We analyze the ‘catenaccio’ game system
It is related to the Italian soccer team, but was invented by an Austrian who directed a Swiss club. In this article we will analyze the game system known as catenaccio.
The origins of catenaccio
As a history of catenaccio we have to talk about another game system, called Verrou, which in French means ‘chain’. This was invented by an Austrian coach named Karl Rappan, who trained between the 30s and 40s to the Swiss team.
Rappan arranged a figure, known as ‘Verreoullieur’ right in front of the goalkeeper to defend that field of the field. The system was first used in 1932 at the Servette, a Geneva football team, Switzerland.
It is a system of four fixed defenses – the two open media go back – that move marking man to man and a game creator located in the center of the field in charge of passing the ball to both ends. The Verrou technique modified the typical 2-3-5 alignment of that time and only the midfielder had a defensive role, something that caused a lot of wear at the physical level.
Since the rivals had three strikers, in the defense of Rappan ‘a defender’ left over, which went on to have the name of ‘Libero’.
The Verrou went first to French lands by coach Robert Accard at the Olympique de Charleville-Mézieres, a club where Helenio Herrera played (known for expanding catenaccio in Italian calcium).
This game system was also implemented in the former Soviet Union, more precisely at the Krylia Savetov Samara with coach Aleksandr Abramov. This improved the physical state of the players and was renamed ‘Volga Clip’ in local media.
Catenaccio arrives in Italy
The concepts thought and created by Rappan adapted to Italian football by coach Giuseppe Viani, who directed the Salenitan team. This club managed to ascend to series A in 1947. At that same time, the triestina coach, Nereo Rocco used similar tactics influenced by a Hungarian coach named József Banás (who had directed it in 1941 in Padova).
The Rocco system is the one that will be known later as the ‘true Italian catenaccio’ and was first used in 1947. The formation was 1-3-3-3 and the approach was more than defensive. With this technique the triestina was second to the tournament served from that season.
Posteriormene some variations such as 1-4-4-1 or 1-4-3-2 were included. Rocco spent his style to AC Milan, leaving champion of Italy and Europe during the 60s.
One of the innovations of the Italian catenaccio had to do with that 1 in the scheme, that is, the libero, whose role was to recover the loose balls and annul the rival striker. In addition, the counterattack began with long passes from behind.
Again helenio Herrera appears on the scene, already as a coach, who arrived at Inter in 1960 and established the system of four defenders with a man -to -man marking and a libero to collect ‘lost’ balls.
Catenaccio in Azzurra
Of course the teams got good results thanks to catenaccio (which in Italian means bolt). For many, it was a ‘boring’ system that killed the show and had no attraction for spectators. For others, it was the way to win matches and even titles, as was the case of the Italian National Team in the World Cup in Spain 1982.
The World Cup of that year had Italy in Group 1 with Poland, Peru and Cameroon, who went to second round after being quite questioned: he only won a party of the three played with the catenaccio as a flag.
In the second instance, Azzurra was part of Group C with Argentina and Brazil. They won the first match against the albicelestes by 2 to 1 and then 3 to 2 to the Canarinha, in one of the best matches of this Cup.
The semifinal played it against Poland, winning 2 to 0 (two goals from Paolo Rossi) and in the final the faces would be seen with federal Germany. The match at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid finished 3 to 1 in favor of the Italians and meant the third cup for the Azzurri.
Finally, it is worth highlighting other teams that have used the Catenaccio system in recent times: Atlétic), Tigres UANL (Mexico), Independiente Santa Fe (Colombia), Valencia (Spain), Inter de Milan (Italy) and the national teams of Greece (Eurocopa 2004), Portugal (Eurocopa 2016), France (World Cup 2018). These three won the disputed competition using this technique.
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