PSG manager Luis Enrique has started watching the first half of matches from the stands, borrowing that idea from rugby coaches. In his words you either “adapt, improvise, and stop being predictable for the opponent, or you’re dead.”

Luis Enrique on why he spent the first half against Lens in the stands and the second half on the bench:

For some time now, I’ve been watching rugby coaches who analyze matches from a very different perspective. I like the possibility of seeking that improvement. I wanted to follow the first half from the stands and it’s magnificent. It’s different. I can control everything.

It’s an interesting option that I’m going to use in the future. After that, you can perfectly give the halftime talk because you’ve seen perfectly who played well on the field. We have a lot of direct information.

This is a great option for matches where you know you’ll have the quantitative advantage over the opponent. You lose the ability to interact with the players but gain the advantage of seeing the entire field, every player, every action.

This comes at a time when a team like Brighton is investing in the ‘Coachwhisperer’ technology which allows Fabian Hurzeler and his staff to talk into a microphone and communicate with players during training through a vest that the players wear. You have to wonder if in the future managers will be able to use that same technology during matches while sitting higher in the stands to get a better view.

We know each team has staff in the stands relaying information and images to the bench, but it’s different when you can see it with your own eyes live.

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni remarked about how his staff feed him their analysis during the match:

We have people up top analyzing. It’s important. In fact, when I was at Sevilla, I used to do that. I watched the matches from above […] but it can be quite misleading. The player sees things from another perspective. From up there, everything looks so easy, but then when you talk to the player, he’ll tell you, ‘It’s not like you say it is.’ You have to put it into context, but it does help.

This incident with Luis Enrique reminded me of a quote from him this summer when he was asked why PSG started kicking the ball out of play from the kickoff. Was it to win back possession quicker?

Yes, the reflection would be interesting if we were in a coaching course and sharing it with my colleagues. In fact, we copied it from Olympique Lyon. I saw it. I liked it.

Hey, what’s the reason? I’m not going to tell you because we’re clearly going to change it. I don’t know when, or yes, if I do know, we’re going to change it because teams adapt.

In football, nothing is magical; it doesn’t work. When you overcome pressure in a certain way, the opponent adapts. When you create superiority in a position, the opponent adapts. I mean, there’s no magic formula. It’s not like a coach sets up a system or makes a play and that’s it. No, that’s the difficulty of playing football today. All the coaches are prepared, the players are physically and technically prepared like never before.

So either you adapt, improvise, and stop being predictable for the opponent, or you’re dead. That’s why it’s greatness and motivation for me as a coach.

What we did last season isn’t valid for next season. We need to change, we need to improve things.

I like the kickoff. At first it was fine, but teams are starting to find solutions. It’s a play that doesn’t represent anything in a game, but it involves a reflection that I would do if I were with my colleagues. Since I’m with journalists, I don’t do it, lest you learn too much.

This is why it is important to spot and then act on trends right when they happen. Word spreads fast once something works. Get an edge or be left behind.

Even though Luis Enrique spotted an adjustment from the opposition and elected to stop kicking the ball out of play from the kickoff, I could see teams like Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester City, Tottenham, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona start to use this tactic in the Champions League this season. Even the possession-heavy teams could benefit.

Kicking the ball out of play from the kickoff can help quiet the crowd because it slows play down, and you are immediately able to pressure the opponent in their own end to force mistakes in the duels from the resulting throw-in.

There could be other instances I’ve missed, but I’ve seen Newcastle, Bournemouth, and Arsenal start to utilize this tactic against Aston Villa and Liverpool at the start of this season in the Premier League. All three of those teams generate chances in the opponent’s half of the field by forcing turnovers.