Zinedine Zidane and Jurgen Klopp appear very different managers, at least on the surface.
No one has pinned down Zidane’s philosophy; it remains as subtle and elusive as he was in his playing days. His influences include Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola, two of football’s most stubborn ideologues, but Zidane looks a malleable tactician, capable of what seem like unorthodox, off-the-cuff solutions.
Klopp, on the other hand, is associated with a very specific style, something he calls “heavy-metal football”. He mainstreamed Gegenpressing, a high-octane tactic to win back the ball as soon as it is lost. Klopp’s teams tend to be a nightmare to play against, at least in the first 60 minutes, because they permit the opposition no time.
So, how will the teams line up on Saturday? Liverpool will likely start in its customary 4-3-3, Klopp’s preferred formation for 11 of 12 Champions League games this season. The front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah is as good as any in world football at the moment. Quick, slippery and intelligent, they are ravenous pressers without the ball and cold-blooded predators with it.
Should Madrid choose to play out of the back, they will need all their composure and technique; the slightest slip will be pounced on. The Spanish side will also need to be careful during the transition after just winning the ball: this is where Gegenpressing, or pressing the press, comes into its own, catching a defence out of shape.
The other thing Klopp’s Liverpool has started to do competently is defend deep in a compact 4-4-2, Mane slipping into the midfield line, leaving Firmino and Salah as the front two. This has freed up space into which a rapid counter-attack may be sprung, adding another attacking option while reinforcing the defence. It has also allowed the side to recover after bouts of intense Gegenpressing.
Zidane has used three broad schemes this season: the flat 4-4-2 with Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio as wide midfielders; the 4-4-2 midfield diamond, a sitting Casemiro and an advanced Isco its vertical tips; and the 4-3-3, with the famed BBC (Bale-Benzema-Cristiano) up front.
The advantage Zidane enjoys is Real’s outrageous squad depth, which allows all three plans to be deployed in the same game. As one football writer put it, Real doesn’t merely have a Plan B, it has a Team B. Liverpool just doesn’t have the same shape- and game-changing talent on its bench, leaving Klopp with fewer levers to pull.
Irrespective of which scheme Zidane uses — and the many nuances within each — Real does have a tactical tic. It tends to develop its attacks asymmetrically, with Marcelo in very advanced positions on the left. This leaves a hole behind him that others have to fill or risk being overrun, but it also provokes asymmetry in the opposition, making a quick switch of play to the right incredibly effective.
Another thing that needs factoring is the occasion. Champions League finals, because of their one-off nature and high pressure, tend to be cagey affairs. They are often decided by moments — the results of carefully thought-out strategy pre-game, tactical gambits in-game or sheer skill — and by mistakes, which are the consequence of big-match nerves or a breakdown in organisation.
Both Real and Liverpool appear capable of creating moments: they have the talent and the ideas for it, with the Spanish side having access to a greater range. Madrid also has far more experience in the climactic stages of club football’s biggest tournament. It tends to find a way to get the job done. Liverpool, despite looking Europe’s best team this season, will have its work cut out.
