Wolverhampton coach spoke to Sky Sports about aspects of working in an English club.
Having won the Championship in the first season as head coach of Wolverhampton, Portuguese specialist Nuno Espirito Santo took the team to seventh place in the Premier League.. He adheres to tactics that are not the most popular in football - 3-4-3.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Espiritu Santo told how his team acts in the defensive line, in attack, and other subtleties of the game of the “wolves”.
Cody plays from behind “We are trying to get the advantage of Conor and the width of the defensive line. This is a good way to start an attack with Cody's long pass.. The width of our defensive line is one of the patterns we instilled in the team after leaving the Championship. ”.
This can be traced in one of the last games against Crystal Palace, when the team's debutant Ryan Ait-Nuri, after a lumbago, opened the scoring in the match.
“It was Ryan's debut goal and I am very happy for him. I think it was very important for him to score his debut goal in the Premier League in the very first match ”.
Compact play on defense Whereas Wolverhampton's defensive line is usually built with three defenders, when the ball is lost and the opponent is counterattacked, this line is rebuilt into five defensive players. Only Liverpool and Manchester City have the best defensive performance in the Premier League after being promoted to wolves.
“When attacking, you have to have width, and when defending, think compact.. Everyone must be close to each other to start defending.. My main idea is that players should be compact when defending and create width when attacking. "
Dribbling is an important quality for a football player Wolverhampton has some of the best dribblers in the Premier League. For example - Adama Traore. The Spaniard has completed the most strokes in the tournament since the beginning of last season.. But he's not the only cool dribbler on the team..
“Adama knows how to use her dribbling. But we also have Nope, which is also good in this component.. These are the players who can cheat when playing one-on-one, and we can take advantage of this. "
With his dribbling, Daniel Podense forced Kevin De Bruyne to make a mistake in the match against Manchester City at the beginning of the season, and passed the ball to Raul Jimenez, who opened the scoring. Finding such footballers is the key to success.
“This is one of the times when you can really upset the balance. If you have players who can beat one on one, that's very good. But it's worth mentioning that the organization of your game should allow such players to find space in the event of a stroke.. We need to have more possession of the ball so that Traore, Neto and Podense can find free space. ”.
Runners on Counter Offensive Although Nunu has announced his intention to be more ball-oriented this season, counterattacks are key to the club's success on the pitch. Wolverhampton have the fastest wingers in the Premier League, and thanks to them Jimenez scored in the first moment against Sheffield United on the opening round.
“In modern football, runners are an important part of the game.. These are the guys who can upset the balance of defense, dragging players along.. You may notice that our forward Jimenez is watching the movements on the flanks to take the position he needs in the penalty area. When the player receives the ball, then the sliders are activated.. This creates problems for the defenders. Simply put, the runners are the ones who create the right space for the finishers ”.
Non-standard solutions in simple situations Sometimes the attacker himself looks for a place for himself when attacking. Jimenez scored a goal against Newcastle, staying in a non-standard position on the outskirts of the penalty area.
“I didn't tell Jimenez in the game against Newcastle to look for a position for himself. The opposing team has enough oversized footballers. This is due to instincts when he finds a place for himself.. Raoul has these instincts well developed.. He scored a very good ball, performed amazingly ”.
Introducing new talent into the system Adapting for young footballers in the Premier League is difficult, and Nunu himself admits.
“To adapt to the new tournament, you have to work very hard on yourself. We understand that a young guy cannot just go out and shine, so we are ready to wait ”.
“We already have the main roster. If someone drops out, the footballer who replaces him must play no worse. It's like a puzzle "
It's good when everything goes according to plan When everything turns out as agreed, as it was with Nope's goal in the match against Fulham, there is hope and belief that everything is not in vain.
“In the match against Fulham we were lucky that Neto was able to take advantage of his moment. But it shows that training is not in vain.. These are the hours of work we do with the players.
If these guys are successful, they make it clear to us that everything is not in vain.. This creates the uniqueness of the team ”.
When everything is not as good as it should be Of course, “wolves” also have unsuccessful matches. Remember the recent away defeat to Leicester (0: 1). To which Nunu replies: “You only choose good matches. We work every day so that there are fewer and fewer mistakes in attack and defense. We talk more with the players about bad games than good ones ”.
Source: Sky Sports Translation: Football. ua.