Marcelino was the protagonist of a video on the YouTube channel “The Coaches’ Voice in Spanish.” The coach’s master class, in this case, referred to the final of the Spanish Super Cup (continuing the analysis of the semifinal broadcasted a few days ago on the same channel).
“It was a great success. Beating Real Madrid and Barça in three days is not within everyone’s reach”, declares Marcelino. On 17 January 2021, at La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Athletic Club beat FC Barcelona in extra time (2-3) and was proclaimed champion of the competition.
Set-up with his classic 4-4-2 formation, Marcelino again faced a 4-3-3 on the board (a strategy shared by Real Madrid and FC Barcelona). “We wanted to use the goalkeeper much more, to move Barcelona from side to side and generate superiorities,” says the coach. Busquets frequently left the central corridor to help the lateral side, a situation that Raúl García and Muniain took advantage of to damage the rival between the lines.
¡Nueva Clase Magistral! ?
— The Coaches’ Voice en español (@CoachesVoice_es) November 25, 2021
??⚪️MARCELINO GARCÍA TORAL (@Marcelino)
??Supercopa de España 2021, segunda parte.
?@AthleticClub 3 vs Barcelona 2
✔️El dibujo 4-4-2
✔️Atacar las debilidades de Barcelona
✔️La vigilancia sobre Messihttps://t.co/yGGs6raGHb
Circulating the ball from one side to the other made pressure difficult for Barcelona and gave the option of progressing on the wing and finishing offensive actions. On the defensive aspect, while Athletic waited in the low block. The priority was to protect the central corridors against a team that presented “two very deep full-backs, two centre-backs playing practically in our field”. Plus Busquets’ criteria, the mobility of Pedri and De Jong, and the mayor threat, Messi: “A differential footballer.”
Lowering Messi ‘s danger It was necessary to avoid the Argentine’s passes to Jordi Alba. It was about ‘block’ his left leg as was seen in the first Barcelona’s goal, an objective that he could not be strictly fulfilled. “On the blackboard, everything is straightforward”, Marcelino assumes in the video.
After Villalibre’s 2-2 in extra time, the blackboard was decisive for Athletic. Yeray attracted rivals and made it easy for a superb diagonal pass to overtake Busquets. The ball reached Muniain, on which the rival right-back jumped. Williams, who slipped out of the defence, received the ball. And he scored the winner with a spectacular shot.
