How to lose a single motion, by José Luis Oltra

No battles are won with good wishes

High attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte war

The title of this post could refer to a chess game. At the end of the chess is the game that best reflects the art of war and what team sports are but a modern version of that old bloodless art is collective confrontation between two enemies. No wonder, therefore, that in football we find many points in common with chess. Today we will focus on one of these points: the coach as strategos, or general, as the brain has to move the pieces on the chessboard of squares.

In football, as in chess, one move can change everything. You can be virtually lost and, in one motion, turning around and heading the same way, you can see near victory and, with a simple mistake ruin everything so hopeless. The latter is what made ​​Jose Luis Oltra on Sunday: wrong and spoil the game. But first things first, especially considering all those who have not seen the game (most, I guess).

The RC Deportivo started dominating the match against Real Betis during the first twenty minutes, but failed to collect lead on the scoreboard, mainly because Riki committed an unpardonable error, missing a definition within the small area with Adrian and sold and kneeling . The diabetics reacted in the last stretch of the first half and did know how to convert their good play into goals. Ruben Castro, a player who belonged to Deportivo for six seasons but was totally insulted by two peixes as Caparrós and Lotina, scored twice in 38 and 54 minutes.

Locals reacted to the second goal Betis immediately and just six minutes later equalized the match with two goals from Riki. Depor had repeated the second time in the first twenty minutes of great play of the first half, thanks largely to the excellent work of Alex Bergantiños and Abel Aguilar, who were able to impose Beñat territorially, Cañas and Salva Sevilla. This first situation concerns the first diagram, along these lines.

Pepe Mel became clear the problem: his midfield was being totally dominated, forcing his team to get into the field, where high pressure Dépor prevented him from taking out the rally. So, just two minutes after the equalizer Bluegill, got down to work. First tried making a change of man by man, without altering the picture: Vadillo by Salva.

Depor, pushed by the fervor of the stands at the prospect of getting a big comeback, followed by subjecting to his rival and creating chances. So Mel did not wait to see more blood, came to smell it: in the 67th minute, five after the first change, decided to make a deeper change: took his striker Jorge Molina, and ushered in a pivot, the exdeportivista Rubén Pérez, which changed its pattern of 4-3-3 to a 4-3-1-2, with playmaker Beñat and Campbell and Ruben Castro as open ends (as shown in the second diagram) .

In football (as in chess, as in war) always says that so far it has not been in touch. If Oltra had followed this maxim, should have chosen to make changes refresh, without changing the arrangement of the pieces. That was an option. The other, as understandable as the first, going to react to changes in Mel, looking to counter them. If the intention was to it, the first thing to do is to know what has made the strategos enemy. In this case, as we said, had strengthened their midfield, a man sacrificing edge to strengthen the central phalanx.

What that logic, manuals and experience dictate that should have done Oltra? Compensate the training center to keep their dominance in the core of the battle, where everything is being cooked. Considering the options available to it on the bench and, again, only if they are convinced that because right now we're still higher, the change is going to win more than they will lose, only had two options and both went through to remove Valerón.

The first would be inputting Camuñas or Juan Dominguez, which would keep the figure of playmaker and sacrificing assistance capacity for greater mobility and physical strength (although in the case of Galician, horchata with blood that has not be won much). The second was going to introduce Jesus Vazquez, placing it in the double pivot with a few meters ahead Bergantiños and Abel Aguilar, composing a core with less capacity but much stronger association with more coming on goal.

Oltra Did any of these options? Of course not, otherwise what sense would this post ... A Oltra attack gave a full-fledged coach: devised a situation in which their courage and vanguardism would give his team the victory and him all the credit, but rather that met the unforgiving reality: cute as shit.

Deportivo coach took a central, Roderick, and ushered in a forward, Bodipo (71 minutes). It's supposed to be imagined that Molina off the field, with three defenders reached him to watch Campbell and Castro, while the introduction of a forward to address the lack of marksmanship team. Instead what he did was weaken their strong men from his half eleven. To begin to understand why the cost is sacrificed rather Aythami Roderick, who had yellow card and is the slowest defender (something to keep in mind before Castro and Campbell). But the most important error, which cost him the match, with Alex Bergantiños committed it.

Coruña midfielder was still, by far, the best player of the match in an afternoon that could be described as the best he has had in First. Closing all spaces Beñat and Cañas, cutting across the ball across the field, giving the ball out from the back and to produce their Valeron, Pizzi and Range ... Partidazo of Alex, well seconded by Aguilar. How can you change your position to being the best in your team?

The fantasy was Bergantiños Oltra to play a dual role: the pivot and the center at the same time. As they say, the much covers little squeeze. The figure of Alex and his dominance in midfield were immediately reduced and, of course, also affecting Abel Aguilar, who was suddenly completely surrounded by the central diamond Betis (see second chart). The consequences were immediate: Betis launched three counterattacks in just five minutes, each more dangerous, until Campbell in the 76th minute, took off a whiplash impressive that slipped through the top right corner of Aranzubía.

During the quarter hour remaining Depor's attempts to equalize the contest again were not the result of good play, but the thrust and despair. The shots were blanks rather and finally, Betis took the three points for Sevilla. Pepe Mel sure you will not forget the gift he made ​​Oltra on a cold winter afternoon in La Coruna.