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[QUOTE="IthacaMatt, post: 3911035, member: 405"]
I might compare him to Gareth Southgate, the England coach, or maybe Thomas Teucal, Chelsea coach (formerly at PSG).

Both of those guys play 3 at the back on defense, with a couple shielding defensive midfielders.  Having the extra defensive cover allows those defenders to take turns getting forward into midfield when the opportunity presents itself.

Offensively, they start in the back and want to draw the defense on to you, much like you want them to [I]really[/I] blitz if you call the screen pass in American football.  That's the idea, draw them on to you to create passing lanes or openings in between the defense.  So the offense usually transitions from the defense up the middle as the defense connects to the midfield, and then play it out to the wings, where there may be more open space.

Then you try to get an extra guy over there to enable you to get the ball upfield with a series of one-two passes up the sidelines.  When defenses bunch up in the middle, the easiest way to get the ball upfield is using the sidelines or the long diagonal pass.

That's kind of how they all coach - modern winning football, post tika taka:  Solid defensive base, upfield pressure to try to force turnovers.  Play out of the back on offense, try to hit on the counter attack from your defense.  Play big on set pieces.

That's the formula.  Klinsmann wanted to play this way.  We are actually doing it fairly well right now, especially with our top guys.  Our ball retention is miles better, when you take into account all these young guys in Europe.  They are top class on the ball.
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