Skip to main content
Football Wyscout Performance Analysis

Racing Santander: Rejuvenation and Relationism

7 min Read

In this article, we analyze José Alberto’s rev­o­lu­tion­ary tactics behind Racing Santander’s push for promotion.

Flying high in the Spanish Segunda Division and playing an exhilarating brand of football, José Alberto López's Racing Santander have been one of the most fascinating teams to watch in European football this season.

Ambitious, free-flowing, and full of offensive dynamism, this exciting version of Los Montañeses are right in the hunt for a return to the Spanish top-flight for the first time since 2012.

Despite a recent dip in form that has seen them drop to joint-second, Santander initially shot out of the blocks and wracked up an eight-point lead after 14 games. The winter break in the campaign has offered them a chance to reset and recalibrate, as they look to breathe momentum back into their promotion push.

Ripping teams apart with José Alberto's scintillating relationist philosophy, Racing have been a thrilling side to follow, as their unpredictability, fluidity and stylish approach has taken Spain by storm.

"In relationism, players move closer to the ball carrier - instead of spreading out - to create quick passing combinations and break down opposition defences by confusing them," explained relationism expert and tactics writer Jamie Hamilton to BBC Sport.

"It's not really planned, coaches aren't training certain passing sequences or patterns, although general concepts like 'diagonals' or 'ladders' help to guide player interactions."

From a base 4-2-3-1 that subsequently morphs into several different shapes, the Cantabrian outfit's players have relished the immense freedom afforded to them to engage with one another in close proximity and to form relationships across the pitch.

Racing Santander's average position graphic vs. Deportivo - Wyscout Match Report

Due to the players being positioned closely together (essentially tilting to one side of the pitch with up to nine players), this lends itself to rapid passing exchanges to move the ball swiftly to carve open defensive structures and effectively unbalance them.

Pass connections map vs. Huesca - Wyscout Match Report

Pulling opponents all over and excellent at populating ball-near areas, giving the ball holder and the receivers a plethora of options to progress upfield or maintain possession, there's no doubting José Alberto's men have been an impressive exponent of relationism.

Another example of Racing Santander's close proximity using Wyscout's average position map

While the astute tiering of players brings a nice element of verticality and diagonality to really inject speed and impetus into attacks, how Racing pass and move so brilliantly adds to their menace to ensure plentiful options for colleagues, but to also continually discombobulate opposition rearguards.

Forever overwhelming and altering reference points for stopping units, it can be a real nightmare for opponents to combat them when they're firing and have their passing combinations dialled.

Racing Santander passing link map vs. Malaga game - Wyscout Match Report

Although encouraging this connectivity and synchronicity all over the pitch has worked wonders, having many technically excellent players who make quality decisions has been integral towards bringing José Alberto's ideas to life, as the system requires players to be inventive and precise with their movement and work in possession to slice through their foes.

"We think that [by playing closer together] we can make our players shine due to their characteristics," José Alberto told BBC Sport.

"We want to exploit the characteristics of our players so that they have greater advantages in each game situation."

A strong tactical understanding and awareness is key too, which the Verdiblancos certainly have, to navigate most instances in these reduced space and densely populated conditions.

While they're wizards with their intricate passing sequences — which include some masterful one touch passes, flicks and layoffs — it's been important to note how they implement many other interesting concepts to add some extra variety.

This tilting consequently opens up the weak side of the pitch due to the opposition shifting heavily across. Racing notably take advantage of this by launching switches of play to isolate teammates on the opposite flank, where they can thrive in 1v1s and surge into oceans of vacant space.

The player on the ball can then also whip in crosses and have a host of options that attack the box at different heights and depths to aim for, with many coming in from the blindside so they can enjoy a dynamic ascendancy over more stationary, ball-watching defenders.

Racing Santander top of touches in the penalty area rankings, correct as of 17th January - Wyscout Rankings

The way this clever clustering of players helps facilitate rotations, up-back-throughs, opposite movements, third and fourth man runs, and the aforementioned overload to isolate principle, significantly elevates their scoring menace — even though they are underperforming their XG substantially.

Expected goals graphic showing Racing Santander are 3rd, but have room to improve - Wyscout Rankings

Moreover, the issues faced by opponents are compounded by how superbly Racing players dynamically occupy space and how alert they are to markers, courtesy of their slick and persistent scanning to guarantee they have a constantly updated mental imagery of their surroundings.

So good at supporting one another, creating passing angles, and manufacturing space with their varied movement, it warrants praise how Racing’s close quarters class ensures they are not solely a threat with short link play, but also opening up room for runners in behind to stretch backlines to generate more possibilities for vertical, horizontal and diagonal passes.

Their cohesive dovetailing and the players' knowledge of how to form ideal conditions to progress sees them get details spot on, such as when receiving the  ball in ideal forward-facing postures so they can instantly attack without needing to turn. 

Indeed, given defenders are often in dilemmas about who to mark and are pinned by the chaos going around them, receiving possession in this way is a huge boost to their offensive armoury.

Coordinated in their movements to add some order to their less structured approach, with no fixed system to execute their principles and tactical nuances, they've been enthralling going forward for a multitude of reasons.

The way the players have flourished under José Alberto and have learned to read situations and anticipate what's about to unfold has amplified their success, as well as allowing them to dominate and impose themselves on opponents by never letting them settle into a rhythm or a pattern of how best to stop them.

Graphic displaying Racing Santander rank 2nd for fouls suffered - Wyscout Rankings

Defensively resolute and applying themselves wholeheartedly, there's been much to admire about Racing’s stopping exertions too.

As a result of their framework and connectivity, this has granted them immediate access to fiercely and aggressively counterpress once they lose possession. Determined to regain the ball as quickly as possible before counters can develop, recovering it briskly and high up the pitch has served as a nice playmaker for them as well.

Their desire to win the ball back also translates into their high pressing, where they energetically hunt down their opponents, smartly angle their pressure to close off passing lanes and condense the available playing room by using a high line.

Eager to squeeze the pitch and trap opponents by using the touchline as an extra defender and responding to triggers like a back pass, a pass out wide or if an adversary drops deep with their back to goal, this increases their capacity to force turnovers and attack from advanced zones.

Graphic displaying Racing Santander rank 1st for interceptions

Content dropping into a deep or mid-block when needed, Racing have proven that they can shift smoothly, step up in adherence with specific cues, assist one another, and stay compact to deal with threats.

Brave, bold and never afraid to take chances, Racing Santander's high risk, high reward strategy has been paying off handsomely, underlined by their strong numbers in many metrics.

Racing Santander stats at the half way stage of the season

Boasting a host of quality players with a nice blend of youth and experience across the pitch, the likes of Iñigo Vicente, Unai Vencedor, Andrés Martín, Jokin Ezkieta, Javi Montero, Aritz Aldasoro, Clement Michelin, Juan Carlos Arana, Pablo Rodríguez and Jon Karrikaburu have been instrumental in bringing José Alberto’s plans to life.

Allowing the fans to dream of a long-awaited promotion back to LaLiga, it's clear how motivated and determined José Alberto is to repay the support of the fans when talking about the prospect of going up: 

"What they make us feel from before kick-off, from the moment we leave the dressing room and head to the tunnel… for us it is impossible to start a match disconnected from the atmosphere they generate," insisted José Alberto.

"It would be an immense, indescribable joy for the city and the province. The fans could experience it as a liberation and it would be a consolidation of the project, that Racing has returned to stay and dream."

Refreshing, pulsating and capturing the attention of the wider European football landscape with their revolutionary relationism philosophy, watching if José Alberto's captivating team can propel themselves back to LaLiga will be an unmissable storyline to follow in the second half of the season.

If you want to learn more about Wyscout Data & API, get in touch!

Follow Edward on X.