How Mothiba could benefit from Vieira’s arrival at Strasbourg
RC Strasbourg striker Lebo Mothiba could be in line to make a more significant contribution to the French Ligue 1 club under new manager Patrick Vieira.
The Arsenal legend, Vieira, is known for his rotation policy at previous clubs. Mothiba played a bit-part role for Strasbourg last season, as he started only three games while coming off the bench on 16 occasions.
The South African international scored Lebo Mothiba three goals against top-rated opposition such as AS Monaco and Olympique Marseille while also finding the net against Toulouse. This demonstrated his ability to make a meaningful impact if given regular opportunities.
A new manager will bring an opportunity to start from scratch with the pre-season preparations key to influencing Vieira’s team selections.
MOTHIBA COULD BENEFIT FROM VIEIRA’S ROTATION POLICY
Vieira is a manager who likes to use the full complement of his attacking department. His first European appointment was at OGC Nice in the French Ligue 1.
At Nice, he used all four of his attacking players, with Kasper Dolberg, Myziane Maolida, Adam Ounas and Ignatius Ganago taking turns in the first team. Although he installed Dolberg and Ganago as the first two players in the pecking order, he did not freeze out the other attacking players.
When he moved to Crystal Palace in the 2020/21 season, he used Jordan Ayew, Wilfried Zaha, Jean Phillipe Mateta, Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard interchangeably, depending on the profile of his opponents.
In his second season in London, he used Mateta, Zaha, Ayew and Edouard after the departure of Benteke. His rotation policy ensured that he was not always predictable. He always kept his fringe players active to keep them match-fit in case they needed to step in.
A FAN OF WORK ETHIC
At Strasbourg, he has Senegalese striker Habib Diallo as the high-profile player in the attacking department, and he is likely to be his first-choice striker, given the player’s status as the top scorer in the last few seasons.
Mothiba will likely play a supporting role, but he could be in line to force his way into the starting line up regularly, given Vieira’s appreciation for off-the-ball work ethic. His forwards usually chase down every loose ball and press opposing goalkeepers to force mistakes at any moment.
Vieira’s usage of Mateta and Edouard, despite their poor goal return at Palace, indicates that he was a fan of their tireless running and disruption, which opened spaces for other players like Zaha and Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze to get into goal-scoring positions.
Based on Vieira’s previous squad selection methods, Mothiba must maintain a consistent workmanlike attitude to appeal to the Frenchman.
Strasbourg will start their pre-season today at 5pm (CAT) against German club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Story by Bongani Malunga.
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