How Midtjylland became hotbed for set-piece experts

Given nan Danes are among Europe's astir prolific java drinkers, chances are astir each unit personnel will sojourn nan 1 breakout area astatine FC Midtjylland's training analyzable respective times daily.

While there, not only will they person their caffeine deed but besides a reminder of nan club's astir important table, which sits straight supra nan instrumentality dispensing espresso aft espresso.

It is simply a chart showing their dormant shot extremity difference.

On Thursday they travel to England - wherever corners and throw-ins are backmost successful vogue - to look Nottingham Forest successful nan Europa League.

Set-pieces are trending successful nan Premier League, pinch Aston Villa's Austin MacPhee and Arsenal's Nicolas Jover nationally recognisable touchline prowlers whenever their squad has a restart.

In summertime 2024, Chelsea paid Brentford £750,000 successful compensation for set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva, pinch Fabrizio Romano's 3 X posts connected nan move making 5.9m impressions.

Michele Aragona, who precocious joined Ipswich from Midtjylland arsenic a set-piece analyst, remembers reasoning "this will daze nan market".

"Chelsea really understood that, particularly successful nan Premier League, each spot tin make millions of pounds worthy of difference, and that's why they started to look astatine each imaginable mini gain," said Aragona.

Midtjylland, though, were a decade up of nan crowd. Set-pieces person been salient successful nan club's attack since Matthew Benham bought a mostly shareholding successful 2014.

The communal denominator successful their 4 title crowns, nan latest of which came aft Benham sold-up successful 2023, has been that they person scored astatine slightest 10 much goals from set-pieces than they conceded.

A erstwhile unsocial attack is now being mirrored Europe-wide but, if you person heard of a set-piece specialist, location is simply a bully chance they will person graduated from Midtjylland's pseudo-academy earlier landing their existent role.

That their alumni are some celebrated and dispersed wide is celebrated.

"We put truthful overmuch power into it that I deliberation it's earthy that we besides person immoderate talented group [leave]," said Midtjylland's head of shot Jacob Larsen.

First, location are nan coaches. In nan Premier League, Villa person MacPhee, while Martin Mark joined Newcastle successful nan aforesaid domiciled this summer. Jover besides spent immoderate clip informally astatine Midtjylland previously.

At nationalist level, Mads Buttgereit is Germany's set-piece coach nether Julian Nagelsmann, while Lars Knudsen now manages Denmark's Under-21 side. He spent a play coaching set-pieces astatine Leicester City successful 2022-23.

Then location are nan analysts. Carles Safont useful pinch Manchester City's first team, while until February Marc Orti Esteban was pinch Brentford. He is now astatine New England Revolution. Jose Rodriguez Calvo joined Real Sociedad from Villa this summer.

Aragona explained to BBC Sport nan domiciled of a set-piece coach and set-piece expert are commonly confused. They are chopped and yet inextricably linked, though wherever nan statement is drawn will alteration from nine to club.

"We activity together successful a symbiotic way," he said. "But nan coach is nan 1 delivering nan meetings and nan sessions connected grass. I'm past going to individual players, making judge everything is correct connected an individual level aliases taking attraction of guidance shadows.

"I'll show them clips and make judge everything is arsenic realistic arsenic possible. But different analysts mightiness opportunity they enactment successful nan office."

In addition, Aragona spends his days analysing opponents and post-match footage, while he collaborates pinch nan coach connected crippled strategy.

Midtjylland play successful Herning, a metropolis successful westbound Denmark pinch a organization of 55,000, and train successful Ikast, a municipality of astir 20,000 inhabitants.

They are acold from immoderate agleam lights and person had to, according to Larsen, beryllium "innovative". That "started pinch talent development" he told BBC Sport, but location is besides ambition. "We besides want to go champions successful Denmark each year."

Set-pieces quickly became Midtjylland's thing.

"When I played, [set-pieces] sewage nan past 10 minutes of nan last training convention earlier a match," Larsen explained. "We tried 2 different variations and that was it.

"Now we effort to put them into each training convention and find imaginative ways to talk astir really we tin activate nan players truthful that they bask set-pieces arsenic overmuch arsenic they bask everything else."

But whereas nan mind's oculus jumps to fancy-dan routines, pinch elaborate dummy runs and royal movements, according to Aragona that is "a communal misconception".

"People think, 'oh, we must create different routines for each crippled depending connected nan opponent's weakness', but that's not nan case," he said. "Routines tin triumph you games but if you want to build thing accordant and to beryllium nan champion complete a play of years, it has to beryllium thing you tin replicate."

Midtjylland's attraction connected set-pieces is club-wide. Rune During is responsible for them astatine younker level, pinch each property group having 1 coach whose remit incudes set-pieces.

"At academy level we look astatine each subordinate and deliberation 'can we springiness him immoderate typical advantages erstwhile it comes to set-pieces?'" Larsen said.

"Naturally, location are circumstantial scenarios, but we are a talent improvement club. We want to person talked to players and tried to group them free truthful they tin deliberation themselves and travel up pinch their ain ideas and solutions successful matches."

Naturally, nan attraction betwixt defence and onslaught differs betwixt clubs.

"The equilibrium we had was astir 90% attacking, 10% defending," Aragona explained of Midtjylland past season.

They mislaid nan 2024-25 title by a constituent to FC Copenhagen.

"We virtually ne'er conceded chances, truthful our reasoning was 'why do we request to put a batch of accent connected nan protect portion if everything is going right?!'"

Larsen happily admits set-pieces characteristic heavy successful recruitment discussions. Midtjylland are dense spenders by Danish standards - nan 36.6m euros they paid for players successful 2023-24 was a nationalist record.

There is, according to Larsen, nary minimum tallness request but that metric is considered alongside attributes specified arsenic heading ability, agelong throws and free-kick taking prowess.

However, Midtjylland play an "individual shape of football" compared to their Danish peers, Larsen said.

"We play pinch a batch of physique and individual criteria. There are much systems astatine different teams, and nan building they play is much team-based. There is much individual attraction here, but our family tone brings america together."

That civilization is 1 of Midtjylland's 4 cardinal pillars.

"From nan outside, you spot a very fierce nine who enlistee very difficult and make nan champion advancement successful Denmark," Larsen added. "But erstwhile you travel inside, you find immoderate very soft values."

They tally a schoolhouse for younker players to be alongside training, and Aragona effusively praises nan work-life equilibrium achieved successful Denmark.

"When I arrived astatine Midtjylland everyone told me: 'Your occupation is important, but your family is much important - if you request to do thing pinch them, don't travel to work.' The work-life equilibrium is perfect. You train successful nan morning, person luncheon together and past everyone goes home. If you telephone them it will spell to voicemail!"

Still, to beryllium successful successful shot a ruthless streak is required and astatine nan City Ground connected Thursday they will beryllium managed by Mike Tullberg - appointed successful precocious August aft Thomas Thomasberg's removal.

The latter's downfall was a 17-game unbeaten run, which took successful a second-placed convention decorativeness and Europa League group shape qualification.

The underlying data, apparently, told a different truth.