Genoa coach Alexander Blessin had an intriguing way of explaining why the German gegenpressing approach is so effective. ‘Why do lions hunt in packs?’
The tactician is from the RB Leipzig school that also generated Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick.
He has brought an extremely aggressive pressing game to Genoa, unbeaten since arriving at the club, even though he has only one win.
He spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport magazine SportWeek and explained the key to gegenpressing.
“There are two options of pressing: you can either attack the ball straight away, or lead the opponent into a zone where you want to attack the ball,” said Blessin.
“Why do lions hunt in packs? Because they surround their prey. If they were just to chase down the prey, then the prey could well be faster and escape.”
Genoa have picked up one win after seven consecutive stalemates with Blessin on the bench, having taken over on January 19 after leaving Belgian side KV Oostende.
He is the third Genoa coach of this season after Davide Ballardini and Andriy Shevchenko.
The Grifone remain in the relegation zone with 22 points after 30 Serie A matches, but are only three behind Cagliari.
They achieved just two Serie A victories this term, along with 16 draws and 12 defeats.
Fair play to him. If ever it was questioned whether coaches matter, this guy refutes that. They match up well with everyone now. Even if they aren’t winning, they’re getting results and keeping up with everyone. Their style of play sucks to watch, but it works.