Liverpool first team coach Pep Lijnders believes that Jurgen Klopp is managing to use certain principles of Dutch “Total Football” in his style of play with the Reds.
Talking to Voetbal International magazine, Lijnders explains how the flexibility of a player’s position on the pitch allows them to attack and defend with far greater effectiveness, in contrast to how football is currently taught in the Netherlands:
“With the way the Dutch School [of thought] is now interpreted in Netherlands, there hasn’t been really any success. But there are plenty of teams that do win with more modern interpretations. At Liverpool, for example, we use many gaming principles at this time that can be reduced to the total football of the past.”
“That is our team shape is also very flexible. It is ultimately the case that certain positions are occupied, but it doesn’t matter occupies them. Our supporting players attack and defend, and our attackers track back. Especially against well-organized teams we can surprise them by pulling off a defender with a striker, immediately followed by a run from deep by a midfielder.”
The explanation is very similar as to why Jurgen Klopp praised Daniel Sturridge after the 4-1 win against Leicester City back in September. The Foxes play with a rigid two banks of four, sitting deep whilst out of possession. In order to get round this Klopp tasked Sturridge to drag one of the defender’s out wide (for the first goal it was Wes Morgan) then allowing Roberto Firmino to drift inside into the space and score the goal.
It is important to explain what Lijnders is getting at here. It is not that players are allowed to float around where they like in a fluid formation, there are set positions which they can swap with each other. This forces teams to change their shape if they want to track runners and opening up space – something Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff with the legendary Netherlands sides were masters at.
