Who Is Carlos Corberán?

Carlos Corberán is in his second year implementing his coaching philosophy at West Bromwich Albion, who have begun the 2024/25 campaign competing at the higher end of the Championship.Currently, West Brom certainly looks like they will be one of this season’s promotion contenders.Corberán has overseen quite a bit of tactical progress during his time at WBA. 

Before joining the Baggies, h

e had coached at Leeds United U21 and Huddersfield Town in England.Some of the principles of Carlos Corberán’s style of play bear a similarity with Marcelo Bielsa. This won’t come as a massive surprise, given Corberán was Bielsa’s assistant coach at Leeds United for some time.Since Corberán joined West Brom, the team has practised positional play with different resources to avoid being predictable.They have some key roles in the system, but generally, they have order in each phase and an initial idea about the shape to make the pitch larger.

They are providing very interesting synergies in their attacking style of play, with Josh Maja (the joint-top scorer in the Championship at the time of writing) and Tom Fellows (the top assist-provider in the Championship at the time of writing) as the main protagonists.

In this tactical analysis and team-focused scout report, we will provide an in-depth analysis of how Carlos Corberán has developed his team in recent months and the tactics he is implementing in their attacking style of play.

Carlos Corberán Preferred Formation

West Brom usually attack in a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 with a pure winger (Tom Fellows) and an inside forward (Karlan Grant).They tend to defend in 4-4-2 with the attacking midfielder or the inside forward in the first line of pressure.
However, under Carlos Corberán’s style of play, he adapts his team to each rival.

West Brom has varied their defensive shape between a 5-3-2 and a 5-4-1 (with a winger dropping as wing-back) depending on the opponent.

Attacking Dynamism & Josh Maja’s ImportanceJosh Maja is central to West Brom’s offensive play. He has scored seven times at the Championship this season so far.Josh Maja Shots Map
As you can see from Josh Maja’s shots map, Carlos Corberán’s tactics give him the perfect role to create goal opportunities and be a playmaker.Firstly, Maja can drop in or pin as the centre-forward in link-up play.When he supports his teammates dropping in, Karlan Grant makes runs to attack the spaces Maja creates should a centre-back follow him.Maja understands how to support with his back to goal and use his passing technique to break low blocks.Look at the sequence below, for example. 
Carlos Corberán’s coaching style of football is all about spaces.And Josh Maja knows this.He is capable of exploiting spaces in the box without occupying them, as shown by the assist he made in the sequence above.He acted like a deep-lying centre forward in this case.Well, his link-up play is excellent in short spaces.In that sequence, he knew that a teammate (Jayson Molumby this time) was available to pin the center-backs.He drove the ball into space and penetrated the box through a one-two.Finally, he assisted while the opposition’s defensive line made various defensive errors trying to deal with them.That’s why Karlan Grant is also crucial in the XI.His role as an inside forward gives Maja a partner who constantly attacks in behind and substitutes him as ‘9’ while he creates space via his off-the-ball movement, like in the sequence below.
Josh Maja drops in and creates space for Karlan Grant to run in behind.Tom Fellows: That Stepover & CrossIn the past season, Jed Wallace was considered one of the best crossers in the Championship as West Brom’s right winger.His role was crucial; Corberán needed a good crosser for his game model.Now, Corberán still needs a crossing specialist, but Jed Wallace is not a starter.Why? Tom Fellows. The rise of the 21-year-old is undoubted.He can exchange sides with Grant and has the resources to complete crosses or dribbles on both right and left.His crossing technique is classy, but what makes him special is how he performs his crosses once he is in the final line.He has a recognisable and accurate method seen in this sequence below.
He receives and proposes the 1v1 to the left back.Then, he takes touches with his left foot, makes a stepover and pushes the ball to complete the cross with his right foot.This is one of those things you know is coming but is so difficult to stop — like Robben’s run from out-to-in, we think about them as ‘predictable but unstoppable plays’.He has been doing this since he was in youth categories, and it is still effective to help him get his cross off from the right.His ball-kicking to make crosses is also excellent, so he provides many chances for Maja to enter the box.He has made five assists in the Championship this season — plenty by this method.Tom Fellows Winger Actions Map
With his 1.83m height and long legs, he sometimes looks too tall to turn.But he is fast in offensive transitions and running behind, taking advantage of positional superiorities.Josh Maja Attacking The BoxWe already spoke about how Josh Maja makes some actions as deep-lying forward.But his primary skill, especially this season, is his attack of the box.He tends to drop in to disappear from the centre-backs’ radar; then, he attacks the box.Look at this sequence below.
The ball goes wide, so they prepare themselves for a possible cross, as the ball is in Tom Fellows’ feet.Maja starts without the centre-backs close to him.Then, players move into the box, and the teammate from the far post makes a diagonal movement, becoming a reference for the box.While dropping deeper, the defensive line lost Maja, and he is now in space.He wins the position and the aerial duel.This is a tendency in his style of play.He detects how to create danger in the box deeper and has abilities to score goals.He has a goalscorer’s instinct within his movement repertoire, and his finishing is classy.Physically, he is a top player in aerial duels in the box for the Championship despite being 1.80m in height.Tom Fellows is a fantastic partner out wide, as Grant is inside.Carlos Corberán Build-Up PlayCarlos Corberán’s team’s most characteristic trait during build-up play is their calmness and composure in the passing circuit.They invite the rival to press, and they can accelerate the possession if the opposition’s block is pressing higher; they also give spaces.The shape in build-up play is frequently 2-4-4/2-4-1-3, as in the image below.
Full-backs (at the same height as the double-pivot) and wingers position themselves wider to keep the pitch big.Swift is the most advanced midfielder between the lines.Once they attract the first line of pressure and overcome it by playing around, the possession gets a new rhythm looking to attack quickly.On the other hand, they are comfortable with positional attacks.They pass between mid and complete determining actions through their winger or in short spaces with players close.Calmness is crucial to creating clean and clear possessions once they have decided to pass forward.The ball stays deep with Ajayi, Bartley, and Palmer for as long as necessary—WBA doesn’t rush their build-up.The Midfield As A Resource To FinishThe midfield trio still has one position, which is not entirely settled.As Mowatt’s partner, Carlos Corberán has tinkered with options like Uroš Račić, Ousmane Diakité and Jason Molumby this season.Jason Molumby looks like the starter, but the Irishman had an injury that allowed Račić to play there.Diakité could also be a great option in the counterpressing proposal.Let’s talk about the frequent trio here.Mowatt’s ball-kicking and passing technique are crucial.

He is the set-piece taker, and in these actions, West Brom likes to create danger with their strength in aerial play.

He’s also capable of scoring directly from his free-kicks.Although he is constantly at different heights with Molumby, he tends to be the first midfielder.This ball-kicking technique is vital if the ball comes to the top from a clearance in the opposition’s box.He stays outside the box and can finish the action by shooting from the top or further away.He already did this against Sheffield Wednesday and scored, as the below image shows.
This is a situation that happens a lot if the team is competing with a low block.Molumby in the midfield trio is the most physical profile.He makes more defensive actions and frequently loads the box, too.In addition, he wins many aerial and ground duels.He does the ‘dirty’ job and builds a balance in the team.Swift is an accurate passer, too, but in different zones than Mowatt.Being a player who receives without time to think, his accuracy with the ball is insane to play as fast as he does.Progressing and connecting the lines to attack, he is the best option in the position and almost irreplaceable.John Swift Progressive Passes
ConclusionWest Brom are building a great system in the offensive aspect.They have two standouts in the league.One has experience in the Premier League, and the other has expertise in England’s youth categories.Needless to say, this tournament is very competitive.Many teams are trying to reach the top of the table and fight for promotion, but Carlos Corberán will keep developing, and the team will grow offensively.The system that West Brom has built is resulting in excellent football.Watching how they try to beat other aspiring promotion teams will be interesting. Let’s see if the regularity will not be a problem and if the offensive players maintain their levels.