If you carefully observe this season's Premier League , you will definitely find that the Premier League teams have shown new characteristics in running.
The most outstanding game is Manchester United 0-4 defeat to Brentford . Under the command of Danish coach Thomas Frank, Brentford adopted a fierce frontcourt pressing tactic and frequently counterattacked in the third offensive zone. When the final whistle sounded, Brentford's team ran 13.8 kilometers more than Manchester United.
Tenghager clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with the team and canceled the vacation on the second day of the game. The Dutch brought the team to the training ground, requiring everyone to run the more Brentford run than Manchester United - 13.8 kilometers. It is worth noting that Tenghager himself also joined this punishment training class.
Not long after, Leeds United upset defeated Chelsea , and the running distance of the entire Leeds United team exceeded the Blues by 11 kilometers. Soon after, Tenghager's motivation worked - Red Devils defeated Red Army 2-1 at home, achieving the first victory of the new Premier League season. Manchester United's total running distance is 113.8 kilometers, and the team completed 155 sprints, overwhelming in both statistics.
After these games, some people pointed out that a large number of running is the key to the victory of these teams. For a moment, many people seemed to suddenly get enlightened, thinking that as long as they run a lot, they would win with no deeper analysis and thinking. Yes, sometimes you can win by running more, but you won't naively think that everything is so simple, right?
Football is not a track and field event after all, and you run more than your opponent and may not necessarily win.
When Klopp also coaches Dortmund once said: "I know this is not the most important parameter, but whenever I learn after the game, I am very happy to run more than my opponent. If someone tells us that we have run 11 kilometers more than our opponent, I am very happy to win the ball with 80% possession rate? That's not my style."
Klopp's background on this statement was in October 2013, when Dortmund defeated Arsenal 2-1 away in the group stage of the Champions League . Klopp asked the players to boldly fight back and aggressively fight back, which indirectly led to the suppression of the Gunners in the running item.
In that game, the Gunners had a 57% possession rate, and Dortmund spent more energy on fighting the opponent's counterattack. Wenger 's team is not known for its large number of runnings, but the Gunners were also difficult to defeat, so this can only be said to be the difference between the two coaches Wenger and Klopp in terms of football philosophy and style, and cannot directly define which one is better or worse.
Chris Barnes is a physical coach and sports science worker. He has worked for many Premier League teams. The coaches he has worked with include McLaren , Prisse and Hasselbaink. Barnes said that while discussing running distance, we should not underestimate the content of football tactics and strategy.
" Tony Priss and Jimmy Floyd (Haselbainke) have the opposite opinion on the team's choice after losing the ball in the offensive third zone," Barnes said in an interview. "According to Tony (Plis), you have to retreat and keep the formation compact, which is a "low-carbon" method. However, Jimmy (Haselbaink) believes that whoever throws the ball from under his feet will be responsible for grabbing it to the end. This is a high-consumption mode."
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"I think the data of running and total running mileage actually plays a role in confusing the public. What really plays a key role is high-intensity running, not general running. So what you should pay attention to is high-speed running and sprint running."
Caron Carpenter is a video and tactical analysis expert on the professional sports data platform Statsbomb. He explained some misunderstandings about running and ball control data.
"People see the ball possession data and say, 'We have 70% possession rate, so we can definitely win,' Carpenter said.But what did you do after you possess the ball? Have enough opportunities been created? "
" is the same for running. People who know the ball will focus on the quality of the running, not the quantity. How many runs do you have when the opponent counterattacks in the half? How often do you oppress the other person? Running is of course important, but if you are running around aimlessly, it doesn't make any sense. "
Brentford's first two goals against Manchester United were from the pressure on Manchester United's back line and Eriksen .
" Brentford's game plan is to allow Manchester United to organize attacks from the backcourt, and then use high-intensity high-pressure to grab the ball from the offensive third zone," Carpenter said in an interview.
"They run more than Manchester United because they are often in a no-ball state, but Brentford arranged the run in the right area. Brentford chose to press against the opponent when he kicked off the ball and scored a goal and downed his feet. Manchester United really had no choice but to do this move. ”
When the reporter asked about the importance of running, the latter said: “(Run) is one of the basic factors for you to win the game. "
" But you need a group of players who are good enough, not only do they need to be able to run, but they also have to ensure fewer goals," Frank said. "Otherwise you can only do a lot of invalid running. I was told that a player only has two minutes of possession in a game and runs the rest of the time. So in fact, football is a competitive event that is completed in the running. "
Manchester United changed the game plan against Liverpool. The Red Devils' possession rate was only 29%, but they made good use of the opponent's defense line. Several fast horses in the frontcourt, Sancho and Rashford all played efficiently. According to Carpenter, it is better to say that they ran smarter than saying that Manchester United ran more.
"When we were in Middlesbrough, there were players like Hutter who were particularly obsessed with studying their own data," Barnes said. "He evaluated his performance standards very special - he did not look at how much he ran, but how much he ran less (when completing defensive tasks). He believes that if he runs less, but his decision is better, this is the performance of efficiency. I totally agree with him. People always think that the more everything is, the better, but they ignore efficiency and results. "
English women's football player Lian Sanderson has played for Juventus , Arsenal and Chelsea, and has played 50 times for England. As a forward player, what he needs to think about is how to run to get more opportunities, rather than running around chasing the ball.
"When I play for England, sometimes I feel that I am not playing well enough," said Sanderson, 34. "I think about questions like how I lose the ball and how I can do better next time. But (the coaching staff) will take out the data and tell me how much I ran. They will chatter endlessly about this. I don't think it's appropriate to do this. (How much to run and how to run) The two should be combined. "
" Manchester United can't beat Liverpool just by running more. They (not only run a lot), they also know the truth about moving forward. "How much running should be done by
also depends on the score and game situation. If your team is behind 0-1 and is seeking to equalize the score, theoretically, you should pay more running for the offense. Teams that want to maintain the score will guarantee the ball and slow down the pace, rather than just moving forward.
via Skill Corner's data from the Premier League last season can find that the percentage of ball possession is inversely proportional to the total running distance of the team. Simply put, the teams that control the ball run less.
If some people's theory, more ball possession = less running, less running = lose, so more ball possession = lose? This is outrageous.
Carpenter pointed out that if the tactics are right, running less can also ensure high efficiency, and cited the example of Messi .
"If you can dominate the game, the team controls the ball around you, and the opponent is taken from one side of the court to the other side, then you can dominate the game even if you stand still," he said. "Messi almost never oppresses his opponent. He is not the kind of engineer-type player. He basically waits for opportunities, observes where there is a time, and then quickly enter that time."
In summary, football is not a track and field event, nor is it possible for anyone to run more. Brentford, Leeds United, and Manchester United won because they run smarter.
