Chapter 13

" Building out from the back is a simple concept which is often explained very poorly. In my squad, I want every player to understand what we are trying to do as only by having the knowledge can you implement it properly. The way to think about building out from the back is that we are starting our attack in defence. If the goal was simply to get the ball to our strikers as fast as possible, we could just play long passes. The problem with that is the majority of the time the ball comes right back at you; a common saying is that the faster the ball moves up the field the faster it comes back. To prevent that and put our attackers in a position where they have a better chance of scoring, we want to create a superiority in attack. This can come in many forms such as numerical where we try and get more players in an area than the other team has; positional or even qualitative which at its simplest means to have a better player attacking a weaker player. The goal of our build up phase is hence to increase the chance of scoring a goal by systematically taking players out of the game and progressing the ball up the field. We will aim to provide multiple options to the player on the ball horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Players off the ball will rotate and change positions to create areas of weakness we can drive the ball through. We will make the pitch big in attack by having a player hug the touchline as closely as possible. The midfield battle needs to be won as well and we shall achieve by only ever having one player wide. This means combining an inverted winger with a traditional full back overlapping or a classical winger with an inverted fullback who wants to tuck into the midfield." The new manager explained carefully while directing their attention to the electronic monitor to give them a visual example.

The players seemed to be absorbed into what he was saying and the only whispers that could be heard was the translators for the new players parroting his words. Assigning translators to each of the players was important to him making sure they understood what was being asked of them, at least until success was seen in their English lessons. The lessons had started as soon as they moved into the accommodation and for those who opted to live elsewhere with family were also going on in earnest. The recruitment had been a great success and with the additional funds provided by the new sponsors they were able to build a team even Yusuf hadn't expected. The round of funding hadn't ended with Gymshark either with Henke personally securing further sponsorship through Cadbury's. This had come from the company's investment in local football and their origins in Birmingham, the positive advertisement was valuable to them and they in fact donated more than the fitness apparel company.

Andre seemed to be listening in very closely understanding that the defensive midfielder would have a big role in the build up phase. He had already had a few meetings with him individually and was really impressed with his desire to want to improve. To increase the passing options for the goalkeeper who would start the move, he had already talked to him about the centre backs splitting and him dropping deeper as an extra pass route and he was very receptive to the idea. The club had done very well to get him as he was highly rated at his previous club Fluminense and was already being looked at by a lot of clubs for his tackling, interceptions, and comfortability in possession. Yusuf was aware that his midfield was currently very attacking focused and adding a player like Andre would bring steel to the midfield and allow the other players to be even more creative. Andre was determined and dogged in gaining possession of the ball which was exactly what he was looking for in a player if he could add some patience to his game, it would make them unstoppable.

One of the positions they hadn't covered in their earlier round of recruitment was the striker position which was crucially important. The search had been a difficult one with most of the best young strikers already being at the biggest of clubs. The player who they had finally come to was as raw as raw could come and it was Emanuel Emegha who was plying his trade for Royal Antwerp Fc in Belgium. The decision to sign him had been a difficult one and was likely based more on feeling than raw statistics. An imposing figure at just under two meters, he had yet to fill out his frame which made him appear lanky rather than powerful. His running style was emphatic with his long strides, and he had power to boot. The talent was there for anyone to see but he gave the impression of a player who would either go to the top of the game or one that would be talked about as having wasted his chance. He wasn't a prolific goal scorer and seemed to swing wide often hinting at a lack of composure in front of goal. Yusuf had decided to bet on what he could be rather than what he was right now and had signed him for a more than fair price.

The next player they had picked up was one who was truly exciting and that was Facundo Farias. The player was an absolute live wire who would get the fans screaming off their seats. Dynamic in possession, pacey and a real combatant who wouldn't let any ball pass him by. It felt like every play was life or death and he refused to roll over and let the opponent win which he respected. It was almost impossible to take the ball off him and even when the situation looked dire, he would somehow come out the other side unharmed. His story was also truly inspirational and spoke to the volume of his character, having lost his mother at a young age he then proceeded to lose his father during the pandemic leaving him with no legal guardian and a twelve-year-old sister to take care of. Anyone would have been entitled to lament their fate and give up, he instead asked his long-time agent to adopt him and went right back to playing so he could provide a better life for his family. When asked about the situation, he simply said I came from the mud and those memories are what makes me stronger. The talent impressed Yusuf, but it was his character that really sold him. On the spot, he had decided that he needed this young man in his team, and he would bring something completely different to the outfit. It had been a hard fight and he had become the clubs record signing at just under ten million beating out previous holder Emile Heskey when he made his move from Liverpool. The reason they were adamant to sign him was his versatility able to play across the entire front three which meant he could be cover for any position they needed.

The last signing, they made to close of this team was Matheuzinho from Flamengo who played in right back which was their last available position. All that could be said about him was that he was a machine who marshalled that right side with ruthless efficiency. He could deliver pinpoint crosses into the box which Yusuf hoped would land for Emegha. He was able to pass and dribble very efficiently while also being a very good defender. Matheuzinho had no weaknesses in his game and was the perfect signing to allow this team to finally kick on and win the honours they deserved to.

The team finally being completed ramped the pressure on the new manager up to a new level. When he had started the search, he wasn't sure he could build such a team on the budget he had but now that he had it, it was up to him to make them successful. That was why he was now holding theory lessons to explain the ideas and then coaching them till it was drilled into their bodies. A lot of the players didn't speak the same language or know anything about each other and that would be a challenge but once he got them going, he was sure the team would do well.

Author Thoughts:

I'm sure I'll go into it in more detail in future chapters but here is the final team put into their places in the formation.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

GK - Neil Etheridge, LB- Valentin Barco, LCB- Ravil Tagir, RCB- Bafode Diakite, RB- Matheuzinho, LDM- Andre, RDM- Steve Mvoue, LAM- Marcelino Nunez, CAM- Jobe Bellingham/ George Hall/ Jordan James, RAM - Facundo Farias, ST- Emmanuel Emegha