Bergas

I talked with Bergas (writing for Analytics FC) about how/why Japanese players are now making the jump directly from the #JLeague to the Bundesliga ⬇️

Tomoya Ando is rocking with #fcsp, Taichi Hara teams up. Kota Takai has started playing games with #bmg. They signed directly from J.League.

Are Japanese players making the jump?

For @analyticsfc.bsky.social 🗣️: Rouven Schröder, Joel Fujita, @rbyryo.bsky.social
analyticsfc.co.uk/blog/2026/02...

Japan to the Bundesliga: Are Japanese Players Making the Jump? - Analytics FC Bergas Brillianto assesses the viability of an increasingly well-trodden path, that from J1 League to Europe's elite

Pathways: Japan to Europe's Elite

Bergas Brillianto assesses the viability of an increasingly well-trodden path, that from J1 League to Europe's elite, and speaks to players and sporting directors to understand what is happening and why

analyticsfc.co.uk/blog/2026/02...

Second Ball Game Blessin has found a solution to help St. Pauli find another way to create chances and score goals: The Second Ball.

The article: bit.ly/SecondBallTF

Wrote this before: St. Pauli wing-backs need to play more diagonal passes, especially on the left, since Oppie hasn’t been good at distributing the ball.

As it turns out: Arek Pyrka is the answer, with Alex Blessin moving him to the left. Even not only with diagonal passes, but also carries. #fcsp

Maldini once said “If I have to make a sliding tackle then I have already made a mistake”.

Tomoya Ando 🇯🇵 showed that today. He didn’t make any tackles, but he performed really well defensively: made 7 ball recoveries and 10 clearances. Also so calm. #fcsp

45 minutes and Alexander Blessin outsmarted Seb Hoeneß in many aspects of the game.

A very good football from St. Pauli—with lot of injuries, recent bad results. Curious to see Stuttgart response in the second-half. #fcsp #fcspvfb

I believe Rasmussen came to St. Pauli not only to play as a substitute, but also with the expectation that he will be a regular starter given his experience.

However, I think he needs to adapt more to the #fcsp behaviour against the ball, which is a very important aspect of their game.

Unfortunately, Hauke Wahl couldn’t play yesterday, which forced Alex Blessin to put Eric back at CB & play Rasmussen from the very beginning.

I’ve nothing against the players, but Eric didn't look as comfy as he did in the number 6 position, while Rasmussen really struggled against the ball. #fcsp

This situation left Alexis Claude in a great position to make a through pass to Gregoritsch, who was also in a good position to make a run. You shouldn't let an opponent with the ball face your goal with that much free space.
#fcsp

Yes, Mathias Rasmussen was already late, failed to make the situation became 3vs2 for St. Pauli.

Augsburg won the ball.

When Augsburg moved into the #fcsp area with a numerical disadvantage, there was no intense pressure from Rasmussen to stop the player with the ball from moving forward.

Yes, second ball matters. Winning it is very important. Augsburg's 2nd goal came from this situation.

1. Vasilj played the ball forward directly to Jones
2. Jones failed to win it. At that moment, #fcsp should’ve had the chance to win the second ball because they could’ve had a 3 vs 2 situation.

Well, having 3+ xG but only managing to score one goal is indeed bad luck, beside of poor finishing of course.

However, conceding the second goal due to failing to win the second ball and making a bad decision about when to press is something you can prevent without relying on “luck”. #fcsp

Had a chat with @timecksteen.bsky.social the other day about the fact that, since vs Köln, St. Pauli never lose a game when they win the second ball battle, while they always lose when they fail to dominate it.

The same thing happened against Augsburg. And this loss is not just about "luck". #fcsp

St. Pauli won nine second balls against Leipzig today, which is a lot. I haven't checked how many of them became attacking situations, but this again shows how important second balls are for #fcsp games these days.

I wrote about the second ball idea in the tweet below. 👇🏻

Luka Vuskovic spat on the St. Pauli logo in the corridor leading to the locker room. He had also previously had an altercation with fans in the stand. #fcsphsv #fcsp #hsv

Not much happened in the first half of #FCSPSHSV.

- #hsv tried to take advantage by overloading the right side.
- #fcsp could’ve gained the advantage if they had more physicality up front and gone long early, as they often have a 4v4 situation up there during the early build-up.

It seems like Eric Smith fill in for Jacko, which a good idea (imo) especially with Alex Blessin's new physical style of play (for winning the second ball, overload) to create chances: bit.ly/SecondBallTF #fcsp

In conclusion: These new tactics help, yes. But they also need to find another solution, because winning is often about who has the most variations in their game. #fcsp lacks that variation this season.

Whether it is new players or another way to attack that remains under their control, we’ll see.

One way to improve would be to reduce sporadic wing play. Personally, I would love to see them maximising the centre and half-space areas, since #fcsp have more players there than before with their current structure.

Therefore, in my opinion, #fcsp still need to find ways in which they can fully control the game themselves. Adding players who can create opportunities independently, like Morgan Guilavogui, might help.

However, the strategy for when they have possession (with ball) also needs to be more varied.

Über Bedarf und Bedürfnisse - MillernTon Der FC St. Pauli könnte auf der Suche nach mehr Offensivgefahr auf dem Transfermarkt fündig werden, muss dafür aber auch Spieler abgeben - oder er wird im eigenen Kader fündig?

The fact that they are relying on something that is not fully controllable is, in my opinion, also the reason why #fcsp are still struggling to increase their xG.

As @timecksteen.bsky.social explained in his @millernton.de article, #fcsp xG is still worrying: millernton.de/2026/01/07/u...

Maximising the second ball also means relying on something you can’t control entirely. The second ball is always a 50-50 situation. Yes, #fcsp have a strategy to win, but what if they don't on the other day?

Well, that game against Mainz was a signal that some teams could neutralise this new strategy. However, my concern not about #fcsp will play another teams with deep defensive line, but more into they also still need variations aside from this new ideas.

Against Mainz, the situation was different. #fcsp still won the second-ball battle, but they struggled to win it in the middle or convert possession into chances. This was due to Mainz's deep structure: often had 10 outfield players in their own half, maintaining a compact and deep defensive line.

in the last three Bundesliga games, #fcsp has consistently won the "second-ball battle"—always recording more second-ball recoveries than their opponents.

Against Köln, Irvine was the star in this regard, whilst against Heidenheim, it was Sands.

This scenario is exactly how St. Pauli's first goal came about: they won the second ball, fed it to Arkadiusz Pyrka, and surrounded the Heidenheim box with numbers.

That sequence ended with Fujita finding Kaars perfectly in the box after the Dutch forward made a smart run from outside the area.

And against #fch, the success of this strategy also very obvious. Before red card, #fcsp have clear attacking strategy: sent the ball directly to Mathias Pereira Lage up top, with four or five players sprinting towards him as a unit to contest the loose ball.

The first goal also came after #fcsp overloaded the left side, won the ball and launched a fast attack against the disorganised defensive line, which Kaars successfully ran into.

We can see the advantage of this new strategy in goals against #BMG in the DFB Pokal game.

That Oppie goal came from this new strategy:
- #fcsp played long balls.
- Able to win the second ball due to having enough players on one side.
- Got an advantage of 1v1 situation because of the overloading.