Nacional recently announced the acquisition of Luis Suarez on a free transfer following his departure from Atletico Madrid; a marquee signing for the Uruguayan Primera Division side. Although Suarez is now 35 years of age, our analysis shows he is a perfect fit for the side and will prove to be an excellent signing.
Out of Possession
Nacional play a 4-4-2 formation, a system Suarez is well-used to, having been a part of Diego Simeone’s 4-4-2 at Atleti. They are a high-energy team that thrive on their high press out of possession, which generally leads to deadly counter-attacks, with players quick to add numbers to attacking transitions. Out of possession, the central midfield area is packed, with both wide midfielders taking up narrow positions, and one of the two strikers dropping into a deeper position to support the two central midfielders, suffocating any play through the central area. However, Nacional are also more than capable at sitting in a low block and soaking up pressure, something they did very well at times during the game that we analysed, against Liverpool.
Based on the average positions during the game, both wide midfielders have narrow positions, while it was Franco Fagundez who had the deeper position, supporting the midfield, as was mentioned earlier. This correlates with the overall aim of the Nacional press, which is to force the opposition to play through the central area, where they are met by a midfield block of five players, providing an overload in the middle of the pitch, which was the team’s main source of possession won throughout the game, which they won 1-0.
In the second half, Nacional were happy to sit back in a low block and defend their lead. They have confidence in their defence, and made a defensive change in the second half, substituting Leo Coelho for Laborda in the 57th minute of the game. Although on first glance this is a straight swap at central defence, the average positions show us that Laborda had a much deeper average position than Coelho, potentially suggesting a change in dynamic in defence, with the team knowing they were not going to have as much of the ball, and so a more structured, defensive-minded approach was necessary.
In Possession
The percentage of ‘attacks by flank’ shows that Nacional aim to make the most of the wide areas in possession, with 74% of their attacks coming from the wings (33% Left/41% Right). However, the narrow positions of the wide midfielders was not only out of possession, as the positioning of the wide midfielders in possession provided space for the full backs to roam into, with the majority of wide crosses coming from the full backs. The full backs had high average positions, but their average positions were not further than the halfway line, proving that both full backs require lots of energy to constantly burst up and down the pitch, to be effective in both attacking and defensive situations.
It is also clear Nacional wanted to build play up from the back patiently in the first half. The centre backs split, and both were happy to play the ball to their defensive teammates, or back to the goalkeeper, while the two full backs took up a high starting position. Nacional sat in a low block more frequently throughout the second half, which coincides with the amount of possession Nacional had throughout the game, with a total of 58% possession in the first half, but only 45% in the second half. With the lack of possession later in the game, and the goalkeeper consistently playing long passes from goal kicks, most of which lost Nacional possession of the ball, it was necessary to sit a bit deeper and try to protect the lead, countering when they could; however this wasn’t as constant as in the first half, for obvious reasons.
How will Luis Suarez fit into the team?
Based on our analysis, there are some clear similarities between the Nacional system to how Suarez’s former club Atletico Madrid play. Both teams play a 4-4-2, and out of possession are very similar, pressing into a dominant midfield, while also being capable of sitting in a low block. Suarez will be tasked with pressing one of the two central defenders to force play through the middle. At the age of 35, Suarez will benefit from playing in a front two, alongside a striker who is willing to drop into the deeper positions to support play in midfield, both in and out of possession. As Suarez takes up the advanced position, he will need to link up play, especially during positive transitions to support a smooth, quick counter attack. When defending a lead, Nacional like to sit deep and defend their 18-yard box. We believe that Suarez will work well in this system, due to him having the experience of a well-organised defensive side, having been coached by arguably the greatest out of possession coach in football, Diego Simeone.
In the game that we analysed against Liverpool, Nacional attempted a total of 17 shots, with only two being on target, one of which was scored. This could represent a lack of end product, and a need for a clinical striker. Nacional do very well at winning the ball in the high or middle thirds of the pitch, and are quick in transition to attacking situations, but they lacked the presence of a player who can turn these chances into goals. Luis Suarez can provide a solution to this, having been one of the top Number 9s in Europe over the past 10 years.
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