This is post three of a wider series. A series for FM22.
“It proved a smart mix of classical South American football and modern European tactical nous.“
In-game date: 9 February 2022
Colo-Colo are the 2021 champions of the Campeonato AFP PlanVital, the top division of Chilean league football!
In our last post we were halfway through the 2021 season and Teixido’s Colo-Colo were finding their rhythm. Well they certainly continued to do so; finishing the season unbeaten on 82 points, 17 points clear of rivals Universidad Católica. A domestic double in his first season is owed to Teixidó’s 31 wins and eight draws from his first 39 games in charge.
Friend and guest writer for this post, Fernando (@RocksEndFM) will dive into some lovely detailed analysis of Teixido’s Colo-Colo in a moment, but first there are a few administrative updates to run through.
Juan Martín Lucero continued his excellent goal-scoring run, netting 32 times in 38 games in all competitions. Playmaker Leonardo Gil managed 17 assists in 35 games overall and a division-topping 5.41 key passes per 90 minutes in league games.
Ahead of season two and a Copa Libertadores adventure, Teixidó has now brought in four new signings alongside welcoming back 2021 loanees Juan Carlos Gaete, Leonardo Valencia and Javier Parraguez. The first two signings were Chilean teenagers Daniel González and Joaquín Gutiérrez, boosting those home-grown u21 numbers in the first team squad.
Though the two most exciting arrivals make up the ‘dúo brasileño,’ as they have already been dubbed by the Colo-Colo support. A rare double-signing from the same club, Athletico Paranaense, for a combined fee of just $525,000, the two Brazilians hope to introduce some Samba football (@FMEadster™) to the Chilean champions in 2022.
I’ll now pass the pen to honorary theangrylinesmen journalist, Fernando Romero.
If you don’t already follow Fernando on Twitter, please do and also check out his website for some of the best Football Manager writing out there.
Of (great) Minds and Men
Written by Fernando Romero.
Footballing dynasties are the royal families of the modern era. From Vic Buckingham, to Michaels, to Cruyff, to Guardiola, to now Xavi; it is not symbolic crowns and staffs that are passed down but something far more important. Ideas and philosophies.
It is perhaps surprising that two of the modern era’s most awe-inspiring managers have not one single connection in common. In fact, if rumours are to be believed, Fernando Teixidó and Marcelo Bielsa have only been in the same room once.
The story goes that, with Melgar visiting the Bielsa-managed Vélez Sarsfield for a pre-season friendly in early 1998, the two men met in a rather roundabout way. The Estadio José Amalfitani was under some renovations, so Teixidó and a few teammates were finishing preparations in the home dressing room. The Peruvian was supposed to play in that match, but was benched due to some pain in his knee, perhaps an early indicator of the injury that would abruptly end his career. While they were at it, out of nowhere, an oblivious Bielsa waltzed into the room. Evidently confused by the mistake, he mumbled some apology and left. And that was it; never again have the two met.
Considering each other’s life and footballing philosophies, some mutual admiration must exist, and yet it has never been expressed. Bielsa perhaps ever circumspect to go around expressing unrequested praise, Teixidó very much too cryptic for us the uneducated to pick up on it. After the Peruvian’s first season at the helm of Colo-Colo however, they now have one more thing in common, the admiration of the Chilean footballing community.
Few managers, (the Argentinian included) stir up the imagination of fans as much as Teixidó when their signing is announced by a club. To this very day, Boca Juniors fans lament the missed opportunity when the Peruvian vanished from the negotiation table when the deal was all but completed. Still, with the former Rayo Vallecano manager looking to move closer to home after his highly successful stint in Spain, Colo-Colo were clever to snatch the opportunity.
El Cacique had been on a bit of a bad streak lately, losing considerable ground to both Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica as the biggest club in Chile. Regardless, they remain the sole Chilean winner of the Copa Libertadores, and high expectations floated in the air as Teixidó took charge.
Many expected for the Peruvian to employ a variant of his now famous 4-3-1-2, trademarked with the use of a central defensive midfielder, the position Teixidó himself used to play. La Palanca (“the lever” in English), as the manager himself branded the position, is a key part of his tactical tenets, with only the gravest of result crisis forcing his hand to something else, like he did in the last couple of seasons at Rayo. However, his first season in charge of the Chilean outfit made it clear that some of Europe’s tactical trends rubbed off on the Peruvian.
Let’s take a look at how Colo-Colo played in year one of the Teixidó era.
La Palanca Remixed
The former Rayo manager exclusively set his team up in a 4-3-3, very much in the style of the top European teams he faced whilst with the Madrid side. Colo-Colo looked to press very high up the pitch, with near manic intensity. With the ball at their feet, they’d look to create short passing patterns, often looking to overload the opposition, stretching the pitch and constantly running into the space created. It certainly looks like Teixidó has taken a lot from what Jonathan Wilson would call “the modern press-and-possess” sides.
The back four, usually consisting of Opazo, Amor, Zaldivia and captain Suazo played a fairly standard game, with the wingbacks licensed to go forward and support the attack, whilst the centre-backs held a high line to compress the space.
In the middle, Esteban Pavez showed old habits die hard, playing the Peruvian’s trademark La Palanca role, working as a main hub for game build-up and dropping between the centre-backs in salida lavolpiana style to beat the press as the ball is played out of defence. In front of him, a combo of runner and a passer provided threat with and without the ball, usually played by Leonardo Gil and Christian Santos.
Up front, the trio of Costa, Lucero and Bolados offered flexibility and threat. Teixidó used the smart runs of his countryman Gabriel Costa to unlock opposing defences, as the former Sporting Cristal man used his reading of the game to show up in different places, always keeping his marker guessing. On the other flank, Bolados played a much simpler yet still important role, stretching the defence and using his speed and agility to beat his man to the byline and put in a cross or create space for a teammate.
Last but not least, Lucero did a brilliant job leading the line. His work rate and understanding of the game made him a key component, as he provided not only the goals but also was smart enough to drop into space and receive with his back to the goal to work as a pivot.
It proved a smart mix of classical South American football and modern European tactical nous that pushed Colo-Colo to incredible success during Teixidó’s first season.
It now becomes a waiting game, as the whole of Chile and perhaps even the continent awaits the Peruvian manager’s next move as we head into 2022.
Fernando Romero for theangrylinesmen
Thanks for reading!
FM Stag