Pachuca faced the daunting task of taking on Botafogo as the South American representative in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup™. The club from Rio De Janeiro arrived in Qatar three days after winning Série A for the first time since 1995, and ten days after winning the Copa Libertadores for the first time in their history. Despite Botafogo’s attacking threat and incredible form, Pachuca were able to beat their Brazilian opponents without conceding a goal, booking a place in the FIFA Challenge Cup™ match against Egyptian side Al Ahly. Aron Winter, the Technical Study Group member who observed the game at Stadium 974 in Doha, explains how the Mexican side’s high press, counter-press and overall synergy were crucial in negating their opposition and creating their own chances.
Positional understanding during the high press
With two of the three goals stemming from these situations, the high press was one of the main ways Pachuca caused Botafogo difficulties. Winter explains how this type of pressure negated their opponent:
“In our observation of their performance, Pachuca would take extra caution to make sure the middle areas of the pitch were closed, forcing their opponent to play to one side. Once this happened, Pachuca players on the opposite side of the pitch would come more central, creating an overload near the ball and making it very difficult for Botafogo to build up.”
The central midfield pairing of Elías Montiel (28) and Pedro Pedraza (5) was an integral part of Pachuca’s pressing system. When their team was pressing high, Pedraza would maintain his position in front of his defensive line, allowing Montiel to go and apply pressure on the ball, shutting down the central channels.
The efficiency of Pachuca’s high press was registered in FIFA’s metrics. With 12.4% of their pressures taking place in the final third – as opposed to Botafogo’s 10.6% – it is clear where Pachuca wanted to pressure their opponent. Additionally, the Mexican side applied 17.5 presses per minute when in the high press phase of play compared to Botafogo’s 14.3, showing how active Pachuca were with this strategy.
Perhaps the clearest representation of the precise nature of Pachuca’s high press is seen when looking at the number of pressures they applied that showed the opposition outside of their team shape. Out of 316 of Pachuca’s total pressures, 213 applied showed Botafogo outside – a share of 67.4%. This was a substantial 15.2% more than Botafogo. In terms of starting locations of Pachuca presses, 65% began from positions within the width of the penalty area, compared to Botafogo’s 49.5%. Pachuca’s figure compliments Winter’s assessment of the press being designed to block play through central areas and force the opposition into the less fruitful wide areas.
An engrained counter-pressing mindset
Counter-pressing situations were a second key area where Pachuca thrived. These were the moments of the game where possession was more in contest compared to the organised high-press scenarios mentioned above. For Winter, it was the way Pachuca reacted as a team when losing the ball which stood out most.
“When they lost possession of the ball, the action and reaction of the Pachuca players were really strong. Players were in close proximity to one another and the ball, which allowed them to counter-press effectively and denied Botafogo time in possession. Without this proximity, the Pachuca players wouldn’t be able to reach the opposition in time, meaning they would allow them more freedom to play.”
Their behaviour once they regained possession was also key. “Immediately after recovering the ball, you could see that they had the calmness and composure to not lose the ball immediately. Sometimes they would play the ball back to allow time for the team to organise itself before attacking again,” Winter adds.
The success of Pachuca’s counter-press is reflected in the number of passing errors they forced out of Botafogo during these moments of the game. Pachuca forced their opposition into an average of 4.4 passing errors per minute when in the counter-press phase, which by far exceeds the average Botafogo managed, with 1.6.
Rest defence as a basis for pressing
Part of the reason why Pachuca’s counter-press and high press were so prominent is due to their rest defence. The solidity of this structure provided the basis for an aggressive counter-press in moments they gave the ball away, like in clip 3 below. Winter adds that players conducting the press further up the pitch also had the assurance that, if they were unsuccessful, their team-mates behind them were waiting to intervene.
“Pachuca were organised well at the back when applying pressure higher up the pitch. They would always keep a spare man in defence and what we observed was when they did lose the ball higher up the pitch, it wouldn’t be too dangerous because Botafogo’s striker would always be outnumbered 2v1. This is an important point because if they are not doing this well, Botafogo have the attacking players that are capable of hurting you.”
Individual player roles and team synergy
Elías Montiel
Montiel’s energy in central midfield was at the heart of his team’s pressing strategy. During the high press and counter-press, the 19-year-old could cover the ground needed to force the Botafogo build-up away from central areas. Covering a total distance of 12.6km, Montiel ran further than any other player, but his tactical role also demanded positional awareness and understanding of his team’s pressing patterns, explains Winter. “Montiel was the connecting player between the midfield and the back, and completed the press. He was not only good at closing spaces but also strong in the moments after recovering the ball, knowing what he should do and always playing forwards to create chances.”
Oussama Idrissi
Montiel’s involvement in closing down the central channels would often precede Oussama Idrissi’s (11) role in Pachuca’s high press. The winger’s awareness of when to come over into the middle of the pitch was an integral step in condensing Pachuca’s defensive structure into the half of the pitch where Botafogo were trying to build up. This movement was critical in making Pachuca’s press engaged and contributed to the proximity between other players forming part of the press.
Team synergy
Although the performances of these two players were important, for Winter the all-round team synergy was the decisive factor in Pachuca’s victory:
“For me, the whole team were connected with each other and tried to help each other. You could see this very clearly in moments where they lost the ball. When this happened, regardless of when it was during a set piece or in play, the speed and willingness of the entire team to react was fantastic. In the clip below you can see how the entire team is striving to recover and organise.”
Key take-aways
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Positional understanding is paramount when organising a high press. Subtle points like keeping even distances between team-mates, and ensuring players position themselves between two opposition players, can enhance the effectiveness of the high press.
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A rest defence structure forms the basis of both a counter-press and high press. A team always needs to keep one eye on its defensive organisation at the back to allow other players to be aggressive higher up the pitch. Without this, a team leaves itself vulnerable.
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Individual players need to have a thorough understanding of their role within the team’s tactical framework. In this game for example, Idrissi’s knowledge of when to come central to condense the pitch could be the difference between the opposition’s ability to build up opposed or unopposed.
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Synergy is a defining characteristic when it comes to the success a team has out of possession. Without a connection between individuals, units and the entire 11 players, a team will struggle to execute an effective pressing strategy.