How Borna Barisic became a Rangers success and the reasons behind a stuttering start to the season - Craig Vickers

The bond which has developed between the 29-year-old and the Ibrox faithful has strengthened season upon season after teething problems in his debut campaign after arriving from Osijek.

Many pinpoint the Croatian’s stunning free-kick against St. Mirren in August 2019 as the turning point in his Rangers career, but the reality is that it has been a period of incremental improvement.

Early fitness concerns

Barisic’s first season at Ibrox was plagued by injury, missing 21 games in total as he battled calf and back problems.

The Croatian’s stock among the Rangers squad hit such a low that he was left out of the matchday squad for the 6-1 win over Hibernian at Ibrox at the start of the 2019/20 season, with Gerrard instead preferring Jon Flanagan and Andy Halliday at left full-back.

Barisic spoke on the eve of that 2019/20 campaign that he had hit the reset button on his Rangers career.

“This is a new season and I want to be a new Borna in Glasgow,” he remarked. The Croatian also spoke about “sacrifice” which hinted at a change in attitude heading into his second season as a Rangers player.

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His durability since then has improved immensely. After missing only five games in the curtailed 2019/20 campaign, Barisic racked up 5,271 minutes in last season’s title-winning season. His only injury-enforced absences came in the final two games of the season, perhaps paying the price for going above and beyond in a gruelling season for the Light Blues.

Tactical evolution

From a tactical perspective, central to Barisic’s improvement in a Rangers shirt was the evolution of Gerrard’s system, moving away from a conventional 4-3-3 which accommodated traditional wingers to a more narrow formation with twin No.10s towards the conclusion of the 2018/19 campaign. This placed more emphasis on chance creation from the full-backs given there was now greater space on the flanks to operate in with the removal of touchline wide men.

Rangers became a more functioning attacking outfit in 2019/20, which owed to the change in system which allowed attackers to operate closer to goal and Barisic, in tandem with James Tavernier on the opposite flank, to receive the ball in higher positions out wide. The Croatian would often be able to deliver crosses from the final third while Tavernier would act as more of a quasi-playmaker, creating from deeper areas with early crosses and clipped balls into the forwards.

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Barisic’s influence on Rangers’ attacks has been profound since the tweak in the system. The former Osijek man averaged 50.04 passes per 90 in last season’s title-winning campaign, a marked increase in the 41.95 passes per 90 which he posted in his debut season in Glasgow. In addition, Barisic also received passes at a far greater rate in the two seasons following his debut campaign at Ibrox, with his receptions increasing from 28.32 per 90 in 2018/19 to 38.33 the very next season. He concluded last season with 37.82 received passes per 90.

Touching the ball more has also allowed Barisic to build relationships within the Rangers system. A key component of Rangers’ attack, which peaked midway through the 2019/20 campaign, was the Barisic-Kent-Kamara triangle on the left-hand side, as shown below.

Greater on-field chemistry

With more minutes on the pitch, Barisic has been able to forge a greater understanding with his teammates. It was evident upon his arrival at Rangers that he boasted excellent crossing attributes, but it has taken time for the rest of the squad to help the Croatian maximise those traits.

The example below is from Rangers’ 5-0 hammering of Hearts at Ibrox in December 2019, with Barisic supplying Alfredo Morelos to open the scoring that afternoon.

As Kamara receives the ball in the left half-space against a crowded Hearts defensive third, he identifies the 2v1 opportunity with Barisic against the Hearts right full-back.

As previously noted, Rangers’ system allows Barisic to get high and wide in this instance. What is crucial, however, is the weight on Kamara’s lay-off pass.

This allows Barisic to stride into the cross, delivering a floated first-time delivery which eventually allows Morelos to aerially dominate the diminutive Aaron Hickey at the back post to score.

It’s interesting to note the reduction in Barisic’s attacking duels in his three seasons at Ibrox, which highlights the higher positions in which he receives the ball and the fewer situations where he is forced to collect possession deeper. The Croatia international attempted 14.42 offensive duels last season, which was down from 18.59 in his first season.

More crossing variation

Adding more variation to his deliveries has also aided Barisic’s development over the years at Ibrox. In his first campaign at the club, the Croatian was often accused of throwing crosses into the penalty area without thought.

For instance, in Rangers’ 1-0 away defeat to Livingston shortly into Gerrard’s reign, Barisic attempted 10 crosses and was successful with only two of them.

That afternoon, Barisic continuously found himself in promising areas to deliver a cross into the penalty box, but he struggled to find the sweet spot between the Livingston goalkeeper and their defensive line.

As Barisic’s Rangers career has developed, however, he has become more cerebral with his crossing. No longer is he recklessly throwing crosses into the penalty area, instead developing a greater understanding of how he can use the threat of his good crossing ability to create space in the opposition’s defensive structure.

The example below from Rangers’ 4-1 win over Dundee United last season highlights the improvement in Barisic’s crossing discipline.

Although the Croatian has the capacity to deliver the ball with the required bend to find Morelos in this instance, the Dundee United right full-back has positioned himself to make it more difficult for Barisic to deliver a dangerous cross. As such, he elects to check back inside to change the angle.

This allows the Croatian to retain possession instead of throwing a low probability cross into the box. Given Scott Wright’s run from deep has helped create separation between the two Dundee United centre-backs, Barisic spots the potential for Morelos to receive the ball to feet with space inside the penalty area, playing a direct pass with the outside of his foot which only the bobbly Ibrox surface undermines.

Greater command of the ball

Similarly, Barisic also has a greater command of the ball – and thus greater confidence in his role – than he did during his turbulent debut season.

A common sight in the Croatian’s outings during the 2018/19 campaign was his conservatism on the ball, often turning back inside with possession and therefore becoming easy for opposition markers to stifle.

However, his improvement has been noticeable over the last three seasons, with his progressive runs per 90 rising from 1.45 in 2018/19 to 2.56 the following season, levelling off slightly last campaign at 2.04 progressive runs per 90.

The Croatian has developed into a more explosive athlete after his debut campaign, which has translated into greater confidence in the final third. Barisic has markedly improved in one-on-one situations, perhaps best evidenced in his assist for Ryan Kent in Rangers’ 2-1 victory at Celtic Park in December 2019.

Barisic is now confident squaring up defenders, often bursting past opponents by using his trademark move of drawing his man in by slowly manipulating the ball before striding past into space and crossing, as illustrated below against St. Mirren.

Looking ahead

There has been concerns over the Croatian’s performance levels this term, briefly losing his place in the starting XI before Calvin Bassey’s enforced isolation absence for last month’s Old Firm victory propelled Barisic back into contention.

In truth, the Croatia international is still feeling the effects of the injury which ended his campaign last season. It’s difficult not to conclude that Barisic’s inclusion in the Croatia squad for EURO 2020 did him no favours in his recovery. As evidenced during his injury-hit debut season in Glasgow, the 29-year-old needs to feel at peak fitness to be comfortable exploding in his movements.

From an attacking perspective, Rangers are still a work in progress this season, which goes some way to explaining Barisic’s inhibited performances this season. He is often at his best when the team is functioning smoothly – as opposed to Tavernier on the opposite flank who can produce ‘moments’ as witnessed against St. Johnstone – while he has played the majority of his minutes behind an injured Ryan Kent.

With Bassey snapping at his heels, Barisic will be eager not to allow his Rangers career to peter out.