The motherf***ing train: A look at Ronny Deila’s tactics

The Five Stripes teased the announcement of their next head coach on socials with this video featuring silverware and a caption that suggests they’re ready to add to a trophy case that has been collecting nothing but dust since 2019.

That about sets the bar for Ronny Deila who was announced as the club’s fifth permanent head coach on Saturday. The Norwegian will lead the team in 2025 in what should be a highly anticipated return to title-contending status. With a roster being crafted by the mastermind Chief Soccer Officer Chris Henderson and the wealthy backing of Arthur Blank, one thing is very clear about this hire: Deila was brought in to win now.

But how exactly does Deila plan to lead Atlanta United back to the top of Major League Soccer? Why did Garth Lagerwey and Chris Henderson believe he would be a good fit for the team? And – most importantly – will he strip down to his underwear and do push ups on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium turf if the Five Stripes hoist MLS Cup in a little under a year?

To help answer these questions – except maybe the last one – we can take a look back at what Deila’s teams have looked like, particularly the New York City FC team that he led to an MLS Cup in 2021. Let’s dive into the different aspects of how his teams play.

Build Up

Ronny Deila’s teams have mixed methods of building up. Sometimes, you’ll see one of the defensive midfielders dropping back between a fullback and center back to create a back three while pushing the fullbacks high and wide. Other times the fullbacks stay back and become an active part of the build up. The center backs are pushed to the edges of the box and one of the midfielders in the double pivot may drop back to support the build up.

Either way, there is a trend of moving the ball to one side of the field, drawing in the opposing press, and looking for space in behind to exploit.

In this example from a 6-0 win over D.C. United, Sean Johnson is about to take a goal kick. He will lay it off to Maxime Chanot who will immediately come under pressure from an opposing forward, prompting him to dribble toward the top of the box to escape the press. At the same time, Chanot is helping create a numerical advantage on the left side, which is marked out in the next picture.

As the ball moves to the left side, so does D.C. United’s shape. This opens space on the opposite side and give NYCFC the option to switch the play. That doesn’t happen here, because NYCFC has its eyes on a more forward option.

With its advantageous shape on the left side, NYCFC is free to pass the ball around like a rondo while they patiently wait for the right space to open up (big white circle). As the opposing press is lured higher, a large space is opened for NYCFC to release its left winger.

When enough space has opened up, it’s time to go forward. Left back Malte Amundsen sends a long ball into the forward space for Santi Rodriguez to chase and NYCFC is off to the races.

At its core, this is very similar to what Atlanta United tried to do in 2024: draw in the press and look for space in behind to burst forward into. The main problem was that it often broke down because either the balls sent forward weren’t good enough, the team wasn’t patient enough on the ball and hence didn’t wait for the space to open up more, or they made some sort of silly turnover that sent fans into a choir of groans.

For this sort of build up to work, Atlanta United needs its defenders and midfielders to be comfortable and confident on the ball. The wingers then have to anticipate the long balls and make the right runs at the right times so that the fullbacks can give them the right forward service to make the most of the space they have worked so hard to open up.

Attack

A central theme of all Ronny Deila teams is using the width of the field and frequent switches of play to find empty space on the other side. Wingers and fullbacks are key to success in this system as they will stay wide waiting for space to open up at which point their teammates on the other side switch the play to them. Once they have the ball, they usually find themselves in favorable situations and can then play a cross into an unmarked runner inside the box who can easily finish.

Let’s use this goal from NYCFC’s 2-0 win over Philadelphia Union in 2021 to see this in action.

Prior to this, NYCFC won back possession in their own half and is catching the Union disorganized in transition. Maxi Moralez (circled in blue) has just made a diagonal run inside from the near side, which is drawing all of Philly’s defenders away from the right side and opening up the half space (white lines) for Jesus Medina (circled in red), who he will find with a short switch of play to the right. This is step one to Deila’s side exploiting the wing.

The next step is to create a numerical advantage, on the ball side. Here NYCFC is in a 3-on-3 situation – no advantage. Well, here comes Anton Tinnerholm rushing down the right wing to fix that. Medina (yellow) now holds up play to give Tinnerholm a chance to get forward. In the meantime, Taty Castellanos and Moralez are making their way toward the right side of the box to solidify control.

With Tinnerholm caught up, the numerical advantage on the right side of the box is established and NYCFC has a 4v3. Medina can now play Tinnerholm into open space ahead on the flank, setting up a deadly cutback and forcing the opposition defenders to scramble to cover. This results in at least one NYCFC attacker being left unmarked, in this case it’s Medina who will now run inside to receive the cutback and score.

Also notice Castellanos’ (underlined yellow) movement inside the box as he makes a fake run away to draw one of the center backs away and open more space for Medina to receive and finish.

Now let’s see what it looks like when it’s all put together.

Perfect cross! 👀
Perfect finish! 🎯@JesusMediina8 does it again, his 3rd of the season. pic.twitter.com/PDX28aFNF8

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 1, 2021

As far as Atlanta United is concerned, it is actually very well set up for this kind of system. Both starting fullbacks, Pedro Amador and Brooks Lennon, are already accustomed to going forward and delivering crosses into the box. Furthermore, the Five Stripes have just added a very effective chance-creating midfielder in Mateusz Klich, who along with Alexey Miranchuk will be responsible for drawing defenders away from the half spaces and delivering those long and short switches of play to allow for Deila’s style of wing play to develop.

This will also end up involving whoever the starting No. 9 is whether its making those dummy runs that open space for teammates or finishing on their own.

Pressing and Defense

A hallmark of Ronny Deila’s teams is an aggressive high press when the ball is in the opposing defensive third. The 4-2-3-1 becomes a 4-4-2 when out of possession as the attacking midfielder moves up to join the striker as the first line of pressure. Together, the newly formed front two seek to put pressure on the goalkeeper and center backs to make them play quickly, which can force errors or a desperate long ball that Deila’s team can then recover.

Above you can see an example of NYCFC’s pressing structure. Taty Castellanos, the No. 9, is out of frame somewhere near that yellow arrow, but he’s up a bit higher to pressure Nashville’s center backs. You’ll see him in the next frame.

With all forward options covered, Medina is free to come forward and press the ball carrier, which forces him back. This prompts Castellanos and Moralez to go forward and press the opposing center backs who would be the target of the next pass when pressure shifts to the new ball carrier.

And what do you know? That back pass under pressure ended up being so bad it not only forced a turnover, but also put NYCFC in a really great 3v2 situation. High pressing at its best, people!

This system works very well when everyone knows their roles and executes them well. It only takes one player out of position for the opponent to expose a weak point and really hurt you. It’s what happened to Atlanta United all season long because the press was disorganized way too often. Ronny Deila has the tough task ahead of instilling that tactical discipline into the players so that everyone is on the same page.

I honestly think Atlanta United’s backline did an overall good job of holding its shape throughout the season, but the midfield was at times lacking rigidity, which often led to a systemic breakdown because the defenders have to break away to cover stray runners. It will be interesting to see how Deila works with the midfield to improve that solidity and reduce the chances of it being exposed like it was all too often in 2024.

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