IMANOL ALGUACIL: ANALYSIS
When Imanol Alguacil (biography on Wikipedia), took the reins of Real Sociedad in the last stage, few could think that he was going to become a coach reference within Spanish professional soccer. Probably many people thought of interim management as a way of life for the Basque coach .
Siempre podría venir alguien «mejor» de fuera, para enmendar la apuesta de la directiva donostiarra por Imanol en caso de que no funcionase… pero no fue así.
From almost the first moment, the arrival of Imanol proved to be a solvent bet, and what's more , a breath of fresh air in the Spanish League. Since the 2018-2019 season, he has been in charge of the bench of Donostia's first team uninterruptedly.
Imanol Alguacil: The game system.
Imanol has been in recent seasons betting on playing a 1-4-3-3 on a recurring basis, however during the 2021-2022 season at least so far, he has opted more for the 1-4-2-3-1 formation, perhaps because of the configuration of the current squad.
As we can see in this graph, 8 systems of play have been used at some point by the Basque coach, although in 40% of the competition time played so far, the 4-2-3-1 has taken the upper hand.
However, as in all systems, it is in the global positioning charts, where you can see the position established by the gps, which tells us where the players are moving throughout the match. Let's take a look at the last three league games in this aspect.
We see how the actual positioning drifts towards a 1-4-1-4-4-1 or a 1-4-3-3-3. Depending on the wing players chosen, the wing players make the system orient towards higher wingers in positional play or midfielders with more presence in the intermediate phases of the game.
The style of play
Imanol is undoubtedly an offensive coach. His team tries to generate play and situations without waiting too much for the attitude of the opponent. He seeks to command the game, to take the initiative through ball possession and to be proactive rather than reactive.
He is a coach with tactical richness in his approaches, with knowledge that allows him to be an interventionist in the games and to be able to change situations that arise in them.
It is the 6th team in the league in ball possession behind Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Villarreal and Celta de Vigo.
However, despite the above data, there is a facet that shows that the San Sebastian team is finding it difficult to establish that dominance in the opponent's field, as it is one of the teams that is at the bottom of what is called territorial advantage, which measures the ratio between the time the ball spends in the opponent's field or in their own field (% Opposing Field / % Own Field). We are talking about 47.6%-52.4%, placing it at the bottom, only surpassing Elche, Sevilla and Granada.
Training methodology
Training and enjoyable sessions, with a predominance of actions with the ball. Offensive and defensive tactical work. Tasks adapted to the match. His work group has a predilection for giving the activities a competitive character through contests or competitions that stimulate the work of his players.
The personality of Imanol Alguacil
Alguacil is far from being a coach divo. His day-to-day behavior, his dealings with the media, and his relationship with the fans are based on the parameters of common sense and normality. His management of the dressing room and the team is along the same lines. He avoids fuss and strange things, although he is still a demanding coach in the execution of the tasks set for the day to day.
«Hay que apoyarse en el compañero, te está jodiendo si no lo hace si uno se queda. Qué cojones hace a esa distancia, cuando tú sabes que no tiene que estar ahí. Ninguno es capaz de decirle pues ponte en tu sitio. Eso es ser compañero».
«Tan amigos que sois, tan amigos y no ayudáis en las coberturas. Si vuestro compañero no viene por detrás, no te apoya, no sirve de nada la presión. Se lo tienes que decir».
On more than one occasion during training sessions, when he has seen that the performance of his players has dropped.
It was also very significant the encouragement that the Basque coach gave to the Zamora players after another cup tie, a situation that was reflected in this video.
Real Sociedad's strengths and weaknesses during the 2021-2022 season (data until April 2022).
# gambling initiative
# possession ratio for/against
# channeling mode
# Imanol Alguacil, pace of recovery
Imanol Alguacil's Soccer Exercises at Real Sociedad
We leave you a sample of a typical activity in Real Sociedad's training sessions. Like these, you can enjoy many more in our soccer portal.
Form three teams of 3,4,5,6 players. 2 of the 3 teams keep possession of the ball, arranged in the space according to the drawing. 1 player for each team in possession stays in the defined central zone. The defending team tries to intercept or recover the ball. If the ball is recovered or simply touched, the team that loses the ball goes out to pressure the ball holders, to the farthest space. It is played with free touches and only one condition is indicated; when one of the players placed in the center receives the ball from one side, he has the obligation to play to the opposite side.
Dimensions: Approx. 30×25/35×30/40×35
Duration: 12 to 20 minutes
Purpose: possession, quick play, short and long play, progression with the ball, change of direction, distribution of space while defending, pressing.
To emphasize: to differentiate when it is possible to play short or long, to take advantage of spaces where there is no pressure, efforts and areas for pressure, and to make the best use of the space.