There are those who invent and implement ideas, those who copy good concepts, and those who replicate good ideas poorly. The problem with ineffective copying lies in the lack of situational adaptation, misunderstanding of the original paradigm, and the absence of the quality materials that made the original idea successful. If you don’t have the right components for an idea to work, you either adapt it with a few innovations, or you should not copy at all; instead, turn to your own new ideas.

On Friday night, Gorica lost to Istra 1-0 (it could have easily been worse). Gorica’s defeat stemmed from trying to implement strong ideas with the wrong profile of players. They lack strong finishing attacking midfielders, and unless they respond to the market, the idea they are trying to implement may lead to their downfall.

Gorica is attempting to play a high-press, position-oriented style of football, with attacking midfielders positioned between the lines when building attacks in the final third, and wing-backs high up the pitch. The problem arises when it comes to finishing actions with crosses or penetrating the 16-yard box with passes or shots. Gorica simply does not have offensive midfielders of that caliber.

Moreover, since they selected offensive players solely for exploiting space between the lines, they lack wingers or good 1v1 players on the team, which prevents them from altering their game pattern. They are stuck with this single idea, and once opponents fully understand their approach, they are at a disadvantage.

Although the main strategy involved a dynamic 3-4-2-1 box midfield or even 3-1-2-1-3 with a diamond-shaped midfield that occasionally rotated and adapted to a 4-2-3-1 defensively to counter Istra’s build-up, it ultimately didn’t matter. You can rotate as many formations as you like; change shapes during the game; however, if you failed to make a good selection and recruitment process in the preseason and overlooked player profiling for the system you’re trying to implement, you need to change your game strategy as soon as possible, or quickly reshift your selections with the limited time available.

On the other hand, Istra played a solid match, capitalizing on the opportunities Gorica presented. Radošević and Maurić performed strong roles as midfielders, while Lončar had a more creative and free role. Rozić and Lawal also excelled on the flanks, exploiting wide areas during quick transitions and threatening Gorica’s defense on counterattacks.

Given the importance of the match for Goran Tomić’s team regarding points, at the end of the match, he even opted for a defensive formation (5-4-1) to protect their lead.

Overall, it was a tactically interesting match with a lot of dynamics and scoring opportunities.