Post by Golden_Boy™ on Mar 4, 2010 10:21:51 GMT -1
Reconstructing the River Academy: Back to Basics
After recently regaining its great captain in the form of a new president, River are now looking to make some changes...
River Plate legend JJ Lopez - the newly appointed director of Los Millonarios’ cantera, is the man at the core of a move which will see the club go back to basics by playing a 4-3-1-2 formation, at every level of play.
Lopez himself was a cantera product at River and also a guy who not only trained as a player, but became a man there too. He was there from the age of 12 to 31, making over 400 appearances for the Buenos Aires club. "I love working with kids. When I started, was with a football school in San Isidro. I like to give them my experience, to help them grow up. Not just as footballers. I came from a humble family and many here are living a similar situation. I know what they need."
"I’m from the old school"
Lopez wants to go back to the basics and these are the ingredients in his melting pot:
- A 4-3-1-2 formation in all the age categories.
- Fullbacks.
- The return of the enganche.
- More emphasis placed on technical abilities, rather than physical abilities, although the latter will not be neglected.
Although he states he is “from the old school”, Lopez can also be seen as a modern football thinking man:
"Today the image of the footballer is as important as playing well. Before buying a player, European clubs find out how the footballer’s families are, what life he has, and other personal matters. So the idea is to improve the image to be traded better. It is a benefit for the club and for them too. We want them to be respectful, that they are down to earth. In what respects to earrings and piercings, they are dangerous, the kids can get hurt.”
Not everything is straight forward though; there is much less of a paternal relationship between coaches and players nowadays. Back in 1998, at the start of the World Cup in France, the then Argentina national coach Daniel Passarella told midfielder Fernando Redondo that he would not pick him unless he got his hair cut. In that case, Redondo complied.
Along with the ban on long hair, with the exception of the untouchable Gabriel Batistuta, there was also a ban on homosexuals and earrings. Lopez addressed this by saying that it is harder to impose some rules on the younger generation in the modern game. The players can't use earrings or piercings during training, but outside they can't be stopped. The rules are a little bit more relaxed - but this isn’t to say that the integrity and the image of these players need be harmed, especially with the strong tradition of developing players with the option to sell, in mind.
Going deeper into the idea of reconstructing River
Senor Lopez explains the logic behind it: "The idea is that all categories play with the same pattern; 4-3-1-2, so the boys have a job in each position... River want them (the players) to understand everything about the position they play, so when they reach the first team, they will do so knowing all the secrets of the position.”
The 4-3-1-2 formation is perhaps the most balanced formation in football – with five defensive players and five attacking players split into two entities, all within the same team. When this playing style consists of players who are able to not only understand, but work this system well, it can, sometimes be a joy to watch.
Lopez also recognises the need for competent fullbacks. He describes how there is a difference between training a player from the start for a specific position, and, for example, taking a winger and then attempting to adapt him - into a fullback. Players who are able to naturally adapt into a position are very valuable indeed, both from an economical and a sporting point of view. Lopez also mentioned the need for the fullback(s) to be able to know how to attack up the pitch, in tune with the wingers.
“We want to improve technique, tactics, strategy, but the essentials are the players.” - JJ Lopez
In this formation, the midfield consists of a defensive midfielder à la Javier Mascherano, who will provide cover, with a winger either side of him and the enganche behind the two forwards.
The enganche is a phenomenally important role within Argentine football. Whilst all the other positions are important too, the player given the specific task of directing the symphony (often the player wearing the number 10 shirt), has extra expectations upon his shoulders.
In recent times, River Plate have been blessed with the likes of Andres D'Alessandro, Pablo Aimar and now Marcelo Gallardo, back in his third stint with the Buenos Aires club. The latest star from Nunez is of an even smaller frame than the aforementioned Gallardo – a player by the name of Diego Buonanotte, who stands at a dwarf-like 5’ 3”. Sadly, he is not currently playing football after he was involved in a car crash on Boxing Day last year which killed three of his friends instantly. It's fair to say it's something of a miracle Diego is still alive. Recent reports suggest he may return to the game this summer or late this year. Whenever it is, football fans throughout Argentina and around the world will be hoping that he will come back mentally prepared to pick up from where he left off.
When Lopez was asked if the objective was to restore the link between midfield and forwards, he mused that work needs to be done: "We have to work on it, River asks for an enganche of certain quality.. The chain got broken after Gallardo, Aimar, D'Alessandro ... We will look for the new ones, is a nice challenge.”
On the subject of putting more emphasis on the technical side of the game (working with the ball more), Lopez had this to say:
"We will assimilate the work of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth youth divisions so they don’t feel the change when they arrive to the First team. Today, generally, they rise; they have a performance peak and then fall. I like working with the ball, but watch that at the same time you work the physical aspects you enrich technical ones, that was what always distinguished the River academy. Today we play with one or two touches and we want them to play like that, generating spaces, running without the ball. People sometimes think that running without the ball is not running and that’s not true in football.”
Anyone who has endured recent River games will know that the above is something that has been lacking. Lopez explained that he doesn't expect instant results from these ideas and that it is “..premature to give an assessment. There were many political changes and as recently as six months can make an assessment.”
We have seen the demise of the two footballing giants of Buenos Aires recently, after the departure of Aguilar, River fans have their new president in the form of Passarella. The huge task ahead of "El Gran Capitan" and his directorate is to make River great once again, will River be able to organise themselves and return to greatness? Only time will tell...
After recently regaining its great captain in the form of a new president, River are now looking to make some changes...
River Plate legend JJ Lopez - the newly appointed director of Los Millonarios’ cantera, is the man at the core of a move which will see the club go back to basics by playing a 4-3-1-2 formation, at every level of play.
Lopez himself was a cantera product at River and also a guy who not only trained as a player, but became a man there too. He was there from the age of 12 to 31, making over 400 appearances for the Buenos Aires club. "I love working with kids. When I started, was with a football school in San Isidro. I like to give them my experience, to help them grow up. Not just as footballers. I came from a humble family and many here are living a similar situation. I know what they need."
"I’m from the old school"
Lopez wants to go back to the basics and these are the ingredients in his melting pot:
- A 4-3-1-2 formation in all the age categories.
- Fullbacks.
- The return of the enganche.
- More emphasis placed on technical abilities, rather than physical abilities, although the latter will not be neglected.
Although he states he is “from the old school”, Lopez can also be seen as a modern football thinking man:
"Today the image of the footballer is as important as playing well. Before buying a player, European clubs find out how the footballer’s families are, what life he has, and other personal matters. So the idea is to improve the image to be traded better. It is a benefit for the club and for them too. We want them to be respectful, that they are down to earth. In what respects to earrings and piercings, they are dangerous, the kids can get hurt.”
Not everything is straight forward though; there is much less of a paternal relationship between coaches and players nowadays. Back in 1998, at the start of the World Cup in France, the then Argentina national coach Daniel Passarella told midfielder Fernando Redondo that he would not pick him unless he got his hair cut. In that case, Redondo complied.
Along with the ban on long hair, with the exception of the untouchable Gabriel Batistuta, there was also a ban on homosexuals and earrings. Lopez addressed this by saying that it is harder to impose some rules on the younger generation in the modern game. The players can't use earrings or piercings during training, but outside they can't be stopped. The rules are a little bit more relaxed - but this isn’t to say that the integrity and the image of these players need be harmed, especially with the strong tradition of developing players with the option to sell, in mind.
Going deeper into the idea of reconstructing River
Senor Lopez explains the logic behind it: "The idea is that all categories play with the same pattern; 4-3-1-2, so the boys have a job in each position... River want them (the players) to understand everything about the position they play, so when they reach the first team, they will do so knowing all the secrets of the position.”
The 4-3-1-2 formation is perhaps the most balanced formation in football – with five defensive players and five attacking players split into two entities, all within the same team. When this playing style consists of players who are able to not only understand, but work this system well, it can, sometimes be a joy to watch.
Lopez also recognises the need for competent fullbacks. He describes how there is a difference between training a player from the start for a specific position, and, for example, taking a winger and then attempting to adapt him - into a fullback. Players who are able to naturally adapt into a position are very valuable indeed, both from an economical and a sporting point of view. Lopez also mentioned the need for the fullback(s) to be able to know how to attack up the pitch, in tune with the wingers.
“We want to improve technique, tactics, strategy, but the essentials are the players.” - JJ Lopez
In this formation, the midfield consists of a defensive midfielder à la Javier Mascherano, who will provide cover, with a winger either side of him and the enganche behind the two forwards.
The enganche is a phenomenally important role within Argentine football. Whilst all the other positions are important too, the player given the specific task of directing the symphony (often the player wearing the number 10 shirt), has extra expectations upon his shoulders.
In recent times, River Plate have been blessed with the likes of Andres D'Alessandro, Pablo Aimar and now Marcelo Gallardo, back in his third stint with the Buenos Aires club. The latest star from Nunez is of an even smaller frame than the aforementioned Gallardo – a player by the name of Diego Buonanotte, who stands at a dwarf-like 5’ 3”. Sadly, he is not currently playing football after he was involved in a car crash on Boxing Day last year which killed three of his friends instantly. It's fair to say it's something of a miracle Diego is still alive. Recent reports suggest he may return to the game this summer or late this year. Whenever it is, football fans throughout Argentina and around the world will be hoping that he will come back mentally prepared to pick up from where he left off.
When Lopez was asked if the objective was to restore the link between midfield and forwards, he mused that work needs to be done: "We have to work on it, River asks for an enganche of certain quality.. The chain got broken after Gallardo, Aimar, D'Alessandro ... We will look for the new ones, is a nice challenge.”
On the subject of putting more emphasis on the technical side of the game (working with the ball more), Lopez had this to say:
"We will assimilate the work of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth youth divisions so they don’t feel the change when they arrive to the First team. Today, generally, they rise; they have a performance peak and then fall. I like working with the ball, but watch that at the same time you work the physical aspects you enrich technical ones, that was what always distinguished the River academy. Today we play with one or two touches and we want them to play like that, generating spaces, running without the ball. People sometimes think that running without the ball is not running and that’s not true in football.”
Anyone who has endured recent River games will know that the above is something that has been lacking. Lopez explained that he doesn't expect instant results from these ideas and that it is “..premature to give an assessment. There were many political changes and as recently as six months can make an assessment.”
We have seen the demise of the two footballing giants of Buenos Aires recently, after the departure of Aguilar, River fans have their new president in the form of Passarella. The huge task ahead of "El Gran Capitan" and his directorate is to make River great once again, will River be able to organise themselves and return to greatness? Only time will tell...
www.southamericanfootball.co.uk/files/articles.php?article_id=751
