Blinded eyes. Voices
silent. Splintered benches sit
alone. Football rests.
Tag: Football
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Penalty given.
Gloved fingertips stretch beyond
her limitations.
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‘Every disadvantage has its advantage’, ‘The game always begins afterwards’ , ‘If I wanted you to understand it, I would have explained it better’…
From: Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic genius of Dutch football. Winner, David. pg 4.A proper Dutch football book always opens with a few Johan Cryuff maxims.
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Blaise Matuidi has many admirers. Us and Carlo Ancelloti among them.
But he also has a surprising fan boy.
Pep Guardiola.
At first glance, Blaise doesn’t possess the ideal qualities of a Pep Guardiola player. His technique on the ball can be clumsy. His passing range is limited. Yet Blaise still managed to leave an impression on Pep.
Former Clairefontaine youth coach Francisco Filho shares the story:
“We had just finished a tournament in Las Palmas. We won. Pep Guardiola was there, on holiday. Alongside his brother, who was organising the tournament, we dined together. He saw our match and he said to me: ‘When I will be manager (he was still playing in Qatar at the time), I want a player like your #6.’ Who was it? Blaise Matuidi.”
Shout out to Get French Football News for originally sharing the story.
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This one is for all you tactics geeks. A list of the six tactical changes Pep Guardiola made during his first 6 months at Bayern Munich.
Pep’s longtime assistant coach, Domènec Torrent explains:
He’s full of re-invention – in six months here Pep has tried more thing than in four years at Barca.
The list highlights how Pep adapted to the counter-attaching style of the Bundesliga. And how he tailored his possession system for his two dominant wingers – Robben and Ribery
For a coach so steadfast in his principles, Pep is open to adapting to the circumstances presented to him.
1: THE DEFENSIVE LINE
Pep has moved it forward from a starting point of 45 metres in front of the keeper. If Bayern are fully on the attack high up the pitch then he wants the two center-halves to take up positions 56 metres ahead of Neuer – in the opposition half.
2: PLAYING AND MOVING FORWARD FROM THE BACK, IN TOTAL UNISON
The team has got this: it’s a journey they must take together. How they play out from the back is of absolute importance to how things then develop in the attacking phase.
3: ORDER IN THE PLAY
The passing sequences need to balance the team’s positioning. If properly effected, from beginning to end it means their attack will be ordered and if the ball is lost it can be won back quickly, with little wasted effort.
4: SUPERIORITY IN MIDFIELD
This is the essence of Pep’s playing philosophy. He always wants his team to have midfield superiority, whether numerical or positional. Achieving this guarantees his team will dominate the game.
5: FALSE ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS
This is the big tactical innovation within Pep’s first season. Given the powerful wing play of Robben and Ribery and also the need to immediately cut off the counter-attacks of opponents high up the pitch, Pep has decided to position his full-backs almost as old-fashioned inside-forwards, right alongside the other attacking midfielders, high up the pitch.
6: PLAYING WITHOUT A FALSE 9
From being the absolute key figure at Barcelona, the false 9 is now just one more potential tactic for Bayern. It will be used sporadically, depending on the specific needs of a particular match or phase within a game.
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My ears perked.
I was in the checkout line when I overheard the fellas behind me chatting about Sunday’s Liverpool/Man United match.
They casually discussed why Liverpool would beat Manchester United. One explained to the other how Liverpool could go on to win the Premier League.
I clenched an invisible fist in excitement.
You see, it’s been 23 years since the Premier League was first broadcast in the US. And yet I’m still surprised when I overhear strangers talking football.
Football has made progress here.
World class matches are available in an instant.
Scores float by on ESPN’s sports ticker.
All of my friends could pick out Cristiano Ronaldo in a crowd.
But football is still not part of mainstream US culture.
Women’s World Cups aside – it’s still not relevant.
So conversations like last night’s give me a shot of hope. The hope that one day the US will become a world footballing power.
Why?
Because conversations like these reveal a deeper possibility. A possibility the game is growing beyond rec leagues and ODP programs. Growing above Soccer Hall of Fames and Decision Days. It reveals the possibility the game could be growing where it matters most – culture.
Countries with strong football cultures dominate football.
For the average citizen in Brazil, Italy, or Germany, football is an inescapable part of life. The game is everywhere.
It’s painted on city walls.
It’s played on the beaches.
It’s sung from terraces every week.
To the rest of the world football is a blood soaked love affair. In the United States it’s a hobby.
Until that changes, the US national team will remain a program of average Joes.
Bonus: Alan Jacobs wrote a concise summary of the current state of the US soccer program. Read it here.
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Matchstick legs ignite
a Parisian son. Midfield
light illuminates.
Blaise Matuidi is my favorite midfielder to watch right now.
He doesn’t pirouette, or flash a thousand step-overs. You won’t see a croqueta, or metronome passing.
But his tackles, endless running, headers, and enthusasim for football gives an aging amateur midfielder an example to aspire to.
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I wanted to snap a compelling picture. Bring an old football boot to life.
This picture had hope, so I showed my boo. She gave it the iphone thumbs up, but her text message that followed made me pause.
“It looks like a heart.” she said.
Suddenly, I was no longer looking at a football boot.
Instead of studs, I saw aortas. Instead of stitching I saw capillaries. Instead of fake leather I saw flesh and muscle.
This is the power of sharing your work. The person you share it with, can let you see through their eyes.
Floodlights and Goalposts 