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Has soccer “kicked out” players like Ozil? By Dan Smith
Arsene Wenger was asked about his opinion on the Ozil situation this week and came up with an interesting theory, saying: “the way football is going right now, it has sent players like Ozil out.”
Soccer goes in cycles. 10 years ago everyone was copying the Spanish model, having small technical players who could keep the ball. His national team even started games without a natural forward. Eventually people like Spain and Barcelona would be criticized for not adapting the tiki-taka style, having zero plan B.
Later, young coaches like Klopp and Pochettino became obsessed with the high press.
To combat that style, players like Pep Guardiola would play tactically from defense to beat the press. Since the Man City manager dismissed Joe Hart for not being good enough with a ball at his feet, all coaches now seem obsessed with having a goalkeeper who is comfortable passing the ball under pressure (some with varying degrees of success. ).
The latest hot trend is having a full back as your main attack outlet. A left back or a right back has to be almost as good (if not better) advancing than defending. To support that, many sides are lined with 3 centrals, one of which is comfortable on the ball and can be creative.
If you use Arsenal as an example, David Luiz is sometimes our most creative player in terms of getting into midfield and wanting to pick a long pass.
Gone are the days when a defender only had to worry about being able to tackle and head the ball. The downside to that is that the sport is now struggling to produce world-class defenders.
So whatever your personal take on Ozil is, is your former manager right? Isn’t this, in fact, the worst possible time for a number 10 to try to get into any 11?
When the Gunners offered the German a new contract, he had an obvious place on the team, but neither side had to know that No. 10 was about to die out.
As a striker now has to do more than just a goal poacher, Ozil in the current popular system does not fit.
Everyone uses the best as a modeling template. In the last two years, Liverpool have become European and English champions with one of the least creative midfielders in history. However, they didn’t have to be more than workers because of the width of Arnold and Robinson.
The art of floating in the lines behind the striker is dying.
The most creative players in the League are Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes or (last season) David Silva. Even those players are now being asked to play deeper than they would like.
Don’t get me wrong, Ozil is not the same version that Mr. Wenger signed, but even if he was, I’m not sure his strengths will suit the lineups that so many use. Ozil was brought into English football to help and create opportunities, not for his statistics on tracking and recovering the ball.
If you were playing Ozil, you would tactically be choosing to sacrifice something on defense to help you on offense. You would describe Ozil as a “luxury player”.
Now though, so much emphasis has been placed on pressing from the front and getting the ball back as soon as you lose it, the game has no place for an Ozil. So even when I defend the midfielder, my argument only goes as far as saying that he should be on the bench.
I don’t think if we needed a goal, he is not a better option to carry out with 10 minutes to go to choose a killer pass, than say a Joe Willock or Reiss Nelson.
But in terms of trusting him to do what it takes to make a current version of 5-2-3 or 3-5-2 work, I accept that Ozil does not fit into that system. I wonder if some number 10 would.
Be nice in the comments …
Dan Smith |
