Fenerbahçe, Vitor Pereira took the wrong lessons from the Euros
A new season, new players and a fresh start awaits Fenerbahçe, at least the club and the fans they will. Head coach Vitor Pereira signaled that Fenerbahçe's defense would change completely while the club added Roman Neustadter, Gregory van der Wiel and Martin Skrtel to their squad - internationally renowned defenders that are beyond the standards of the Super League. Added to that, Emmanuel Emenike from West Ham United, who was decent in the Premier League last season, and speedy winger Aatif Chahechouhe from Sivasspor have strengthened Fenerbahçe's attack after Luis Nani left the team for Valencia. Nevertheless, as the team's Champions League qualifiers against Monaco showed, there is still no clear progress in attack and defense.First of all, the formation of the team was like Italy's 3-5-2 employed at Euro 2016, but as the game went on it was obvious that four defenders were strictly bound to their own half and did not participate in attacking build-ups. This was crucial for attack sustainability given Fenerbahçe's attacking players were alone in the opponent's half without reinforcement from the back. Throughout the game, Fenerbahçe were unable to maintain an attacking flow and were only able to threaten Monaco's defense occasionally. Even though Emmanuel Emenike showed us that he improved his finishing skills in England and carried Fenerbahçe to victory with two goals, it would not have been a surprise if Monaco had won the game, given they made clearer opportunities.However, the defensive part is even more troubling than the attacking part now and Vitor Pereira should immediately withdraw from his present plan that leaves his defense isolated from the waves of attack. The clear split between the attack and defense leaves a huge gap between defense and midfield, which creates a 4-6-0 on the pitch. Fenerbahçe are still physically not ready and the coordination and cooperation among the players are very low at the moment, but still Vitor Pereira makes the situation even worse by pushing his fragile team to split up so radically. I would have chosen a much more compact approach if I were him, seeing as the team technically and physically is not ready for a wide and long game.On the other hand, it is still too early to speak about Fenerbahçe's and Vitor Pereira's strategies for this season. It is evident in both the formations and tactics of the team that Euros inspired Pereira a lot. He also plays a quasi-Atletico Madrid game with high-end pressing and quick counter-attacks. But the approach he is trying to implement cause more harm than good right now, because there is no ground for such an exhausting strategy at the moment.In the short term, I would shorten the playing area of the team and push the defense a bit more forward while taking the midfield a bit further back. Pereira should not forget that Monaco found lots of opportunities from the gaps between defense and midfield. If he does not want to concede more than one goal in France, he has to make sure there is no gap for Monaco to play in.
Last Update: July 30, 2016 01:16