"We complete each other well"

Dominating the midfield tends to be the key to winning a match. Stopping the rival’s offensive attempts, maintaining possession of the ball and distributing it are some of the main tasks of players who are positioned in the midfield. If you add the rotation of positions on top of that, the opponent might struggle to identify which one of the midfielders should be most closely watched. In the recent match against Pogoń (4:0) and Korona Kielce (3:0), Lech’s starting formation was perceived by many to be unusual since Jakub Moder – who’s regarded to be a classic no. 6 – was positioned next to Pedro Tiba and Dani Ramirez in the midfield.

“When it comes to tactics, I am a no. 6. My objective is to concentrate on the defense more than my teammates, Tiba and Ramirez. They are positioned a bit higher up, however, we all rotate. Sometimes, Pedro and Dani move deeper so that I can take over the role of no. 10. We complete each other well and even our defensive performance is solid,” explained Lech’s homegrown player. His Spanish teammate added, “we understand each other really well. We all love playing football and we have good technical skills.”

When we look closer at the recent games, we can see a certain tendency which was most evident in the second half of the clash in Lubin – Moder was positioned close to the middle line and spent most of the time on the opponent’s half. However, the statistics show that he usually stayed either slightly behind Tiba or right next to him. Those two players rotate frequently which is best reflected in the statistics. This tactical strategy results in high pass accuracy of the two midfielders – second-best score after the defenders.

In the clash with Pogoń, Moder also managed to place the ball in the net and played a key role in the other goals. It’s a result of his high activity on the pitch – in that particular game, he ran a total distance of 11,65 km (no. 1 score). Moder also shone in the clash with Korona, however, it was his teammate Ramirez who was the most active. The Spaniard also dominated the statistic of key passes – a crucial figure for no. 10 – with a 50% accuracy.