After an underwhelming first half of the Belgian Pro League season, and with the club languishing in 9th position, only two points above the relegation zone, Standard Liège decided to sack Carl Hoefkens.
His replacement is someone who has both played and managed in Belgium before, with the Belgian side appointing 45-year-old Croatian Ivan Leko.
His previous managerial stops in Belgium were at Club Brugge and Antwerp, where Leko won the league and cup double with the former and the Belgian Cup with the latter.
He now returns to Belgian football for a third time as a manager, following recent managerial stops in China and his native Croatia.
This tactical analysis will take a detailed look at what Standard fans can expect from their side tactically under their new head coach.
It will emphasize the attacking side of things, as Standard Liège really struggled in this area in the first half of the season under Carl Hoefkens.
What formations could Ivan Leko use at Standard Liège?
In his previous managerial stops, Ivan Leko has demonstrated his tactical flexibility.
The Croatian coach often alternates between setting his side up in a back three or a back four.
For example, during his spell in charge of Shanghai Port, Leko tended to set his side up in a back three, usually a 3-5-1-1.
At Hajduk Split, the Croatian started his tenure by using what usually would look like a 3-5-1-1 but switched to a 4-2-3-1 as he began to stamp his style of play more on the side.
Through the first half of the Belgian Pro League season, Hoefkens had a similar philosophy regarding how he set up the side informationally.
The Belgian coach mostly used a 3-5-2, though a 4-4-2 was also employed.
Regarding an early prediction of what Leko may use, a 3-5-1-1 would be the most realistic option, though a back four is also very much a possibility for Leko.
As this analysis progresses, we will examine a few of the fundamental tendencies and tactics to expect from Standard Liège under Ivan Leko.
Ivan Lekos Heavy emphasis on crossing and creating space out wide
From an attacking perspective, there are a few common trends and tendencies to expect from Ivan Lekos teams.
One of these is a heavy emphasis on wide play and crossing, whether his side is set up in a back three or back four.
Ivan Lelkos style of play also likes to build play through the central areas, with fluid attacking rotations helping to create space (which will be covered in more detail later in this football analysis).
The data visualization graphic above shows the progressive passes of Shanghai Port and Hajduk Split (Leko’s most recent clubs) during the Croatian’s tenure in charge.
As we can see from the graphic, they are actually pretty similar.
Both sides use
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