Answering the Questions of Frank De Boer
Being a native of Georgia and metro Atlanta, I never thought I’d see the day that Atlanta will have a soccer team that becomes the talk of the sports world.
Atlanta United has won the MLS Cup in only their second season of existence revolutionizing the philosophy of building an MLS team, rather than sign an elderly legend who is past their prime, they instead signed younger lesser known players from the South American market, forming a team a exciting nucleus of flair talent aimed to make a name a themselves. Miguel Almiron is now one of the hottest names on the transfer market and Josef Martinez went from Serie A reject to arguably the best striker in MLS history.
Atlanta United also hired Geraldo “Tata” Martino who needed to prove himself as well after getting relieved of his duties from both Barcelona and Argentina. Aiming to rebuild his reputation, Tata did just that in his two years and now he is off to managing Mexico.
Frank De Boer has had a similar backstory. While he has not managed Barcelona he has played for Catalan club, inspiring his possession based Tiki-Taka style along with his origin club Ajax who he also managed and won four consecutive championships. After managing Ajax, Frank De Boer went to Crystal Palace where he was sacked after only five games coaching with a 1-4 record. Frank De Boer had the shortest reign in the history of the Premier League and just like Tata pre-United the Dutchman is looking to prove himself. When I heard the rumors on various sites in social media and radio I decided to take the most frequently asked questions of Frank De Boer and answer them on this article.
What is Frank De Boer’s Style of Play?
The most common question, Frank De Boer as I mentioned plays a possession based style under the influence of Barcelona. His style is pretty similar to Tata Martino’s and it’s obviously a philosophy that technical director Carlos Bocanegra looks for in his managers. However, there are some differences between Frank De Boer and Tata’s philosophies.
Frank De Boer’s preferred formation is a 4–3–3, differing from Tata Martino’s preferred 4–2–3–1 although similar philosophies in terms of retaining the ball. De Boer’s style of play most likely resembles Pep Guardiola’s when he was managing Barcelona. Martino plays more direct than De Boer. For Frank De Boer, offense is the best defense because if the opponent does not have the ball, they can not score correct?
The main focus in Frank De Boer’s style of play is fluidity, which means all players on the field are involved in all the phases of play also known as “Total Football”. Invented by Ajax and Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff, De Boer is a disciple of Cruyff’s teachings.
Total Football means any player can essentially play any position, the defenders are not just only expected to defend, they are expected to push up the line and even join the attack, strikers are not just expected to stand at the shoulder of the defender expecting the ball, they are expected to join the midfield and join the team in defense when out of possession. The modern day version of Total Football isn’t as extreme as Cryuff’s during the 70s where center-backs became strikers and vice versa but the same rules of interchangeability and fluidity still apply. In the offensive phase, the center backs will push up to the team’s opposing half and in the defensive phase, the attackers will defend in their own half.
De Boer was blessed with a strong midfield in Davy Klassen, Thulani Serero and Daley Blind. All three midfield players possessed good playmaking skills and work rate to interchange their roles in the center of the pitch. Daley Blind’s work at Ajax earned him a transfer to Manchester United with his ability to step in the midfield and play in the center-half. I can see a player like Eric Remedi that can be molded into that similar type of role. This also might be a little far-fetched but Julian Gressel is a player that reminds me of Daley Blind with his ability to seemingly play everywhere on the pitch. I won’t be surprised if De Boer experiments him in the role as his tremendous work rate and intelligence reminds me of the Ajax player.
All three midfield players interchange frequently in attempts to confuse opposing defenders who try to man-mark them and draw them out of their positions. The striker is also tasked with that job as well operating as a “False 9” a striker who acts as a midfielder during the support phases of play, giving the central midfielders another outlet to pass to. The objective of this is to drag out the opposing center-backs to the False 9 leaving a vacant space for the wingers to cut inside. The False 9 is what made Messi into arguably the best player in European football for a number of seasons.
In Ajax, Frank De Boer used a converted striker Siem De Jong in the false 9 role. This may be one of the big challenges for Frank De Boer as Josef Martinez is a traditional number 9 who is best running at the last shoulder of the defender and pouncing on careless passes around the penalty box. Josef Martinez can be a false 9 as he has the dribbling skills, passing and work rate to be one but Martinez broke goalscoring records playing as a traditional striker So it would be interesting to see how Frank de Boer would use Josef Martinez.
How can he manage a team full of South American players?
This is a ridiculous question to me, but I’ve seen it all over social media so I’ll answer it simply.
Yes he can manage a team full of South American players.
Frank De Boer has played for Barcelona in Spain for 5 years, he is fluent in Spanish and I am positive especially with the influence that Barca and Real Madrid has had on South American countries, they are well aware of who he is and might’ve watched him or clips of him during his playing days.
What about his failures at Crystal Palace?
Understandable question, many Americans like me who has access to watch the Barclays Premier League has seen the Dutch manager get fired from Crystal Palace in record time. However, I am a big believer that your philosophy is only as good as the players around you. If your style of play does not fit your personnel it is not going to work.
Before Frank De Boer took charge of Crystal Palace, Big Sam Allarydce was the manager. Sam’s philosophy was to play the long ball, armed with big towering strikers and defenders, the team fit Sam’s style pretty well. However, playing route one football can only take you a long way in the Premier League, when going against the heavyweights such as Chelsea, United, City, Arsenal and Tottenham, that style eventually comes undone. Looking for a change, Frank De Boer took charge who is the opposite of Sam Allardyce, however most of Big Sam’s players were still on the roster, big towering strikers and defenders who were not fit for the style De Boer wanted to play.
Christian Benteke is not good in supporting the midfielders on the ground, he is a physical striker who is dominant in the air, and the centerbacks overall were not as comfortable playing out of their defense. The Crystal Palace job was doomed for failure from the start. The Premier League as well is a different beast so playing a possessive style such as De Boer’s did not work against the bigger central defenders of England, he had to adapt like Pep Guardiola did with Manchester City, playing more direct than he did at Barcelona. The average MLS centerback is not as big or as athletic as the average Premier League centerback. In terms of quality, the MLS as a competition of similar level to the Eredivisie; the league that Frank De Boer dominated during his time with Ajax. Maybe a step down a league to the MLS will do him well, just like it did for Martino.
What about the Youth Movement?
Knowing the staff of Atlanta United, a major reasoning of hiring Frank De Boer is because of his development of young talent. Christian Eriksen is one of the many stars of an exciting Tottenham club in the EPL. Eriksen was developed through the ranks of Ajax under Frank de Boer who gave him the keys to the Ajax midfield at age 18. Davy Klassen(as mentioned earlier), Jan Verthongen and Toby Alderwield were also developed under Frank De Boer. I can see George Bello taking over and being Atlanta United’s starting left back amid Greg Garza’s departure. Another homegrown talent Andrew Carleton getting more time on the field and Miles Robinson finally being a first-choice centerback.
Hey, with the connection to Ajax, hopefully Atlanta United can poach some young talent from their youth teams such as Carel Etling and Noa Lang(I play too much Football Manager).
In conclusion, I never had any doubts over the next United manager after Tata Martino’s departure, Atlanta United are focused on building a dynasty and a foundation and the hiring of Frank De Boer matches that mindset, so keep calm as we will be celebrating more MLS Cup championships in our future.