“Systems no longer exist.”
Luciano Spalletti’s statement in 2022 was neither a provocative gesture nor a denial of structure, but rather a reorientation of the analytical focus of the game.
For the Italian coach, contemporary football is no longer primarily organised around fixed schemes or static arrangements, but around the reading and manipulation of the spaces left by the opponent.
Spaces that, with increasing clarity, are no longer found “between the lines”, but between players.
This perspective forces a rethinking of classic concepts such as position, role, or even structure. In their place, notions linked to relationships, direction, timing, and perception emerge.
The game ceases to be a succession of zonal occupations and becomes a dynamic network of coordinated movements, where each action generates responses and, from them, new opportunities.
Within this framework, ideas such as diagonality and Shadow Play, conceptually developed in The Diagonalist Manifesto by Jamie Hamilton, acquire central importance.
These ideas are reflected in Spalletti’s Juventus, who are performing above expectations in this Serie A campaign, highlighted by a recent emphatic 3–0 victory against their direct rival for Champions League qualification, Napoli.
Not as isolated resources, but as tactical expressions of a deeper relational logic: a football organised by vectors rather than lanes; by emergent relationships rather than predefined structures.
This tactical theory article explores how diagonals, off-ball movement, and Shadow Play function as key tools to destratify space, manipulate opponents, and generate dynamic superiorities in contemporary football.
Football As A Spatial Problem
When Spalletti claims that “systems no longer exist”, he is not denying the need for organisation but questioning the usefulness of thinking about the game through a rigid lens.
In his approach, the system is merely a formal starting point; what truly determines outcomes is how players interpret and exploit the spaces that open up from opponents’ actions.
The emphasis thus shifts from structure to behaviour.
The question is no longer “where is each player positioned?”, but rather “what relationships are being generated, and what defensive reactions do they provoke?”
Space is no longer a fixed container, but a direct consequence of movement, body orientation, and interaction between opponents.
In this context, building under pressure is not an unnecessary risk, but a prerequisite for creating advantages.
Attracting the opponent, provoking their press, and manipulating their defensive orientation becomes the first step towards progression.
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This is particularly relevant in a defensive context such as Italian football, where man-oriented marking schemes often disrupt build-up phases and force teams into direct play.