Marcelino has brought about a profound period of change at Mestalla
since the summer, after being appointed on a minimum of a two-year deal at Valencia.
After some tumultuous years with the likes of Nuno Espírito Santo, Pako Ayestarán,
Cesare Prandelli and Gary Neville at the helm, finally there is a system in place that everyone connected to the club can believe in.
Marcelino arrives with quite a reputation for himself,
having previously taken Villarreal to lofty heights in La Liga and in Europe on a fairly limited
budget compared to the division's big hitters, where his 442 also enjoyed plenty of success.
The Spaniard believes in players having set roles with a fairly rigid 4-4-2 system,
which relies upon defending as a unit and then trying to break away at pace to cause the opposition problems in transition.
Dani Parejo is the main play maker of this Valencia team.
Partnered with Geoffrey Kondogbia in the centre of midfield, the two are both very comfortable on the ball,
but the Spaniard holds the reins when it comes to dictating the tempo and the incisiveness of Los Che's play.
Often, Kondogbia screens the defence and has further
responsibility in terms of chasing back and aiding his central defensive two when possession turns over.
A sliding leg from the Frenchman is something that opponents have grown used to being thwarted by this season.
Carlos Soler,
Gonzalo Guedes, Nacho Gil and Andreas Pereira have shared the responsibility of playing the interior roles in midfield.
Fitting into the midfield four in the wide areas,
they have license to come inside and combine with their strike force, as well as the awareness
required to link up with the likes of Martín Montoya and José Gayà,
galloping up and support from fullback.
Fed often
by passes from their captain Parejo, the interiors provide the drive and pace on the counter-attack,
with all four capable of dribbling in at speed to help Valencia transition upfield hastily.
On the defensive side of things it's vital that they work hard to get back and help make up Marcelino's two banks of four.
Rodrigo Moreno has been a key facet of Valencia's attack, battling back against all odds to get himself into favor once again.
The former Benfica youngster has earned himself Spain call ups off the back of his good work as a second striker.
Keen to drop in and offer himself as a wall to his midfield options,
Rodrigo is very much the reference point for any quick vertical passes through the lines at Valencia. He can play flicks into his strike partner
or try to feed passes into wider areas to enable link-up play between the interiors and the overlapping fullbacks.
Marcelino's attitude towards setting up with two strikers is simple; having a potential two versus two
situation at the back will plant seeds of doubt in the mind of the opposition.
When he asks his own defense whether they prefer to play against one striker or two, their answer is always the same: one.
Rodrigo works incredibly hard to press and harry opponents,
but the link-up play involved in his role is what has made him so indispensable.
His selfless work for the cause allows a more direct number-9 like Simone Zaza to lead the line with a little bit more freedom,
allowing the Italian to take up a more advanced position where he would be better situated to meet early crosses from the flanks.
Marcelino's 442 relies on very compact defending to try and frustrate opponents.
When possession turns over, the midfield four must put in the hard running to get back into their shape with the focus of their press
being quite ball-orientated.
By ensuring that a player heading down the right flank is met by their wide man being marked and a spare man coming across to
close them down as well as Valencia's second striker enveloping him from the rear,
it makes more risky and ambitious diagonal balls seem like the best way to break Valencia down.
By baiting these more risky passes from opponents, it creates
opportunities for Los Che to win the ball back and then be capable of breaking at pace into a stretched opposition.
Should opponents overextend and try such passes to spare men on the far side, it ensures that if the intended recipient of the diagonal isn't found,
he is automatically out of the game when Valencia counter at speed.
With one of Parejo or Kondogbia happy to shuffle across and help their fullback and interior press, it makes Valencia
incredibly hard to play through with attempting to switch the play at pace.
Marcelino's style is very positive.
It's quick and vertical when his side win the ball back and when an opponent is caught out of shape.
Using players that are very quick such as Guedes,
Valencia can turn an opponent's mistake into a chance of their own within 15 seconds.
It has made Los Che into one of the more fearsome propositions in La Liga this season with their blend of steely defensive organization,
sheer speed and a clinical edge on the break. A lethal cocktail, both at Mestalla and on their travels.
People often ask us where we get our stats for these videos a
Great place to start is the one football app the app offers a fairly comprehensive
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