Player Focus: Berbatov can Become Falcao's Perfect Foil for Monaco
On Tuesday, Monaco confirmed what many had suspected was imminent and announced the sacking of Claudio Ranieri. Rumours had been circulating for weeks that the 'Tinkerman' would be shown the exit door and it proved only a matter of time before Les Rouges et Blanc relieved him of his duties.
Expected to succeed Ranieri at the Stade Louis II helm is Leonardo Jardim, on the back of his successful debut campaign with Sporting Lisbon. While Ranieri's record for Monaco this term would have been enough to win 7 of the 12 Championnat's since it was expanded to 20 teams in 2025, many believe the imminent appointment of Jardim is a step in the right direction.
The 39-year-old led Sporting to a 2nd place finish in the Liga ZON Sagres this term, with the team winning 25 more points and netting 18 more goals than they had in the previous campaign. This successful, attacking brand of football is what Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev craves and Jardim seemingly has the pedigree to deliver this.
With the likes of James Rodríguez, Radamel Falcao and Emmanuel Rivière available to the Venezuelan, and other attack-minded stars tipped to arrive this summer, he should have the personnel to put his plans in practice. A further offensive asset that can be utilised is Dimitar Berbatov.
The Bulgarian moved to the French Riviera in January and last week signed a one-year contract extension with Monaco. The decision to award him a new deal came on the back of a commendable run of form to end the term strongly, including a run in which the 33-year-old scored 5 goals and assisted 2 more in his last 6 appearances of the season.
His performances will likely have Jardim pondering how to accommodate Berbatov, last season’s top goalscorer Rivière and the returning Falcao in attack. The latter is expected to start, but it remains to be seen whether the incoming head coach will adopt a similar set up to the one Ranieri did.
This often saw Monaco start with two strikers and Rodríguez in support. Should Jardim continue with this system, it's likely one of either Berbatov or Rivière will miss out on a place in the starting XI. Falcao's form dropped when paired with a striker who performed similarly to him, which could see Berbatov tasked with forming a striking relationship with the Colombian.
Berbatov prefers to drop deeper to receive the ball in the final third, utilising the creative aspect of his game to bring others into play. As a result, the striker has developed a WhoScored strength of 'holding onto the ball', with Berbatov using his strength to ward off opposition defenders and give teammates the chance to move into better goalscoring positions.
Falcao, for example,
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