With Mauricio Pochettino relieved of his duties at the end of the season, it’s possible that Chelsea’s new manager will deploy different tactics to the Argentine in 2024/25.
That would be a shame, as Pochettino’s fluid system was able to get the best out of players like Marc Cucurella, who was given the freedom to roam from left back.
That helped the player to shine towards the end of the campaign; so much so, in fact, that he’s been called up to the provisional Spain squad for EURO 2024.
Hard Times
It’s not many moons ago that Spain were the undisputed kings of Europe: winning the EUROs in 2008 and 2012, as well as a World Cup in-between.
But they’ve fallen on hard times since, which is confirmed by the latest EUROs odds from Paddy Power. At 7/1, they are behind England (3/1), France (7/2), and Germany (4/1) in the pecking order.
There will be football predictions columns that warn punters not to write off the Spanish due to their past endeavours, while the pedigree of players like Manchester City’s Rodri and former teammate Aymeric Laporte requires no introduction.
Marc Cucurella has been included in Spain’s provisional squad for #EURO2024! 👏 pic.twitter.com/7Q5YnuEMy5
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 27, 2024
Cucurella will have opposition for the left-back berth in Luis de la Fuente’s starting eleven. Jose Gaya may have been left out of the squad due to injury, but there’s still Alex Grimaldo – he served up 23 goal involvements in a remarkable season for Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
So the Chelsea man may have a watching brief at the tournament, but he will certainly head to Germany – if selected in the final Spain squad – with confidence after his fine form at the end of the campaign.
Man in the Middle
Key to Cucurella’s improved form was the tactical switch that saw him deployed as an inverted full-back for the last few games of the season.
It led to the Spaniard becoming more involved in the play from central positions, while allowing the left-sided number eight the freedom to operate higher up the pitch.
Cucurella provided assists in the victories over Everton and his old club Brighton, while also producing outstanding displays against West Ham and Tottenham in particular.
Goal – N.JACKSON
Assist – CUCURELLAChelsea 4-0 Everton (44 mins)#FPL #CHEEVE
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) April 15, 2024
It’s unlikely that De la Fuente will use inverted full-backs with his Spain side, as historically the position is used to provide width in attack in Spanish football culture.
But it’s interesting to note that Enzo Maresca, rumoured to be the first choice of replacement for Pochettino, has utilised inverted full-backs in his successful tenure at Leicester City – Ricardo Pereira on the right or Hamza Choudhury on the left, and occasionally both at the same time.
It’s something that could well hand Cucurella the edge over Ben Chilwell during the new regime, which should hopefully help to get the very best from the Spaniard again.
Whether it counts for anything with Spain at EURO 2024 remains to be seen, but Cucurella’s performances since the spring are proof that in football, you can still teach relatively old dogs new tricks.
