Rodgers and Bielsa prove the benefits of keeping it simple
“Well done, you’ve been great to watch all season,” said Lineker.
Rodgers shifted awkwardly, appearing slightly embarrassed by the praise. “He has done an extraordinarily brilliant job, it’s like a version of Barcelona’s style,” Lineker enthused, as the MOTD pundits salivated over speeded-up video of Swansea knocking the ball around in deft little triangles.
In fact what Rodgers has achieved with Swansea is more comparable with the achievement of Marcelo Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao, another financially underpowered club, whose two thrilling victories over Manchester United have been among the highlights of the European season.
There are obvious differences between the two sides’ styles of play. Swansea’s tempo is patient where Bilbao’s is ferocious; Swansea look to control possession while Bilbao move the ball forward as quickly as possible. Where the sides are similar is that both are inspired by a particular idea.
There is a perennial debate in football about whether it is better to focus on your own game and let the opponent worry about what you’re going to do, or to adjust your game plan depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition.
In general terms, the first school of thought has been favoured by the more old-fashioned coaches suspicious of “tinkering”, while more analytical, tactically-minded folks favour tailoring their approach to the opposition (what’s the point studying tactics if you can’t use them to win matches?).
If those generalisations are true, Rodgers and Bielsa go against the grain. They are examples of thoughtful, tactically sophisticated coaches who like to focus on their own side and never vary their game plan.
There is a cliché that overburdening players with information doesn’t work because the players’ attention span is too short and they get bored. That’s patronising to the players, most of whom are well capable of understanding what the coach is telling them.
The problem with giving players detailed instructions on how to deal with particular opponents is the players can get so caught up with executing the game plan that they forget to play the game. If a team is to play really good football they have to be in that effortless trance of concentration known to psychologists as a flow state, but they can’t immerse themselves fully in the play if they are constantly worrying about details.
Rodgers and Bielsa don’t give their players details. Instead they give them a method. It’s simple and it never changes. Swansea’s players are drilled to move the ball in triangles, solve every problem with short passing and quick movement. Chase and harry the opposition in packs, don’t give them any time on the ball. Apply this method all over the pitch, and see what you can come up with.
In this way, players are given free rein to express their creativity, within an overall framework that ensures they are all on the same page. Playing without inhibition, they are more likely to produce outrageous acts of brilliance, like the volley by Fernando Llorente with which Bilbao took the lead against United at San Mames.
Both Bielsa and Rodgers give all the credit to the players. When Chile’s media exalted Bielsa for leading Chile to the 2010 World Cup, he kept telling them he hadn’t taken Chile to South Africa, he was going there with Chile. When Rodgers was interviewed by Lineker, he refrained from talking about the effect his decisions had on the match; instead Rodgers praised the qualities shown by the players, most importantly imagination.
In truth, Rodgers and Bielsa both deserve tremendous credit for helping their sides unlock so much of their potential, but when teams play as well as this, there is always more than enough credit to go round.
