Ateneo Men's Football: Geometry Lesson

(This will appear in the January issue of the Loyola School Bulletin)
Geometry Lesson
by rick olivares

When one asks if there is one true great offensive/defensive formation in football let it be known that there is none. But the truth is both in and out there.

As straight and true as a Steven Gerrard strike from outside the box, teams win and lose playing their own systems that flex and change as the games and opponents demand it.

In Euro 2004, Greece won (if there is a shocker in pro sports then that must rank way up there) playing a combination of an ultra-defensive 5-3-2 scheme to a looser 4-3-3. Behind their back four, Coach Otto Rehhagel installed either Michalis Kapsis or Traianos Dellas as a sweeper making it even tougher for teams to get good scoring chances. They would frustrate foes with their defensive brand of football (that would sometimes morph into other formations) then pounce on their mistakes with a swift counter. Greece surrendered only four goals while scoring eight of their own. “If you want to win, you must avoid monotony and constantly surprise opponents,” said the German coach of the Greek side.

In Euro 2008, Spain won using a 4-2-3-1 formation that would have done the old Brazilian teams of Vicente Feola proud as they played an attractive brand of passing and attacking football. “Talento y caracter (talent and character),” as their manager Luis Aragones put it. “It is a system that will make the most of my players’ talents.” Incidentally, it is the same formation that the Netherlands under Marco Van Basten, Real Madrid under Fabio Capello, and Liverpool under Rafa Benitez employ.

If that’s the case, then why do not more teams utilize such systems? And if so, why don’t they win year after year?

A system of how players are aligned like chess pieces on the pitch and are also dependent on the players that man them. The system helps the players and the players help the system.

There’s an argument that it’s the players and chemistry that makes teams win and there’s truth in there.

But, the answer is quite honestly, teams win because of several reasons: the coach, the system, the players, chemistry, general health, and the quality of their opponents.

To say that Ateneo is in vogue is false and an opinion by heathens. The 4-2-3-1 formation is something that the Ateneo Men’s Football Team has perfected and employed for six years now. It first came as a suggestion to Coach Arnulfo “Ompong” Merida who was looking for a way to integrate the players coming up from the Ateneo Football Center. He had skilled players for sure but he didn’t have the thoroughbreds that schools like FEU and UST routinely parade onto the pitch.

He recalls being sold on it when he saw France use the formation with David Trezeguet atop the attack. But even saw it wasn’t easy selling it. “You need smart players whose speed of thought is crucial for the system to work,” explained the many-time champion mentor.

For the uninitiated, football is simply running around and trying to blast the ball into the back of the net. Yet perhaps like baseball, it is very intricate in how it is played. You could almost say there is a science to it.

There is a defensive mindset where they hope to steal the ball up high deep into enemy territory for a quick counterattack.

But just the same, they like to pass the ball back to create space and form those small and big triangles to find open teammates and thread the ball through defenses. It is a symmetrical and logical reason to field four forwards where even the playmaker can double as a second striker. It is predicated on quick passing before the defense can adjust and for quality time possession.

The back four adjusts to the offense where they form a box to augment the offensive or to repel any counter attack by opponents. They are even flexible to change midway to a flat 4-4-2 formation to protect their side of the pitch.

Any coach will tell you that it would be nice to dominate possession of the ball, but for a coach like Merida, it’s about the quality of their attack and over-all game.

Merida defies stereotypes. For those who have gone through him in high school Physical Education and as their football coach, he is an unlikely poet. Schooled in the Brazilian way of the Beautiful Game, he is every bit a student who tries to hone and perfect his craft. He watches, listens, and soaks in information like a sponge. If you let him talk about football, life, and people, he’ll be your own sports version of Paolo Coehlo.

He studies and reads not just football but everything. Life. Movies. Books. Magazines. Even basketball. “You can never stop learning,” he says. “If you look at the (Ateneo) Men’s Basketball Team, they talk about how their defense won a championship. That is true. And we, have to do the same. Of course, we need to score.” He’s gone to school in South America and Asia. He is perhaps the coach we need in the National Team but because of politics he is kept to Ateneo.

Praise be to God.

For opponents, ixnay Hallelujahs to “oh, crap” when you say “goal.”

There are few dangerous scorers in the UAAP that inspire fear in defenses and goalkeepers than Gerard Cancio (the others are FEU’s Jovanie Simpron and UP’s Andoni Santos). Blessed with good speed, skills to weave and ditch defensive stiffs, and a powerful right foot, Cancio is also a superb passer who can set up teammates.

Except Cancio will not be playing upfront but in the wings where with his speed and strength he can do a lot of damage.

The top striker position goes to freshman Anton Amistoso, he of the rare quality of toughness, field smarts, and a winner’s attitude. In almost every game before the start of the UAAP season, he scored a goal. Perhaps the true heir to the three-peat team’s Roger Lastimado who once he got inside the box… well, a goal is like the sun rising from the east.

The fearsome four forwards will be Jolo Peralta, Cancio, and the returning Kurt Alvarez at the wings. Gab Siojo and Fred Ozaeta are at the holding midfield position with the latter there to address any mistakes in the attack.

The constants in the back four are Migs Tuason who replaces Pat Ozaeta at the center and Team Captain Alvin Perez. Rookies Paul Cheng (Xavier) and Alejandro Rivera (De La Salle Zobel) will alternate with Derrick Candelaria and Luigi Meer at the wings.

Also on the team are Gino Tongson (in his final playing year with Perez), James Arco, Juan Gabriel Faustino, Cesar Kapunan, Mikhail Andrei Manglapus (the grandson of the late senator and Ateneo cheerleader Raul Manglapus), Kiko Meily, and Benedict Tady.

RS Mantos, last season’s best goalkeeper, remains Ateneo’s last line of defense.

The memory of last year’s finals loss to FEU is still fresh. While clearly a better unit than the one that got into the championship round, there are no clear favorites to win. There is no game one can take for granted. Every match will be tough and a grind.

“Playing the system is what got us to four finals appearances in the last five years,” summed up Merida. “All these years we’ve lost a lot of players. Syempre meron mga talented na pumapasok. But it is the belief in what we do and what we run that will get us through. Now all we have to do is take it and win it on the field.”


I WAS HOPING JAMES ARCO COULD COME BACK BY THE 2ND WEEK OF THE SEASON. AS IT IS, HE'S OUT. HE TORE UP HIS KNEE IN PRACTICE LATE DECEMBER. GET WELL, BUD.

Coming up: Ateneo's women's football, women's volleyball, and something totally different for the track and field team.