MYTANIJA SQUAD FOR MATCHES AGAINST MAGNECIA (H) & THE HOLY EMPIRE (A)
Goalkeepers: 1. Semir Besak (Mipojoseon [QUE]); 12. Pedja Kasun (Ararat Severyan); 23. Dragisa Lazarevic (Litala ’93)
Defenders: 2. Damir Milcic (Anomalies [CMT]); 3. Grigorij Savicevic (AC Izotz Zubia [AUD]), 4. Bigger Mbala-Ekakia (Wirr Tsi [CMT]), 5. Amar Kovacevic (Ituraitz FC [ASG]); 6. Patrik Odonelec (CA Paulinthal [PAS]); 13. Ermin Urankar (Anomalies [CMT]); 14. Ezib Salihovic (CDSA), 15. Kamil Jernejec (Chromatik [CMT]), 16. Adnan Sulejmanovic (Atletik Thessia); 17. Antun Spiridonovic (Litala ’93)
Midfielders: 7. Mersudin Smajic (Stahlburg City [NPH]), 30. Gavril Atsev (Atletik Thessia); 20. Omer Kuhar-Arh (Atletik Thessia); 8. Alen Hrdaljko (CA Paulinthal [PAS]), 18. Dordo Urbanc (Spartangrad [EUR]); 10. Jasno Odonelec (Atletik Thessia); 35. Svetoslav Radozevic (Bakartirla Buccaneers [ASG]); 29. Edin Aganovic (Directus [EUR])
Forwards: 9. Jezdimir Ocokoljic (Energija Chernovets [STL]), 11. Damien Gannot (Sabrefell Athletic [NPH]); 21. Dejan Zgela (Damogran FC [SRS]); 22. Vido Mehic (Ararat Severyan)
Mytanija have had to weather a disappointing start to World Cup 90 qualification, but then it feels like pretty much everybody in Group 18 other than The Holy Empire have had a rather indifferent first three games. We may be looking at a group where the top ranked team is just a level above everybody else and the rest must fight over the scraps (i.e., second place and a chance at qualifying through the dreaded play-offs). A draw away to fellow Rushmoris Eastfield Lodge was not the start Lev Repin would have wanted but a loss on matchday two to one of the potential challengers for that play-off spot, Sarzonia, was even more frustrating. The Stars were impressive, outlasting the Hoops at Radnika in front of a baying crowd, the 4-3 win giving them an early head-to-head boost.
The line-up Lev Repin selected was close to what most would call ‘full-strength’ with the only real change being Dusko Ocokoljic starting ahead of Alen Hrdaljko, the CA Paulinthal midfielder arriving to the training camp carrying a slight knock and the Mytanar medical staff indicating it would be better not to risk him. We would assess this as Repin’s ‘control’ line-up, the squad he selects for the games which he would prefer to be kept tight, aimed at keeping possession and limiting the opponents’ attacks. Evidently this did not happen (the 4-3 score line is a bit of a giveaway!), with a helter-skelter, end-to-end game demonstrating that Mersudin Smajic and Dusko Ocokoljic couldn’t assert their dominance in the centre of the park as Repin might have wanted. It also appeared as if Repin’s preferred back three of Grigorij Savicevic, Bigger Mbala-Ekakia and Amar Kovacevic might still be learning one another’s games. None of them were specifically at fault for any of the Stars’ goals but as a unit they could perhaps have been a little better positionally.
Repin might be buoyed by Gavril Atsev’s cameo off the bench, his arrival for Smajic resulted in Mytanija’s best spell of the game as they chased a draw which never quite came. Atsev’s assist for Dusko Ocokoljic was clever, shaping to shoot before squaring the pass to his midfield colleague to drive home from the edge of the penalty area. His dribbling ability allowed Mytanija to progress the ball more than they had with the more static Smajic on the pitch (not a knock against Smajic, dribbling just isn’t a major part of his game), plus Atsev is still comfortable in passing the ball both short and long to keep a degree of control – though he did lose possession by trying to force the issue a few times, much to the manager’s chagrin. In the end Mytanija lost, but Repin will have been pleased with Atsev’s performance; as well as those of the two false nines Jezdimir Ocokoljic and Damien Gannot, both contributing a goal and doing their part for the team.
Having a single point after two qualifiers was not how Mytanija envisioned this cycle to go after the joyous qualification last time out. A game against the group’s lowest ranked nation was arguably the perfect tonic for the slow start. Dod Rava were limited opposition, but Repin selected an experimental line-up despite the very real need for a positive performance and three points. This article’s analysis will focus on some of the changes Repin made to the line-up, with some of them possibly showing the way the manager would like to take the team forward should he decide to extend his contract with the national team beyond this World Cup cycle.
ATSEV-URBANC MIDFIELD AXIS
It was particularly interesting that Lev Repin decided to stick with Gavril Atsev following his impressive showing as a substitute against Sarzonia. He played from the start against Dod Rava and generally ran the game alongside the exceedingly mobile Dordo Urbanc. Atsev popped up with a goal and an assist to cap off an excellent all-round performance. It was so comprehensive that some of Atsev’s competitors for a spot in the squad – the likes of Sefir Ajanovic, Edin Aganovic, perhaps even Maks Shishkin as set out on this blog prior to qualifying – might be a little worried. Though the selection of Atsev, a genuine playmaker, alongside a true box-to-box midfielder might demonstrate that Repin is prepared to change his approach depending on the opposition. That alone should show that there is an opportunity available to some of the more creative midfielders in the national pool.
Usually, Repin prefers to have a controlled midfield pairing such as Mersudin Smajic and Alen Hrdaljko. A genuine ‘conductor’ like Smajic can control the pace of the game, they receive the ball and instinctively know whether to slow things down or to try and speed them up. Smajic is tactically very intelligent too and can regularly be seen instructing his team mates out on the pitch, a bonus on top of the good positioning he utilises to put out fires defensively. Hrdaljko is the more mobile attack dog alongside Smajic, pressing and trying to help win the ball in the opponent’s half of the pitch. Against strong opposition this pairing has been able to exert the control Repin wants, World Cup 89 qualification being the best example of this. Against more limited opposition, teams that are prepared to sit back and ask you to break them down, you need a bit more creativity (and dribbling ability). The likes of Atsev, Ajanovic, Aganovic, Shishkin would all provide this in central midfield.
Atsev demonstrated that he could do it against Dod Rava, taking players on and slipping Vido Mehic in for his first international goal (more on him later). He then curled an effort in from just outside the penalty area – not dissimilar to Dusko Ocokoljic’s goal against Sarzonia which Atsev himself assisted – but in truth the goal contributions were just the icing on the cake. Mytanija looked a lot more fluid going forwards than they had done against Eastfield Lodge in the group opener. There was a willingness from central midfield to get forward and take players on, something which did leave the back three a little more exposed but then there is three of them for a reason. It should mean an extra man always being there to prevent against counters and transitions.
Dordo Urbanc was also more quietly impressive, providing energy and defensive support alongside Atsev. You would expect nothing else from one of Misel Ravnjak’s former students. His move to Spartangrad shows the potential he is perceived to have even outside Mytanija, I hate to make these sorts of comparisons, but we may be looking at the next Hjik or Stojanovic type of Mytanar midfielder. Nobody can know if he will reach the heights of those two, but Urbanc certainly has the potential to be very good in his own right and his playing style is very similar. Repin obviously rates him highly to start him in a game where Mytanija needed to win after a poor start to the cycle. It was a match where the Hoops didn’t need as much control of the game, they needed offensive ingenuity (provided by Atsev); and then somebody who could do a little bit of everything: provide an extra man in the opposition penalty area; press all over the pitch; track back to defend against counters when necessary. Urbanc was excellent in this role which is not a surprise given that it is the role he’s grown up fulfilling with Ararat. The likes of Alen Hrdaljko, Dusko Ocokoljic and perhaps at a stretch even Davor Mahovlic could all do this too.
That last fact perhaps shows where Repin wants to go with his team. He has several players who can slot in and fulfil similar roles. We have Atsev, Ajanovic, Aganovic (and Shishkin, although we’re yet to see if the manager agrees with my assessment of that) who can all provide that creativity; and Urbanc, Hrdaljko, D. Ocokoljic and Mahovlic who are all ostensibly box-to-box midfielders. This may be the way forward against more limited opposition and we could even begin to see the manager take the handbrake off against better opposition if the approach bears fruit quickly.
Repin’s desire for control of the spaces in midfield areas perhaps makes such a drastic change unlikely, but there are multiple ways of controlling space. You can have somebody like Mersudin Smajic there occupying the space and pinging passes around to dictate the play alongside a player like Alen Hrdaljko who can expertly constrict the opposition’s space; or you can have a player like Gavril Atsev there who can move the opposition around with his movement on and off the ball and his incisive passing (the same way Tahir Fejzuli controlled matches at his peak!), alongside a player like Dordo Urbanc whose energy allows him to get around the pitch to exploit or defend spaces. The young shoots of the Atsev-Urbanc axis may have given Lev Repin some tactical inspiration going forwards, but we will see how things develop over the rest of World Cup 90 qualifying.
MEHIC’S MOBILITY
Vido Mehic is 30 years of age, and some might wonder how he didn’t get an international cap much sooner given that he has a goal in only his second appearance for Mytanija. His first start showed why he is so important for Ararat in the Top League; he is an eager presser, and his movement causes opposition defenders problems. He took his goal very well, hanging on the last man before Gavril Atsev slipped him in behind and then sliding the ball underneath the onrushing goalkeeper. His all-round contributions demonstrated that he can be relied upon too, he played the ball out to the right for Antun Spiridonovic to assist Dejan Zgela’s goal and he also won the free-kick from which Omer Kuhar-Arh scored. That indirect assist demonstrated Mehic’s propensity to hold defenders off and win fouls, despite not being a traditional target man. He really has become more complete with experience.
Repin usually goes with rotating false nines in Jezdimir Ocokoljic and Damien Gannot, each dropping deep whilst the other holds their position to try and encourage a defender to vacate space for a third man to exploit (usually an attacking midfielder like Jasno Odonelec). Some teams may be growing wise to this at this point and coaches will instruct their defenders to hold their position and allow the false nines to drop into midfield areas, perhaps passing them on to a defensive midfielder in the process. That could create overloads in midfield positions which would be a positive for Mytanija, but that’s only positive if it allows time on the ball for one of our players to exploit and some opponents would be quite happy to allow that time to be further away from their goal.
Mehic’s introduction to the national team gives Repin a different option for when/if opponents wise up to his Plan A of Ocokoljic and Gannot as rotating false nines. The Ararat striker is quite happy to run in behind and even demonstrated an ability to win high balls against Dod Rava (arguably not the greatest case study given the lack of quality on show). A false nine dropping deep and moving a centre-half away could more quickly be exploited by Mehic than an attacking midfielder, as evidenced by the interplay Mehic enjoyed with Dejan Zgela in this match. The threat in behind the opposition defence is something Mytanija have lacked for a while, and it would perhaps keep opponents a little more honest too. They wouldn’t be able to constantly follow a false nine anymore and would perhaps have to think a little more about playing high lines to push onto any players dropping into midfield positions. Mehic can break an eager offside trap due to the timing of his runs being so good.
Jezdimir Ocokoljic and Damien Gannot are both mobile forwards, but Vido Mehic is mobile in a different way. The first two are good on the ball and able to go past opponents, Mehic can use his acceleration and anticipation to get away from them. He’s also a more successful presser than the other two (who aren’t bad in this regard), which can help with winning turnovers high up the pitch, something Repin would love to exploit more often if he could.
CALLING UPON A DEEP SQUAD
We saw debuts and recalls to the squad for several players in this game as Lev Repin decided to go with a different set of players to those that were on the end of a disappointing result against Sarzonia. Dragisa Lazarevic, Ezib Salihovic and Adnan Sulejmanovic were all handed their first Hoops’ cap; whilst Vido Mehic and Dordo Urbanc both won their second. The likes of Kamil Jernejec, Ermin Urankar, Antun Spiridonovic and Dejan Zgela were all reintroduced to the starting line-up too. Overall, it was a squad which was relatively inexperienced at international level, though most of the team have plenty domestic appearances under their belts.
It demonstrates the strength in depth Lev Repin now has at his disposal that he can call on players who have less than 10 international caps and they can come in and do a thorough job to win 4-1. It may have been against the bottom-ranked team in the group, but it was a comprehensive win and the performance on the whole was very good. Adnan Sulejmanovic may be a genuine challenger to Amar Kovacevic for the starting job on the right-side of the back three given time. Both Urankar and Spiridonovic did themselves no harm with their attacking intent, showing that they can slot in for the incumbents Damir Milcic and Patrik Odonelec when necessary.
Dejan Zgela scored his 11th international goal in his 30th appearance and seemed to have a good understanding with Vido Mehic too. Omer Kuhar-Arh looks to be the long-term heir to Jasno Odonelec and may even be preferred to the national team captain a little more often during this cycle given that he plays as number ten for Atletik and how consistent he has been for Mytanija (6 goals in 11 appearances so far). The overall lesson is that the Hoops look well set to deal with setbacks given how the team performed without several supposedly key players in this game. Many will point to the quality of the opposition, but Mytanija need to be beating this sort of team with scores like the 4-1 which happened here. It won’t be a surprise to see Repin call on his squad more regularly going forwards and with a double-header against Magnecia and The Holy Empire up next he will need a good blend of players to try and get positive results from both matches. The Magnecia game becomes an early ‘must-win’ given the unlikely nature of a win away from home against The Holy Empire. I would expect a strong line-up in both games, but it will be interesting to see which tactical developments (if any!) Repin and his coaching staff take forward from this international break.
