Aleksandar Tomash at Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2023/24: How he’s turned them into one of Bulgaria’s most entertaining sides – tactical analysis

This season, the Bulgarian First Division is currently in a tight race for the top spot through the first 17 matchdays. With only a three-point gap separating the 1st placed side from the 4th placed side, it looks to be an entertaining second half of the season in Bulgaria. One of these teams currently in this fight is Lokomotiv Plovdiv, with the 4th placed side playing some very entertaining football under 45-year-old Bulgarian Aleksandar Tomash. 

The Bulgarian side have arguably been one of the more entertaining teams to watch in the league this season, with this tactical analysis and scout report taking a detailed look at the tactics of the Bulgarian manager, analysing his principles and what makes him such an interesting name to keep an eye on in the managerial world. 

Priority placed on possession-based principles in attack 

When it comes to the attacking side of things from Aleksandar Tomashs side, his tactics and principles revolve around possession-based football, with Lokomotiv Plovdiv possessing the ball the third highest percentage in the Bulgarian First Division, at an average of 58.3% per match. This helps to illustrate how the Bulgarian side want to play football, with a majority of build-up play being long and methodical and involving plenty of passes to progress the ball into the opponents final third. In fact, Lokomotiv Plovdiv possess a passing rate (passes per minute of possession) of 13.7, the third highest in Bulgaria. 

With that all being said, most of the ball possession of Lokomotiv Plovdiv occurs in the defensive and middle third of the pitch, with Tomash looking for his side to play quickly once they reach the attacking third. The data viz graphic shown below gives us a more detailed look at this, with it showing the pass map of Lokomotiv Plovdiv through the Bulgarian First Division so far. 

As shown in the graphic above, most of Lokomotiv Plovdivs passing sequences occur in the defensive and middle thirds of the pitch. Once Tomashs side cross midfield with possession, they look to play more directly, tending to look for the wingers out in the wide channels or over the top of opposition defences, looking for the runs of the forward and attacking midfielders making runs from deeper. 

This is not to say that Lokomotiv Plovdiv are a direct attacking team under Aleksandar Tomash. In fact, it would be safer to say that the Bulgarian side have displayed a bit of both at times, with Tomash showing the ability to be flexible depending on the opponent and how aggressive they are in terms of pressing or looking to neutralise more sophisticated styles of build-up play. Looking at some statistics among the Bulgarian First Division this season, Lokomotiv Plovdiv have played the third most passes in the division, behind only Levski Sofia and Ludogorets.