The Best Soccer Coaching Decisions of 2014

6. Jorge Luis Pinto’s Brilliant Back Five
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The Costa Rica national team was the big surprise of the 2014 World Cup, successfully topping a group featuring Italy, England and Uruguay, and advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Although a victory over Italy was perhaps a bigger scalp, the team’s comprehensive 3-1 defeat of Uruguay to open Group D was the more convincing win. With Luis Suarez injured, Uruguay manager Oscar Tabarez started a frontline of Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan. Pinto brilliantly anticipated this, and deployed a 3-5-2 formation that sat deep, essentialy functioned as a five-man defensive unit, and forced Uruguay to play long balls into an outmatched attack. The CONCACAF team then used quick counter-attacks through Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz, and effective set piece delivery and conversion (something they had practiced intensely in the lead-up to the tournament) to earn that 3-1 win, and eventually finish top of Group D.

5. Brendan Rodgers Shows No Mercy
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Liverpool were unquestionably the most exciting and attacking team in the 2013-14 Premier League, and this was never truer than when Brendan Rodgers’ side played very unwelcoming hosts to Arsenal in early February. Using the same “high-intensity, fast-break” approach that had proven so successful throughout the season, Liverpool jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first minute. Rather than backing off and adopting a possession-based approach to slowly kill off the game, Liverpool continued to hammer away, smashing an overwhelmed Arsenal team with the soccer equivalent of shock and awe that made it Liverpool four, Arsenal nil, with just 20 minutes gone. The final score was 5-1, but Rodgers and Liverpool had killed the game before less than a quarter of it had been played. The result had the double effect of crippling Arsenal’s title challenge while instilling in the Liverpool players that they were capable of making a serious challenge for the Premier League title.

4. Joachim Löw Spots Brazil’s Weakness
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Heading into the World Cup semifinals, Brazil was already a team low on confidence and high on the anxiety that only hosts with a history of disaster can feel. Narrow victories against Chile and Colombia had seen Brazil frustrated, with a tendency to throw everything forward and leave themselves vulnerable at the back. This was especially the case for left back Marcelo (see the Carlo Ancelotti entry above regarding his attacking proclivities), who offers considerable attacking options when pushing forward but leaves an obvious gap for a sharp mind to exploit. Joachim Low possesses just such a mind. In the opening minutes of the eventual 7-1 mauling, nearly every German attack was focused on exploiting Marcelo’s side of the field. Michael Cox over at Zonal Marking provided a brilliant analysis of this strategy, but the abbreviated version is that Germany exploited the space Marcelo left behind him nine times in the first 25 minutes. By the time Brazil got wise and adjusted, Germany had already taken a 4-0 lead. And that, my friends, is how you exploit a chink in the armor.

3. Diego Simeone Proves His System is the Star
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In the match where Atletico Madrid had to avoid defeat to Barcelona to win the title, Diego Simeone’s managerial approach was put on trial. Simeone pushes his team incredibly hard in training, and Atletico’s high-tempo pressing reflects that intensity, with every player on the roster fully aware of his role and responsibilities. Even those that don’t usually start the big games. Thus, when star striker Diego Costa and winger Arda Turan were forced off with injury in the first 23 minutes of the game, no one panicked. When Alexis Sanchez put Barcelona ahead in the 33rd minute in front of a packed Camp Nou, no one panicked. Instead, Simeone introduced Adrian and Raul Garcia to ensure Atletico had considerable pace up front, and pushed his incredibly tenacious team to pursue goals even after Diego Godin headed in an equalizer. It was Simeone’s commitment to well-drilled, attacking soccer that allowed two substitutes to be inserted into a high-pressure match and function as though nothing were amiss that encapsulates Atletico’s team ethic, so it was a fitting way for his team to take the title.

2. Antonio Conte Rope-a-Dopes Roma
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Under manager Rudi Garcia, Roma had rediscovered the attacking glory that had seen the club crowned champions the mid-2000s. Specifically, the team sat back, absorb pressure, then destroyed opponents with devastating breaks. In contrast, Juventus generally opted to pressure high up the pitch to disrupt opposition possession as rapidly as possible. Recognizing that this approach played perfectly into Roma’s hands, Juve coach Antonio Conte flipped his approach, instructing his players to sit deep and cede possession to Roma. With Juventus refusing to be stretched, Roma’s fast-break approach was neutralized, and Rudi Garcia’s team was forced into an unfamiliar possession-based approach, allowing Conte’s men to brilliantly exploit Roma’s uncertainty with the ball. By essentially using their opponent’s preferred game plan against them, Juventus rolled to a 3-0 win and extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table by what would prove to be an insurmountable gap.

1. Louis van Gaal Switches His Keepers
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The Netherlands and Costa Rica were deadlocked in a scoreless draw and heading for penalties when Louis van Gaal made the move that earned him the top spot on this list. The Dutchman, who now manages Manchester United, used his final substitution to bring on Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul in place of starting keeper Jasper Cillessen, who had never saved a penalty in his career. Van Gaal later explained the decision, stating, “Tim has a longer reach and a better track record with penalties than Cillessen … We had discussed it with Tim. He knew about their penalties because he needed to be prepared.” Van Gaal ordered Krul to warm up in plain site of the Costa Rica bench so as to generate the idea that he was some sort of penalty specialist. With only a few moments remaining in the second half of extra tim, Krul came in. In the shootout, he played mind games galore with the opposition penalty takers and ultimately saved two Costa Rican attempts, putting the Netherlands in the quarters.