Adi Hütter’s AS Monaco is unexpectedly one of the clubs generating plenty of attention at the start of this 2024/25 season. The results in Ligue 1 and the Champions League are the reason for the excitement. Hütter’s tactics and man management are the reasons for the positive results.
Just why is AS Monaco, once again, one of Europe’s top clubs and how long can the team hold on to this form? I am looking at Adi Hütter’s tactics to try and find out.
Career Prior to Managing AS Monaco
Adolf “Adi” Hütter enjoyed a moderately successful playing career. He represented Austrian clubs and earned 14 caps for his country. He was usually deployed as a midfielder.
However, many modern fans may remember hearing his name because of his start in management with the controversial RB Salzburg organisation and the company around it.
In 2014, Hütter became the senior manager. The next season, he became the club Young Boys manager, impressing enough that he then moved to the Bundesliga and coached Eintracht Frankfurt. The team’s highest honour during this time was playing in the DFL Supercup.
The profile that Hütter built up helped him next land a job with Borussia Mönchengladbach before being tasked with bringing AS Monaco, once giants of European football, from murky waters. The 2024/25 promises to be the most exciting of his managerial career if the team’s form continues in the same way.
Football Philosophy
One of the prime reasons Adi Hütter has continued to find employment at such a high level, in spite of a relative lack of silverware, is that his teams’ football is fun to watch. Typically, a Hütter-coached team will play dynamic football that encourages quick transitions, an attack-minded approach, and intense pressing.
In theory, this is what nearly every top team wants to give their supporters. The question is whether a manager can achieve this with teams that have fewer financial resources.
To compensate, Adi Hütter encourages discipline and great repetition of training drills in his philosophy. When it works, he creates high-energy teams that can press relentlessly and intelligently and take advantage of opponents’ mistakes.
Some of these aspects may change based on the type of squad that he is coaching. Adi Hütter can also be flexible in his tactical approach, encouraging overlaps and timed runs down the wings, and is known to push players to their physical limits.
Formations and Adaptability
Adi Hütter’s style is not married to one single starting formation. Instead, these changes are based on the strength of his squad and, more importantly, the strength of the squad that his team is about to face.
At Eintracht Frankfurt, he was known for playing a three-man-defence in a 3-4-1-2 or 3-5-2 formation. At Borussia Mönchengladbach, he tended to favour the versatile and very modern 4-2-3-1 formation.
What about AS Monaco this season? Hütter has been able to switch from one approach to the other with ease. Instead, he has focused on getting his players to retain the tactical principles he preaches regardless of whether he plays in a 4-2-3-1, a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-2-2.
AS Monaco in Defense
Key to AS Monaco‘s style of play is the ability to press efficiently. Similar to other managers who made their name in the Bundesliga, like Jurgen Klopp or Peter Bosz, Hütter seems to believe that gegenpressing can be the team’s best playmaker.
This means that when the team loses possession, the players try to win it back through counterpressing as quickly as possible. The team does this by cutting off passing lanes and forcing turnovers. This season, Monaco has typically won the ball back within 8-10 seconds.
While Monaco tends to play with a very well-organized four-man defence (although “three at the back” is also an option), it is 20-year-old midfielder Lamine Camara who is bravest about trying to win the ball back. He averages 3.1 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game. This allows his central midfielder partner, Denis Zakaria, a far more technical player, to help out the team’ offensively.
The two central defenders, Wilfired Singo and Mohammed Salisu, are young players able to use their energy and physicality to outpower defenders. However, they are both also comfortable on the ball. Both average nearly 85% pass success rate.
Meanwhile, the high press, especially from forwards Takumi Minamino and Breel Embolo, is meant to force the opposition into wider areas where full-backs Vanderson and Caio Henrique can intervene. Vanderson is a good tackler who possesses excellent positioning. His defensiveness compensates for Caio Henrique’s tendency to advance further up the field and take advantage of his crossing.
AS Monaco in Attack
Under Adi Hütter, AS Monaco tends to lean heavily on an approach that involves short, quick passes. This means that when in transition, the team has greater control and can maintain its defensive shape if the ball gets lost.
The short passes also help the team move the ball quickly through the lanes where Takumi Minamino and Denis Zakaria like to operate. Both players are known for their great tactical awareness and their technique, which allows them to operate in tight spaces.
While AS Monaco plays attacking, exciting football, this is not a chaotic approach. This season, the team has been very smart about taking advantage of set pieces.
And, most of their goals have come from quick turnovers, after stealing the ball form the opposition and utilizing well-drilled attacking plays.
AS Monaco has slightly exceeded xG, registering 17.4 for 15 goals scored. While recent weeks in Ligue 1 have provided something of a dry spell, prior to that, Folarin Balogun was the team’s top scorer with 3 goals. The American is Breel Embolo’s challenger for the lead striker position in the first 11.
This speaks of AS Monaco’s squad depth. In that regard, we should also mention 19-year-old Eliesse ben Seghir, a natural attacking midfielder who can play in multiple roles. The Moroccan has scored two and assisted two goals but also has the highest shot-creating actions of any player in the squad. Together with Dennis Zakaria and/or Takumi Minamino, they make Monaco’s attacking engine run.
What’s Next for AS Monaco and Adi Hütter?
Adi Hütter’s tactics are powering an extremely strong side. AS Monaco is looking to make a comeback in France and on the international team and have the squad, the management and the excitement to do it.
However, recent weeks have also revealed the team’s weaknesses. The players are still error-prone in tension-filled moments. And the large number of fixtures is already taking its toll.
Still, there’s great potential here, and Hütter must make the best of this season. If he manages to do this, it can be a campaign that defines his career and Monaco’s progress as a club.
