Kos the Builder, Can He Fix It?

Kos the Builder, Can He Fix It?

By Stephen Kountourou 

A little bit late to the party when talking about a national team, with club football back in full swing, but this is something I felt would be a fun topic to discuss. After a disappointing Nations League campaign, in which Cyprus were particularly embarrassed in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the `mighty` Luxemburg, the project with manager Johan Walem was given no confidence at the end of the group stage. The former Belgium Under 21s coach was shown the door and it was probably for the best. As I have expressed before, under the previous coach, Cyprus looked bereft of ideas when attempting to compete against sides that they would normally pose more of a threat against.

 

There never seemed to be a plan B and it normally resulted in a lot of passing out from the back and not much else. The style of play was all wrong. In a clear attempt to bring more attractive football to the Island nation it ended up just seeing Cyprus try to out pass and out posses sides that boasted much more quality and shipping a lot of goals in the process. Even against teams that you could argue are of a similar level to the national team, Cyprus struggled despite boasting more possession there was never any purpose or intent to eventually create any meaningful chances for the most part. Despite giving younger players a chance and attempting to shake things up, it was not to be for Walem and he was replaced by Nikos Kostenoglou. 

 

With the vast majority of his managerial career being with sides in Greece with AEK being the biggest and his former clubs as a player, an assistant and then a head coach. He did briefly manage in Cyprus with Anorthosis, although it was not a successful tenure

Since his arrival, anyone who has been following the national team can see the identity the Greek coach is attempting to instil into his player and the success he has already found in his first three games of the World Cup qualifiers. But what is Kos the builder getting right so far with Cyprus? Can he fix it? Well, this week I will be taking a look at what Kostenoglou is doing right with Cyprus thus far and perhaps even answer if he could be the man to do the unexpected with the Mediterranean nation. 

How Cyprus have performed under Kostenoglou so far

While it is a rather small amount of games that Cyprus has played under Kostenoglou it is clear that performances early on, have improved. The first game of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia when Cyprus despite facing a team most would expect to comfortably beat them, held their own defensively for the majority of the match and even came close to scoring themselves were it not for the fantastic performance from Martin Dubravka. Most supporters, myself included, would have taken a 0-0 draw against a decent side like Slovakia but after coming so close to getting the win it almost felt like a missed opportunity but still, plenty of positives were taken from that performance as well as a clean sheet. 

 

Match Day 2 then saw the Kypreai face off against former World Cup runners up Croatia, and despite not having the team of yesteryear were still going to be a tough opponent nonetheless. It looked as though Cyprus would steal another draw against the Croatians, were it not for the injury towards the end of the first half to talented goalkeeper Demetris Demetriou. This disappointingly then led to substitution and an imitate goal from the home side via Mario Pašalić with the match finishing 1-0 to Croatia. Even with the defeat Cyprus still looked decent and stuck to their game plan throughout, even having a couple of golden opportunities later in the second half, and in all honesty, no one would begrudge Cyprus for losing to Croatia anyway.

 

The final game where Cyprus returned to Nicosia to host Slovenia in a game that looking back may not have been as surprising a result as I initially thought with the Kypreai undefeated in their last two fixtures against the eastern European side. Still, it would be another tough task in this competitive World Cup qualifying group. Once more the plan was to soak up the opponent’s pressure and break quickly on the counter, which eventually led to Cyprus taking the lead just before half time through an Ioannis Pittas goal to make it 1-0. The home side was able to confidently hold onto their advantage as Slovenia were unable to break down a stubborn Cyprus defence and Kostenoglou was able to guide his side to their first win under their new coach in convincing fashion.  

  

Style Change Under the Greek Coach

Unlike his predecessor, Kostenoglou has favoured a much more counter-attacking defensive style. Rather than the flat 4-3-3, built on maintaining possession that was used by Walem, the former AEK manager has shifted Cyprus into a 3-4-3. The intention is to allow their opponents more of the ball and counter quickly with the wingers and centre forward gaining the support of the fullback when the team gets a hold of the ball. Even in possession, this formation is much more fluid than anything we have seen Cyprus set up in as it allows attacking and creating meaningful chances while also maintaining a defensive shape that they can reset to quickly if possession is lost. This was used to great effect over these first few matches of the qualifiers, particularly in the last game of the international break against Slovenia, where Cyprus were able to consistently break and pressure their opponent and also quickly cancel out any threat from the Slovenian attack.

 

What Kostenoglou has also instilled into his team that can be seen early on is a strong mentality. There are clear confidence and understanding in what the players are asked to do, something hardly seen under the previous coach when most players looked isolated on the pitch at times. Every player fights for the ball and the team and works tirelessly in every part of the pitch as a unit. Players that know their roles and how to execute the game plan to the best of their ability, even this early on, is such a positive for this Cyprus team going forward, especially with an emerging crop of talented players that just need a tactician like Kostenoglou to put the pieces together and make it run like a well-oiled machine. Even if Cyprus is not seen as the best or biggest side in European competition, being seen as hard to beat which has been shown so far is a great strength to have going forward. 

 

What was also evident was the squad choice Kostenoglou called up for, as it was a nice blend of youth, experience and players hitting their peak and while I gave credit to Welam for giving youth a chance had no leaders in that team to take the team by the scruff of its net on the pitch and take charge. Now there are leaders in the team that may not always play but are still part of the set up that can help guide the team and show the younger players what it means to play for a national team.

Yes, He Can?

So to finish, can Nikos Kostenoglou fix it? While it is still early days yes he can...potentially. He has already shown over the last international break that he can fix the gaping problems in the team which was: 

1. Leaking goals in a shaky defence.

Cyprus has now conceded one goal in three matches.

 

2. There was no identity in the style of play leading to poor results and no coherent game plan.

Cyprus Now plays in a formation and a counter-attacking style that fits the model of the team, drilling the players and making them hard opponents to beat. 

 

3. Lack of leadership and mentality.

Kostenoglou has managed the team selection much better, bringing in the blend of youth, prime and experience and I have mentioned before that gives the team the leadership they were crying out for while also giving talented players the opportunity to shine and a feel of a more united team.

 

Has he fixed everything, no? Are there still issues that need straightening out, like finishing chances properly and finding consistency in their results. But Kostenoglou has come in, made an instant and positive impact that gives me as a supporter a lot more confidence than I have had in the National Team for the last couple of years. If Cyprus can pick up a few more encouraging results like these and finish strong in the World Cup qualifiers, the next Nations League and Euro 2024 qualifiers could be very interesting to watch the Kypreai play in.   

Hellas Football 

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