Cristiano Ronaldo, widely considered one of the greatest football players of all time, recently made a surprising move to Al-Nassr after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
The transfer was met with mixed reactions from fans and experts.
Ronaldos first move outside of Europe in his illustrious career sparked widespread discussion about the state of football in the Middle East and the motivations behind Ronaldos decision to move there.
Some questioned the quality of football in the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where some quality players like Odion Ighalo, Hélder Costa, Éver Banega, David Ospina, Cristian Tello, Anderson Talisca, and others ply their trade.
The Saudi Pro League also has great coaches, such as the former Tottenham Hotspur manager Nuno Espírito Santo, Ramon Diaz, and Rudi Garcia, the leading man of this article.
Garcia brings a wealth of experience and success, having managed some of the top clubs in France and Italy, including Marseille, Roma and Lyon.
This tactical analysis will be a team scout report on Garcias Al-Nassr and how the manager changed his tactics after Ronaldo’s arrival.
Rudi Garcia’s Tactics At Al-Nassr
Garcia has followed the same recognised principles of playing across Europe and Asia.
The French coach values technical and tactical discipline and organisation yet encourages his players to express themselves.
Garcia doesn’t have a strict system but rather a dynamic approach demanding individualistic levels through the system which we can call systematic and individuality with discipline.
He’s known for principles such as forward-vertical attacking play, triangles, wing invasion, positional rotation, quick transitions, and compactness.
Throughout his career, he has shifted between many shapes.
This season, he has operated Al-Aalami in structures 4-2-3-1 for 59% of the games, 4-4-2 for 23%, and 3-4-3 for just 6% of them.
Rudi Garcias In-possession play
Under Garcias command, Al-Nassr has the dynamism in the first line of the building to adapt to the oppositions pressure style, and one of the midfielders has the freedom to join the backline to create a numerical advantage if needed.
Yet the team wants to constantly keep the wingers inside, which gives the fullbacks space to advance.
Furthermore, frequently, one of the forwards could drop off to combine to have a clear penetration.
These actions illustrate the dynamism within the structure and its diversity on the strength of the opposition.
Al-Aalami’s building varies between 2-2 or 3-1 forms, with the fullback’s dynamic movements and a mindset of vertical and wing-attacking approaches.
Here, the wingers move inside, positioning themselves between FBs and CBs, dragging the opposition’s FBs inside and then pinning the backline, which gives the fullbacks space to exploit.
Meanwhile, Talisca drops deep to open an extra passing option.
Below, against their rival Asia champion Al-Hilal, under the same principles, Gustavo dropped to the first line, and Talisca dropped deeper.
Meanwhile, the winger-fullback dynamic movements gave the left fullback immediate space to exploit.
