Dario Vidošić’s Possession-Based Philosophy & Tactics Powering Brighton Women’s Rise

For many fans of the WSL, Dario Vidošić will not be an especially familiar name, which is entirely understandable given that the Croatia-born former Australia midfielder has only been a head coach for two years and spent both of them in charge of Melbourne City Women in his adopted country.

However, those who follow the Antipodean game closely will vouch for his reputation as one of its most promising coaches at this moment in time.

He started out as an assistant to his father, Rado, at Melbourne before stepping up to replace him once the latter had taken charge of their men’s team.

Under his watch, Melbourne demonstrated continual improvement and finished third in his debut campaign before securing the Premiers title in the most recent one.

It was not only the results that caught the eye, though.

The style of play that he implemented also contributed to his burgeoning status.

Melbourne strongly emphasised the need to control proceedings and averaged 62.87% possession per outing last season.

They were a side that no one relished coming up against.

That is what likely attracted Brighton and Hove Albion Women to his services over the summer as they looked for their fifth coach since former England manager Hope Powell’s departure in October 2022 (including interim spells for Amy Merricks and Mikey Harris).

The Broadfield Stadium outfit have aspirations to compete for a place in the WSL’s top four but have struggled to achieve that aim, and the hope is that Vidošić will be the person to help them finally realise it.

The early signs have been positive in that regard, with Brighton sitting fourth in the standings at the time of writing after winning three of their opening four league matches.

It is evident that the players are buying into his tactical philosophy.

With that in mind, this tactical analysis will examine the key principles behind his preferred tactics, both in and out of possession, and highlight where they can still improve as the season goes on.

Ball Progression Route

As mentioned, the key thing to understand about Dario Vidošić’s philosophy is that he wants his teams to be in control of their own destiny.

He has spoken openly about how he suffers on the sidelines whenever the ball is out of his possession.

That mindset forms the framework for so much of what Melbourne and now Brighton and Hove Albion Women have done well under him, and fans can expect to see his current charges rack up significant possession statistics as the players continue to adjust to his ideas.

As with any team who operates within this style of play, it begins at the back, with Vidošić wanting his defensive line to play an intrinsic role in progressing the ball up the field and in breaking opposing lines.

The two who play a key role in making this work are the full-backs.