Back with another superb look at football in Italy is and the story of Nocerina

Whilst most football observers in Italy over the Easter holiday were focused on AC Milan’s seemingly inevitable stroll to the Serie A championship, down in the Campania region of the Bel Paese , another club nicknamed the Rossoneri, were celebrating their return to Serie B after 32 years.

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After the awful performance and result against Wolves on Wednesday it seems that the Liverpool fans have called time on the managerial reign of Roy Hodgson. The defeat leaves the proud club only three points off the relegation places and eleven points adrift of European football.

Last season’s seventh place finish was bad enough for the fans but they still qualified for the Europa League which is the bare minimum they will accept. The prospect of missing out altogether would be a disaster.

It would seem the fans no longer want Roy in charge of their team, the body language and attitude of players would suggest they no longer want him in charge either, as soon as you lose the dressing room is it not time to pack up and go?

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HEERENVEEN V NAC BREDA

August 21 ^st

In a Eredivisie double header that consumed a train journey from Leeds to Glasgow and back again the second part was the meeting between Heerenveen and NAC Breda, both teams lined up in a basic 4-3-3 however there was a different style to each system, more on that later.

Before the systems could be evaluated NAC were 1-0 up, Jong-a-Pin charged out to meet a clearance, Leonardo reacted fastest and laid the ball off to Matthew Amoah (blue), Jong-a-Pin (red) chased back while the other defenders tried to slow Amoah down (yellow) they forgot to pressure the ball. Amoah had time to take his shot, usually meat and drink for Steppe in the Heerenveen net however he made a meal of it, somehow managing to palm the ball into his own net, not the best start for the home side only 44 seconds gone.

NAC started the game really well, both Amoah and Leonardo pressure the ball from the front, giving the back four limited time on the ball, forcing them to pass the ball back to Steppe and then winning back the long clearances, Heerenveen making it easy for the Breda team to keep the ball.

With time to look at the formations the home side played a very traditional 4-3-3 with 6 foot 4 target man Bas Dost flanked by wingers Roy Beerens and Oussama Assaidi, Beerens is very talented able to use both feet, he seemed to always want to take the defender on, in this case Robbert Schilder was the player in his sights, in the opening 30 minutes Schilder did well against the right winger, attack after attack Beerens began to gain the upper hand gaining success by coming inside onto his left foot, linking up really well with Dost and Elm.

NAC Breda’s 4-3-3 set’s up slightly different, it is even a strain to call it a 4-3-3, without the ball the away team kept organised in what could be described as a 4-5-1.

Amoah (red) continued to pressure the back line, Kolkka, Kwakman, Gudelj, Luijckx and Leonardo (all yellow) spread the pitch trying to keep the game tight, Luijckx is the deep lying midfielder monitoring the runs of Assaidi and Dost dropping deep, playing between the lines if you will.

With the ball however the formation changed when they had the ball, Leonardo (red) tucks in from the right to join Amoah upfront, Kolkka (yellow) comes off the touchline and joins Kwakman and Gudelj as the three behind the forwards, Luijckx (blue) remains the deep lying midfielder.

Leonardo showed more desire to get forward and join the attack then Kolkka on the opposite side, Kolkka tended to move inside and link up down the centre, so although it may have been classed as a 4-3-3 when it comes to positions on the pitch it was certainly a little different.

With Beerens and Assaidi starting to take control of the game it wasn’t long until Heerenveen draw level, with the attentions of two defenders on him the Moroccan was still able to get his cross in, a perfect ball towards Dost who held of Breda captain Penders and directed the ball past ten Rouwelaar.

The end of the first half saw Heerenveen take command of the game, giving NAC very little time on the ball, keeping tight on each player, Breda found it very hard to push the ball forward, NAC created very little after the equaliser.

The second half started very slowly, interesting in the second half that Dost starting dropping deeper in deeper taking on the characteristic of the “false 9” Viktor Elm began to get forward into the space more often linking up well with Dost and Assaidi, is was Assaidi that combined well with Beerens for the second goal, cutting in from the left after a neat one two, in an attempt to intercept Luijckx stuck out a foot and unluckily for the midfielder, his attempt did more harm than good, the ball leaving ten Rouwelaar sprawling across his goal in vain as they could only watch it hit the net.

NAC showed no attacking intent in the second half, a mixture of poor movement and passing, and great defending from Heerenveen meant it wasn’t long before the Friesland club wrapped up the game and the three points. Full back Youssef El Akchaoui had been in charge of the set-pieces for the majority of the game and although he wasted numerous good opportunities with 13 minutes to go he finally made one count, the ball was swung in from the right, played into the danger area, it was Dost again who took advantage, sandwiched between Penders and Gudelj he did very well to get his head to the ball and steer it past the keeper, another great use of his physical strength and heading ability, I’m not sure there’s anything the defence could have done to stop him.

A very frustrating day for NAC Breda after a fantastic start they died away after losing the goal and couldn’t find a way back, Heerenveen deserved the points, it was an impressive performance from Ron Jans men, Beerens and Assaidi will cause other teams problems.

EXCELSIOR v NEC NIJMEGEN

August 20 ^th

After being suitably impressed by Excelsior in their 3-2 victory over city rivals Feyenoord, and curious to find out if this was a one off result or could the small Rotterdam club rise to the expectation and take on the mid-table club from Nijmegen.

Excelsior set up in the same 4-5-1 formation that proved so successful against Feyenoord, their hard work and organisation caused Mario Beem’s side endless problems, not once did Excelsior struggle to contain their neighbours passing game, both goals conceded came through corner kicks.

For the first 20 minutes this Excelsior side looked nothing like the side that chased Feyenoord round the pitch for 90 minutes, NEC had the bulk of possession but without causing Cees Paauwe too many problems in net, Leroy George NEC’s new signing from Utrecht was very busy, always looking for the ball playing on the right of NEC’s 4-3-3, unfortunately for George; Excelsior’s Left Back Miquel Nelom just like he did against Feyenoord was on top of his game, for all George’s tricks and industry he very rarely found his way past the promising 19 year old.

NEC had 68% possession in the first half, the above diagram show’s Excelsior’s failings, NEC’s midfield had so much time on the ball, at no point in the first half did the Excelsior midfield put enough pressure to stop NEC freely passing the ball around the oppositions half, Schone, Zimling and Sibum never looked under pressure this gave George and Goossens space in behind to punish the defence.

Excelsior’s unwillingness to close the ball cost them the first goal, Goossens (red) advanced down the left with the ball was able to take 2 or 3 touches before putting in the cross, Belgian striker Bjorn Vleminckx unmarked in the box had no problem heading past Paauwe, a poor goal defensively to lose and a deserved lead for the away team.

The half time whistle could not come sooner for Alex Pastoor, He most have read his players the riot act during the interval, the “Sir Alex Hair Dryer treatment so to speak, The Excelsior side came on and started with a different attitude not giving NEC time to get into their stride again.

Fernandez the lone front-man was beginning to cause problems, running down each flank, he began to stretch the NEC defence, 8 minutes into the second half and one of his runs paid off, winning a corner for his team, the corner was cleared but only as far as the promising Jordi Clasie the 19 year old met the ball first time with a sweet strike towards goal, Babos looked to have the shot covered before Zimling stuck a foot out the ball wickedly deflecting into the net, disappointing for NEC after their dominance in the first half, however Excelsior had come out of the blocks flying.

Their work-rate and effort had been dramatically improved and, second goal was inevitable. You can see above two midfielders (yellow) closing down Lasse Schone (red), not giving NEC the time and space this half, Schone had to turn his back from goal looking for a pass, Clasie (blue) nicked the ball off the Dane, Clasie set off towards goal a 4 v 3 break for Excelsior, Clasie slipped the ball to Wattamaleo his shot was saved by Babos out for a corner, the corner was swung in and defender Daan Bovenberg got the run on Sibum his marker, left alone for a free header, Babos had no chance, the defenders 2 ^nd goal in 2 games and a deserved lead for Excelsior, plaudits must go to Pastoor for his TeamTalk.

A very scrappy 15 minutes followed, no chances or good football of note, a fierce midfield battle ensued, Koolwijk and Clasie impressive again for Excelsior, Clasie is small in stature but with a low centre of gravity and a tenacious approach on loan from Feyenoord learning his trade at the Stadion Woudestein, it’s hard to predict at 19 how well he will do, but it’s so far so good for the midfielder, NEC’s midfield is not without it’s charms Niki Zimling had a very good game, seems to fit the “box to box” description, hard in the tackle, not afraid to put himself about, and has the ability to pick a pass or make well times runs into the box, it was his midfield partner Lasse Schone that got NEC back into the match, all Excelsior’s hard work seemed to take it’s toll and the pressure on the ball dropped.

Lasse Schone (red) was not closed down by the midfield giving him time to turn with the ball, Vleminckx (blue) made a fantastic run away from the ball leaving the gap for Sibum (yellow) to make a lovely run in behind the defence, with time and space Schone plays a delicate ball over the top and Sibum’s low strike levels the game at 2-2. The run from Vleminckx shows the space between the centre back and full back, an easy gap to exploit, this leaves space down the middle for any willing runners, and Sibum did well to fill the space and deserved his goal.

Excelsior reacted quickly making two substitiutions, that decision would change the game, Jordi Clasie came off to a rapturous applause from the home support, Wouter Gudde came on to solidify the defence then Vincken was replaced by Roland Bergkamp, for all Fernandez hard work down the flanks his crosses were going to waste with no one there to get on the end of them. Bergkamp was tasked with that job, and it instantly paid off. Ryan Koolwijk hit a tame shot towards Babos the Hungarian could only spill it into the path of Bergkamp and he wasn’t going to miss from 6 yards, a shock lead for Excelsior.

NEC tried to fight back but the third goal seemed to kill their spirit then in injury time the game was put out of sight, with NEC pushing further forward, Gudde played the ball over the top, he found Fernandez unmarked and racing towards goal, jinking past the keeper he remained calm and placed the ball past two defenders and into the net.

4-2 the final score, in the end quite an entertaining game, two cliché’s fulfilled in the one match, if you have the lions share of possession you need to make it count, and it really is a game of two halves.