Football

What is gegenpressing? Origins, how it works, managers and teams

James Wilson Updated: 18 Feb 25 16:14

We examine the tactic of gegenpressing in football, including its origins, the managers who have employed it and the notable teams who have practiced it on the pitch.

Football

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What is gegenpressing?

The German word 'gegenpressing' translates into English as 'counter-pressing'.

As such, the term in football fundamentally refers to the process of responding to losing possession by immediately seeking to win the ball back.

This tactic requires calculated teamwork, with gegenpressing not isolated to the closest player to the ball but often a group of players who work together to win back possession.

Gegenpressing is most effective when possession is won back in advanced areas of the pitch, with the opposition goal immediately under pressure.

The origins of gegenpressing

The tactical principle of gegenpressing is widely acknowledged to have been popularised by Ralf Rangnick, the former Hoffenheim, Schalke and RB Leipzig manager dubbed the 'Godfather of gegenpressing'.

Currently manager of the Austria national team, Rangnick recalls being struck by the tactics of Dynamo Kyiv when he faced them in a friendly as a player in 1984, with the Ukrainian giants employing a systematic pressing game.

This calculated approach to pressing became a fundamental principle of Rangnick's coaching, with his teams becoming renowned in Germany for their eye-catching style of play and ability to overcome opposition backed by greater resources.

Rangnick's emphasis on gegenpressing is said to have inspired a number of distinguished German coaches in recent times, such as Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann.

Klopp in particular became renowned for his implementation of gegenpressing, with his successful Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool teams regularly overwhelming opponents with their intense approach to winning the ball back.

To highlight Rangnick as the sole founder of gegenpressing would be misleading, however, with this way of playing recognisable within teams pre-dating the ex-Man Utd interim manager's coaching career.

A coaching focus on intense pressing can be identified from the famous 'Total Football' era in the Netherlands during the 1970s, in which Feyenoord and Ajax both enjoyed standout success under Ernst Happel and Rinus Michels respectively, whilst the Netherlands were runners-up in back-to-back World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978.

Iconic former Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi is also a notable figure to have placed great emphasis on how his players operated off the ball, with his dominant Rossoneri teams coached to force the opposition mistakes by employing an intense pressing game.