Pirlo…and the 3-5-2

By tdf, May 1, 2014

Rather than due to a reliance on Pirlo, I have come to agree with the lack of quality on the flanks as the reason for Conte’s apparent lack of flexibility in terms of formation. Even when Pirlo does not play, the boss is 99.9 times out of 100 going to stick to the 3-5-2. Which suggests the system is not dependent on the bearded gypsy.

It is common knowledge how the formation was born. Conte realized that Vidal was simply too special to leave out so he focused on building the team around the central triumvirate. Our tactics are built around pressing, passing from the back and the midfield engine room. It is important to note that Conte had developed this passing from the back routine before Juve and Pirlo came into his grasp. It was not a reaction to the personnel he inherited. This philosophy was clear in his other sides.

Once the middle was sorted and set in stone, it was simply a task of working out who could adopt the passing and pressing game out of the players available.

Beppe and his hatchetman Paratici deserve huge credit for their procurement efforts since joining the club. They found the squad in a terrible state after the Secco horrorshow. They have been responsible for bringing in Bonucci, Ogbonna, Barzagli, Caceres, Lichsteiner, Asamoah, Pirlo, Tevez, Llorente, Vidal, Pogba. Indeed there have been failures but 9 of that list make up the vast bulk of our ideal starting XI.

Last Summer they were tasked with focusing on the strikers, which they did brilliantly well with. This Summer they are tasked with focusing on the flanks. We are chasing the likes of Lulic, Menez, Pereyra, Cerci, Nani, Coentrao, Kolarov, Romulo. All of whom offer natural width. At the same time, there is talk of players of great calibre such as Rakitic and Sanchez.

Since we lack the petrodollars needed to sign any player we like regardless of the cost, the evolution of the playing squad must be gradual and very carefully orchestrated. We have had to work on Success leading to added allure. Regular champions league football. Domestic titles. All of this helps bridge the financial gap in our mercato prospects. Players we recruit need to buy into not just a wage packet and european football but also our project, our journey and our standing as a club. And its here where Conte has excelled immensely. His perfectionist approach to our system, training and maintaining respect for the club and its history has taken us back into the limelight. We are once again talked off as a team on their way back to the top.

Having supported Juve since the early 90s I was spoiled for many years as we spent season after season as one of the elite clubs on the world stage, able to compete for the signatures of the cream of the domestic crop as well as on the continental market. It is very easy for me to forget our dark period after 2006 and expect a return to how things used to be as soon as we have clawed our way back to the top of the domestic pile. Unfortunately I am forced to take stock of the situation and conclude that times have changed dramatically. The order of Elite clubs has been altered irreversibly with the advent of billionaire owners willing to pour seemingly infinite funds into clubs whose former prestige was negligible, yet their present reputation is world class.

Back in the late 90s when I lived in Manchester I headed to Maine road to watch Man City play against my english side, the eternally disappointing Gillingham FC. It was perhaps the quietest two hours of my life, for I was near the kippax stand and in with my Mancunian chums. The home supporters were climbing the fence separating them from the Gills fans, and appeared to have serious intent to maim, if not kill! My southern accent seemed best to keep to myself…Essentially, at that stage I could not possibly have fathomed that I would be uneasy about Juve facing Man City under any circumstance other than a fight to a macabre conclusion in the stands! That evening, I quickly lost interest in the result, and was solely concerned in arriving home in one piece.

Man City, PSG, Chelsea, Monaco…A couple of Russian clubs are slowly entering the mix. Bottomless pockets. Taking away the debacle of 2006 we would likely have remained in the same group of elite clubs. It was simply misfortune, that we were skanked horribly and unfairly, in a time when these super clubs were emerging (to take our place at the top table).

It isn’t all doom and gloom. Looking at our squad can tell you that. We have two of the greatest players of all time in Buffon and Pirlo. Arguably the most powerful young midfielder in the world. Incredible class in Vidal. Tevez and Llorente could probably find playing time at any club. At least two of the finest centrebacks in Europe. Perhaps one of the strongest RBs. There are indeed, many reasons to be cheerful.

I do not think Pirlo is particularly slow, or easy to mark other than due to the fact that by his very nature he ALWAYS looks for the ball so spends the game seeking the ball and the space to receive it. He is never going to be far away from the ball. His fitness levels, by his own admission, are better than ever before, due to the interesting work of…Julio Tous and Roberto Sassi. (Juve Back-room Staff >> http://thedissolutefox.com/wordpress/?p=678

Vidal has matured, under Conte’s direction, into a threat all over the field. Pogba’s ability to maintain possession through a sublime mix of physicality and technique have added yet another threat to our offensive efforts. And then there is Tevez and Llorente. All of which combine to make man-marking Pirlo a dangerous game. The more players we have capable of opening up the opposition, the harder we are to contain. It is not solely due to our last two scudetti that many teams adopt an ultra defensive approach against us now in the league, it is equally due to the increase in our potency going forward. Sacrificing a player to take Pirlo out the game is bearable. A team can afford to carry one player at most. Yet trying to man-mark Pirlo, Pogba and Vidal is out of the question, it is more simple to have 9 men behind the ball.

Essentially, I have come to agree with Conte in terms of the lack of wide options (especially in the final third) dictating we remain steadfastly 3-5-2. He is not so blinkered as to make the team tick with Pirlo as the battery. It would have been interesting to see some other formations attempted, but considering our success, and our progress, I cannot criticize Conte too much. Only in terms of his substitutions, which again returns to tactics though! Like for like or offensive for defensive is his MO. Again, even this cannot be judged truly until we have in our squad quality options on the attacking flanks.

It is not long to wait…and until which, we have a third league title on the trot to win and a european semi-final to contest!