Three days removed from a Man of the Match display in the Europa League final as a central defender, Calvin Bassey was it again at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final.
Rangers were enjoying the relative comfort of a 2-0 lead in extra time when the Nigerian’s face was flashed on the big screens at the national stadium, crowned as the game’s outstanding player for the second time in less than 72 hours.
It was even more impressive considering that Bassey was operating in a different position to his central defensive role in Seville.
More than anything else, Bassey’s standout quality in the Scottish Cup final win over Hearts was his powerful running from deep. Restored to left-back in the absence of Borna Barisic, the former Leicester man dominated his flank.
Whereas in the run to the Europa League final it was his central defensive qualities which made people sit up and take notice, it is his ability to support attacks going in the opposite direction which marks out his impressive displays at full-back.
When Barisic was forced off through injury in extra time of the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Celtic in April, it was Bassey’s opportunism, coupled with his lightning acceleration, which helped create the winning goal.
When Steven Davis picks up the ball behind the first line of Celtic pressure from a quick free-kick, Bassey spots the opportunity to create a 2v1 situation with Kent in attacking transition.
Bassey’s speed relative to the backtracking James Forrest allows him to create significant separation.
By immediately arcing his run round the outside of Kent, they are to overwhelm Stephen Welsh in the Celtic defence who has been forced across to cover.
Kent releases the ball to perfection, allowing Bassey to stride onto the pass and deliver a cross into a dangerous area which Carl Starfelt diverts into his own net.
Recent months have seen van Bronckhorst pivot slightly more towards Gerrard’s domestic blueprint.
The role of the full-backs was tweaked in the early days of the Dutchman’s reign, with one full-back, or both, being instructed to arrive from deep rather than occupy aggressive positions on the flanks to maximise the space for the wingers.
van Bronckhorst compromised in the final few months of the season, restoring both full-backs to their previously advanced roles. However, Bassey has underlined the merits of arriving from deeper areas, forging a burgeoning relationship with Kent whenever he’s been deployed on the outside of a back four.
Bassey’s athleticism allows him to make dynamic movements to create lay-off options for Kent.
As the winger picks up the ball on the touchline against Hearts in the Scottish Cup final, Bassey has inverted to pin Hearts narrow.
Kent dribbles inside with the ball and is confronted by three Hearts players.
That provides the cue for Bassey to spin around the outside of the Rangers winger.
A deft stepover draws Hearts’ right wing-back infield, before Kent releases Bassey who has spun into space.
Bassey’s first-time cross is met by Amad at the far post, who agonisingly screws his header over the bar.
Bassey’s ability to stride onto passes, often using the pace on the ball and guiding crosses into dangerous areas, has proven a huge asset for Rangers. It also underlines why he has proven so effective at arriving in dangerous areas rather than occupying them.
Equally, it’s fair to contend that it’s Bassey’s defensive skillset which will define his career in the game.
The 22-year-old was a vital cog in Rangers’ run to the Europa League final in Seville because his physical qualities allowed van Bronckhorst to play with more risk. The Dutchman was vindicated in his aggressive man-orientated defensive approach in the second leg win against RB Leipzig in the semi-finals.
The example below illustrates how Bassey provides Rangers with a safety blanket in defence with his supreme recovery speed.
His ability to consistently gain the upper hand in one-on-one defensive duels allows Rangers to defend more aggressively without the ball.
For instance, there are striking similarities to the role Kyle Walker plays under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. When City are defending against dynamic, pacey threats, Walker will often be deployed solely to guard against counter-attacks.
“Since my first season at [Manchester] City, the manager doesn’t like to be overloaded in midfield, so he likes bringing one of the full-backs inside,” Walker said recently.
“He likes to utilise my pace in making sure I control the counter-attack, so I have become a little bit more defensive.
“If the opposition play with a two upfront, my position changes. If they play with a one upfront, my position changes.”
Walker’s role perhaps offers an insight into Bassey’s future, where, for all the discussions over his best position, it is rather a hybrid of the two where his qualities are most compatible.
While his recovery pace is crucial in allowing Rangers to press high up the pitch, his ability to make powerful runs through the opposition also lends itself to being an inside full-back of sorts.
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In the early days under van Bronckhorst, Rangers often built from the back by dropping Kent into a left wing-back role and asking the left full-back to tuck inside to form a back three. With Tavernier high on the right, it creates a u-shape and gives the central defenders passing options to either side.
When the ball filters wide to Kent, for instance, it could open up space for Bassey to make powerful underlapping runs from deep.
The numbers are placeholders in the tactics board below, but Bassey's ability to break forward from defence opens up options for Kent.
Here's how Rangers would look set-up against a 4-4-2.
An extra defender in the backline, tucking Bassey (No.5 blue) infield from left back, would allow Rangers to outnumber the opposition's first line of pressure.
Kent (No.6 in blue in this instance) often drops into this space to provide a passing option, attracting the opposition's right midfielder.
Bassey then has license to leave the defensive line and trigger an underlapping run, which can cause a chain reaction in the opponent's defensive structure.
Should the red No.6 drop to guard against Bassey's run, it creates space for Kent to dribble inside and switch the direction of attack.
By tucking Bassey infield, it creates more space for Kent to make more dynamic movements on and off the ball on the left flank.
As the ball is switched out to Bassey in the example below, he has taken up a slightly inverted role - forming a back three - to leave Kent isolated against his marker in space.
He then shapes to play directly into Kent on the touchline…
…Before he intelligently reverses the ball through the inside channel for the winger to run onto.
The former Liverpool man then delivers an inch-perfect cross for Alfredo Morelos to stab home.
The pair also linked up in a similar fashion to create Aaron Ramsey’s opener against Celtic.
Bassey’s careful manipulation of the ball – by refusing to release the ball a split second earlier - attracts Josip Juranovic towards Kent on the touchline.
The 22-year-old then releases Kent with a pass down the inside of Celtic’s backline, where Ramsey ghosts in to score.
Bassey and Kent have an impressive understanding of each other’s movements on the left flank that simply doesn’t exist between the former Liverpool man and Barisic.
The Croatian is less explosive in his actions, making him more predictable and less off-the-cuff compared to Bassey.
It is plausible heading into next season that van Bronckhorst decides to utilise Bassey on the left a back four in a domestic environment, while moving him into central defence against superior European opposition.
The Nigerian’s ability to cover large swathes of grass quickly makes him such a huge threat when overlapping opportunities arise, while that same quality is also hugely beneficial in preventing counter-attacks.
Bassey is hardly unique among full-backs in the modern-day, in that his skillset is ill-suited to playing a conventional role in the back four.
The 22-year-old symbolises much of what van Bronckhorst has brought to Ibrox since succeeding Steven Gerrard given his bravery in and out of possession and his ability to adapt to various situations.
It is difficult to envisage him in a role where he doesn’t have a tangible impact on the level of performance. And for that, the Rangers faithful should be grateful.
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