Braga 3-0 Guimarães: Quick notes from the Quarry

The weekend's first fixture pitted the Minho rivals - Sporting de Braga and Vitória de Guimarães - for a rather entertaining match, as is usually the case. After Braga's resounding win, let us take a closer look at some of the action.

• 1. Braga on the up, future issues to ponder

The days before the match revolved mainly around Ruben Micael's absence from the side and how coach Jesualdo Ferreira would deal with it. Those who watched the match were able to witness one of the Guerreiros' best matches of the season so far as a response. With a now seemingly more established 4x3x3, the team seem more evenly balanced and therefore less inclined to shoot themselves in the foot. Custódio offered the defensive solidity, Luiz Carlos provided coverage while defending and a constant out-ball, while Alan was afforded the liberty to sprinkle his fairy dust virtually all over the place, largely due to Guimarães' approach (more on that later). Jesualdo's men dominated the middle of the park right from the start, with their three-man midfield duly helped by wingers Rafa and Pardo. The team were collectively aggressive and more in tune with Jesualdo's familiar principles, perhaps a tad more possession-based than usual. Their ability to control the centre and to shift the ball quickly to the flanks for dangerous crosses and penetrations from Rafa and Pardo is not to be underestimated.
However, there might be some cause for concern in the future, in this reporter's humble opinion. Custódio does not seem to be the perfect fit for this particular formation. While there remain no doubts that he's more than capable of doing the gritty work, he does not have some of the other traits for the role. The Portuguese international has been used to play in a two-man central midfield (usually with Hugo Viana as his sidekick) and struggles physically with the sole holding midfielder role, particularly due to his lack of speed. Also, the fact that he is not the most technically gifted player means he regularly takes a couple of touches too many on the ball, making him ill-suited for the pivotal role of this particular position. On the other hand, Alan's game last night constitutes clear proof that the side are missing a more cerebral player in midfield. Still, there won't be that many times when Alan is allowed to dictate the tempo and Ruben Micael has shown time and again that he is not the best bet for a typical 4x3x3.

• 2. Guimarães offer too little - once again

The parallelism had never struck me before - until today. While doing some research for a piece on English football, I read something about David Moyes' struggles at Manchester United and his inability to successfully transition into a more storied team. The piece mentioned - to paraphrase - that good managers acknowledged their team's limits and tried to work within them as best they could. Great managers refuse such limits and make their players believe they're capable of doing greater things. Every time I watch Rui Vitória's Guimarães Uin stark contrast to Marco Silva's Estoril) I'm left with that same impression: His side are obviously capable of grinding out results (as stated by their standing in the league table), but they offer precious little when there's the need to build something.

Last night was no different. A team that included André Santos, Barrientos and Marco Matias was unable to create anything noteworthy, instead receding to an expectant, reactive approach. Rui Vitória's instructions for André Santos to man-mark Luiz Carlos and deployment of André André off Tomané and Barrientos on the left was baffling, to say the least. André André, while hard-working, is clearly unsuited for such a role due to his technical limitation. Barrientos, in turn, is no work horse - which makes one wonder why his coach would place him on the left wing of a 4x2x3x1, thus demanding him to run up and down the wing. The two half-time substitutions did not offer anything new and Guimarães' attempts at building up anything from scratch led to gaping holes all over the place.

• 3. Rafa is the real deal. Is Rusescu?

Sometimes I find myself wondering what is going on inside the minds of the three Portuguese grandes' directors and coaches. Maybe holding a Portuguese passport is indeed harmful to your career prospects, as the saying goes among Portuguese players. If Rafa were Uruguayan or Colombian, for instance, would he have already been picked up by FC Porto or Benfica, for instance? Despite his young age, he is clearly a top-notch player. Last night's match proved once again that he is no one-trick pony, single-handedly piercing Guimarães' defence or providing pin-point crosses in Rusecu's direction. More importantly, he seems to have an impressive understanding of the game for a player of his age and generally takes the best decisions - one of the most important features in today's football. If no grande comes to grab him soon enough, he will surely be heading abroad sooner rather than later.

As for Rusescu, his credentials were indeed promising, but such considerations should always be taken with a pinch of salt when they're based on youth tournaments, as is the case in point. It's admittedly premature to read too much into a single match, even if it yielded two goals. Even though that was an important aspect, he impressed mostly through his link-up play and, like Rafa, through the understanding of when to progress, to keep it simple, to play a team-mate it or have a go himself. It's unlikely that he will enjoy the same freedoms Guimarães allowed him at the Quarry, but the fact that he was able to make the most of it bodes well for his near future.

How not to defend 101: FC Porto x Guimarães

While the analysis of last Saturday's Portuguese Supercup has been detailed elsewhere, there are still a few things to ponder, particularly as far as Guimarães are concerned.

The club from northern Portugal are admittedly operating on a very tight budget and have therefore been forced to resort to free transfers and blooding youths from their own B team - possibly too soon. Even though one match is obviously too little to extrapolate, there are still some mistakes that do not bode well for Rui Vitória's men, particularly due to their repetition. After all, the purpose of pre-season resides (or should reside) in drilling precisely these sorts of behaviours.

In the video below, you can see how FC Porto got their first goal, barely five minutes into the match, following a simple throw-in. As Danilo threw the ball toward Jackson Martínez, his marker immediately followed the Colombian, forcing everyone to re-shuffle accordingly. Martínez's fake left Lucho in the clear - chased by the remaining centre-back - and it was up to the full-back from the opposite side to close up the middle. Starting off a yard or two behind, Licá proved just what he has to offer by easily sprinting past his marker and connecting with Lucho González's precious assist.

A typical match event five minutes into the first of the season and Guimarães found themselves 1v1 while the ball wasn't even in play.




For the second goal, the Guimarães defence once again found themselves at a loss, occupying barely reasonable defending positions. Worse still, not only did the right-winger Varela have all the time in the world to pick the target for his cross, the Guimarães defenders were again presented with a 1v1 situation. Jackson Martínez's aggressive move would do the rest.




While last season's successful cup run was just reward for a spirited second half to the season, Guimarães will need to offer much more than what was on display last Saturday (both defensively and offensively), at the risk of following up a successful season with a more troubled one.

FC Porto 3-0 Guimarães: Dragons pick up where they left off

Starting elevens

The Portuguese Supercup is usually a time where the two strongest teams meet as something of a taster for the upcoming season. This year, thanks to the strong second half of their seasons, Vitória Guimarães booked a well-deserved place against champions FC Porto via their success in last season's Portuguese Cup. However, any chance of an evenly-balanced match subsided after a mere five minutes.
 
After the early departure of João Moutinho and James Rodríguez, FC Porto displayed a rather usual eleven, with Defour playing in what used to be Moutinho's position and Licá surprisingly taking his place on the left, with Varela stationed on the right (and Iturbe oddly not even on a bench with newcomers Herrera, Quintero, Ghilas and Josué). Guimarães' resistance lasted all of five minutes, when Lucho González provided the assist for Licá to score for the club he supported since he was a child.

• Lucho runs the show

While the opposition was rather feeble, to say the least, in the play that led to the first goal of the match (a huge no-no in professional football at such a high level), its most interesting aspect was actually Lucho's positioning. Paulo Fonseca seems to have abandoned the system (4x3x3) that the Dragons have favoured for a decade and a half (Co Adriaanse's experiences notwithstanding).

Indeed, Defour would start alongside Fernando and move further up while starting the first build-up phase. Lucho, rather than completing the midfield threesome, started off much closer to Jackson Martínez, often combining with the Colombian striker in interesting one-twos and effectively running the show throughout the match.

Rui Vitória's men played an important role by not managing to find a way to mark the Argentinean captain or keep the passing lanes closed, which meant Lucho had all the time in the world to make the best decisions - whether by peeling off his marker or vacating the space for others to occupy. The neuralgic area in front of the Guimarães defence was never duly taken, with centre-backs afraid to come out and press Lucho or Jackson and midfielders leaving acres of space behind them.

Adding insult to injury, the deployment of the skilful Barrientos on the left provided little (if any) defensive coverage down the wing, a wing that FC Porto kept ramming down to their heart's content. No wonder, then, that all of FC Porto's three goals should stem from that side, with neither Addy nor the midfielders looking to offer the necessary cover.

• Licá's impressive start

While the new formation allowed Lucho to do what he does best, there were several other points of interest, the most interesting of which was Licá's positioning and movement. If Iturbe's absence was rather conspicuous, Licá's inclusion in the starting line-up was not less surprising, particularly considering he showed a few signs of restlessness, probably from trying too much too soon. The Portuguese offers a somewhat dfiferent perspective as far as FC Porto wingers go, since he adds a striking dimension to the team's skill set.

Rather than just playing out wide, Licá often moved inside, overloading the centre area of midfield (for instance, when Lucho drifted away and dragged his markers with him), leaving the wing to Alex Sandro. More importantly, he effectively acted almost as a second striker whenever the ball was being played on the other wing, not far off Jackson Martínez. His goal (the first of the match) offered good evidence when Lucho spun behind Jackson and Licá appeared on the far post burying the ball into the net.

While his skills may eventually come up short against stronger opposition, this sort of threat may well prove all too important for FC Porto when facing smaller teams, especially in their own turf.

• Paços de Ferreira all over again?

In a less interesting second half, there were however a few details that could allows us to take a peek into Paulo Fonseca's ideas and plans for the future of his team. Fonseca's previous charge at Paços de Ferreira Josué came on and his presence immediately mirrored Fonseca's former team formation and movement.

Indeed, an almost perfect square almost instantly formed, with Fernando alongside Defour and Josué drifting inside from the left the second the ball got to the feet of Alex Sandro or Mangala, further enhancing FC Porto's dominance as far as ball possession is concerned. Whether that means FC Porto will resort to the first-half's plan or the second-half one remains to be seen as the season progresses, but the signs of the coach's work and the several formation alternatives seem to be a relevant issue.

As for Vitória de Guimarães, the need to work once again with a short budget and therefore with a squad filled with young and new players means that Rui Vitória will have his work cut out, even though which game plan Guimarães' leader will choose (the sight during the second half of balls being bombed forward towards the promising Maazou) remains to be seen.

A victory for the mature team

Starting elevens

In the past Minho derbies have often been much more than simple football matches - often resembling pitched battles. Thanks in part to the non-incendiary nature of both managers (thanks, Tom), last night's match was no such thing and rather offered an entertaining spectacle, even if it wasn't exactly ridden with scoring opportunities.

Guimarães came out strong of the blocks, relying on their 4x3x3 to pressure Braga high up and prevent their usual patient build-up play. Beto, for instance, was almost always forced to play the ball long, which is not how Braga manager José Peseiro likes his teams to launch their attacks. (In contrast, Doulgas, Guimarães' goal keeper, always looked upfield when he gathered the ball, trying to exploit the defensive spaces vacated by Braga players.) Furthermore, Leonel Olímpio and André André's positioning was designed to keep Hugo Viana from dictating the tempo and spraying his traditional diagonal passes.

For the first 15 minutes, Guimarães were successful in their strategy, but Braga started settling down and gradually took over the midfield, softening their pressure on Viana and Custódio. With Olímpio and André higher up, there were pockets of space behind them that had to be covered almost exclusively by El Adoua. Mossoró was his usual self and was amazing with his lateral movement, drifting away from the Moroccan holding midfielder, too wary of leaving his area exposed.

Guimarães' good game was in part due to their proactive wingers, who showed auspicious signs with their clever movement. Ricardo is a trickier player who favours one-on-one situations, while João Ribeiro reads the game better and is not afraid to occupy other areas of the field, in order to create harder situations for his opponent. While it's true they were busy helping out by going up and down the wing, it's only fair to point out that they progressively let go of their defensive duties.

On one hand, Guimarães,encouraged by their fans, seemed to have an emotional grip on the match. On the other hand, Braga were apparently better equipped for the different stages of the match, even though they looked a bit disjointed at times, especially the ineffective Alan and Hélder Barbosa. The first cagey half had showed little between the two teams.

The second half was basically a one-way street. With a better idea of what to do offensively, Braga ended up scoring the first goal, in a quick transition into attack after a free kick in Guimarães' attacking half. The emotional upper hand Guimarães were benefiting quickly deflated after the goal, despite their immediate attempt to push forward. As so often is the case with Portuguese teams, Rui Vitória's men seemed unsure of where to go after finding themselves trailing - truth be told, the lack of depth of Guimarães' team was clearly on display here, with not many alternative attacking routes.

To make matters worse, Peseiro chose to rest Mossóro and replace him with Ruben Micael. The former FC Porto player was instrumental for Braga to seize control of the match and disturb a possible comeback from their opponents. Furthermore, Éder is out to prove he may well be the future striker the Selecção and Braga need by proving to be a reliable attacking focal point, able to hold up the ball and linking up play. Braga's second goal was just a final fait-divers and a bonus for Hugo Viana.

Braga definitely in the title race

Starting lineups

Even though the Portuguese League isn't exactly one of the most watched leagues in the world, I believe there are good teams and aspects that are interesting enough to make it worth our while. Monday's match pit Braga (last year's runner-up in Europa League and just 3 points behind Porto and Benfica) against Guimarães, a team that had beaten the leaders Benfica just last week (Benfica's first league defeat this season). If you add to that the fact that the rivalry between these two teams is rather intense, all the right ingredients for a great match were there.

Most people that like football must have heard at least a dozen times that tactics don't win matches, since they're nothing more than drawings on paper. However, even though it is not my intention to dispute that every system and its dynamics are valid, there are tactical arrangements that lend (at least theoretically) a more rational occupation of space to the teams. This match offered a classic clash between Braga's 4x3x3 and Guimarães' 4x2x3x1, which soon became apparent would evolve into a 4x4x1x1, in practical terms.

• 1. The tactical battle:

Guimarães' defensive shape was based on two banks of four. Partly due to the opponent's scouting and partly out of need (Mossoró, the usual starter, was only fit for the bench), Braga's coach gave Ruben Amorim the nod, inverting his usual triangle. Therefore, the home team were finding it very easy to create triangles on the wings between the fullback, the midfielder and the winger - namely on the right side - and, with that simple movement, bypass the opponent's two defensive lines, as seen below.

A simple movement between three players created a scoring opportunity 

As if that tactical detail wasn't enough, Guimarães' coach surprised everyone by allowing Hugo Viana indefinite time on the ball, an odd option especially if you take into account how their elimination at the hands of Besiktas offered solid proof on how marking Hugo Viana hurts the play of the rest of the team.

• 2. The battle of goalkeepers

Any discussion around tactical arrangements, options or dynamics within the match is absolutely pointless when a team find themselves losing on the third minute due to a mistake by one of their players. When that same player (particularly in a position as sensitive as goalkeeper) repeats the same mistake after just 15 minutes, the team tend to show a lack of confidence and play fearfully. On the other hand, Braga's 'keeper Quim showed how much of a difference a wiser player can make, given that he too had the same tendency to leave goal rather extemporaneously.

• 3. The defensive transition

One of the things Leonardo Jardim's Braga is excelling at the moment is the defensive transition - i.e., the moment immediately after losing the ball. Indeed, Braga's reaction to losing the ball is becoming more and more evolved, not only by being successful at averting the opponent's counterattacks, but also by getting the ball back further up front. In the example below, pay attention to how many Braga players are near the ball, which had been lost a few yards and seconds earlier. This moment, frequently disregarded by coaches, is often one of the key differences between average and mature teams.

Rapid reaction to losing the ball

Even though the final result was harsh (4-0, with a Guimarães players sent off before half-time), these three factors help showing that, even without the sending off, Braga would always be closer to winning the match and, by doing it, claiming their place in the title race.