"If you are going to play with this formation and passing game, you do not have to worry about defense. But, you have to have a dribbler in your squad. Raul Meireles, Selçuk Şahin and Mehmet Topal... They are all defensive midfielders and with the absence of Caner Erkin and Alper Potuk, it is impossible to attack. You will either kick the ball into the penalty box or find opportunities from free kicks and corners. If this is the case, you can find a suitable player for this game from the reserve team," said Fanatik columnist Mehmet Demirkol about Fenerbahçe's unexpected struggle against Konyaspor. Later in his article, he emphasized the importance of creative players and dribblers for Fenerbahçe. Just like most columnists, Demirkol also attributed the team's lost two points to the players' individual inabilities.
Another similar comment about Fenerbahçe's game came from Fotomaç columnist Rıdvan Dilmen:
"Fenerbahçe cannot start the game with Selçuk Şahin, especially when they are five points behind the leader. If you start a game that you must win with seven defensive players it is obvious that you are going to struggle. Alper Potuk's absence also devastated Fenerbahçe's game. On the road to the championship, you must cover Alper with blankets. Even at his worst he can penetrate the opponent's defense, and create chaos. That is why he is so important for Fenerbahçe."
These two pieces from two of the most distinguished columnists in Turkish football sum up the diagnosis that almost all football columnists agree about Fenerbahçe's worsening form. However, I think they have a point. Given that Fenerbahçe's strategy depends on individual talent rather than a good game plan, it is unacceptable to play with mediocre players. You have to have dribblers to open up the opponent's defense, because your team is unable to open it with collective action. You have to have creative players who can paralyze the opponent's defense with an astonishing through ball or can fire a bazooka from 30 yards, because your coach cannot build a game to utilize the time and space for opportunities.
If we accept these terms, yes, all teams need creative players and dribblers. Otherwise, it would be impossible to create opportunities and score goals, you only need to look at Fenerbahçe to see that.
However, there is another example we should examine, that is, Konyaspor's example. If we agree that Fenerbahçe were unable to score goals because of its players, how come Konyaspor made far more opportunities with an obviously weaker squad? Rıdvan Dilmen explains:
"Konyaspor's squad was more attacking than Fenerbahçe's. If you had asked Aykut Kocaman what kind of Fenerbahçe squad he wanted, he would have answered with this squad."
Dilmen means Konyaspor has more talented and attacking players than Fenerbahçe. But, Konyaspor have been playing with the almost same squad since Aykut Kocaman became manager and they are the lowest scoring team in the Super League. Are other teams also more attacking than Fenerbahçe? I don't think so. The problem is, Aykut Kocaman utilized the time and space much more effectively than İsmail Kartal, not because he has Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in his squad. It was not the greatest strategy, but it was highly effective. Kocaman simply gave the ball to his quick players when they had time and space. Furthermore, he ordered his players to directly carry the ball into the opponents half, in order to avoid any confrontation with the "defensive" Fenerbahçe midfield.
Of course, Kocaman could have created a more sophisticated strategy, but at least he created one. Meanwhile Fenerbahçe was expecting some magic from Emmanuel Emenike or Moussa Sow.
The point is, organizing a sustainable system that involves collective action and the utilization of time and space. Dribbling is the laziest form of creating opportunities, because it involves no system or collective action. Why should players listen to the coaches' words? The coach is the person who should save his team from the dribbling addiction. Only then, can he be the mind of his team.
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