Over the years, Andrés Madrid has played in the same position as his compatriot Alan Varela, giving him the authority to speak about the Argentine's growth at FC Porto, especially after a quieter start to the current season.
According to Madrid, Varela's evolution is closely linked to the tactical changes implemented by coach Anselmi. "It depends a lot on what the coach thinks. In this case, the coach asks to start with a back three, so the midfielders necessarily look for an interior game. Alan Varela ends up having more ball contact, more possibilities to have it for longer, and he has enough quality to do more for the team," he explained.
Benefiting from the new system
The former Dragon player adds that the new tactical system also benefits Varela when his team is not in possession of the ball: "At the moment they don't have the ball, the team also when they press, and they press in a closer block, which ends up being better for any midfielder. The closer he has his teammates, the less displacement he will have to make, the more physical capacity he will have for the duels."
Andrés Madrid also emphasizes that Anselmi's way of playing demands other responsibilities from the midfielders, which also helps to explain Varela's growth: "That way of playing modifies the behavior of the midfielders, mainly because it's enough for the coach to decide to play a game where the ball doesn't go through him much to change the matrix. If the team presses higher, the midfielder is more exposed to error. It depends a lot on what the coach wants."
Adapting to the new coach's demands
The former Porto player believes that with the previous coach, Vítor Bruno, "the team maybe broke down a bit at some moments and Alan Varela fixed himself a bit further back", while now "he has to come out a bit more in the press and ends up having some prominence".
Thus, despite the problems FC Porto has been going through, the Argentine midfielder has been gaining increasing prominence, something that Andrés Madrid attributes to the tactical adaptations of the team led by Anselmi.
