An Early Look At Daniele De Rossi Tactics In His First Managerial Role – Tactical Analysis

There is a worldwide sweep of retired players who reached the peak of their powers from the late noughties to the mid-2010s, moving into managerial slots.

In recent months, Carlos Tevez took the leap into management, becoming the head coach of Rosario Central, while Ruud van Nistelrooy was handed his first job in the men’s game, taking control of Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven.

Furthermore, Michael Carrick has also accepted a permanent job as the boss of Middlesbrough in the EFL Championship.

Italy has had its own upsurge of national heroes taking management roles across the top two divisions.

From Andrea Pirlo’s appointment at Juventus in 2020 to Thiago Motta’s spells in charge of Genoa, Spezia and now Bologna, the next generation of Italian legends-cum coaches is well and truly in the offing.

Now, another World Cup-winning player has been given a chance as a head coach.

AS Roma legend Daniele De Rossi has been chosen to succeed the experienced Roberto Venturato in the dugout for Serie B side SPAL.

So far, the Biancazzurri have seen mixed results during the 39-year-old’s brief tenure, winning one, drawing one, and losing one.

However, encouragingly, they have conceded just one goal and scored five in three games.

This tactical analysis will examine the tactics that De Rossi coaching style has integrated at the Stadio Paolo Mazza in his first few weeks at the helm.

Daniele De Rossi Formations

One of the primary aspects of SPAL’s tactical set-up that De Rossi has tried to reconstruct is their base formation.

Under Venturato, to very little success, the Biancazzurri set up mainly in a 4-3-1-2 shape, or a 4-4-2 diamond depending on how deep the number ‘6’ played in midfield.

There were even times when the 59-year-old deployed a more conventional 4-3-3, using the wide strikers as wingers while replacing the number ‘10’ with an orthodox centre-forward.

However, with merely three wins in nine matches, including just two in the league, it was clear that something needed to change tactically.

This visual displays all of the formations that SPAL have used this season in all competitions.

The dominant shape is still Venturato’s 4-3-1-2 as well as his 4-3-3 but De Rossi has vastly tweaked the structure on the field.

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