Adi Hütter: "Find our fundamentals, our identity, our principles" | OneFootball

Driven by the desire to quickly get back to winning ways, the Monegasque manager was at a press conference on the eve of Metz visiting the Stade Louis-II (Sunday, 5:15 p.m.).

Bounce back in the best possible way. These are the words that were used by Adi Hütter moments after defeat in Bruges in the Champions League. It was also an objective repeated by the Monegasque manager in a press conference on the eve a visit by FC Metz to the Stade Louis-II, as part of the fifth Ligue 1 matchday (17:15). 🎙️

Against Bruges, we lost far too many duels, which is the foundation of football. We first need to get back to basics before talking about formation, whether it's a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-2-2 formation. For me, changing our system or our style of play isn't the solution. We have to be cautious and focus on our strengths, and my players know that. Tomorrow, we'll have to show a different side, the true face of AS Monaco

A visit from Metz

It’s an opportunity to show another face after a big disappointment in Bruges. The criticism was absolutely justified, we have no excuses, and we must get back on track. We were missing too many things that we did very well these last two seasons. We need to rediscover our fundamentals, our identity, our principles. It’s also up to me to analyze what went wrong.

What was missing in Bruges

Against Bruges, we lost far too many duels, which is the foundation of football. We first need to get back to basics before talking about formation, whether it’s a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-2-2 formation. For me, changing our system or our style of play isn’t the solution. We have to be cautious and focus on our strengths, and my players know that. Tomorrow, we’ll have to show a different side, the true face of AS Monaco, to win at home.

Playing a 4-4-2

We don’t always play in a 4-4-2. In possession, it’s more of a 4-2-2-2. It then depends on the opponents; if they play with three at the back, we can also play in a 4-2-3-1. It’s too easy to say that we always play in a 4-4-2; it’s not true. It doesn’t happen often in a match that we are rigidly in this system. Sometimes, in the midfield, we want to be like that, but when we press high, it’s never a 4-4-2.

As I also said, it depends on the opponent, but playing with three central defenders can also be a consideration. Sometimes we change small details and you can’t tell if it’s a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1. That’s my approach when it comes to tactics. The way we presented ourselves in Bruges was a failure. When the fundamentals aren’t respected, you can’t win.

On fundamentals

It was hard for everyone to see, and I can understand why everyone was angry. Here at the Club, we were truly disappointed and surprised by what we showed of ourselves in Bruges. I repeat, we forgot our fundamentals, our playing principles, our identity, and everything we’ve worked on in training over the past two years. Whether we play with four or five, our performance in Bruges didn’t live up to what we’ve shown in recent seasons.

The appearance of Ansu Fati off the bench was one of the positives of this match. He was able to play half an hour and score. He will be able to push everyone to do better, that's good news. He's a special player, and if he can start, we'll see tomorrow. With what he showed on the pitch, he deserves to be back in the team. I was really happy that he was able to score a goal after his long recovery to come back.

A meeting after the match?

I didn’t speak with the President, but we had internal discussions with Thiago Scuro and the players. After a performance like this, it’s necessary to communicate. One solution is to speak with everyone, to demonstrate our principles and our identity to everyone. We always have constructive discussions. After a match like this, we must focus on our daily work and discuss it with the players.

The contribution of the leaders on the pitch

At kickoff, only Eric Dier was there among our five leaders, before Thilo Kehrer came on in the second half. That’s why Eric was our captain at the start. Sometimes it’s difficult to communicate on the pitch because of the atmosphere and mood in the stadium, but everyone in the squad can speak; it shouldn’t just be down to one player.

But I repeat again, we did not respect our fundamentals. Playing this way in the Champions League, it is impossible to take points, in any European stadium. It was a collective failure, and I am responsible for it. I accept the criticism because we were unable to find solutions.

The return of Ansu Fati to competition

The appearance of Ansu Fati off the bench was one of the positives of this match. He was able to play half an hour and score. He will be able to push everyone to do better, that’s good news. He’s a special player, and if he can start, we’ll see tomorrow. With what he showed on the pitch, he deserves to be back in the team. I was really happy that he was able to score a goal after his long recovery to come back.

The team’s spirit

It’s been a long time since I’ve conceded a defeat of this magnitude, but the best thing to do is to stay together, communicate, and find solutions. The players know they played a bad game. My job as coach, and with the support of Thiago Scuro and Carlos Aviña, is to have good discussions with and without the players. I think that’s the only way to recover from a bad game.

What’s necessary to bounce back

First of all, I have experience here, from my last two years at Monaco. When you’ve been at a club for so long, there are always times when you run into problems. I’m someone who’s always thinking about finding solutions. After the elimination in Rouen in 2023-2024, there had also been a lot of criticism.

I'm the first to receive criticism, to analyze and find solutions, before talking to my players. That's my role, my way of thinking as a coach. We have to be strong with the team because they know they lacked fundamentals. We received a tough blow, it was deserved, but now we have to get back up, look towards the next match and stay positive.

Bouncing back means showing a different face, the one we’ve had for the past two years. That’s why we can come back confident in our style of play. That’s the path we want to follow. We can’t bounce back with words alone; we have to show it on the pitch. I’m fully part of the process. I can criticize my team, my players, but at some point, you find yourself in front of the mirror and you wonder who the coach is.

And there, I have to say, it’s me. So I’m the first to receive criticism, to analyze and find solutions, before talking to my players. That’s my role, my way of thinking as a coach. We have to be strong with the team because they know they lacked fundamentals. We received a tough blow, it was deserved, but now we have to get back up, look towards the next match and stay positive.