Henrik Rydström Tactics & Scout Report At Malmö FF 2023 – Tactical Analysis

Malmö FF have enjoyed a solid start to the Allsvenskan this season.

The side is top of the league, having won six out of six games and scored the joint-most goals.

Henrik Rydström, the head coach, took charge after the 2022 season and has managed to instil an intriguing style of play.

In terms of the main principles and Henrik Rydström tactics of Malmö in possession, the 47-year-old Swede has stated that he has “moved away from being very positional.

He should be here, and he has to stand there” to start ” working more with relationships, going back and forth on that pendulum.

This can clearly be seen when watching his Malmö side this season

the ball.

Henrik Rydström Formation

In order to fully explain Henrik Rydström tactics that he uses at Malmo FC and the nature of their play, it is essential to mention the different formations on paper that Malmö have deployed this season in order to provide a starting point for understanding.

Malmö has fielded a 3-4-3 at times this season but has played with a 4-2-3-1 for three out of the first six games. Below is an example of the 4-2-3-1 deployed against Hammarby.

The ball as the reference

When watching Malmö, it becomes apparent very quickly that the side has no set structure that they look to employ in possession.

Although the team primarily focuses on progressing the ball through wide areas, players do not look to deliberately occupy specific spaces in this specific area.

The players do not use specific spaces as their primary reference point in possession but instead position themselves primarily in relation to the ball carrier in positions that allow them to provide vertical passing options.

Ultimately, the result is the fluidity of positioning between the players, leading to the creation of a myriad of different structures throughout a given game.

This can be seen in the image below, which provides an example from the Hammarby game.

After Hugo Larsson receives the ball from the centre-back, he plays a pass wide and proceeds to move to the left-hand side to support Gabriel Busanello, the left-back.

While this action takes place, the central attacking midfielder, the former Serie A and Belgian Pro League player Anders Christiansen, shifts to the left to provide Larsson with an additional vertical option.

At the same time, Sebastian Nanasi, the right winger, vacates the right-hand side and moves towards the left side of the pitch in order to provide another vertical option for Hugo Larsson.

It is essential also to take stock of the position of Stefano Vecchia who pushes inwards from the wing position to the half-space, also potentially providing a vertical passing option.

The movement of the players in order to provide a vertical passing option has a number of effects.

The first, which can be seen in the image above, is numerical superiority in the wide area, with Malmo players outnumbering Hammarby by five to four.

The other effect of their movements and positioning can be seen a couple of seconds later in the same game.

In the example below, Nanasi, the right winger, takes up possession in a midfield position.

Having been on the left-hand side, Larsson indents his position in order to offer a vertical passing option, with Christiansen and Vecchia in similar positions as the previous example, looking to do the same.

Adjusting their actions to provide vertical passing options causes the opposition to orient their defensive positions to prevent access to these options.

This creates space for Busanello on the left-hand side as the opposition players adjust their positions in order to prevent passes to the players supporting Nanasi.

As the quote from Rydström alluded to earlier, the previous example also shows the balance between a certain player being in a certain space and time and the free movement of players to support the ball carrier.

In many scenarios in wide areas, Malmö looks to have one player positioned on the touchline to take advantage of the opposition’s positioning.

In an example from their game against Brommapjkarna, a similar situation can be seen.

In this situation, the right-back, Anton Tinnerholm, advances forward and inverts to provide a passing option to the ball carrier.

At the same time, the winger Taha Ali positions himself by the touchline.

Tinnerholm provides a vertical passing option, which affects the position of the opposition left winger and, in turn, creates more space for Ali on the wing.

A scenario again from the Hammarby game provides an example of the aspects previously discussed.

Here, Christiansen would drop deep before playing the ball to Sergio Peña, the former La Liga midfielder.

After this action, Christiansen advanced further up the pitch to offer a vertical pass to the midfielder, but Peña chose to keep hold of the ball and change direction.

As a result, Larsson began to adjust his position to create a passing option, with Vecchia inverting even further from the left-back position to do the same. These actions resulted in further numerical superiority in the midfield.

In this same example, showing players adjusting their positions to support the ball carrier, Joseph Cissey, the right back (off-screen), is positioned by the touchline.

Actions that make the principles effective?

Although aspects such as creating overloads through fluid positioning in order to support the ball carrier are essential in helping Malmo gain advantages in possession, these concepts alone do not automatically result in the side being able to progress the ball.

Players are close enough to one another to create the opportunity for combinations, but their individual actions are what allow these combinations to progress the ball successfully.

Awareness Of Teammates And Counter-Movements

In the example below, because Nanasi is in a deeper position, Larsson would advance further up the pitch to support the winger.

However, in doing so, Larsson would initially block a vertical passing option to his teammate Vecchia further up the field.

Larsson glanced over his shoulder, realised this, and adjusted his position to allow Vecchia a pass.

Seconds later, another aspect relevant to aiding the penetration of the defensive line is seen below: counter-movements.

Vecchia would drop deeper to support the ball, and as a result, the opposition right-back would orient his position to the winger, reducing cover in the back line.

As Vecchia dropped, Christiansen would begin to advance, with Vecchia able to find the attacking midfielder.

The initial concept of awareness is important as it provides an additional reference point for players.

Players should adjust their positioning in relation to their other teammates, who are also looking to support the ball carrier.

Counter movements allow for destabilisation of the opposition’s defensive structure as numerical superiorities alone do not automatically result in an advantage.

With players moving in complementary directions, the opposition is forced to make certain choices about who to cover, and Malmö is looking to exploit this.

The image underneath provides another scenario in which the previous concepts discussed aid ball progression.

Similar to the previous example, Larsson initially looks to support the ball carrier vertically before shifting to the left to prevent passes to Vecchia from dropping down to receive the ball.

After doing so, Peña, on the left-hand side, would begin to push slightly forward in order to exploit the space left by the opposition.

However, it must be stated that Peña, in this example, was relatively slow in advancing further up the pitch and, as a result, Malmo failed to capitalise on a potential 3v1 on the left-hand side.

Conclusion

It is still early days in the Allsvenskan, but early signs suggest that Malmö will enjoy a campaign full of goals and expansive football.

This analysis has sought to explain how Malmö’s possession principles constantly provide vertical passing options for the ball carrier, resulting in fluid movements in the positioning of their players.

It has also examined how the side balances this with certain positional aspects.