Antonio Mohamed: How Atlético Mineiro look under the new manager – tactical analysis

After a successful season under Cuca, Atlético Mineiro have turned to manager Antonio ‘El Turco’ Mohamed. Cuca resigned after winning the league and the cup in 2021. Over the past two seasons, Atlético have built one of the strongest squads in the continent with the likes of Hulk, Godín, Vargas, Nacho Fernández, Zaracho, and many more. They have also successfully implemented one of the country’s leading data and analysis departments. Atlético have caught up to Flamengo and Palmeiras and are now one of the strongest clubs in South America. As they go into the 2022 season under El Turco, they will be looking to challenge for every competition. They certainly have the depth and quality to do so.

Antonio Mohamed is an experienced manager with spells in Argentina and Mexico. In his first six matches in charge, he has won four, tied one, and lost one. It is still early days in his tenure, but his tactics are becoming clear. In this tactical analysis, we will examine key characteristics of Antonio Mohamed’s tactics so far at Atlético Mineiro.

Formations

As the season has just started, Mohamed is still constantly rotating and getting to know his players. Consequently, the line-ups have not been of much importance, however, the formations used have. They highlight not only the organisational structure Mohamed desires but the style of play he is looking to implement. The image below displays how often each formation has been used along with key statistics.

The 4-4-2 has been the most frequently used one, but he has also experimented with a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-1-1. Regardless of the formation, Mohamed has different variations for his attacking organisation, which will heavily depend on the players involved. Fullbacks like Arana and Guga will look to get more involved in the attack, whereas Dodo and Mariano will be slightly more defensive. Atlético also have great depth in the midfield, all with varying strengths. This will consequently require a lot of flexibility in the way they structure themselves offensively. The same position may have different roles depending on the player currently playing. It is worth taking a look at a few of these variations.

Variations

Atlético have a very deep squad with a lot of different strengths. Players are better in certain spaces and perform different roles. Some may look to get involved in possession and create on the ball. Others may look to attack spaces and work off the ball. At any rate, Mohamed must accommodate these various talents. As we have seen above, he is a big fan of the 4-4-2. This is a fairly simple structure, which often maintains itself in the attack. He will usually deploy a more playmaking midfielder, who will look to get on the ball and play closer to the defensive line. In one of the matches, this role was performed by Calebe. The other midfielder will be key in working box-to-box and getting involved in the attack. As Mohamed likes to play very direct football, this is highly effective. In the instance below, the 4-2 structure can be observed. With a double pivot and the fullbacks deeper, Atlético attempt to enter the opposition half.