RALPH HASENHUTTL would blush at the comparisons to the legendary Johan Cruyff.
But what he is trying to instil at Southampton does bear resemblance to the all-encompassing ‘Total Football’ approach the Dutch master introduced to Ajax and then took to Barcelona.
Ralph Hasenhuttl has been given time to transform SouthamptonCredit: Reuters
The Southampton cheif has even been compared to the footballing great Johan CruyffCredit: PA:Press Association
Hasenhuttl wants to bring in his own club-wide philosophy to Saints that every single side, from the Under-9s to the first team, can embrace.
He has been using the current lockdown to do exactly that by working on a digitised set of guidelines — dubbed the ‘iBook’ — players across the club can follow.
It means sides from every age group will be playing the same all-action, pressing style — which should facilitate the pathway to the first team.
‘La Masia on the British South Coast’, as one German magazine described it, after Barcelona’s youth academy.
Piano-playing Hasenhuttl has always been an inventive coach, cutting video clips on CD by himself when he was in charge of penniless Aalen in the German third tier nearly a decade ago.
He had a taste of introducing a club-wide philosophy on a smaller scale at Ingolstadt before working in tandem with the influential Ralf Rangnick to take RB Leipzig to the Champions League.
But Southampton have given him his first chance to create something of his own at a big club.
He had grand plans from the moment he took charge at St Mary’s but knew it would be a slow process with the team fighting relegation.
Hasenhuttl attempted to introduce some of his ideas to the first team last summer but a 3-0 defeat at Burnley on the opening day reduced his pre-season planning to “s***”, as he put it.
Rock bottom arrived with THAT 9-0 home loss to Leicester.
Yet the team’s amazing response since that record-breaking defeat, and the way the squad stuck by him throughout, gave the Austrian renewed confidence his original vision could be achieved.
OWNERS SHOW THEIR SUPPORT
Before the lockdown Southampton had risen to 14th in the Premier League — SEVEN points above the drop zone. The board’s unwavering support played a huge role too.
CEO Martin Semmens spent countless hours talking through things with Hasenhuttl during the tough period.
He tried to understand the manager’s philosophy and his take on what was going wrong.
Co-owner Katharina Liebherr took a keen interest too and the luck in having such backing is not unappreciated by Hasenhuttl.
Meetings about the iBook predated coronavirus in this country.
But the original plan had been to work on it during the summer.
Yet that has been advanced due to lockdown, which may have stopped all matches and training but given the perfect opportunity to collaborate with staff on this project.
RALPH AND HIS IBOOK
Hasenhuttl’s digital guide aims to advise on every possible on-pitch scenario.
A typical section will have text explaining to the player the desired approach to take in that given situation, accompanied by a video clip demonstrating good practice with signs and steps.
Those clips come from teams all over the world, even national sides.
And they have been collated by the club’s scouts, analysts and coaches scouring through matches for good examples while stuck at home.
Hasenhuttl has been delighted with how all staff members have bought into the concept, as they kick ideas around in online meetings.
The 52-year-old plans to use the guidelines, which are not quite ready to be shown to players, when convincing new recruits to sign.
And he hopes it will make youngsters tailor-made for the first team as Saints look to rediscover their reputation for producing the best young players in England.
Captain James Ward-Prowse (below), a product of that system, compared Hasenhuttl to another great ex-Saints boss in an interview with SunSport two months into the Austrian’s tenure.
Ward-Prowse, 25, said: “He is the most detailed since Mauricio Pochettino.
“The main similarity is how they play without the ball, they want to press high, they want to dominate the game and be on the front foot.
“The other similarities you can tell are their passion and love for what they do.”
Hasenhuttl is clearly excited by his Southampton project and has agreed in principle a new three-year contract.
He wants to build something that will last down on the South Coast — and hopes his iBook will do just that.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
