Juanma Lillo’s article for The Athletic shortly after the Qatar World Cup marked a turning point in football.
From a philosophical perspective, the former Pep Guardiola and Man City assistant questioned the very approach that made him a household name in football.
Using the World Cup as his case study, Lillo highlighted today’s football loss for emotion, for nature.
Lillo expressed his contempt for the oversaturated world of analysis, where there must always be a why, a reason behind every result.
In his words, after 30 years in football, the “only thing [he is] certain of is uncertainty”.
The former La Liga manager continues by using the popular obsession with two touches as a symbol for individual repression before finally questioning, “Who am I to take them away from a life of learning as rich and valuable as they have, with their excitement and joy to play?”.
Juanma finishes by remembering Socrates, the philosopher.
Lillo claims to believe teaching does not exist, only learning.
Similar to Socrates, his approach is now one of a professor who does not teach but rather stimulates knowledge by walking alongside his students and asking questions.
Lillo’s words and change in perspective represent a broader philosophical revolution in football.
The meticulous scientific approach which has dominated football in recent years may be reaching a plateau, a stalemate.
The answer? Well, if recent trends indicate anything, it is a return to the individual or the spontaneous.
After taking charge of Qatar’s Al Sadd in the middle of 2022, Juanma Lillo has been experimenting with a new approach.
This style of football can be very much linked to the likes of Fernando Diniz and Luciano Spalletti.
In the online world, this new philosophy has been labelled Functional Play, which we will use in this article.
This tactical analysis will examine Juanma Lillo’s tactics at Al Sadd, and how the 57-year-old is playing a key role in a broader philosophical revolution.
Focusing on his side’s behaviour in possession, this analysis will identify how exactly this philosophical approach translates to his newfound tactics on the pitch.
Formless
The first significant change begins with the structure or lack thereof.
In this approach, there is significant positional freedom for the individual.
This is best described as a positional spectrum rather than a non-negotiable rule.
Obviously, there can be extreme cases where teams in possession may not have any predetermined structures whatsoever.
However, you can slide across the spectrum and have more of a balance between a defined structure and more spontaneous movements.
At any rate, in recent games, Juanma Lillo’s Al Sadd is very much characterised by a lack of predetermined structures.
Players like Akram Afif and former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla are free to roam and negotiate with spaces as they see fit.
Juanma has varied between numerous formations in recent matches, but there are still some consistent characteristics relating to the distribution of players throughout the pitch.
The map below illustrates Al Sadd’s average position in a match.
Some notable features can be immediately seen, such as an asymmetrical shape, focus and liberty in the central channels, and a lack of width on the left wing.
These features are all direct consequences of his players’ characteristics, which, as Lillo expressed, are now the guiding factor in the formation of his collective.
Before moving on, this functional approach to the structure can lead to some misconceptions, such as that the manager has no say in the team’s attacking system.
This is far from the truth, and there is a better way of looking at this.
