Earlier in the year, Lionel Scaloni talked about the impact of Marco Rose in an interview.
When the Argentine head coach, now a Copa América winner, visited Rose in Germany, one of the subjects discussed was the use of the 4-3-3 formation.
The former RB Salzburg coach believed the rhombus formation could be successful in South America, and he also achieved success in Austria with this formation.
However, in Germany, this formation was unworkable.
Intriguingly, when Rose left Borussia Monchengladbach to take over Borussia Dortmund this summer, he tried the 4-diamond-2 again.
In consecutive matches against Bayern Munich, SC Freiburg, and TSG Hoffenheim, Dortmund employed the same strategy, winning 1-2-1, scoring five goals and conceding seven.
What were the reasons for Rose trying the same shape again?
This tactical analysis will examine some of the offensive setups of their 4-diamond-2 formation.
Build-up phase
In a 4-diamond-2, Dortmund played out from the back with a wide 4-1 shape, with Mahmoud Dahoud as the holding midfielder.
They always involved the goalkeeper in this phase to move the ball around.
Therefore, Gregor Kobel should be perceived as a part of the back three and they had a 3v2 numerical advantage over the two-striker pressing system.
The first image was from Dortmund’s game against Bayern’s 4-4-2 pressing.
When the first line pressed the centre-backs, Kobel could pick Dahoud by slicing the ball between the strikers.
Subscribe To TFA To Unlock All Posts - Free 7 Day Trial
Try TFA Free For 7 Days
Gain access to all of TFA's premium contents.More than 12,000+ articles.
