A few days ago, I penned a tactical preview of what former Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi’s tactics might look like at Inter and how his approach will suit the players at the club. In this tactical analysis, I look at some of Maurizio Sarri’s ideas that I think he might implement as he replaces Inzaghi at Lazio. After the tactics section, I’ll take a comprehensive look at some of the key areas Lazio must strengthen this summer in order to make Sarri’s football, often nicknamed Sarriball, work.
Sarri’s positional play
The thing that earned Sarri’s football the Sarriball nickname was the possession play of the team. Sarri implements his own version of positional play and places a huge focus on some obvious principles:
creating positional superiority by finding free men between the lines.
establishing passing triangles and diamonds around the ball carrier.
positioning on different horizontal lines to create depth within the structure.
frequent use of up, back, through combinations to play through teams.
attacking space behind the opponent with runners from deep.
focus on third man combinations to achieve dynamism in attack.
dominating spaces thanks to intelligent positioning.
A few years ago, I created a few videos to analyse Sarri’s football at Napoli. When looking at Sarri’s style, videos go a long way in highlighting some of his complex concepts. Therefore, I’ll use those videos here to make it easier to grasp what I’m on about.
Firstly, let’s look at Sarri’s build-up. From his time at Empoli to his last job at Juventus, Sarri has always used a single pivot in midfield to drop in and play a crucial role in his teams positional play. That player has always been a sublime passer of the ball; from Mirko Valdifiori at Empoli via Jorginho at Napoli and Chelsea to Miralem Pjanić at Juventus.
Along with the two centre-backs and the goalkeeper, this holding midfielder creates a diamond at the base of the side to aid progression. Ahead of him, two central midfielders position themselves to provide progressive passing options. This creates another triangle. The two full-backs push a bit higher, often with one higher than the other, such as Faouzi Ghoulam high and Elseid Hysaj deep at Napoli. This setup is highlighted in the video below.
As the video shows, the front three, whether one ten and two strikers such as at Empoli (4-3-1-2) or two wingers and one striker such as at Napoli (4-3-3), provide initial depth and can then drop in to receive as the deeper eight players progress the ball.
Yes, I said eight, because the goalkeeper has an important role. If teams pressed Napoli high, Sarri would use Pepe Reina’s ability with his feet to bypass pressure with lofted passes to the advanced full-backs. There is no better example of this method than the sequence below.
The video also highlights the importance of finding free players between the lines to achieve positional superiority, which I’ll discuss further later on. Another key aspect of Sarri’s football in terms of the positional structure is the connectivity of the team. The players are always connected so that they can use each other for support and to keep the ball moving. The ball might not be passed more than ten metres but since it is always moving, the opposition must constantly move and this is tiring for teams.
Sarri’s teams are also very patient in possession and want to play out of tight situations. The quick, short, sharp passing combinations that Napoli trademarked under him is a result of this belief in the ability of the team to pass the ball to control matches and destabilise opponents. Crucially, these short passes also go a long way in manipulating press from the opponent, which is another key aspect of Sarri’s positional play. The video below highlights how Sarri’s teams play out of tight spaces to stabilise possession and then progress the attack.
As mentioned, Sarri wants his teams to create passing triangles and diamonds around the ball-carrier to increase the probability of them keeping the ball and opening spaces in the opponent’s defensive structure to play through. As such, concepts such as the third man and up, back, through combinations are crucial. We can see this in the video below as Napoli move the ball forward at pace, but with control.
The big thing for Sarri’s teams in terms of dominating space is the manipulation of press from the opponent. Often, Sarri’s teams will come up against teams that drop off and defend passively since they are vary of the threat Sarri’s teams, Napoli in particular, when given space to play into behind the opposition. As such, Sarri’s Napoli often came up against compact defensive systems. The short passing combinations not only provides control for the side when they have the ball, but when playing plenty of short passes, the opponents are naturally invited to press. When a player goes to press, he inevitably leaves space behind him and this is the space Sarri wants to get into. We can see this focus in the video below.
Again, the use of the third man is obvious and the up, back, through combinations are clear to see. Back passes in general are often used by Sarri’s teams as they often work as a pressing trigger for many teams. When the ball is played backwards and an opponent presses out of the defensive line, Sarri wants his players to play the ball into that space. If successful, the receiving player will be free between the lines of the opposition and in a position of positional superiority as the next defensive line must now react to his positioning.
This goal below is one of my favourite ever goals by a Sarri team. For me, it encapsulates everything about his football. First, the ball is played backwards to encourage Roma’s midfield to press. Then, the ball is played into Marek Hamšík who has created positional superiority. If you stop the video when he receives the ball, you can see that a Roma defender reacts to this and looks to step out. Finally, Hamšík reads the situation and benefits from Dries Mertens offering a threat in behind the defensive line to play the Belgian through on goal. It’s methodical, it’s fluid and it has cutting edge. That, in essence, is Sarriball.
This goal below, against Real Madrid, is another example of the creation of free players between the lines and then instantly attacking the space behind the defensive line. Brilliant.
The video below is a nice illustration of everything I’ve touched on up to this point, as it highlights most of the points discussed. From controlling the game through possession, to then moving the ball backwards to manipulate press, and then exploiting that to play through the opposition to go and create a finishing opportunity.
Before moving on to a few classic Sarri patterns to create chances, it’s worth mentioning how effective the third man focus can be when playing against man-orientated systems, as Sarri’s Napoli often did and Sarri’s Lazio most certainly will. Just look at this video and the points made and you will get the point. Third man runs are notoriously difficult to defend, even if you are marking the players. The dynamism those combinations provide is almost impossible to deal with for defensive teams.
In terms of chance creation, I want to raise two classic Sarri methods to create chances. The first is the early, low cross from the wide areas to runenrs into depth. This was perhaps most effective at Napoli, where Sarri used Ghoulam’s excellent delivery from the left to great effect. The ball is played in fast and low, and makes for an easy finish for the forward. Below, you can see one Mertens goal scored like that.
In general, Sarri’s sides look to create shots from low crosses, mainly, I think, because the chance of the shot being successful increases when the finisher can finish on a ball arriving along the ground. Also, this increases the opportunity for the finisher to use one touch rather than taking a touch to gain control first, making it more difficult for the goalkeeper as the reaction time is shorter.
The other pattern I’d like to mention is lofted, diagonal passes over the ball-far centre-back/full-back to a runner into depth. Most famously, the Lorenzo Insigne ball over the top for José Callejon was extremely deadly at Napoli, but we’ve seen the effectiveness of this at Chelsea and Juventus too. The video below highlights one example of this shot-creating pattern.
However, this wasn’t only an Insigne-Callejon thing; this is Sarri through and through. Below, Hamšík scores from a Zieliński pass over the top.
In summary, Sarri’s positional play can be fantastic when it works well and, given time to implement it, there’s no reason it should not flow at the Olimpico.
Defensive transition
Naturally, with the close proximity of players when in possession, Sarri’s teams tend to be good in defensive transition as they can counter-press effectively. They want to stop the opposition early to make sure they do not have time to spring organised counter-attacks. Therefore, we tend to see the players closest to the ball step in immediately to put the ball-carrier under pressure.
In the video below, we can see how Hamšík immediately goes to press while Jorginho and Insigne support his press by cutting passing lanes. In the meantime, three other Napoli players join so that when they win the ball back, they have seven players in a small space immediately around the ball.
Sarri out of possession
Out of possession, Sarri’s defensive system is ball-orientated (or positionally-orientated if you prefer that term) which means that the team organise itself according to where the ball is and where the teammates are rather than focussing on the opposition. As such, the team can be very proactive and try to force the opposition to play into certain spaces rather than reacting to their play.
A key principle of Sarri’s defensive system is compactness. There is usually minimal space between the lines in their defensive half as they look to force the ball wide. In the video below, this is clearly demonstrated.
Defensively, Sarri’s Napoli, Chelsea and Juventus have often started in a 4-1-4-1. However, when pressing, one midfielder steps up alongside the central striker to create a 4-4-2 when pressing. We can see this in the video below. Also note, at the end, Insigne’s position when stopping the pass forward. He remains narrow to prevent central progression rather than moving out wide to focus on the full-back. This is a great example of a ball-orientated defensive system where the position of the ball and the potential zones it could be played into are more important than the opposition players.
In the video below, we get an example of a Sarri team pressing high. Here, they press in a 4-3-3 with the wingers narrow and both full-backs support the press; first, the right-back when pressing on that side and then the left-back when the ball is switched across.
This focus on positions and compactness over man-orientations are the biggest differences to Inzaghi’s tactics from a defensive perspective. We should also expect Sarri’s Lazio to press higher more often than Inzaghi’s side did. Inzaghi wanted to drop back to then counter-attack, but Sarri will want to be as much on the front-foot out of possession as they will be in possession.
Counter-attacking
When Sarri’s teams win the ball, they will act based on what the spaces in front of them look like. If there are many defenders behind the ball, they will stabilise possession and start new controlled moves. However, if there is space to counter-attack into, Sarri’s teams will take that opportunity.
When they set off, they can sometimes look like a Frecciarossa high-speed train making up for late connection between Florence and Rome; they’re rapid. Crucailly, they try to keep the ball inside the three central channels rather than moving it out wide. As such, they are always inside the width of the penalty area when bearing down on goal. Therefore, the supporting players make runs into depth centrally and there are always players supporting the attacking transition from behind. We can see this in the video below as the centre-back Vlad Chiricheș starts the attack and then finishes it.
The video below is an example of another lethal counter-attack. In two touches, Napoli go from their own box to Milan’s. Thanks to Insigne running inside rather than simply in a straight line forward, he can finish immediately when receiving the ball.
With Ciro Immobile in his new squad, we can certainly expect Sarri to implement similar counter-attacking patterns to his old Napoli side.
What will his tactics be at Lazio?
Lazio’s squad has been built for Inzaghi’s 3-5-2, so there are no full-backs or wingers in the squad, only wing-backs. The likes of Manuel Lazzarri, Adam Marušić and Mohamed Fares can probably play in a back-four, but there will be a period of adaptation. Also, some of those players might be target for other clubs and Lazzarri, in particular, is someone Lazio can make some money from. Therefore, I think there’s a need to add some full-backs. Francesco Acerbi and Luiz Felipe could form a very good partnership at the back, similar to the one forged by Raul Albiol and Kalidou Koulibaly at Napoli, but there is also a lack of depth at centre-back, in defensive midfield and up front, both centrally and out wide. It’s worth mentioning that Acerbi has been one of the best ball-playing defenders in Italy for years, and he is sure to thrive in Sarri’s football.
Sarri will use a back-four, but the lack of wingers in the squad has me thinking that he will opt for a 4-3-1-2 rather than the 4-3-3 he used at Napoli, Chelsea and Juventus. He used a 4-3-1-2 at Empoli and in the beginning at Napoli, and there has been rumoured that he will set the team up like that. It would suit Immobile, who thrives in the inside left channel, so playing as a split striker in a partnership would be a good fit. Luis Alberto and Joaquin Correa can both play as a number ten, and Lucas, Sergej Milinković-Savić and Alberto could make up a strong midfield three. Therefore, I think the shape and movements highlighted below might be Sarri’s preferred setup.
Potential transfer targets
Igli Tare, the much respected sporting director who has overseen some mind-bogglingly brilliant transfer windows, has some work to do this summer to tweak the squad to Sarri’s liking. Lazio rarely spend big, instead trusting their ability to scout cleverly to unearth high-class players for cheaper money, so let’s look at some potential deals Tare could target.
Lazio are well-stocked in goal, with Thomas Strakosha and Sarri’s former player José Reina. As mentioned, however, there is a need for defenders. At right-back, Lazio have been linked with Napoli’s Elseid Hysaj who worked with Sarri at Empoli and Napoli. Hysaj’s contract expires on 30 June and his experience makes him a possible addition. Marušić and Lazzari are still there, of course, and if they make the transition to a back-four, even adding Hysaj might be unnecessary. However, if anyone leaves, Udinese’s Nahuel Molina could be a smart addition. He has mostly played at wing-back for Udine, but has what it takes to play right-back too.
On the opposite side, Lazio have already added the young Serbian defender Dimitrije Kamenović from Čukarički. He is only 20, but looks like a good signing for the future. He will compete with Fares for the left-back slot. This is an area I think Lazio should look at further. Sassuolo’s Giorgos Kyriakopoulos has been fantastic for the Neroverdi for a while now and would be a very smart addition since Sarri loves an attacking left-back.
Other options would be the very underrated yet complete Tommaso Augello at Sampdoria and Moreirense’s Abdu Conté who impressed for Portugal U21s a few weeks ago. I also think Dynamo Kiev’s Vitalii Mykolenko would be an excellent addition with his energy, tenacity and quality in possession. All of them would be clever recruitment for a position that will be be key in Sarri’s system. Having established a good relationship with Manchester United when signing Andreas Pereira last year, a loan deal for Alex Telles would be very smart business to give Kamenović some time to acclimatise while Telles starts.
Acerbi is excellent and Luiz Felipe is solid, but Lazio need to add central defenders. Joachim Andersen is the standout option for me, having thrived in Marco Giampaolo’s very similar system at Sampdoria before spending time at Lyon and Fulham. Lazio can probably get him on loan and his familiarity with principles similar to Sarri’s means he would adapt quickly. Nikola Maksimović, who worked with Sarri at Napoli but played very little, has been linked too. Two young options would be Fenerbahce’s Hungarian 22-year-old Attila Szalai and Slavia Prague’s 20-year-old David Zima.
Lucas Leiva has been a great signing for Lazio, but he is 34 and Sarri will need someone for the long term in defensive midfield. Lucas Torreira has been linked, and he would make a lot of sense. Just like Andersen, Torreira thrived in Giampaolo’s Sampdoria side which was very similar to a Sarri team. His solidity at the base of midfield and clever use of the ball would make him a perfect fit. A very cost-effective option that has been linked is Spezia’s regista Matteo Ricci. Ricci had an excellent season at Spezia and is very good in possession. Sarri would back his ability to make Ricci even better with the ball. His contract expires in two weeks and would be free, but the only stumbling block would be Ricci’s past; he grew up and came through the ranks at AS Roma.
Two other options would be Juventus’ Nicolò Rovella, who should be available on loan and is someone who Sarri could turn into a metronome just like he did with Jorginho, and Udinese’s sublime controller Wallace. The Brazilian has been superb at Udinese and would go straight into Lazio’s eleven.
Lazio look a bit light up front with no standout option next to Immobile as Correa will probably be seen as a ten or a left-winger if Sarri does decide to go with a 4-3-3. Therefore, they should seriously consider Sparta Prague’s Adam Hložek. The 18-year-old has caught the eyes of clubs all over Europe and looks destined for greatness. He is very quick, cool in front of goal and statistically one of the best dribblers in Europe. That pace would be a great asset in a team that will look to dominate possession in midfield but might lack cutting edge given what the squad looks like now. Hložek would probably cost around €15m, but that price will probably triple if he has one or two good seasons in Rome.
If Hložek is out of Lazio’s reach, Bologna’s Musa Barrow and Hellas Verona’s Mattia Zaccagni have profiles that would fit well with the roles of a two-man attack in a Sarri team. Both of them prefer to play to the left, a space Immobile obviously occupies, which might not make them look like obvious targets, but have the qualities to play more to the right as well.
Conclusion
Whichever players come in, Sarri’s Lazio will be exciting to watch and his version of positional play will probably have Lazio fans very much enjoy tuning in to watch their team. Sarri needs a few role-specific additions and, if he gets that, his philosophy in connection with some of the excellent players in Lazio’s squad will see them challenge for the Champions League places in his first season. After that, they will target a first league title since 2000.
And why not? Sarri caught the eyes of the world with his football at Napoli, then he won titles at Chelsea and Juventus. There is a long way to go, but Lazio have appointed a coach who has a style that can be the X-factor Lazio need to dream of a Scudetto again.
All videos courtesy of Wyscout.
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