El Enganche

You might be wondering the strange title of this post. It is a word very commonly used in Argentina and it means the link or in pure football terms it is the link between the defense and the attack who is the creative play-maker in the side. To me the creative deep-lying play-makeris the backbone of any football team. He will be rarely visible in the finish or even in the goal-assist so it is very tough to see his contribution. But there is little doubt the value a play-maker brings to the side. It is a tragedy that such kind of players are very rare in modern football. The likes of Riquelme, Veron, Zizou, Diego, Pirlo, David Pizarro etal. The reason Why I am big fan (or is it fanatic) of the Argentine NT is the importance given to passing and movement and the crucial role of the play-maker. (Riquelme wore the "sacred" Number-10 shirt in this world cup)

Football is a very creative game. It is, according to the legendary Argentine manager Luis Cesar Menotti, a game of space. The ball needs to be moved around the pitch in-order to create that vital space in the penalty-box. So the play needs to be mixed with use of width from the attacking full-backs/wingers and runs thru the centre of the pitch. This is a very crucial decision and it normally rests on the enganche. The playmaker, being at the centre of the pitch, can quickly decide the defenders who are slightly out-of-position and start the move accordingly. In modern football with a back-4 and the 2 defensive mid-fielders there is very little space especially in the final-third of the pitch. The play needs to be mixed and the defense needs to be stretched and this is exactly the job of a play-maker. So a team like Argentina relies on plenty of possession of the ball with some wonderful movement off-the-ball. Whenever an Argentine player has the ball just note the number of players who run into positions of space around him. This gives the player plenty of options say to play a quick 1-2 or to play in some neat-triangles. However, a team will be one-dimensional if it just keeps constantly pressing for the final kill. The game of possession can also be a game of patience. The now famous 24 pass (or is it 25 ?)goal by Cambiasso against S&M is a good example. The ball was being played around by the likes of Mascherano, Heinze, Ayala, Sorin and of course Riquelme without any great intention of going for a goal and then I guess it was Riquelme who decided to move the ball faster. It was actually testing the patience of the opposition players and with plenty of movement resulted in acres of space for Crespo and Cambiasso to play that wonderful 1-2 which culminated in that goal. In short, Argentina scored that goal with plenty of variation in the tempo of the game, neat passing and some great movement. Hence a play-maker is more of a player who reads the game and takes those crucial decision. He might not be flashy but he is very crucial in the team.

If the Argentina-Serbia game was a benchmark for the game of possession then the q/f between Argentina and Germany, to me, at least typically summarized the world cup. Here was a team (Argentina) that had a solid defense, a good midfield and clinical finishers of the likes of Saviola and Crespo. Additionally Argentina, if iam not mistaken, had a mammoth 66% possession in the first-half. Normally one would expect Argentina to tear the opposition to shreds with that kind of possession and that quality in the pitch (and probably more quality in the bench!!!). But the team took a very cautious approach (partly due to the stakes involved and also I guess due to Pekerman's nerves) and played the ball mostly in the middle of the park. This did not threaten the German defense who were happy chasing the ball. Klinsmann did his homework well by closing down on Riquelme with Torsten Frings. This in-effect took the creative spark out of Argentina's attack (further aggravated by a bit-of-a blind eye refereeing in favour of the hosts). Once a playmaker, and in this case Riquleme, is closed on quickly then he tries to shield and protect the ball instead of trying some creative options. This is even easier when a team plays a 4-5-1 formation. The 5 midfielders are mainly used to cut space, win the ball and hence choke any creative spark left in the opposition. This in effect means that the game can very well turn into a stale and boring affair with neither teama prepared to take the initiative (to me the Argentina-Germany match was more a test of patience of the spectator). Additionally, the lone striker up-front is usually used in a quick counter-attack thru the flanks once the possession is regained. This was a system used by France in WC-06 and also by Arsenal in UCL 05-06. It is indeed shocking to see "flair" teams like France and Arsenal using this "boring" formation to good effect. The success of Greece in EURO-04 was a start of the cautious approach and the WC also roughly proved the same. For the record, Chelsea which is one of the best clubs in Europe (yeah I hate to admit it) plays in this way . The game is actually won by the team which makes lesser mistakes.
These are danger signs and FIFA should do well to take note of it and probably think of changes in rules to encourage more open play . Otherwise the days of the Enganche are numbered.