Who is Dick Schreuder?
The ultimate guide to what you can expect from Castellón's all-but-confirmed new manager.
PEC Zwolle today confirmed the departure of manager Dick Schreuder, with numerous Dutch media outlets announcing him as Castellón’s new manager, taking over from Albert Rudé. Who exactly is he and what can Castellón fans expect for the season ahead?
Dick is the brother of Alfred, who managed Ajax until last year. After working as an assistant at Philadelphia Union and with his brother at Hoffenheim, he was appointed manager at PEC Zwolle in 2021. He couldn’t help them avoid relegation from the Eredevisie, however he guided them right back to the top level this season just gone, finishing in second place, level on points with first. It was an impressive performance, playing an attractive, highly offensive brand of football which included a record 13-0 win against FC Den Bosch in March.
Tactics
Thanks to this phenomenal analysis from Beth Limb for TFA, several clear traits emerge from Dick Schreuder’s time at PEC Zwolle.
Three at the back
Zwolle almost exclusively lined up with three at the back, most commonly in a 3-4-2-1 but also in a 3-5-2. This allows for a solid base, which is important given the high pressing nature of the team (see below). It is also in contrast to Castellón under Rudé who rarely played with three central defenders, which often left the side exposed on the counter and after pressing.
Extremely high pressing
Schreuder likes his teams to press high, very high in fact. This approach was very successful in forcing mistakes from the opponent, with 434 high regains, and 177 so called “dangerous recoveries”, where there was a shot within 20 seconds of recovering the ball.
For teams looking to pass out from the back, this means they have to deal with huge pressure, and risk committing mistakes in what is a highly dangerous area.
It will be interesting to see how he adapts this to the Primera RFEF, where arguably a more direct style of play is prevalent, but perhaps where individual mistakes will also be more commonplace.
Overloads
A theme we saw relatively commonly in some games under Albert Rudé was the idea of overloading one side of the pitch to create space on the other flank. This is something that Schreuder’s Zwolle seemed to do expertly well, being very patient in the build up waiting for the opportunity, before switching play into space to create a good chance. They averaged 58% possession per 90 and 183 lateral passes per 90, quite high numbers in both categories.
Castellón’s players should be familiar with this strategy as a basic concept of the type of football that Castellón’s analytics department wants to see deployed, and we saw on numerous occasions last season that the winger on the opposite side would often come in to take advantage of the space created by the overload. During the season I wrote about how Castellón did this against La Nucia to create a number of chances.
Fluidity
In line with Dutch heritage and total football, Schreuder plays a hyper fluid style, with players comfortable changing positions with eachother to create overloads and press. In the example Beth highlights in her article, a clear passing lane is generated by this, which leads to a 1v1 situation against the goalkeeper.
Things to address
Given all of this, several things are clear regarding the current squad. Firstly, I anticipate significant changes. The squad as whole had difficulties adapting to Rudé’s positional system, and on that basis, decisions will need to be made. Rudé’s system and Schreuder’s have significant differences (not least the back three), but they are both complex, and require players who can perform to the level. The club will not want to repeat the same mistakes in terms of the adaptation process.
The weakness of Schreuder’s system, as Beth details, is vulnerability to the counterattack. If the opponent breaks the press and manages to get forward, defenders can often end up out of place which causes problems. This is again something that requires high-IQ on the part of the defenders to avoid, and a deep understanding of where everyone is on the pitch.
With the Primera RFEF featuring a number of counterattacking sides, Castellón will have to be really careful, and Schreuder might have to adapt his system to mitigate this. However with a full preseason ahead, there will be much more of a chance to prepare the team, and put the system in place.
Ultimately, Castellón are getting a highly sought-after manager with offensive-minded ideas, and with a good transfer market, I can’t wait to see the football that will be on offer at Castalia next season.