Ivan Jurić Tactics & Style Of Play At Torino FC

Historically, Serie A was predominantly known for its obstinacy towards conservative football.

The kings of ‘Catenaccio’ led the way for the art of defending in Europe.

Old school managers from days gone by, such as Nereo Rocco, Helenio Herrera, Giovanni Trappatoni and a plethora of others, caused Italian football to be painted with the lustrous brush of pragmatism for more than half a century.

Even today, many ignorantly still proclaim that Italy is a destitute wasteland for attacking football.

However, this is a fairly negligent assessment.

Serie A is now one of the most attacking leagues in European football, averaging 3.08 goals per game, the most since the 1950/51 campaign.

Nevertheless, defending hasn’t just become frivolous and unimportant.

It has merely transformed to fit the demands of the modern game.

Teams now press high up the pitch as units to force their opponent into making errors in dangerous areas.

No team is more symbolic of this approach right now than Ivan Jurić’s Torino.

The historic team from Turin are currently the highest-pressing side in Italy, boasting the third-best defensive record in the top-flight division, conceding merely 19 goals all season.

Only champions Internazionale and title-contenders Napoli have bettered this.

This article will be a tactical analysis of Torino as a team scout report.

Ivan Jurić Defensive formation

Back three formations seemed to have been weeded out recently as coaches turned to more conventional systems such as the 4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1.

Now, the three systems are becoming fashionable again.

To quote Edmund from King Lear: “Everything has come full circle.”

Last season, during a harrowing and nervy campaign for the club where they staved off relegation by four points under two contrasting managers, Torino primarily used both the 4-3-1-2 and the 3-5-2.

This season, the much-improved team under the former Hellas Verona coach Jurić, deploys a 3-4-3 which includes all variations of it such as the 3-4-2-1.

They have used this in 62 percent of their matches in all competitions so far.