When Barcelona convincingly beat Manchester United 2-0 in the 2009 Champions League final, the majority of English football fans and the media were stunned.
This was a world class United team, at the very least the final was expected to be close. Then Pep Guardiola offered a post-match assessment that gave some insight into why United had looked so rushed every time they had got on the ball beyond the first 15 minutes.
“Without the ball,” Guardiola said, “we are a disastrous team, a horrible team, so we need the ball.”
He understood the fundamentals; the quickest way to get the ball – the world of the high press. Let’s take a look at how and why it works.
What is the high press?
Put simply, pressing is when the team without the ball is being aggressive in their approach to retrieve the ball from the opposition.
In turn, to execute a high press – or high block – the team structure will be to push up the pitch and get in the opposition half to win the ball back. Normally a team playing a high press will have their backline on the halfway line or even just inside their opponents half.
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An effective high press will leave the opposition struggling to build-up in possession, with errors easily forced. But the high press isn’t as simple as the nearest player from the defensive team charging at the ball.
This tactic is defined by a collective and organised attempt to win the ball as high as possible. This means cutting passing lanes and expanding a lot of physical effort.
Doing this in a organised manner is extremely difficult. It is not as simple as telling your team five minutes before they go out, to ‘cover every blade of grass.’
Teams with a high press will also usually set traps to encourage the opposition to play the ball in a specific way, before the team without the ball aggressively close down the space to win the ball back.
It is tricky to organise, yet effective when pulled off. Hence why the majority of the best teams in the world are now employing it.
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Who uses the high press?
Ever since that first, treble-winning, season at Barcelona, Guardiola has maintained his status as the most prominent high-pressing coach in the game.
But the vast majority of coaches at the top level are now looking to employ a philosophy built around high pressing, certainly in matches where they are the favourites. From Simone Inzaghi to Unai Emery, from Eddie Howe to Luciano Spalletti.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool also consistently employ a high press, as part of their wider philosophy around counter-pressing.
Many of the great teams in history have utilised a high press tactic, from Arrigo Sacchi’s all-conquering AC Milan side of the late 1980s to the Ajax team that won a treble of European Cups in the early-70s.
Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli side that won the Scudetto in 2023 became masters of the high press
Michels’ heavy pressing and remarkably efficient offside trap ensured Ajax were always capable of winning the ball back extremely quickly, playing football that often seemed light years ahead of their opponents.
This shows the high press is by no means an innovative modern creation. It actually offers something of a short history of European football tactics. Rinus Michels, who led Ajax to the first of those European Cups, heavily influenced the great Johan Cruyff who then coached Guardiola at Barcelona.
Equally, the high press has evolved and progressed down the decades, and there is not a one size fits all approach. But the fact that the tactic continues to permeate the modern game, speaks volumes about how effective it is.
What are the pros and cons of a high press?
Pep’s most important signing ever?
At its best a well-executed high press can suffocate opponents with the ball. But it does require players to have a high level of tactical understanding and discipline.
Inevitably a high press will leave space in behind the defence. A shrewd opposition will look to exploit this with long passes over the top into that space.
This is why having a high quality sweeper keeper can make such a difference for teams employing a high press. Guardiola’s Manchester City at times looked shambolic at the back during his first season in England.
There was no doubt he was learning the style of football and adapting his tactical set-up accordingly. But has the Catalonian made a more important signing during his tenure than Brazilian keeper Ederson? Probably not.
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