Online Reporter
Mugove Chigada-Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOR a change, Marshal Munetsi showed up at the Battle of Zimbabwe at Rufaro on Sunday, away from Molineux, in Wolverhampton, where he has left an impression difficult to ignore.
The distinct smile sold him out, as he joined the football family in the VVIP section, watching a match rich in history but short on quality that defines two of the country’s biggest clubs.
Interestingly, Munetsi showed up at the home of football just hours after Wolves manager Vitor Pereira finally opened up, explaining what Munetsi brings to the table at Molineux in detail.
Since moving from French Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims mid-season, his has been a story more captivating than the Dynamos, Highlanders goalless draw.
Both Munetsi and his manager, Pereira joined the club in danger of relegation and both had a huge responsibility to deliver.
They did.
And they did so in the most brutal way possible. Such was Wolves’ turnaround that during the homestretch, they were relentless and at one point won five consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since 1972.
And when Pereira finally sat down with Dave Edwards and James Bird to talk tactics and review the season, it was only natural that Munetsi’s role also took centre stage.
“I realised that Munetsi is not a technical player . . . technically he is not fantastic. His game is very simple. But he is a player with the power to attack space, one, two, three, four times. If we cross one ball into the box, he will be the first or second one to be there,” Pereira explained during the Wolves official Podcast.
There was much debate on why Munetsi seemed not to be playing as a central midfielder.
But as Pereira further explained the player’s role in the team, he gives an impression they play to the team’s strength, and the ever-changing tactical world of football necessitates the shift.
“But he is a player, if you look, Jorgen started to score more goals. Why? Because a lot of the times, he creates either the moment, attracts the marker, or opens the space for Larsen. And Larsen scores,” said the Wolves manager.
“He is very important for us, because Cunha is not a player that likes to attack the space. I realised we need someone close to the striker to support the second ball.
“Before Munetsi, Larsen would receive the ball, and a lot of times with nobody to support him. He improved his quality to hold the ball because he now has the support behind him, in front of him and the connection between them, in my opinion, increased our level.”
Although Munetsi’s number of completed passes is somewhat low, he remains the player that covers much ground for Wolves and offers more defensively and in attack.”
The key numbers read 16 appearances, 27 tackles, 218 passes, 86 duels, 11 fouls won, 7 interceptions, 19 clearances and 35 recoveries.
When Pereira took over, just days before their clash against Leicester, he was a man on a mission.
And as he sat in the dugout for Wolves’ 3-0 win on 22 December last year, it was love at first sight between him and the fans. They even sung his name.
But it was not until Munetsi joined on deadline day of the mid-season transfer window that Wolves became a frightening opponent for Premier League teams. This was a stark contrast to the faltering side in the first half of the season.
So, what has been the overall tactical approach by Wolves since Pereira’s arrival?
“In that time, I realised, when I analysed the team, that we needed to create a tactical impact with clear ideas. Simple, but clear.
“ . . . I realised we needed to create mental impact, creating connections and confidence, giving confidence to the players,” he said.
His philosophy sounds clear.
“When we have the ball in the medium block, the second phase of offensive play, what I want… what is our trigger and what is our intention? It’s not every time to play fast, because if you want to play fast every every time, you will make mistakes and you will lose balls.
“It means if you want to attract the pressure, we need to be patient and we need to do the right thing to attract the pressure and open the spaces we want.
“And after, in the third phase, I want the final run to arrive in the box . . .I like that you attack the spaces behind the line, the defensive line. I want them to understand when is the exact time to attack these spaces, the opponents line and the positions to arrive on the box and the numbers that I want to arrive in the box”.
Munetsi seems to have mastered this, often arriving in the box, as Pereira admits, “first before anyone else.” This has given the impression that Munetsi is part of a front three, which is not the case.
“When they start to play, we press them. And I will give the map to you, to organise you the way I want you to press . . . in the medium block, second phase, how do we invite them to the spaces we want to press them.
“And the low block, how we control our box and how we do our transition, our counter attack . . . to balance when we lose the ball and the opposite when we lose the ball,” he said.
In most cases, Munetsi has benefited from Wolves’ ability to stretch opponents’ defence line, creating open space between the opposition defence and their midfielders.
“There is what I call the box . . . The box is the space between the defence line and the midfield line. I want to create a box, a space between the lines, by pushing the defence line as high as possible and attracting the pressure with our attacking pace.
“And sometimes we attract them in one side when the intention is to attack the other side. This is like cat and mouse. In the future, I want to increase the level of this tactical maturity,” said Pereira.
When pressing without the ball, the Wolves manager admits he has to always remind the Zimbabwean to limit pressing.
“I must always say to him, don’t go every time because the others will not follow you every every time. You will go alone to press . . . And you know we must go when we feel it is the moment to go together,” said Pereira.
It may just be too early to give a verdict on Munetsi’s time in the Premier League, but safe to say big moments lie ahead of the Warriors man.
