How could relationism and it’s principles be used to crack positionist systems? (2024)

The Young Tactician

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Feb 21, 2024

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I’d like to mention how much of a help in understanding relationism Jamie Hamilton’s work has proved to be. The article “What is relationism?” and a video on youtube published by The Purist Football (which is largely based on the article) caused me to dig deeper into the topic, look for ways to utilise this footballing philosophy outside of fully apositional systems and analyse its matchups against some more common structures.

Over the last 9 months i have experimented with ways to improve positional systems and I would love to share my findings. I suggest becoming friends with Mr Hamilton’s aforementioned work before reading this article. As without at least basic knowledge of the topic of relationism, it is impossible to fully comprehend everything mentioned below. If you already have sufficient knowledge, then I would like to welcome you to the wild ride of positional play and relationism interchanging.

With the unpredictability of motifs found in the relationist game and the pros of employing a fixed structure, we can forge a style of play which confuses the opponent with little complication for our own players.

For example, utilising the natural diagonal lines in a fixed formation could lead to easier and more natural use of escadinhas. Not only that, these escadinhas would be devastating for opponents as other patterns, such as corta de luz and tabela could be utilised at any step along the way, making the outcome even harder to predict for somebody who does not know the ins and outs of the team and its playstyle.

How could relationism and it’s principles be used to crack positionist systems? (2)

Additionally, creating space with more chaotic toco y me voy runs could lead to some dangerous attacks coming from a group of players taking advantage of more tactical and positional freedom with a strictly organised backbone securing their advance.

We can already observe this solution coming into play in Ancelotti’s Real Madrid team with the front 3 of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham (I choose to classify him as an attacker even though he starts out from a deeper position) being given more freedom on the pitch and the fullbacks seemingly more restricted in movement, usually hugging the touchline.

Tilting could be used as a tool to create overloads and is an effective one at that. With many players in close proximity, the chaotic structure which is naturally created attracts opposition players so as not to allow the team any space or easy progression. This initial reaction can often open space in other parts of the pitch or create some incoherence regarding the marking of players.

If player X is instructed to stick to a certain zone and almost the whole opposing team is concentrated in the outside channel of the pitch it poses a certain dilemma— should the defensive player abandon his zone and help with stopping the attack or should he patiently wait and risk his team not putting enough pressure on the opponents effortlessly moving the ball up the pitch in an unusual cluster. If the primarily central player chooses to drift towards the flank, he can either get pinned back by an attacking player threatening to switch the play; utilising one or two forwards in a different sector of the pitch, which will have been left almost fully unmarked and therefore pose an immediate threat.

What does all of that mean? Well, it suggests that relationist principles can be used to create a possesion-based style of football based around controlling the opponent — just as positional teams most often do.

How could relationism and it’s principles be used to crack positionist systems? (3)

Not all formations and systems are created equally. For example, a 4–3–3 can easily morph into a 3–2–2–3 and a 4-4-2 is a sister of the 4-1-2-1-2, but not all formations are like that.

This is where the supposed “chaos” comes into play. A rapid shift into an uncommon structure based mostly around the players’ imagination, only to come out swinging in a brand new shape after this confusing transitional phase could be a devastating tactical novelty for the unfortunate, unsuspecting opponents.

If trained well, it can provide many benefits to the attacking team, most notably allowing for a rapid shift from the latter stages of buildup to an attacking position, close to the opponent’s goal and become a dangerous weapon, especially when it is just introduced into the team’s arsenal.

Fernando Diniz’s endeavors with the Seleção have shown how difficult it can be for players to adapt to the relationist philosophy with Brazil embarassingly losing to Uruguay and Colombia (with both matches ending two nil) and drawing Venezuela one-all. There is of course, as always, more to the story, as the nature of international football is largely responsible for the disappointing outcome of the Brazilian experiment, not allowing for regular practice and the bonding of players, but we shouldn’t let the fact detract from the challenge of adapting to a whole new philosophy of play.

How could relationism and it’s principles be used to crack positionist systems? (4)

After years of playing in positional machine-teams such a change, in mentality might appear puzzling and so, the obvious choice would be to mix the known with the unknown and enhance one using the other. Such an adjustment would achieve it, so the relationist elements could be introduced gradually without disrupting the flow of play.

The Swedish team Malmö FF are a commonly used example of this practice coming into play. The reigning Allsvenskan champions have began incorporating tilting and escadinhas into their style of play with great effect. They have managed to repeat history, winning the league title just one season afer dropping to seventh in the final standings, just like in 2010.

Incorporating relationist elements into the teams’ training and playstyle can have a hugely beneficial impact on their skillset. It requires players to become more aware of everything happening on the pitch, become completely comfortable with a ball at their feet and teaches cooperation. Mixing it with regular positional and physical training could create a new brand of midfielders without getting the players used to complete positional freedom.

It could prove especially useful in youth coaching as it is a way of shaping a player’s profile that, aside from its usefullness, is just simply enjoyable for a young player and it helps them form better connections with their teammates.

In addition, it also provides youngsters with skills needed to play multiple positions, which can further enhance their potential and provide them with even more options to advance their footballing career.

The skills mentioned in the last section also have a positive impact on players’ decisions in the final third. With additional dribbling practice coming from learning to utilise relationism it is easier for attackers to come out on top in 1v1 situations against the opposition’s defensive players. Improved passing ability will definitely come in handy when trying to send through balls behind the defensive line and better vision leads to more advanced passing combinations being created on the opponent’s doorstep.

Furthermore, the tactical patterns used by relationist teams can add a sense of unpredictability and lead to more gaps being opened up in the deepest line of pressure, thanks to the use of toco y me voy or corta de luz.

has already proved that it has a place in the future of football with many great European coaching prodigies incorporating parts of the philosophy into their systems, yet it has also shown its weaknesses, with Fernando Diniz’s Fluminense losing four nil against Manchester City led by probably the greatest positional coach of all time — Pep Guardiola.
One is certain that, it can be used as an effective tool to disrupt the opposition’s structure and render their plans for a match practically useless as is already the case in many of the most succesful clubs in Europe. It is only recently, that this footballing philosophy has become more mainstream, yet it already has a crowd of enthusiasts and is still on the rise.

All evidence suggests, that relationism is going to play a much bigger role in the future, though I do not suppose that it will take over as the main set of footballing ideals. It certainly is a useful tool and that is the way I have come to think about it.

Even though i admire footballing romanticists like Mr Hamilton, my realist and utilitarian way of thinking puts forth an alternative method of understanding the topic and its role in the current and future footballing world, which in my opinion is at least a little bit more down-to-earth. In regards to the aforementioned, I would be eager to see those distinct visions clash as I am sure each of them could be greatly improved with just a change of perspective.

And that concludes it, I wish You luck on your footballing adventures and hope that this piece of information has shone some light on the uses of mixing relationist principles with positional structures. I wish you all the best!

How could relationism and it’s principles be used to crack positionist systems? (2024)
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