To be fair to Hasenhuttl, the sign of a good coach is surely making the best of the resources at your disposal in whatever way you see fit? He didn't have much quality at Ingolstadt so they didn't play an expansive game but now he has some excellent players he's gone to an attacking approach. Jardim's Monaco were horrid to watch in the 2014/15 season, they scored 51 and conceded 26 in Ligue 1. This year they scored 107 in Ligue 1.
I’ve no problem with people saying Hassenhuettl’s approach at Ingolstadt was pragmatic, because that’s true. It’s people trying to draw a veil over the fact that the team were eye-wateringly dull that gets on my tits.
Maybe you’ve seen more of them than I have, but I’d dispute just how attacking Leipzig have been under Hassenhuettl. Their home game against Dortmund was the worst match I’ve seen this season, every bit as grim as Hassenhuettl’s Ingolstadt.
Whenever I’ve watched them they’ve tended to sit back and play on the counter. They remind me a bit of that Villarreal team we met in the EL semis last season. Both teams strive to play the rapid-fire counter. When you saw highlights of Villarreal, they seemed to be a really entertaining side, because you were only seeing the moments when the rapid-fire approach came off. But when you watched them for a full 90 minutes, things were very different. Leipzig also seem very fond of pinging high balls to the 6ft 4in guy up front.
Forsberg’s an exquisite player, though. He stood out in highlights when they were in the 2 Bundesliga and he’s made the step up effortlessly.
Chelsea, City and PSG have all demonstrated in recent years that if you spend enough money, success will follow. Leipzig’s success is just another example of financial determinism.
