Sarri's Second 'Sack'...The Romantics, Tactics and Statistics Behind It

Cameras. The moment grabbing devices seem to immortalize unique scenes on and off football pitches. Football is littered with genuine emotional captured by the lens of cameras and photographers in the right place at the right place. Messi standing in front of the fans after Roberto’s inner in La Remontanda. Materazzi and Rui Costa staring into the red mist. Brazil’s fuming fan after the 7-1. And this year in an eerie empty stadium, cameras once again caught another iconic moment. Julian Lopetegui crying as the whistle proclaimed he had just won the Europa League. It was beautiful, yes. But it’s not what we are here for. We are here to go back an entire year on the night of the same final, where the cameras did it again. Maurizio Sarri, medal in palms, staring softly into his hands with an expression so true a halo would not have looked out of place if it appeared round his head. 

Fast-forward a year on from that moment and Sarri will start his first season since 1990/91 without a job unless things somehow accelerate. 30 years on from his first managerial stint at Stia, Sarri was a sacked from Juventus despite winning the Serie A title. The reason for the letter arriving in his mail or phone call, whatever means Paratici choose, seem quite fairly obvious. Sarri didn’t deliver on the attacking style of football he was brought in for. He didn’t get past Lyon in the round of 16 either. How much of it is his fault, is an entirely different matter. If his time at Chelsea showed anything, prime ‘Sarriball’ takes a blend of time and right players to grip a city. Turin and Naples never quite fell in love the way Naples did. While the romantics of the reason are tempting to write on, the statistics and tactics of why are interesting too. Maybe just maybe we might intertwine both aspects.

The first step to establishing the differences between the teams is to identify the preferred starting line-up. 

Napoli: Pepe Reina, Hysaj, Raul Albiol, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ghoulam, Jorginho, Allan, Marek Hamsik, Jose Callejon, Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens

Chelsea: Kepa, Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, Jorginho, Mateo 52, N’Golo Kante, Oliver Giroud, Eden Hazard, Willian

Juventus: Wojech Szczesny, Juan Cuadrado, Mattijis De Ligt, Leo Bonucci, Alex Sandro, Miralem Pjanic, Adrian Rabiot, Rodrigo Bentancur, Bernadeschi, Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo

This poses the first real problem when you look at those line-ups. 

• The players in their individual positions are different 

• Different formations were used, 4-3-3 at Napoli and Chelsea and predominantly 4-3-1-2 at Juventus

These two things suggest that, if we choose Napoli as the blueprint Sarri tried to replicate at the clubs following, then he simply did not have the players to play his preferred system. The first step would be to understand this system and what it demands of players in certain positions.

As a team, Sarri wants his team to dominate possession while also maintaining a sense of verticality when moving the ball around. He wants constant movement off the ball so there will always be multiple passing options for the player in possession. It’s almost a rule to keep the ball on the ground when you watch a Sarri team. The opening of space with a combination of quick short passes and off the ball movement was a prominent feature of his Napoli side. But saying he lines up in a 4-3-3 is simplistic at best because at Napoli his team pressed in a 4-4-2 and defended in a 4-5-1. He’s an advocate for a high line with compact spaces of 15-20 metres between the lines. That allows his team to press and counterpress higher up the pitch and cut passing lanes.  

GOALKEEPER: The goalkeeper is meant to be a technical sweeping goalkeeper who is expected to play more short passes to his centre backs or deepest midfielder rather than go long.

FULLBACKS: Fullbacks are expected to provide width for the team and in some cases provide an outlet for the goalkeeper in a team is pressing aggressively. At Napoli and Chelsea the left full back has been the more attacking of the pair but that is not the case at Juventus with Cuadrado being a more naturally attacking option on the right.

CENTREBACKS: Koulibaly is commonly believed to be the typical Sarri centre back. A ball-playing technical and calm in possession but also dominant and enforcing. There’s truth to that but he also wants a ball carrying defender to be able to break the press at times.

MIDFIELD: In midfield Sarri has a trident with entirely different roles but with a synergy and strictness to them

• The deepest midfielder is the heartbeat of the team. Passing moves flow through him and he must be capable of receiving the ball under pressure from the centre backs and goalkeeper. A press resistant option that kept the team ticking.

• On the right, a shuttler who ran from box to box. He would be an option for the player in possession and he was tasked with simply moving the ball forward.

• On the left, a more creative midfielder filled that slot. With license to dribble and drive forward with the ball, this player was a hub for the creativity in the system. He’s the most attacking of the pairing.

WIDE PLAYERS: One of the wingers, the more creative of the pair, is the given freedom to move about and occupy the half spaces. He’s allowed to drive at the opposition goal and create as well as finish off shooting chances. The player on the opposite flank is expected to provide more defensive cover and width to the team. He’s allowed to get forward and create but is generally more conservative.

STRIKER: Sarri’s strikers rely on intelligence and movement rather than pure pace and power. They are expected to run into dangerous positions and use positioning and smart movement to be in the right place to finish off chances created. 

With this it is easy to see why Sarri abandoned his 4-3-3 default line-up at Juventus. The Old Lady lacked the right midfield combination to play the style. There was no creative wide player, no deadly striker to make smart movement in and around the box. Sarri, in a way, had always adjusted his team and tactics to accommodate certain players (Insigne, Hazard, and Ronaldo) but at Juventus the pieces were just too disjoint. At Chelsea weren’t exactly a photocopy of the blueprint but they at least had a greater degree of similarity. Hazard and Alonso on the left were closer to the Ghoulam, Insigne double than Ronaldo and Sandro. And it as the same in most areas of the pitch. 

Now on from the tactics, let’s a take a look at the statistics. The romantics…no promises on that yet.

CENTRE BACKS

STAT	KOULIBALY	LUIZ	BONUCCI
Progressive Passes	5.25	6.44	4.24
Passes under Pressure	7.62	9.39	5.61
Carries	68.7	57.9	44.9
Long Passes Completed	16.8	22.7	18.6
Passes into final third	6.2	6.67	5.18
Defensive third presses	3.52	3.64	2.69

So to start with we take a look at the more progressive, ball-playing half of the centre back pairing. The partner was the more defensively sound part of the duo. We’ll take a look at the ball playing qualities of the three. Sarri keeps a high line so his centre backs are not exactly hunting the ball. He also wants them to play long passes when the off-the-ball movement of the team creates such openings. Koulibaly was the best of them defensively but in truth their ability on the ball is similar. Their long passing ability and calmness on the ball were unique though Luiz was put under pressure the most as the Premier League is more intense.

FULLBACKS

STATS	HYSAJ	AZPILICUETA	CUADRADO	GHOULAM	ALONSO	SANDRO
Crosses	.35	0.5	0.64	0.83	0.29	0.6
xA	.06	0.06	0.15	0.25	0.13	0.09
Shot creating actions	1.58	1.38	3.49	3.56	1.99	2.64
Key Passes	.63	0.66	1.53	2.57	1.01	1.28
Successful Dribbles	0.84	0.42	1.73	1.01	0.72	1.13
Touches in final third	23.1	23.9	27.5	33.9	29.4	25
Carries	56.5	57	63.7	68.2	58.6	58.6
Tackles Attempted	1.84	2.59	2.51	0.92	2.18	1.62
Tackles won	1.07	1.48	1.36	0.46	1.24	0.94

At Napoli and Chelsea, the right sided was always the more conservative of the pair but that’s not the case at Juventus. On the right Cuadrado is closer to the output of Ghoulam than Hysaj. He is a strong creative presence creating chances for his teammates which is what Sarri usually prefers from his left side. However, he has not found a fullback of Ghoulam’s quality since he left and Ghoulam himself has regressed. Alonso and Sandro cannot rival the thrust he provided. He carried the ball forward and created shooting chances for his teammates. Alonso, is a peculiar case as his attacking output is a lesser than the eye test would imply. 

DEEP MIDFIELDER

STATS	JORGINHO(NAPOLI)	JORGINHO(CHELSEA)	PJANIC(JUVENTUS)
Touches	117.9	94.8	87.7
Passes completed	97.4	77	69.8
Progressive passes	11.2	9.03	8.26
Target for passes	99.9	77.2	66.1
Passes under pressure	16.1	15	10.4
Successful Presses	6.12	6.13	4.27
Shot creating actions	3.16	1.65	3.72
Dispossessed	0.85	1	0.59
Ball recoveries	344	426	261
Tackles attempted	2.28	1.57	1.82
Tackles won	2.14	1.5	1.03
Progressive pass distance	471.6	392.3	400.9

The deepest midfielder in Sarri’s system is in many ways the fulcrum of the team. He touches the ball the most, passes it the most too. He is the smooth violinist in a beautiful choir in a position where most people prefer to have the rough chaotic tone of a trombone instead. Jorginho is the ideal player for the role and that was why he as bought by Chelsea along with Sarri. 

The first point of difference is the massive decline in the number of touches along the three. This looks to be the same with every single metric shown here. Why? After leaving Napoli, Jorginho struggled with adapting to the Premier League. With being closed down more, he gets less touches of the ball and his teammates look for other options. Jorginho also struggled and created more shooting chances. Pjanic while he is a similar player never truly grasped the system. He was simply not the same level in terms of Jorginho at Napoli. While he was a better presence creatively, the team did not revolve around him in the same way. Less touches, less targets for passes, less passes completed. Maybe he could have adjusted with time but time was not given.  

BOX-TO-BOX MIDFIELDER

STATS	ALLAN	KANTE	RABIOT
Carries	56.2	55.2	49.4
Progressive distance of carries	162.8	152.3	158.2
Progressive passes	5.46	4.36	2.17
Progressive distance of passes	196.3	186.1	136.4/350
Passes into final third	5.74	4.33	3.82
Interceptions	0.98	1.31	1.51
Key Passes	1.01	1.37	0.66
Successful Pressures	7.39	8.31	7.08

The shuttling role in Sarri’s midfield is one for a more all-round type of midfielder. Allan was the ideal fit in many ways. He had the tenacity and engine to cover ground. He was also good at progressing the ball which is exactly what sari asked of him. He was better at progressing the ball than both Kante and Rabiot. Kante was the most active though and the active side of his game got better as the season progressed. Rabiot however is shows why the formations changed at Juve. He was simply not a good enough shuttler. There is major concern however at how badly his progression numbers dropped at Juventus. In his last two seasons he averaged 350 about 350 yards progressing the ball with his passing and that dropped massively to 136.4 at Juve. His carries too dropped from 310.2 to a mere 158.2

ADVANCED PLAYMAKER

STATS	HAMSIK	BARKLEY	BENTANCUR
xA	0.13	0.15	0.15
Shot creating actions	4.17	3.47	3.07
Goal creating actions	0.39	0.58	0.41
Assists	0.04	0.36	0.29
Key Passes	2.02	1.52	1.84
Final third passes	10.2	4.49	6.07
Passes into Penalty Area	2.05	1.23	0.74
Carries	80.3	67.8	54
NPxG	0.27	0.28	0.03
Goals	0.27	0.22	0
Fouls drawn	0.46	1.96	1.15

This is the first part of the team that shows why Sarri had to change his preferred formation. In Juventus there was no particularly creative forward thinking playmaker and Ramsey who was the closest was almost always injured. Bentancur was the most creative and sometimes he played as the deepest midfielder so his stats, in all fairness are affected. Hamsik was a creative presence for Napoli, constantly getting the ball forward whether by carrying or passing. In some ways, Barkley was not too much of a downgrade but he did lacked did not play the final ball. Bentancur did not match either of them. He was better at the final pass than Barkley but overall he was simply not suited for the role. 

LEFT WINGER

STATS	INSIGNE	HAZARD	RONALDO
NPxG	0.39	0.25	0.52
Non-penalty Goals	0.2	0.37	0.59
xG	0.42	0.35	0.83
Goals	0.23	0.49	0.96
xA	0.27	0.29	0.16
Assists	0.32	0.46	0.15
Shots	5.19	2.77	6.05
Successful Dribbles	1.84	4.12	1.73
Shot Creating Actions	6.03	6.37	4.38
Goal Creating Actions	0.55	1.08	0.59
Touches in Penalty Area	8.51	8.25	7.47
Key Passes	2.89	2.86	1.54
Passes into Final Third	3.03	3.82	1.98
Fouls Drawn	0.99	3.20	1.79

This is another position that possibly pushed Sarri to change formation and it’s a position that seemed to give him headache for all three teams. Sarri likes a team that plays for the collective good where no individual is above the unit. In Insigne, Hazard and Ronaldo he found three players that were undoubtedly the most talented in the teams and he had to find a way to make it work. With Insigne, he found a way to make him more responsible for the team as captain while also giving him the freedom to create. For Hazard he let him have the freedom too and relied on him for game-changing moments, even playing him as a false nine often. With Ronaldo, he simply had to accept there was a player who was peculiar and adjust his tactics to let him flourish. 

Ronaldo was not the creative force Insigne and Hazard were. He created a lot less chances for his teammates than the others and so he could not play as the wide player in Sarri’s system. He was a volume shooter, preferring to come inside off the left and get shots off his stronger right foot or headers from crosses. Hazard however was close to Insigne but with a much better output and more individual ability. Hazard dribbled more and though he took less shots than both his scoring as still into double figures.  

STRIKER

STATS	MERTENS	MORATA	DYBALA
NPxG	0.35	0.6	0.34
Non-penalty Goals	0.42	0.48	0.42
xG	0.47	0.6	0.37
Goals	0.54	0.48	0.46
Shots	3.59	3.33	4.18
Shots per goal	0.12	0.14	0.1
Passes into Penalty Area	1.44	0.10	2.26
Attacking third Presses attempted	17.3	9.71	8.74
Touches in Penalty Area	6.92	5.33	5.19

There’s a sense that if Dries Mertens had met Sarri earlier in his career he might have been a 50-60 million player in one of the biggest clubs in the world. Morata left halfway during the season under Sarri but his 13 starts is more than the 7 Giroud managed. Dybala is not an outright no. 9. He is a creative presence and he has played as a striker, wide player and a no. 10 this season.

Sarri like his striker to be a pressing forward, always chasing the ball and neither Morata nor Dybala could manage it the same way Mertens did. In Mertens, there was also a players that as active in the box and Sarri did not manage to get a similar player elsewhere with Dybala often dropping deep and Morata not really seeing much of the ball. Morata was also underperforming his xG despite having the best tally of the lot.

That’s the statistics and now we can move (as promised) to the romantics. Oddly, Napoli is the place where a Sarri team played their best football but it’s the one of the three that ended without a trophy. It’s the only one that did not offer to the cameras a moment of pure emotion to capture. But Sarri was a son of the city, born in Naples, a passionate football city. He was the leader of a charge to break Juventus chokehold on the Italian crown and the people adored him for it. Even though he eventually broke that bond by moving to the Old Lady, the romantic plot of the city’s own leading them into battle against the big bad wolf. He got time too in Naples, something he did not get at Chelsea or Juventus. He was far from perfect, chewing cigarette butts in London and smoking them in Turin. But there is a sense that maybe, just maybe, there might have been a more immortal picture of him in Naples. One purer than the Europa moment and the Serie A scenes. Maurizio Sarri tearful holding a medal. The genius behind the tumbled of the Old Lady’s Empire.