Marcelino García Toral Tactics At Valencia CF 2018/2019: Guiding Los Che Back To The Champions League – Tactical Analysis

Marcelino took charge of Valencia last summer and led them back to the Champions League in his first season.

Los Murciélagos are one of the biggest clubs in Spain, but after some disastrous managerial spells, García Toral has managed to turn the club around.

The Spanish coachs method has been characterised by a very compact defence, rapid counter-attacking, and a lot of energy.

In this tactical analysis, we look at Marcelino García Torals style of play and what the upcoming season may hold for Valencia.

Marcelino García Toral Background

Marcelino worked his way up the coaching ladder in his native Asturias, eventually impressing at Sporting Gijón, Recreativo de Huelva, and Racing Santander before failing at Real Zaragoza.

He then had another spell at Racing before moving to Sevilla.

It didnt work out in Andalusia, but Marcelinos next move would prove successful.

Appointed at Villarreal, he first led the club to promotion back to the top flight before guiding them to three successive top-six finishes.

Toral also led the club to the 2015/16 Europa League semi-final.

After a disagreement with the board at Villarreal, Marcelino left the club and was then appointed at Valencia in May 2017.

From Villarreal to Valencia, he brought the obvious tenets in his tactical approach.

Marcelino wants a very energetic team which works together at all times and presses and harries the opposition.

His teams are always set up in a narrow 4-4-2 formation and look to break out of their extremely compact, positionally oriented defensive shape with rapid counterattacks.

This has worked superbly at Valencia, where he led Los Che to a fourth-place finish in La Liga last season.

Valencia CF Transfers

Valencia has undergone some changes in their playing squad this summer.

The main departure is Gonçalo Guedes, who was brilliant last year on loan from PSG.

There are rumours that they are looking to sign the Portuguese player permanently, but no deal has been agreed upon yet.

Andreas Pereira has also returned to his parent club Manchester United after his loan spell.

The same goes for Luciano Vietto.

Valencia also sold players who were bit-part players last term or out on loan, such as João Cancelo, whos gone to Juventus for €40M.

But Guedes is the only loss to the starting eleven of last year.

In terms of recruitment Valencia have done well.

The biggest deal is the €25M paid to Inter Milan to make Geoffrey Kondogbia a permanent Valencia player, but if he plays like last year, then he will be worth every penny.

The young defender Mouctar Diakhaby has joined from Lyon, but he is likely to start as cover.

Celta Vigo midfielder Daniel Wass, Red Star Belgrades midfielder Uroš Račić and Sporting CP right-back Cristiano Piccini have also been added to the squad.

Finally, Valencia, with their symbol being a bat, has signed footballs Batman with Michy Batshuayi joining from Chelsea on loan.

Marcelino García Toral Formations

Lets move on to how Marcelino García Toral sets Los Murciélagos up on the pitch.

Valencia lines up in a 4-4-2 formation, as shown in the image below.

Ill look at the three most vital components of his football philosophy below.

Marcelino García Toral Compact Defending

As highlighted in the above image, Marcelino wants his side to be extremely compact in defence.

He deploys a positionally oriented defensive system where the players move in unison across the pitch, depending on the positions of their teammates, the ball, the space, and, lastly, their opponents.

They dont mark opponents but instead defend colle