2019 Champion’s League semifinalist Ajax broke the rules of classic positional play in 2019. Rather than control and structure, Erik Ten hag based his game model on verticality and dynamism. Analysis of a revolution, made of tight angles, predictable passes, no mans’ land in midfield and offside forwards.

The other positional play
During the last decade, Pep Guardiola’s (and his heirs’) influence made positional play the blueprint of analysis. According to this game model, a team would play out from the back, around a base of 3 players, the rest of the team would open triangles (or rather diamonds) of passes. The main idea would be to open opposition wide, to hide passes, and connect in the halfspaces, with a long time of preparation.
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