Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey isn’t hiding away from his ambition this summer. He wants to be the Netherlands first choice striker at the World Cup.
Back at the KNVB complex in Zeist for the international break this week, the Sunderland striker has admitted he has his eyes on the prize to NRC.
The “goal” is a clear one, become a regular for the Netherlands this year and in the coming years too.
“That would be very nice. I am working hard on that too. So hopefully it will work out,” he said.
His return to the national team comes at a crucial moment, with the World Cup just a few months away. After a difficult season at Ajax, he had been out of the picture. But his move to Sunderland has reignited the fire.
With six goals this season, including the winner in the derby against Newcastle, the striker is firmly back in the picture for Ronald Koeman.
The analyst behind the resurgence
Brian Brobbey’s return to form isn’t just about confidence, though. Since last summer, he has been working with Rotterdam-based specialist Patrick Woerst.
The Sunderland striker was introduced to him by Netherlands teammate Denzel Dumfries. His surprising conclusion, after analysing Brobbey’s game, was to get him out of physical duels.
He helped the Sunderland striker to rebuild his game, focusing on scanning, orientation and receiving the ball while moving.
“Defenders are getting smarter and think he wants to hang onto them all the time,” Woerst explains.
“So, they keep their distance. In doing so, they put Brobbey in a kind of doubt: where exactly is he?
“That is the first thing we started working on. What should he do if he doesn’t get into a physical duel? To this end, they started focusing on turning away quickly.
“He almost always turns away and maintains his speed. That means he is harder to stop.”
Opta data backs that up. Brobbey’s ground duels have dropped from 7.8 per match at Ajax to 5.2 at Sunderland, a 33% reduction.
“Patrick shows me how to scan players, how to make runs into space, and how to receive the ball,” added Brobbey. Less duels, also means more fitness, something which hasn’t gone unnoticed in the Netherlands.
Sharper movement and smarter positioning = bigger threat
Another major change has been the Sunderland player’s positioning in the box. According to Woerst’s data, Brobbey would often stand directly in front of defenders. That made his movements predictable.
Now, he’s encouraged to drift away from the ball, stay hidden and burst into space when he can. Ideally that happens in front of goal. Watch back his winner against Newcastle, and such training is evident.
“With crosses from the flanks, he was often standing in front of the opponent, so they had him in their field of vision,” add Woerst.
“So, every move Brian made, the defender saw and could react to it. Brian always had a tendency to run towards the ball.”
The trick, according to him, is for Brobbey to stay away from the ball more often in promising situations to stay out of his marker’s field of vision.
“And then at the right moment, when he makes eye contact with his teammate, he has to get in front of his man,” he concluded.
The result, it appears, is a striker who looks faster, fitter and far more dangerous than he did at Ajax.
Now his goal is clear, become the Netherlands’ first choice striker. For the first time in a long time, that is genuinely within reach. And the Sunderland striker may have Woerst to thank.
🇩🇿 Sunderland | Anis Hadj Moussa and Yacine Titraoui
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