During the 2019 J1 League season, Vissel Kobe fell some way short of expectations despite having a star-studded squad list. Despite boasting the talents of David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Lukas Podolski, amongst others, the side struggled to an eighth-place finish.
The criticism that the whole was not greater than the sum of its parts had frequently been levied at the Kobe side. However, after a mid-season switch in management from Juan Manuel Lillo to Thorsten Fink, Villa’s retirement and Podolski departing last summer, the ship seems to have settled.
To complement the settled ship, the side still has a star in Iniesta and the well-known European names of former FC Barcelona duo Sergi Samper and Thomas Vermaelen. The arrival of Douglas over the off-season from Shimizu S-Pulse has also added quality to the squad.
So, this tactical analysis will look at the key tactics of Fink’s Vissel Kobe side. The scout report will also use analysis to show what impact they will have over the 2020 J1 League season and if the side can be considered title contenders.
Sergi Samper’s pivotal role
To provide an obvious play on words, Samper plays a pivotal role in the Ushi midfield. In the side’s opening game of the season, a 1-1 draw with Yokohama FC, Fink deployed a 4-1-4-1 starting formation in which Samper played the defensive midfielder role. However, in the German manager’s set up, the Spanish middleman played an all-important pivot role which linked the defensive line to the midfield and attack.
As can be seen in this annotation, the 25-year-old defensive midfielder looks to bridge the gap between the centre-backs and the midfielders. The two wide midfielders in this image are actually the full-backs, however, it is Samper’s role which allows them to take this position – which will be discussed later in the piece. From Samper’s position, though, he is able to pick up possession of the ball and then have four advanced passing options ahead of him in midfield.
Here, despite Vissel being in possession, Samper has dropped deep from a more advanced position to support the defence. In this area, he remains in space, with time to turn on the ball and pick a pass. This role from the Spaniard is vital as he provides much-needed support to the two centre-backs, is able to link the defence with the midfield and can control the speed of the attack – either by continuing to play through the thirds or launch a direct and lofted pass into the wings.
