Juventus manager Thiago Motta found “it difficult” to define the way his former team Bologna played as either positional or relational because they adapted the way they played depending on how they thought the opponent would defend against them.

Speaking in February 2024, as current manager of Bologna, at the University of Bologna for the ‘All About Soccer’ conference (translation from Italian courtesy of Juani Jimena):

Yes, I find it difficult to define myself as one thing or another, positional or relational. I think that our current game is a mixture of positional and relational football because, in the end, it changes.

For example, we played games against Lazio, which is a team that defends a lot in zone. But also because of the characteristics of our team, of our players, and of the guys we have at our disposal today, we think that we have to respect and have an organization in terms of roles and positioning on the pitch.

What we can take advantage of by observing the opposing teams is to look for spaces where it is very difficult for the opposing teams to defend.

The next game, in Bergamo, we will face a team that individually is a very strong team that does not let the opponent play, and in that case it is not enough just to have positions. We will need the relationship between our players and also to have this intuition on the pitch. Respect between them to be able to relate, play together, and respect our organization because it is very important, especially when we defend, also when we attack, when we have consolidated possession, or when we are a compact team and we have to defend.

Then there are the transitions that are a little more difficult to control. Luckily, today we are doing very well. Also, taking into account the last game, we are doing very well in the transitions. But in the possession and non-possession phase, against a team like Atalanta, for example, we have to be good at moving, respecting each other, looking at each other, communicating.

Malmö manager Henrik Rydström said something similar recently.

Even though this is an older interview, I’d have to imagine Thiago Motta applies the same thinking when he manages Juventus game in and game out. Not every game is the same; he adapts to the opponent to take advantage of their weaknesses. He doesn’t blindly follow a game model if it will hinder the objective, to win.

Winning is the most powerful tool for those that want to move away from copy and paste positional football. No one cares unless you win.

Teams that are candidates to apply relational principles to their play are ones that have versatile players who can play two or more different positions. Those teams are chameleons; they can adapt to any formation, any movement. Maximum unpredictability.