Leonid Slutsky - CSKA’s solution?

Connor O’Neil (@Con_027) and Xavier Leonovitch (@AxeMurderer60) discuss CSKA’s chances in the Champions League this year and Leonid Slutsky’s role as CSKA manager:

As we know, CSKA face reigning champions Bayern Munich, as well as Manchester City and Viktoria Plzen in their Champions League group. There are many questions about Leonid Slutsky’s ability as CSKA coach - can he lead his team to the round of 16? It’s a rather paradoxical question to ask when we examine Leonid Slutsky’s résumé since he took over CSKA Moscow in 2009:

- 1-time Russian Champion (2012-2013)
- 3-time Russian Cup winner (2009, 2011, 2012-2013)
- 2-time Russian Super Cup winner (2009, 2012-2013)
- and Quarterfinalist in Champions League for the first time in CSKA History (2009)

On paper, Slutsky is definitely a coach who should allow CSKA to continue to win some domestic titles. But what really interests us is his ability to develop his players, to draw out the best in them and play quality football. After the defeat to AIK in the Europa League last season, the board decided to keep him on. Now he’s been in charge just shy of four years, with two league titles and a cup won during that period. The stability that gave the club, when other teams were seemingly out of control, played a huge part in CSKA’s success last season - it was a masterstroke. His record is therefore a very good one and he has totally proved us wrong. The way the whole club operates is something that other clubs should be very jealous of, given the astute signings, a good balance of foreign and homegrown talent and a stable manager (despite some failures).

The preferred tactical approach

Leonid Slutsky’s favorite lineup is the 4-2-3-1, a pretty common formation in the Russian Premier League, but unlike other teams, Slutsky’s 4-2-3-1 is fairly rigid defensively, while the four offensive players are allowed to move free on the pitch and link up as they like.

Let’s start with the defense, the “rigid” part:

CSKA’s defensive sector is comprised of 6 players, in theory, because the contributions of the lateral defenders (Schennikov/Fernandes) and defensive midfielders (Wernbloom/Elm) are also important. Key elements of this area are the two midfielders positioned in front of the defense, the Swedish pair of Wernbloom & Elm (recovery & orientation).

The lateral defenders essentially have a role of defensive/offensive support depending on the situation, like the two defensive midfielders, they help to contribute during the pressing phases, then, when the ball is recovered, they have the role of “piston” or they simply offer a side solution to stretch the opposing team. In the case of CSKA, both starting defensive backs (Schennikov & Fernandes) are much more comfortable in the offensive support, this is probably why Slutsky regularly uses Nababkin, who has more of a “defensive” profile.

This offensive aspect of the lateral defenders is critical, because it directly affects CSKA’s central defense, composed of Ignashevich and Berezutsky. They often find themselves exposed on the sides, which they must close down and, by the way, force Wernbloom to get back to maintain a sufficient number of axial defenders during a counter-attack. The central defenders are very experienced (Ignashevich 34 y.o. and Berezutsky 31 y.o.) and have won everything with CSKA. However, over the years, they seem less bright and often compensate for their lack of speed via anticipation and good positioning on the pitch. But if it is a minor problem in the domestic league, it could be very dangerous at the highest level of the Champions League against teams who don’t hesitate to take spaces. CSKA might once again have to rely on their savior Igor Akinfeev.

Now let’s focus on the offensive side:

Slutsky’s 4-2-3-1 is based on a constant switch between the different forwards (Tosic/Honda/Dzagoev). They are free to move as they want depending on the situation. The striker (Musa/Doumbia) is a bit restrained in his movements because he has to create some space for his teammates or to be in the right position to shoot.

The offensive side is based on creativity. Players like Honda or Dzagoev just have to show imagination and uses their field vision to create a situation. This area where the tactical discipline is almost non-existent is where there are the fewest questions.

The best way for this team to play?

Neither of us have any criticisms of the way Slutsky’s teams play football, but we could mention that Slutsky seems to be playing Dzagoev in a less attacking role this season with Honda in behind Doumbia. I don’t think this is conductive in getting the best out of Dzagoev, although it is better than seeing him play on the wing.

However, I’ve (Connor) always felt that despite having quite a strong backline, we’ve never been defensively sound. Recent games against Ural, Tom and Amkar are examples of this. These are games that reigning champions should relish and take full advantage of, and although the latter two resulted in wins, we needed to turn around a goal deficit to win. Perhaps it’s just natural fan pessimism that I hold, but I am rarely confident going into games for the very reason that we often have to scrape past poorer opponents or even be on the end of an upset.

Slutsky’s role this season in the Champions League:

At the time of writing this, CSKA lead the championship after seven games, unbeaten since the start of the season (5 wins - 2 draws), a rather honorable record for the current champion, who, like last season, continue to win but often without flair. Sometimes we’ve seen a lack of focus from CSKA players. CSKA games take their manager’s form and we expect better from Leonid Slutsky with all the talented players he has. As we said earlier, this approach is enough to be champions again, which is probably CSKA’s main goal this season, but such tactics and attitude will put CSKA in danger in the Champions League this season.

On the other hand, Slutsky has a decent record in Europe even with last year’s qualifying defeat - look no further than the magnificent draw at home to Real Madrid in 2012. In 2011, we could have easily gone a lot further in the Europa League, had we not drawn the best team in the competition in Porto in the round of 16. This year, the group can be described as tricky. Bayern Munich are obviously one of the best teams in the Champions League this year and we can probably count out getting any points from them. This means that we’d probably need a draw at home to Man City and to win both games against Plzen.

Prediction?

Connor: “The away game against Man City will probably decide who goes through and I wouldn’t fancy our chances given City’s impressive home record. So I think the worst that we can do is the Europa League, a favourable draw could see us go further than previous years, but I wouldn’t expect us to seriously challenge.”

Xavier: “The two games against City will be decisive for CSKA, if they can take the maximum points against Plzen and manage the games against Bayern, the two games versus City may decides who will follow Bayern into the knockout rounds. Obviously, I think it will be difficult, but CSKA have proved in the past that such challenges can be overcome.”