What is Gegenpressing and how do different teams use it to their advantage?
Football is full of new buzzwords and phrases which the lay supporter often has no real idea as to the appropriate definition of the same. Take Gegenpressing for example. Gegen what? A more common and literal understanding of the phrase might be ‘counter-attacking’.
Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp is a confirmed exponent of the practice and honed his players’ ability to play in that style whilst still manager of Borussia Dortmund. Although Dortmund could never really be accused of punching above their weight, there is little doubt that the particular variant employed by Klopp gave his players an advantage against certain sides.
The use of the counter-attack and its potency is actually on the wane. Barcelona were one team to add it to their armoury and with great success, it must be said. You can’t really argue with a treble of La Liga, Spanish Cup and Champions League can you?
Luis Enrique tended to employ the tactic only when needed, preferring to play Barcelona’s natural game of incisive pass and move, a philosophy that has served them well for many years and continues to do so. However, by adding a different dimension to their play, it allowed the Catalan club to change up when required – especially when opposition teams “parked the bus” or had worked out the solution to Barcelona’s incessant ball rotation and retention.
What is Gegenpressing?
UEFA note in a recent technical report that 20.6 percent of all goals were scored by gegenpressing. That sounds like a reasonable number but is a downward trend from 23 percent in the 2013/14 campaign and 27 percent in 2012/13.
Gegenpressing works best when teams are compact and keep things tight. Exponents need to be ready to “spring” forward into position, keeping the highest of lines where possible and cutting off any passing lanes to the opposition should the ball be lost. The pressing aspect can also be on areas of space on the pitch, on the ball itself and those passing lanes.
Essentially, teams are therefore hunting in packs to give them the best chance of winning back the ball from the opposition as quickly as possible.
How do teams use Gegenpressing to their advantage?
You might already be aware of the ‘ six-second rule’ that Pep Guardiola had in place at Barcelona and has transferred to Bayern Munich. That involved pressing the opposition player in possession so quickly and aggressively that he would have to cede the possession of the ball in six seconds or less. At least that was the theory behind it.
Make no mistake, Guardiola was like a dog with a bone in that particular respect. Who can forget the 5-0 drubbing that Pep’s Barca handed out to Real Madrid in November 2010, when the philosophy was never better evidenced.
Furthermore, there have been pictures circulated extensively that show Bayern’s training pitches divided up into sections. Confusing for the outsider, but as Guardiola has explained on more than one occasion, it helps his staff with their spacial awareness and in training drills, where to move and, therefore, to press the player in possession.
Work that is immediately identifiable when the game comes around on a Saturday afternoon or in midweek.
Liverpool fans are no doubt waiting for the “high-octane” football that Klopp likes to speak of and the German has noted once before that.
“The best moment to win the ball is immediately after your team just lost it. The opponent is still looking for orientation where to pass the ball.
“He will have taken his eyes off the game to make his tackle or interception and he will have expended energy. Both make him vulnerable.” – Jurgen Klopp
As with all of the best ideas – simple and effective.
The role of the sweeper-keeper
Of course, no team in history can spend the entirety of a match gegenpressing. It is a physical impossibility to keep hammering away at the coalface indefinitely. It is also perhaps why the role of sweeper-keepers such as Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Manuel Neuer et al have become so coveted.
A long ball over the top of an outfit that has pressed high and incessantly is a catch all that takes almost the entire XI out of the game. By stationing the goalkeeper on the half way line in some cases, the team can build again much quicker than if the custodian were stationed on his line on a semi-permanent basis.
Guardiola’s team has satisfied almost every demand made of them already and a cavernous five-point gap between Bayern and second-placed Dortmund (10 points to third placed Wolfsburg) after just 11 games is evidence of their aptitude in playing the system.
As Klopp now takes his first tentative steps in the English Premier League, it will be interesting to see if his particular variant is transferable from the Bundesliga. Arguably the side he cultivated in Dortmund was a step up in class to what he has inherited at Anfield, with the greatest of respect to those players already in-situ on the red half of Merseyside.