Is Felice Mazzù’s game compatible with Anderlecht?

In the imagination of the children of Neerpede, the spectacle is in the passes. They are as much a display of technical mastery as proof of domination. Vincent Kompany never hid the influence of Pep Guardiolahis coach for three seasons in England, on his ideas of play. And therefore, by extension, on the football now advocated by Anderlecht. “The club will have an identity”promised the former captain of the Devils during his official enthronement, after the divorce with Frankie Vercauteren. “The next coach must not come and play defensively, in 5-3-2, with long balls.”

With hindsight, the sentence necessarily makes you smile. Because no one has conceded fewer goals than the Union this season andAnthony Morris ends the exercise with a bill of 45% of long passes (against 22% for Hendrik Van Crombrugge). It doesn’t take much more to make Felice Mazzu the anti-hero symbolically defined by Vince The Prince in the middle of his first words as coach of Sporting Brussels. Especially since, from his zebra years, the Carolo already drags a cumbersome, even stigmatizing label of “defensive coach”, reproach already addressed by his detractors when he arrived in Genk.

“On each attack, there are four or five players in the rectangle”

Felice Mazzu

The words leave the back of the throat without carrying with them the carpet of bitterness. In post for a few weeks in Limburg, Felice Mazzu then settled on the bench of the champions of Belgium with the reputation of coach with mirrors. “I know that during my time at Charleroi, my football was constantly analyzed as defensive football”, concedes a coach that one would think then on the bench of the accused. A verdict visibly not shared by the Limburg decision-makers: “Dimitri DeCondé was the first to tell me that he felt that my football was not particularly defensive because on each attack there are four or five players in the rectangle.”

Labels die hard. Felice Mazzù’s Union can end its season with 83 goals scored, thus settling in the very restricted club of teams which complete their Belgian exercise beyond two goals per match, the Sambrian coach nevertheless remains essentially judged by brandishing an average ball possession of 46.7%, considered indisputable evidence of a more comfortable life away from the ball. Under purple eyes, in four confrontations, Mazzù’s men have attempted only 1,305 passes in 360 minutes of play this season. More than a thousand less than those of Kompany (2389), symbol of a return of house styling on the Lotto Park lawn. Too bad if the final score of the quadruple confrontation is a scathing 9-2 in favor of Saint-Gillois. The new Anderlecht seemed to boast of not negotiating with style, but has just put the debate on the game fund in the public square.

With 12.28 shots per game, the Unionists are well beyond Charleroi’s figures of 2017-2018, the best of Mazzù.

Rather than in the pass, the spectacle of Felice Mazzù’s unionist game is rather in space. Duden Park is home to the sharpest diagonal runs in the Kingdom. Teddy Teuma seems to be a left-handed reincarnation of the Ruud Vormer of the greatest hours, and Dante Vanzeir devours depth away from the ball. The Saint-Gillois are a formidable machine for creating breaches and opportunities. With 12.28 shots per game, they are well above Charleroi’s figures from 2017-2018, the best of Mazzù (9.64 shots/game). These Zebras played twelve balls per game in the opposing area, the Unionists exceeded twenty. Mazzù’s football has been modernized and completed, bringing its offensive performance to match its defensive foundations. To the point of now being ready to graft his ideas to the philosophy of the most successful club in the country?

On the side of Anderlecht, we seem to see the Coach of the Year as a medicine for purple ailments. Peter Verbeke presents it as emphasizing “aggressive pressing and offensive transition”speaking of adding “a new dimension” in the Brussels game. On closer inspection, Anderlecht’s figures in this area are not, however, that much lower than those of the Union. If the Saint-Gillois seemed brilliant on quick conversions this season, they scored only one goal more than the Mauves following a counter-attack (ten for the Union, nine for Anderlecht). As for the high pressing figures, measured by the PPDA (passes authorized by defensive action in the opposing camp), they are similar and place the two Brussels clubs in the middle of the table, far from the national references that are the Cercle or Mechelen. We don’t have the same ball, but we have the same transitions.

The fact remains that beyond these results which have inflated his certainties, Felice Mazzù has nevertheless grown like a chameleon. Capable of adapting his game system to his core, even if he has never hidden his preference for real attacking duos and especially 4-4-2, the Sambrian will have to succeed in a new metamorphosis if he wants conquer the purple stands and a locker room that will be populated by technical profiles rather than revenge couriers. Probably supported by a Samba Diawara whom he knew in Charleroi and who especially likes working with young people, Mazzù will also have to undermine his reputation as a coach who does not count on young players. An additional challenge that resembles a dip in a pot on the verge of boiling. But after all, don’t we say that it is by immersing it in hot water that we have the best chance of taking off a label?

In the imagination of the children of Neerpede, the spectacle is in the passes. They are as much a display of technical mastery as proof of domination. Vincent Kompany has never hidden the influence of Pep Guardiola, his coach for three seasons in England, on his ideas of play. And therefore, by extension, on the football now advocated by Anderlecht. “The club will have an identity”, promised the former captain of the Devils during his official induction, after the divorce with Frankie Vercauteren. “The next coach should not come and play defensively, in 5-3-2, with long balls.” With hindsight, the sentence necessarily makes you smile. Because nobody has conceded fewer goals than the Union this season and Anthony Moris ends the exercise with a bill of 45% of long passes (against 22% for Hendrik Van Crombrugge). It doesn’t take much more to make Felice Mazzù the anti-hero symbolically defined by Vince The Prince in the middle of his first words as coach of Sporting Brussels. Especially since, from his zebra years, the Carolo already drags a cumbersome, even stigmatizing label of “defensive coach”, a reproach already addressed by his detractors when he arrived in Genk. The words leave the back of the throat without taking away with them the carpet of bitterness. In office for a few weeks in Limburg, Felice Mazzù then settled on the bench of the Belgian champions with the reputation of a coach with mirrors. “I know that during my period in Charleroi, my football was constantly analyzed as defensive football”, concedes a coach who would then be thought to be in the dock. A verdict visibly not shared by the Limburg decision-makers: “Dimitri De Conde was the first to tell me that he felt that my football was not particularly defensive because on each attack, there are four or five players in the rectangle “Labels die hard. Felice Mazzù’s Union can end its season with 83 goals scored, thus settling in the very restricted club of teams which complete their Belgian exercise beyond two goals per match, the Sambrian coach nevertheless remains essentially judged by brandishing an average ball possession of 46.7%, considered indisputable evidence of a more comfortable life away from the ball. Under purple eyes, in four confrontations, Mazzù’s men have attempted only 1,305 passes in 360 minutes of play this season. More than a thousand less than those of Kompany (2389), symbol of a return of the house style on the lawn of Lotto Park. Too bad if the final score of the quadruple confrontation is a scathing 9-2 in favor of Saint-Gillois. The new Anderlecht seemed to pride themselves on not negotiating with style, but have just put the debate on the game fund in the public square. Rather than in the pass, the spectacle of Felice Mazzù’s unionist game is rather in space. Duden Park is home to the sharpest diagonal runs in the Kingdom. Teddy Teuma appears to be a left-handed reincarnation of the Ruud Vormer of the prime time, and Dante Vanzeir devours deep away from the ball. The Saint-Gillois are a formidable machine for creating breaches and opportunities. With 12.28 shots per game, they are well above Charleroi’s figures from 2017-2018, the best of Mazzù (9.64 shots/game). These Zebras played twelve balls per game in the opposing area, the Unionists exceeded twenty. Mazzù’s football has been modernized and completed, bringing its offensive performance to match its defensive foundations. To the point of now being ready to graft his ideas to the philosophy of the most successful club in the country? On the side of Anderlecht, we seem to see the Coach of the Year as a medicine for purple ailments. Peter Verbeke presents him as emphasizing “aggressive pressing and attacking transition”, speaking of adding “a new dimension” to the Brussels game. On closer inspection, Anderlecht’s figures in this area are not, however, that much lower than those of the Union. If the Saint-Gillois seemed brilliant on quick conversions this season, they scored only one goal more than the Mauves following a counter-attack (ten for the Union, nine for Anderlecht). As for the high pressing figures, measured by the PPDA (passes authorized by defensive action in the opposing camp), they are similar and place the two Brussels clubs in the middle of the table, far from the national references which are the Cercle or Mechelen. We don’t have the same ball, but we have the same transitions. The fact remains that beyond these results which have inflated his certainties, Felice Mazzù has nevertheless grown like a chameleon. Capable of adapting his game system to his core, even if he has never hidden his preference for real attacking duos and especially 4-4-2, the Sambrian will have to succeed in a new metamorphosis if he wants conquer the purple stands and a locker room that will be populated by technical profiles rather than revenge couriers. Probably supported by a Samba Diawara whom he knew in Charleroi and who especially likes working with young people, Mazzù will also have to undermine his reputation as a coach who does not count on young players. An additional challenge that resembles a dip in a pot on the verge of boiling. But after all, don’t we say that it is by immersing it in hot water that we have the best chance of taking off a label?