the game, when he should've passed the ball more quickly to Basha. It was pretty much the only mistake of the game if my memory serves me right though. Remains our main stricker.
3. Xhaka as a right defender. Djimisiti wasn't bad, but was a bit rusty, especially in the beginning. I think we should play it safe and introduce Xhaka in that position and give Gym time to adapt. Either Kace/Memushaj can replace him in midfield. (Hopefully, Hysaj will be back from injury)
4.Sadiku: No offence, but the moment he entered the game I knew he would make a mistake. And he immediately did. Sadiku is a poacher not a player who can play with the ball at his feet. Aliji would've been a much better choice.
Specifics about the game:
The players and coach said: "Do te bejm lojen tone qe e bejm gjithmone"
Not true however. This game was not a typical albanian game where they bunker with 10 compact defenders and move together as a team in attack, this was a team who was way too streched out. A team who tried to keep possession, and as I predicted, wouldn't turn out so well. The bunkering method is extremely effective and when used, Albania has always had more chances in attack (although this is counter intuitive) but it's the way it is. We produce much more in our bunkering formation then what we did tonight. That was the main mistake. Not defending as usual with all of our players. If we had done that, it would've been much easier to play.
Why the match with Portugal will be easier:
Your probably thinking "what?" But seriously Portugal will attack of from all positions and I love that. It will give us a chance to forget possession and use our special bunkering method which has ALWAYS proven effective against bigger teams, always. When we are in that 10 def position, we have never eaten a goal. The same should be done in this match. Since Portugal will be attacking though, we have no choice but to bunker, which is again good. If we wan't to win this match, bunkering is a necessity. Keep it tight, 10 players when defending. When this happens, the momentum of the game always adds on our favor and our chances should come by themselves with perfect timing. That's how it was proven to work in the past.
A further analyses on defending vs attacking: Why is hard defending more effective?
Defending with all of your players is easier then attacking. When you have possession and you decide to attack, once is suddenly confronted with too many possibility of play. This causes confusion and overthinking. Only high caliber players can handle this.
But, when one defends, one is generally reduced of any possibility and simply does the most simple obvious thing possible, which is to defend. When the counter breaks it will usually be clear which passes to make since the players will be in quite obvious positions. Again, you can see how we counter with other teams in the past. It was obvious which passes should've been made, and all that was necessary was usually a simple pass. This method of play takes the most out of out players and compensates pretty well for the lack of quality that bigger teams have.
Verify what I've said from watching this game: Against Denmark we were not bunkering. We had fewer chances, and our defence was much more exposed. The team was very stretched, and the players were isolated at times. Not a good choice. This is the number 1 mistake we can do as a team. Try to hold possesion. I think it's all about the path of least resistence. Doing what you can, and doing it 100%. And usually defending is done easiest.
Sorry if you guys think I sound incoherent. It's my first time writing my thoughts about this. Feel free to ask for any questions/disagreements.
Who I think should play against Portugal: 4-1-4-1
Berisha
Xhaka Cana Ajeti Agolli
Basha
Roshi Memushaj Kace Lenjani
Cikalleshi
I think it's best to surprise them with a fresh midfield look. These players have played enough together and have known to be very effective together. The centrel midfielders I've chosen are slighly more offensive minded and will look to make more long passes. This will compensate for the heavy bunkering we will probably do. Plus, the game is in two days and it's good to play with rested players. Probably, the formation will be completely different, but these are my two cents.
