As the popular saying goes, there’s nothing new under the sun. And it’s
the same in the world of football, there’s hardly ever anything new. From skills to
celebrations to tactics. It’s either an evolution or just a straight up imitation.
Of course, we all know enough about copied skills and celebrations,
so today, we want to look at 5 instances when managers copied each other’s tactics.
And we’ll start with Antonio Conte. When he won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2017,
he relied heavily on defensive masterclasses which
were complemented by brilliant counter-attacking football.
Obviously, it was successful, but Jose Mourinho, who had coached Chelsea and
Inter before Conte did, thought that the Italian gaffer copied his own blueprint.
We all know Mourinho gets a lot of stick for the type of football he
plays. Many people think the way he almost always parks the bus is not
very aesthetically pleasing and he has been criticized a lot for that.
But in 2019, Mourinho defended himself and the style of football he plays by
saying that he only makes do with what he has. He also pointed out that people have
imitated his style and found success with it, and that’s where Antonio Conte came up.
Conte doesn’t agree that he copied Mourinho,
though. But did we really expect him to admit that he did?
We also do not expect Klopp to admit that he has copied his biggest Premier League rival,
Pep Guardiola, but the truth is that he has.
We all know Pep is the manager who pretty much originated the tactic of moving the right-back
into the middle of the pack and making him operate as one of the midfielders while the
team attacks. We saw him do that with Cancelo and we’re seeing him do that with Stones now.
And well, in recent times, Klopp appears to have adopted that tactic. These days,
we see Trent spend more time in the midfield than at right back. And considering that Trent
has come under fire a lot this season for his defending, this new role might just
be excellent for him. We all know how good he is at picking players out with his long balls,
so fair game from Klopp for picking something up from his rival that can help his own players.
But you already know that there’s a lot of respect and admiration in
that rivalry. Pep respects Klopp just as much as Klopp respects Pep, and even
the Spanish genius has picked up stuff from his German counterpart.
And this time around, we know not because of speculation or analysis.
We know because Pep Guardiola said it himself. Earlier in the season,
he mentioned that he watches a lot of Liverpool games and admitted that
he has copied a few things from Klopp’s tactics and applied them to his own game.
Hm. Watching how Pep’s men play these days,
what things would you say he picked from Klopp’s Liverpool side? Let us
know in the comments, let’s see those who really have good knowledge of football.
Now, Chris Wilder may not be as successful as Pep and Klopp in English football,
but he has had a successful manager copy him.
During his time as Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel adopted some tactics from the former Sheffield
boss. Wilder was known to adopt a very rugged 3-5-2 formation with overlapping
center-back. This tactic took the Premier League by storm in the 2019-20 season,
and that season – the same season they gained promotion to the top
flight – Sheffiled finished 9th on the table. Safe to say it was very successful.
The following year, Tuchel was hired as Chelsea manager and he immediately copied this tactic
from Chris and applied it in a Wilder way with Antonio Rudiger. No pun intended.
And we all know how very successful the tactic was
for Tuchel. He won the Champions League in just a matter of months.
Finally, we have perhaps the most obvious one; Arteta copying Pep’s tactics.
And with this one, it’s not just one thing. It’s quite a few. Building from the back,
the level of pressing off the ball, using inverted full-backs…name it. Arteta even
brought over two players who played under Pep for years to properly execute the tactics.
But hey, it’s not even surprising, is it? Arteta’s introduction to football coaching
was with Pep’s Man City. He spent 3 and a half years working as Pep’s assistant and understudy,
so what would have even been surprising is if he didn’t pick a few things from his former boss.
Anyway, are there more managers you know who have copied tactics from their colleagues? Let us know
in the comments. Also, we want to know what tactic you guys think Pep copied from Klopp.
Finally, quick quiz, there are 4 current Premier
League coaches who have copied tactics from Pep. Who are they?
While you provide your answers in the comments, make sure to give this video
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