Ivica Kulesevic at NK Osijek 2019/20 – tactical analysis

Following our analysis of Rijeka under Simon Rožman last week, were continuing our project of bringing you the tactics of the best teams from 1. HNL. With that in mind, this tactical analysis will focus on Ivica Kulesevic and his philosophy at NK Osijek.

Initial data analysis

Before we delve deeper into Kuleševićs tactics at Osijek, first we will consult the data and statistics to determine the teams main trends, key players, and general tactics. When talking about certain styles of play, we have divided the teams within 1. HNL into those that practice a direct style and positional style, depending on the passes they prefer.

The teams who tally a large number of lateral passes are therefore categorised as more positional while teams who focus on long balls are more direct in their approach. We can immediately see that Osijek, along with other big teams like Dinamo, Rijeka, and Hajduk, are one of the more positional teams in the league.

But it is also true that they do deploy more long balls than the current two best teams in the league and somewhat fewer than Hajduk Split. Still, this is enough to tell us they are indeed a positional team that likes to be in control of the possession and dictate the tempo of the games.

However, we will also see that this largely depends on the opponent and the setup they are using, as it will have a major effect on their tactics. But more on that later on in this tactical analysis.

Next, we will