When Awar Meets Inzaghi: How to Neutralize a Playmaker in a Classic Showdown

A tactical conductor under pressure

A playmaker is the conductor of a football orchestra, shaping tempo, guiding teammates, and carving openings while sometimes taking a shot himself. This role’s value makes coaches obsess over who starts it for the opposition, especially when a single player can tilt a game’s balance.

Because control of this role matters so much, coaches aim to blunt the opposition’s playmaker, cutting off the veins that feed their creativity and the team’s offensive heartbeat.

Among teams that rely heavily on this position is Al Ittihad, the Saudi champions of the league and the King’s Cup, where Hassan Awar has played a starring role in both titles.

Awar steered Al Ittihad to lift both trophies, dethroning the holder Al Hilal in the King’s Cup quarterfinal and leaving them as runners-up in the Roshen Saudi Pro League. The narrative tightens as the season’s early rounds unfold.

The big clash returns early in the campaign, around Round 6 of Roshen, with Al Inma Stadium hosting the derby between Al Ittihad and Al Hilal, scheduled for Friday evening.

Awar vs Inzaghi

The match will stage a side duel that echoes past Italian battles between Simone Inzaghi, the coach known for precision, and Hassan Awar, the playmaking talent at the heart of Al Ittihad. In mid-2023, Awar moved from Lyon to Roma, while Inzaghi prepared for his third season with Inter, and the two met in Serie A showdowns that were decided by careful game management and moments of individual quality.

In those Inter vs Roma games, the tactician who controlled San Siro capitalized on moments when Roma pressed and looked to build through the middle, edging a 1-0 win at San Siro and a 4-2 result at the Olimpico, underscoring how managerial approach can enforce or limit a playmaker’s impact.

Although Awar played limited minutes in some appearances, Inzaghi highlighted Roma’s quality, noting players like Dybala, Lukaku, Pellegrini, and Awar as a formidable mix that demanded careful preparation and collective discipline.

Inzaghi’s Tactics

Inzaghi has leaned on a 3-5-2 setup this season, a formation he has deployed with success at Inter and Lazio. A core principle of his defense is to isolate the opposition playmaker from the heart of the build-up, starting from the forwards’ high press and cascading back to the back line.

Strikers close the depth of the field, forcing defenders to initiate attacks from the flanks. One wing-back advances while the other holds, creating a four-man line in defense and midfield, with the midfield trio and the advancing full-back constricting vertical passing lanes toward the playmaker’s zone.

If the opponent tries to reintroduce a forward into the buildup, a defender steps out to pressure him and the other full-back covers the space left behind, preventing a quick re-entry into the central channels.

The core idea is to isolate the key playmaker, deny his supply lines, and force the opposing coach to navigate a crowded field of defensive pressure and transitional chances, making the duel as much about intelligence as about technique.

From Calcio to Roshen

To picture how Inzaghi could apply this in the Classic, imagine a backline anchored by Kalidou Koulibaly and Hassan Tambakti, with Ruben Neves patrolling the middle and Theo Hernandez along the left as a wing-back, joined by Hamad Al-Yami on the right as a supporting full-back.

Midfield features Nasser Al-Dosari, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, and Malcolm, behind a forward line led by Marcos Leonardo and Darwin Nunez. With the absence of some regulars, Leonardo and Nunez would be tasked with pulling the center-backs toward the flanks, opening space for the ball to be fed to Awar along the channels or on the break.

As the defense shifts, Koulibaly steps out to pressure the ball-carrier while Tambakti tethers the space, and Neves or the right-back provides the numerical advantage to shrink the lanes. Inzaghi’s plan would then see Awar in a direct, man-to-man engagement with Tambakti, with Neves and the supporting full-backs providing the laser-guided efficiency to clamp down the middle.

With this setup, Inzaghi’s goal would be to blunt the playmaker’s tempo and deny the crucial passes that would unlock the attackers around him. The tactical chess match would thus hinge on how quickly the players adapt to the evolving pressure and how well the team preserves balance between defense and attack.

In short, this clash promises a duel where the cunning of a playmaker meets the discipline of a coach who values structure, space, and tempo. Expect a game of tight margins, smart runs, and moments of brilliance that can tilt the scale in a single sequence. And yes, if Awar begins dancing through the lines, Inzaghi will have his plan ready, while the crowd savors every tactical tease and counter move.

Punchline time: if strategy is a sniper rifle, Inzaghi’s playbook is the one with the silencer—quiet, precise, and somehow always on target. Punchline two: when Awar keeps pulling strings, even the net needs a vacation to recover from all the tension in this duel.