FC Groningen: Their Metamorphosis Under Dick Lukkien Tactics

Who is Dick Lukkien?

FC Groningen have undergone a bit of a renaissance under their current manager Dick Lukkien.

With the club having suffered their first relegation in a quarter of a century just months after taking the job for the following season, it was a difficult situation that the then-Emmen manager found himself coming into, one that the club weren’t accustomed to being in.

Groningen had spent most of the last two decades as a traditionally top eight side in the Eredivisie, qualifying for Europe on a few occasions and even lifting the KNVB Beker once in that time.

A club also well known for producing some of the finest Dutch players to grace the game in the modern era, like Arjen Robben, Ronald Koeman, and Virgin van Dijk.

But following an abysmal 22/23 campaign where they only picked up 18 points en route to a miserable relegation, it was clear that a rebuild was in order under the incoming Lukkien, who had spent six years at the club as a youth coach and assistant in the early to mid-2010s.

Indeed, the club managed to bounce back immediately by securing promotion on the final day of the Eerste Divisie season in May.

They’ve also made a solid start to their return to the Dutch elite with the club ranking high in the European positions and boasting one of the better attacking forces in the league.

This analysis will take a look at how Lukkien style of play has restored the club back to the standards they had set for themselves over the years, less than 18 months after the worst season in their history which saw them go down a division.

Dick Lukkien Attacking Structure & Patterns of Play

Throughout Lukkien’s time at Groningen, the team has employed a 4-4-2 base structure both with and without the ball.

A scheme famously noted for its simplicity in terms of tactical setup, but there are some interesting things about the way Groningen perform within this structure.

Let’s take a closer look.

One of the key things to note is the way they build their plays from the back.

They start with both centrebacks moving wider to the edge of the penalty area and into the half-spaces, allowing the fullbacks to focus more on their offensive responsibilities and push higher up.

Both central players in midfield then drop deeper to offer support to the building phase, with the wingers inverting into the central zone and proving a presence in an advanced midfield area.

What this achieves is it allows Groningen’s fullbacks, typically captain Leandro Bacuna and AZ loanee Finn Stam this season, to attack the flanks more aggressively in spaces or 1v1 situations.

Having the wide areas all to themselves as a result of the positioning of the midfielders when in possession, allows them to get forward more and always provide an outlet for a switch pass towards the wings, which Groningen perform in abundance.

Let’s take a look at some examples of this setup in action.

As we can see above with a full picture of the Groningen team with the goalkeeper ready to distribute the ball, we can see all the players taking up the positions as mentioned before.

The midfield becomes more narrow with the wingers inverting but allows them to access the central zone, which would be difficult to do with both pivots dropping so deep if they’re pinned back by the opposition, as they are here.