Over in the Série A, one of the most prolific goalscoring goalkeepers in football history is spearheading the latest adaptation in Brazilian football tactics.
Having avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth in the previous campaign, Rogério Ceni and Bahia have emerged as Brazil’s surprise package this season, with supporters lauding their ball dominance and willingness to be progressive against the historic greats.
The future of Bahia was transformed in 2023, having been financially supported by the City Football Group.
A $200 million purchase excited supporters in their search for a more competitive squad. Despite their new-found wealth, Bahia maintains the 13th largest squad market value in the Série A, highlighting the importance of their experienced tactician, who has introduced an unfamiliar system to fans in Brazil.
Despite Bahia’s incredible start to the season waning slightly in recent weeks, they still hold a comfortable position at the right end of the table, firmly in contention for qualification to the Copa Libertadores.
This tactical analysis will begin to highlight some of the reasons why Rogério Ceni’s team have taken the division by storm, reaping the rewards for their excellent squad development and collective passion for progressive football.
Their tactics at both ends of the pitch have been imperative to their success, with our analysis aiming to portray their dynamic player profiles and ability to flow between different tactical systems depending on the game state.
Bahia’s Data Analysis
Before taking a deeper dive into some of the key specifics regarding Bahia’s & Rogério Ceni’s style of play, it is important to understand how their underlying statistics are portrayed on the pitch.
In line with the footballing philosophies surrounding the City Football Group, Rogério Ceni has emphasised the need to enjoy possession of the football, with his side welcoming extended periods of ball dominance with an average possession of 52.7% this season.
This is further strengthened by their ability to maintain said possession when bypassing any opposition press, with Bahia enjoying the least amount of ball losses per 90 across the whole of Brazil’s top flight (82.03).
When using this prolonged possession, Bahia’s offensive numbers have been much more promising regarding expected goals and their ability to put away key opportunities.
Especially when looking at their positive spell towards the end of the previous campaign, Bahia consistently enjoyed spells of possession in and around the opposition penalty area.
However, a goals-expected goals variance of -2.6 would suggest that they were just about failing to reach their optimal level regarding attacking conversion.
This figure is much more favourable for Bahia in 2024, with a score of +2.7, allowing them to overcome close matches with greater levels of composure.
Bahia’s Attacking Phase Under Rogério Ceni
Perhaps the most captivating element of Bahia’s play this season would be their high-functioning midfield unit, which exudes incredible levels of effort and dynamism.
In anticipation of this season, Bahia recruited the 35-year-old Éverton Ribiero to bolster their unit and provide the much-needed maturity and leadership, with players emulating his willingness to do the dirty work.
Despite being in the twilight years of his footballing career, Éverton leads a midfield quarter full of mobility and is integral to Bahia’s commitment to frustrating their opposition due to their passing sequences.
Within the framework of Brazilian football, Rogério Ceni’s commitment to a 4-4-2 diamond or 4312 was viewed as fairly unique, resembling something much more familiar to fans of Argentinian football.
But it has, in fact, been the cornerstone to their success within the middle third, allowing short, incisive passing strings, which can cause chaos for opposing markers.
When looking at their setup in the offensive phase, one of the Bahia midfielders will drop deeper into the holding role to offer the outlet ball to either the goalkeeper or two central defenders — Ceni’s trusted players to initiate build-up play.
The two central midfielders at the sides of the diamond are responsible for picking up pockets within the two half-spaces and remaining compact to build Bahia’s numerical superiority through the middle third.
Their attacking width is usually created by Bahia’s marauding full-backs, along with the two strikers who can split out wide to avoid being doubled up on through the centre.
Even though Caio Alexandre is usually the initial option to receive from the keeper, this example highlights Éverton adopting this role, with Alexandre in close proximity to provide a rapid outlet pass to break the Vasco de Gama pressing efforts.
Such combinations are one of the many reasons why Bahia lead the Série A in key passes, with 3.46 key passes highlighting their attacking intent when working the ball out from the back.
We can observe how these attacking sequences progress into the final third.
Bahia is highly confident in its ability to break the lines, especially with strikers such as Everaldo and Thaciano able to manipulate the defensive positioning of the central defenders, creating space for Bahia’s midfield quartet to run into.
One of the most pleasing things about the Bahia offensive game plan is the fact that they can show variation to stray away from their energy-zapping and controlling passing style, especially when facing some of the toughest opposition in the division.
This example from their match against Flamengo encapsulates how Rogério Ceni’s squad can rise to the occasion and cut through the defence at a faster rate.
Unfazed by the occasion of playing at the Maracanã, Bahia were able to level proceedings with a swift two-pass sequence, with Kanu displaying excellent technical ability to bypass the Flamengo midfield. A Jean Lucas through ball allowed Everaldo to take advantage of the disjointed backline and slot past the goalkeeper, consequently allowing Bahia to display a greater level of fight when it matters most.
Box Crashing Brilliance
Having mentioned their ability to create space for players to attack the box, it would be wrong not to discuss one of the key ways Bahia have found success in front of goal this season.
Whilst all of the Bahia squad can be praised for their efforts in the final third, Jean Lucas stands out as one of the key beneficiaries when crashing into the opponent’s penalty area.
In our first example, we can see how Jean Lucas is able to spin off his marker and attack the lofted cross into the penalty area, aided by Thaciano’s ability to invite defensive pressure and Cuiabá’s other central defender being drawn out on the opposite side of the line.
Against Athletico Paranaense, Jean Lucas’ dart towards the penalty attracts significant attention from the central defender.
It forces him to overcommit and track the midfielder out of the two passing options. His indirect ability to affect play allowed Everaldo to find the pass through the central channel with little to no pressure from covering defenders, giving him the time to open the scoring from the edge of the box.
Defensive Phase In Bahia’s Gameplay
When it comes to their out-of-possession play, a lot of Bahia’s defensive improvements can be attributed to their collective shape and willingness to be resilient.
We often see Bahia regress into variations of the 4-5-1 or 4-1-4-1, depending on the depth of their holding midfielder and whether there is an opposition threat between the lines.
Due to the fact that Bahia lack natural offensive width, both strikers work hard to cover space in the wide areas, acting as defensive wingers who can then threaten in transition should they recover possession.
This leaves Bahia’s true attacking midfielder adopting the role of a false nine, with Cauly usually acting as the lone striker to offer Bahia’s first point of resistance.
When taking a look at league statistics, Rogério Ceni’s squad is not the most effective team when pressing high up the pitch, holding the 3rd lowest PPDA at 14.91.
This is supported by the fact that their challenge intensity is only the 16th highest in the Série A at 4.6, with evidence to suggest that they are much more combative when the opposition enters the middle third.
The presence of a true defensive midfielder has been a notable talking point so far this season, highlighting some of Bahia’s defensive frailties when allowing the opposition too much space in the middle to attacking thirds.
In their match with Flamengo, Bahia were too slow to react to Flamengo’s runners through the middle, offering multiple passing outlets inside the pitch for the right winger to utilise.
However, against Atlético Mineiro, this issue was resolved thanks to one of Bahia’s deeper midfielders remaining tight to the passing option through the centre, forcing the winger into an audacious shot and subsequently recovering possession.
Even though Bahia’s forwards are not the most aggressive pressers when their opposition begins to build an attack, a useful feature of their defensive work would be their ability to compress space when incoming from the flanks.
One of the ways in which they look to recover possession is by pressing the blind side of the ball carrier, with Everaldo shown to be forcing the opposition into a narrow channel where Bahia maintain numerical superiority in their typical diamond.
Once again, this forces the opposition to rush their attacking sequence, creating the chance for more high turnovers whilst minimising any threat to their own goal.
Conclusion
Under Rogério Ceni tactics, this season has certainly been a step in the right direction for Bahia.
It has allowed them to put the relegation battle behind them and push on towards the right end of the table.
Rogério Ceni’s ability to transform the Tricolor into a real contender has done wonders for his managerial reputation in Brazil, having been damaged after a few unsuccessful spells.
It would appear as though some exciting South American prospects share these sentiments, and they are now becoming incredibly intrigued by Ceni’s project and impressive style of football.
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