Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows more about Monday’s Europa League opponents FC Copenhagen than most.
The Norwegian, eyeing his first European trophy as a manager, is familiar with Copenhagen boss Ståle Solbakken well from their playing days in the Tippeliga.
Tonight the former international teammates clash in a one-off Europa League quarterfinal in Cologne’s RheinEnergieStadion.
And, while many United fans won’t be accustomed with how Solbakken’s Copenhagen side will set up, Solskjaer certainly has an idea of what’s to come.
Here, i looks at what knowledge Solskjaer will have of his Europa League opposition, and why his United side may be in for a shock…
Solskjaer experience with Copenhagen
The United manager knows Solbakken personally, having played with the former Wimbledon midfielder at international and domestic level in Norway.
He also managed Molde against Copenhagen twice in the Europa League and twice in friendlies during the previous decade.
The pair’s most recent meeting in 2017 saw Molde come up against Solbakken’s FCK in a winter tournament in the UAE.
Solskjaer knows that, since Solbakken’s retirement from playing in 2001 and subsequent managerial appointment at Copenhagen five years later, his compatriot has largely stuck to the same formula when competing both home and abroad.
The formula is based around a solid defensive set-up, a patient possession game and a target man: classic 4-4-2.
Defensively it involves a central midfield willing guard the back line all game. Everyone gets behind the ball when not in possession, with the aim of pushing opposition attacks out wide. From here, the defence is expected to concentrate for 90 minutes and bat away cross after cross.
Meanwhile, possession involves slow build-up play across the back line, before the full-backs bomb forward into a crossing position. Historically Copenhagen under Solbakken have always had a big striker to aim at – be it Dame N’Doye, Andreas Cornelius or Federico Santander.
It is a very traditional 4-4-2 system that works in Europe but also on the domestic front, where Copenhagen usually dominate matches and need to be patient in possession.
Discipline is key and Solbakken usually gets it from his men.
Solskjaer will be expecting a compact Copenhagen defence to line up on Monday night and he has experience watching this first-hand.
In 2011 Solskjaer joined Solbakken and the Copenhagen backroom staff to oversee preparations for a Champions League last-16 clash with Chelsea.
As expected, Solbakken’s men defended in numbers against Carlos Ancelotti’s men but came unstuck by Nicolas Anelka to lose the game 2-0.
What Solskjaer may not be used to…
Solskjaer is familiar with the ‘traditional’ Solbakken set-up – but we may not see a typical Copenhagen side tonight.
Over the remaining weeks of the Danish Superliga season the boss experimented with his formation and found relative success with a 4-2-3-1 system.
Necessity forced this change upon the ex-Wolves manager as star striker N’Doye struggled for fitness over the latter stages of the campaign.
Solbakken tried to stick Mikkel Kaufmann – a new 19-year-old signing from Aalborg – and youth product Mohamed Daramy up front as a pair.
But the teenagers couldn’t provide the muscle Copenhagen strikers are famed for.
And so the boss switched it up. Kaufmann remained up top but Daramy dropped back into an attacking three behind the main striker.
Solbakken also welcomed back another youngster Jonas Wind from a long-term knee injury and moved Pep Biel and whippet-like midfielder Rasmus Falk forward.
Suddenly Copenhagen have a young, fast and dynamic offence not seen in the Danish capital for a long time.
And the similarities with Solskjaer’s own attacking unit of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood should not be overlooked.
In switching to this system, Copenhagen surrender much of the control they used to have on games – even when they were underdogs.
But they now have a genuine attacking presence that doesn’t rely on a big man.
This is a very different Copenhagen to what Solskjaer is used to.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2PGaR2A
Post a Comment