When Daley Blind’s Bayern Munich stint came to a end, it seemed as if the Dutchman’s time at the highest level was up. But Blind is back, impressing with Girona in LaLiga, and seemingly at the top of his game, as he looks to prove former club Ajax wrong following an acrimonious exit in early 2023
The Netherlands international’s relationship with his childhood club pretty much broke down by the end of his time at Ajax. In what was a rather revealing interview with AD, in January last year, Blind spoke of how he stopped feeling welcome at Ajax by the club’s then manager Alfred Schreuder and director of football Klaas-Jan Huntelaar despite spending many seasons at the club across two spells in Amsterdam.
The second spell had come right after a period spent at Manchester United that petered out in a fashion that has become common at a club which has become synonymous with dysfunctionality.
The 33-year-old did win the Bundesliga, at Bayern, but he only featured four times in the league that season. Blind’s career resurgence at Girona has coincided with Spain’s surprise package picking up wins over Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, as they remain level on points with Real Madrid, at the very top of the standings.
A case can be made of the fact that the side managed by Míchel have been one of the most entertaining teams to watch this season and with Blind functioning in a preferred role and system, he has played a key role in that. He was misunderstood at United and under-utilised in a Bayern squad that went deep, but he often sets the tone for Míchel’s possession-based approach.
Girona’s system arguably mirrors that of Ajax, as they build with a back three and break down the opposition by controlling the ball, looking to exploit space, and their superior movement. Míchel’s side usually operate in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-1-4-1 but can also use a 3-4-3 shape, but they predominantly operate in a back three while building from the back.
Blind operates on the left side of the backline when Girona start in the back four, playing a key role in dictating play and controlling possession. When the Catalan side start in a back three, he operates centrally, as it minimises the risk of him getting turned and having to recover – that isn’t one of his strengths.
And the approach suits Blind and brings forth his strengths as a footballer. For centre-backs, he is in the 93rd percentile for touches on the ball and 99th percentile for chances created. Having more touches shows how much Blind is trusted, in possession, by Míchel and how much reliance the team has on him, when it comes laying down the key values of the system.
The Dutchman has a passing accuracy of 90.2% and he is 12th in La Liga for the most accurate passes per 90 minutes, with his tally sitting pretty at 68.2 – the second best tally for Girona behind the impressive Aleix García.
Girona can boast of other ball-playing centre-backs such as Eric García and David López but the 33-year-old remains the most reliable for the functioning of the team, despite not being the quickest, and this comes to the fore in another off-the-ball department.
The Gironistes’s stern belief in counter-pressing allows them to win the ball as close to goal as possible and for this, their backline squeezes up to reduce the gaps between the midfield and defence. Blind, on the left, finds himself advanced on the pitch. And that has allowed him to win back possession 0.33 times per 90 minutes, essentially ironing out his potential weakness of being dribbled past fairly easily.
Even though Blind can be prone to getting turned and doesn’t always have the recovery speed to track runners in-behind, that is largely the reason why he operates centrally in a back three. He isn’t the quickest but as always, his impressive footballing IQ makes up for it and he provides a net positive in Girona’s system.
The credit for this does go to Míchel, who has tasked the veteran with a central role. And Blind has been full of praise for his manager, who has made him feel wanted and has very clear ideas about how the game should be played. Blind told The Independent:
“It’s always difficult to compare managers, each one has his own ID and way of playing. But what stands out is the manager is really clear in how he wants to play football, he has a really clear idea about every game we play and having a real tactical plan.
“He’s a manager who is human, who connects on a personal level as well. He joins in the rondo [training game of keep-ball] and is one of the guys; from the moment training really starts he’s then really on top of it and not holding back.”
Blind certainly isn’t the only technically proficient footballer at Girona, but at the Estadi Montilivi, he feels welcome, wanted and he is playing to his strengths. That wasn’t always the case for him earlier in his career but Blind is finally getting the credit he deserves.
(Images from IMAGO)
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