Omar Daf at Sochaux 2021/22: How ‘immense’ coach’s unwavering belief developed Ligue 2’s most durable defence – tactical analysis

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard (Sochaux) currently sit second in Ligue 2 — trailing only Toulouse who boast an extremely strong squad for this level — and have conceded the joint-fewest goals (7) of any Ligue 2 side, 13 games into the 2021/22 campaign. This impressive defensive record hasn’t come by accident; it’s the product of the system that Sochaux manager Omar Daf has implemented and perfected during his time in charge of Les Lionceaux — the club at which Daf spent the majority of his playing career. Last season, Sochaux finished in seventh place on the Ligue 2 table but boasted the joint-fourth-best defensive record in terms of goals conceded of any side in France’s second tier at the end of the season.

That second-place finish was Sochaux’s best finish in the second-tier since being relegated from Ligue 1 way back in the 2013/14 season. Daf has overseen steady progression since returning to Stade Auguste Bonal as the manager in November 2018, when he replaced José Manuel Aira. He guided his side to a 16th place finish in that first season before following it up with a 14th place finish in 2019/20.

Now, in his fourth season in charge of the club where he once played as a right-back against the likes of Serie A giants Inter, Bundesliga stalwarts Borussia Dortmund, and talk-of-the-town EPL side Newcastle United in European competition back in the early 2000s — a better time for this club — Daf looks set to take Sochaux one step further in their progression and challenge for promotion back to the top-flight, where you might feel a club of this stature belongs, depending on your level of sentimentality for historic clubs.

Jean-Claude Plessis, who was the club’s president during the majority of Daf’s playing career at Montbéliard-based side, recently sang the praises of his former player, declaring that the 44-year-old coach has an “immense aura” before gushing over his Sochaux team’s performances, saying he has “the impression that everyone is happy to be on the pitch” at Les Lionceaux under Daf, with Sochaux practising “beautiful football” at present.

Plessis’ high praise is justified, given Sochaux’s positive progression under their 44-year-old manager and I intend to uncover some of the key tactics behind Les Lionceaux’s “beautiful” and effective football in this tactical analysis. I’ll attempt to provide insight into Daf’s overall philosophy through analysis of his Sochaux side and their development under him in what is now the ex-Senegal international’s fourth season in charge at Stade Auguste Bonal.

Whether or not Daf’s philosophy and Sochaux’s positive start to the campaign are enough to take France’s first professional club back to Ligue 1 remains to be seen but what is for sure is that this team is continuing to steadily progress well under the 44-year-old who has shown unwavering belief in his convictions throughout his tenure in charge of the two-time French champions, recently explaining that he’s not done anything differently this season than he did in previous seasons, saying: For 3 years I have been working in the same way. This year it is working well in terms of results but I have always stayed on my line.” With Les Lionceaux enjoying a positive start to the season that follows the steady progression of Daf’s first three seasons at the club, the manager’s confidence and belief in his convictions should be highlighted as a likely important contributor to his side’s potential promotion challenge.

Pressing and aggressiveness

As well as conceding the joint-fewest goals of any Ligue 2 side this term, Sochaux have allowed their opponents to generate the lowest xGA (7.83), as well as the lowest xGA per shot (0.072) of any team in France’s second tier. The success of Daf’s side is built on their defensive solidity and to kick off the tactical analysis, I’m going to focus on Sochaux’s game without the ball in the high block phase of play. At present, Les Lionceaux have got the fourth-lowest PPDA (8.92) of any side in France’s second tier. This indicates that they’ve got the fourth-most aggressive press of any side in the league, as they allow the opposition to complete the fourth-fewest passes inside their final 60% of the pitch before committing a defensive action (a defensive duel, tackle, foul or interception).

Sochaux have primarily lined up in the 4-2-3-1 shape under Daf and they’ve almost exclusively used this formation so far in 2021/22. The centre-forward and number 10 sometimes end up in the same line without the ball. However, it’s then up to one of these two players to lead their side’s press.

As was the case in figure 1, it’s more common to see Sochaux’s centre-forward leading the press. When this happens, it’s then up to their ‘10’ to drop onto the opposition’s deepest midfielder to avoid getting overloaded in central midfield. Just before figure 1, the opposition’s goalkeeper played the ball out to the right centre-back, whom we see in possession here. As this centre-back receives the ball, Sochaux’s centre-forward springs into action closing him down while the ‘10’ drops to mark the holding midfielder. Sochaux’s ball-near winger gets tight on the opposition’s ball-near full-back, while their ball-far winger retains access to the other centre-back. Les Lionceaux’s two holding midfielders sit behind the ‘10’, resulting in the scene we see here in figure 1.

Figure 2 shows an example from this same game of Sochaux’s ‘10’ leading the press. On this occasion, with the opposition positioned slightly further upfield than they were in figure 1, the ‘10’ was positioned closer to the opposition’s centre-back receiver than the centre-forward was while the two men stood on the same line, so it made more sense for the ‘10’ to close the receiver down. As the ‘10’ pressed, the centre-forward dropped off onto the opposition’s deepest midfielder, similar to how the ‘10’ dropped off in figure 1. Again, with the opposition positioned slightly further upfield here, both of Sochaux’s wingers are marking the opposition’s full-backs, allowing the centre-back without the ball to enjoy some space. Ideally, the player leading the press — in this case, the ‘10’ — will bend his run to cut the passing lane to the other centre-back. However, in this example, that wasn’t the case.