I have an 8 page article which I feel is ideal for a day like today when there is a lot of people perhaps questioning LVG based on aimless long ball tactics etc. Van Gaal covers that here incidentally. I have posted a link to it and would recommend anybody with twenty minutes sit down and read it. I have a book on Van Gaal an his philosophy but without reading it this is the closest you will come to getting into how this guy thinks. Some of it is fascinating. Van Gaal gives tactical insights and his thinking on the following areas and aspects of his team.
Dominant football, Titles, Trust, Mental, Formation, Defence, Opponent, Against two strikers, LONG BALL, Attacking, Creative players, Opponent falls back, Assist, Positional changes, Excercises and Winning.
I was going to make some comments on certain parts and highlight the interesting and relevant parts but I have made my support for Van Gaal clear elsewhere. There is lots answers here for anybody looking for them and also some explanations from Van Gaal of what the passing is trying to achieve. Basically explains parts of the philosophy as well.
There is lots of interesting quotes but will let others select what they find relevant.
There are also 14 tactical diagrams to go with it to explain some of Van Gaal's thinking.This was done in 2008 his AZ days and is referencing his 4-3-3 but if you read the complete article you can understand the formation we play does not matter the team still plays with the same philosophy largely.
http://www.ncsoccer.org/docs/education/coaches/u19_objective_creates_exercise.pdf
For anybody that can't be arsed clicking i've copied most of it especially from each section I found relevant or good for getting an insight into the philosophy. The diagrams on the link make things easier to understand.
DOMINANT FOOTBALL
“Dominant soccer, in my opinion, means that you are the team that decides the flow of the game”, van Gaal starts to explain. “Meaning creating more chances than the opponent, playing offensively and doing this based on technical and tactical capacity, whereby the will to win plays an essential role. You therefore assume an offensive rather than defensive organization. The core of this is that you decide what happens on the field; of course this is open for discussion, because when you play from a defensive organization you can also dictate to a degree, as you determine that the opponent attacks in a small space. This, however, is not dominant play, because you do not determine the situation in an offensive manner.”
“PSV always plays very compact and well organized. This is dominance in another way. I see dominant play as playing offensively and pressing on the opponent’s half. This is my perception, as I believe you should always entertain the fans and the fans are, in my opinion, entertained when you play offensive soccer. Whenever you fall back more you will be playing with less initiative and with dominance only in phases. I think the fans will be more entertained by constant offensive play.”
TRUST
“When you choose to fall back you do not only need different types of players, but also a completely different way of thinking. You must therefore also start educating your players and scouting differently. In Holland we educate players in an offensive concept. Whenever these players are forced to play in a defensive concept they have to make a big transition. This becomes obvious whenever you get a chance to pressure an opponent like Ajax; they are not educated on this and will get into a lot of problems trying to deal with such a situation.”
FORMATION
“When you opt to play with a 1-4-3-3 you will, in my perception, have optimal field positioning. You can then decide whether to play with the point (in midfield) forwards or backwards. A lot of teams nowadays opt to play with the point backwards, but I prefer to play with the point forwards. When you want to move one player up from the back there will be more room to do this when you are playing with the point forward (diagrams 1 and 2). You automatically create more space to move up from the back. When you play with the point backwards you will have to create this space by moving out of the way. Furthermore, I believe that when you play with the point backwards the distance to the striker generally speaking becomes too big. The striker will therefore often be isolated from the rest of the team. It is then up to the quality of the midfielders whether they are able to deisolate the striker or not.”
Van Gaal reaffirms that the choice of system is dependent on the quality of the players. You must choose a system in which your players’ qualities will be utilized to the fullest. “The beautiful thing about my choice of system is that it creates a lot of lines. When you play with a 1-4-4-2 you have a flat four in midfield, creating only 3-4 lines. In our system of play we usually have about 6 lines (diagrams 3 and 4). So from a mathematical point of view you are creating a lot more passing opportunities. Your positioning is not only better in attack, but also in defense.”
DEFENCE
Within this formation you always have the positioning whereby there is one player who can execute pressure on the ball. When you are playing next to each other an opponent can easily find the free space by executing a couple of back passes (diagram 5). One of your players will then have to move up, which takes time and usually means you are too late. When you play next to each other it is mathematically harder to constrain your opponent, because there is always a player who needs to get out of position. When you are playing with more lines it will be easier to constrain your opponent. It is always about occupying regions. Take Barcelona for example, they play with the point backwards in midfield. They pressure on the side where the ball is with a lot of players and leave the other side free (diagram 6). Whenever you pressure the ball correctly, they opponent will never pass to the other side of the field anyways. This is, however, only possible when you have good field possession, more lines make it easier to surround the opponent and pressure the ball.” The individual distances are important in this way of pressing. The players on the opposite side of the ball have to move in. All players have to be willing to do something. Due to the many lines the individual distances are never more then 5-10 meters, making it easier for the players to cover them.
OPPONENTS
The opponents’ formation does play a role, but it does not change much. “Because our field possession is always the same it means that we have to cover less space,” Van Gaal reiterates. “When he opponent is playing with 4 defenders, our left winger, for example, can move in provoking a pass to their right wingback. From there we can we can constrain them.”The opponent’s numerical advantage will thereby be eliminated.“If the opponent’s lesser build up player is covering the center, the striker can force him to gain possession by covering the other central defender. The individual distances are again very small meaning pressure can immediately be executed (diagrams 7 and 8).” These issues always deal with your own qualities and the qualities of the opponent. The strikers have to be able to cover a player in such a way that the opponent is forced to play in a manner the own team want them to play. By analyzing the opponent’s build up one can gather how they prefer to build up. The preferred build up has to be made impossible. “It may also occur that we constrain the opponent entirely by moving in our number 10. We then play 1v1 across the entire field.”
AGAINST TWO STRIKERS
“The toughest situation for us occurs when we are playing against two striker and we want to defend forward. This is due to the large spaces in the back, which makes the 1v1 situation very dangerous. Usually I will add a player in between (diagram 9). The problem then is that the spaces on midfield will become larger, so are number 10 will have to play in midfield. The result of this is that the opponent will have an extra player in defense and will outnumber us in that area 4 versus 3. We will be playing in a 3-4-3 formation, whereby our number 10 is a fourth midfielder instead of a second striker. In this situation you will have to play with a different number 10.” Another solution is to allow the back to squeeze more and pressure the side of the ball. They will guard the opponent in the zone at first (diagram 10) “Defending will become harder as the half winger will now be able to easily receive the ball. You will often be too late to interfere as the distances are too large.” The problem lies predominantly in the covering through of the number 10. “Against three strikers our number 10 will always be able to cover through, because I am one of the only coaches who believes three defenders is enough to cover the last line, by means of accurate sagging and shifting. This is however impossible with two defenders. In this case it is dependent on the opponent’s strikers. In a situation like this they must not be quick and agile, because if they are you will be unable to play 2v2 in such a large area. Against two stiffer strikers this may be a little easier. In my opinion the way in which we can pressure is therefore dependent on the opponent’s formation. You must always respect your opponent and acknowledge their qualities. This information is important to determine whether you, as a coach, can decide to play 1v1 and whether your number 10 can function as a second striker.”
EDIT: Don't post thread titles in all caps.
Dominant football, Titles, Trust, Mental, Formation, Defence, Opponent, Against two strikers, LONG BALL, Attacking, Creative players, Opponent falls back, Assist, Positional changes, Excercises and Winning.
I was going to make some comments on certain parts and highlight the interesting and relevant parts but I have made my support for Van Gaal clear elsewhere. There is lots answers here for anybody looking for them and also some explanations from Van Gaal of what the passing is trying to achieve. Basically explains parts of the philosophy as well.
There is lots of interesting quotes but will let others select what they find relevant.
There are also 14 tactical diagrams to go with it to explain some of Van Gaal's thinking.This was done in 2008 his AZ days and is referencing his 4-3-3 but if you read the complete article you can understand the formation we play does not matter the team still plays with the same philosophy largely.
http://www.ncsoccer.org/docs/education/coaches/u19_objective_creates_exercise.pdf
For anybody that can't be arsed clicking i've copied most of it especially from each section I found relevant or good for getting an insight into the philosophy. The diagrams on the link make things easier to understand.
DOMINANT FOOTBALL
“Dominant soccer, in my opinion, means that you are the team that decides the flow of the game”, van Gaal starts to explain. “Meaning creating more chances than the opponent, playing offensively and doing this based on technical and tactical capacity, whereby the will to win plays an essential role. You therefore assume an offensive rather than defensive organization. The core of this is that you decide what happens on the field; of course this is open for discussion, because when you play from a defensive organization you can also dictate to a degree, as you determine that the opponent attacks in a small space. This, however, is not dominant play, because you do not determine the situation in an offensive manner.”
“PSV always plays very compact and well organized. This is dominance in another way. I see dominant play as playing offensively and pressing on the opponent’s half. This is my perception, as I believe you should always entertain the fans and the fans are, in my opinion, entertained when you play offensive soccer. Whenever you fall back more you will be playing with less initiative and with dominance only in phases. I think the fans will be more entertained by constant offensive play.”
TRUST
“When you choose to fall back you do not only need different types of players, but also a completely different way of thinking. You must therefore also start educating your players and scouting differently. In Holland we educate players in an offensive concept. Whenever these players are forced to play in a defensive concept they have to make a big transition. This becomes obvious whenever you get a chance to pressure an opponent like Ajax; they are not educated on this and will get into a lot of problems trying to deal with such a situation.”
FORMATION
“When you opt to play with a 1-4-3-3 you will, in my perception, have optimal field positioning. You can then decide whether to play with the point (in midfield) forwards or backwards. A lot of teams nowadays opt to play with the point backwards, but I prefer to play with the point forwards. When you want to move one player up from the back there will be more room to do this when you are playing with the point forward (diagrams 1 and 2). You automatically create more space to move up from the back. When you play with the point backwards you will have to create this space by moving out of the way. Furthermore, I believe that when you play with the point backwards the distance to the striker generally speaking becomes too big. The striker will therefore often be isolated from the rest of the team. It is then up to the quality of the midfielders whether they are able to deisolate the striker or not.”
Van Gaal reaffirms that the choice of system is dependent on the quality of the players. You must choose a system in which your players’ qualities will be utilized to the fullest. “The beautiful thing about my choice of system is that it creates a lot of lines. When you play with a 1-4-4-2 you have a flat four in midfield, creating only 3-4 lines. In our system of play we usually have about 6 lines (diagrams 3 and 4). So from a mathematical point of view you are creating a lot more passing opportunities. Your positioning is not only better in attack, but also in defense.”
DEFENCE
Within this formation you always have the positioning whereby there is one player who can execute pressure on the ball. When you are playing next to each other an opponent can easily find the free space by executing a couple of back passes (diagram 5). One of your players will then have to move up, which takes time and usually means you are too late. When you play next to each other it is mathematically harder to constrain your opponent, because there is always a player who needs to get out of position. When you are playing with more lines it will be easier to constrain your opponent. It is always about occupying regions. Take Barcelona for example, they play with the point backwards in midfield. They pressure on the side where the ball is with a lot of players and leave the other side free (diagram 6). Whenever you pressure the ball correctly, they opponent will never pass to the other side of the field anyways. This is, however, only possible when you have good field possession, more lines make it easier to surround the opponent and pressure the ball.” The individual distances are important in this way of pressing. The players on the opposite side of the ball have to move in. All players have to be willing to do something. Due to the many lines the individual distances are never more then 5-10 meters, making it easier for the players to cover them.
OPPONENTS
The opponents’ formation does play a role, but it does not change much. “Because our field possession is always the same it means that we have to cover less space,” Van Gaal reiterates. “When he opponent is playing with 4 defenders, our left winger, for example, can move in provoking a pass to their right wingback. From there we can we can constrain them.”The opponent’s numerical advantage will thereby be eliminated.“If the opponent’s lesser build up player is covering the center, the striker can force him to gain possession by covering the other central defender. The individual distances are again very small meaning pressure can immediately be executed (diagrams 7 and 8).” These issues always deal with your own qualities and the qualities of the opponent. The strikers have to be able to cover a player in such a way that the opponent is forced to play in a manner the own team want them to play. By analyzing the opponent’s build up one can gather how they prefer to build up. The preferred build up has to be made impossible. “It may also occur that we constrain the opponent entirely by moving in our number 10. We then play 1v1 across the entire field.”
AGAINST TWO STRIKERS
“The toughest situation for us occurs when we are playing against two striker and we want to defend forward. This is due to the large spaces in the back, which makes the 1v1 situation very dangerous. Usually I will add a player in between (diagram 9). The problem then is that the spaces on midfield will become larger, so are number 10 will have to play in midfield. The result of this is that the opponent will have an extra player in defense and will outnumber us in that area 4 versus 3. We will be playing in a 3-4-3 formation, whereby our number 10 is a fourth midfielder instead of a second striker. In this situation you will have to play with a different number 10.” Another solution is to allow the back to squeeze more and pressure the side of the ball. They will guard the opponent in the zone at first (diagram 10) “Defending will become harder as the half winger will now be able to easily receive the ball. You will often be too late to interfere as the distances are too large.” The problem lies predominantly in the covering through of the number 10. “Against three strikers our number 10 will always be able to cover through, because I am one of the only coaches who believes three defenders is enough to cover the last line, by means of accurate sagging and shifting. This is however impossible with two defenders. In this case it is dependent on the opponent’s strikers. In a situation like this they must not be quick and agile, because if they are you will be unable to play 2v2 in such a large area. Against two stiffer strikers this may be a little easier. In my opinion the way in which we can pressure is therefore dependent on the opponent’s formation. You must always respect your opponent and acknowledge their qualities. This information is important to determine whether you, as a coach, can decide to play 1v1 and whether your number 10 can function as a second striker.”
EDIT: Don't post thread titles in all caps.
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