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About 1960s: Days of Rage

Bill Davis - 1960s: Days of Rage

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Lukaku – Chelsea
“1) Elliott’s injury shows sport at its cruellest. For the first hour at Elland Road, Liverpool’s midfield was a million miles from the mess of last season, slick and accomplished, with Fabinho – who spent much of last campaign as an emergency centre-back – and Thiago Alcântara, now able to express himself as part of a functional team, turning on the style as Liverpool sliced through their opponents at will. But equally on song was the dazzling Harvey Elliott, who over the last four games had established himself not just as a deserving member of Klopp’s starting XI but also one of the country’s brightest young footballers. …”
Guardian

Catenaccio

“Catenaccio (Italian pronunciation: [kateˈnattʃo]) or The Chain is a tactical system in football with a strong emphasis on defence. In Italian, catenaccio means ‘door-bolt’, which implies a highly organised and effective backline defence focused on nullifying opponents’ attacks and preventing goal-scoring opportunities. … The key innovation of Catenaccio was the introduction of the role of a libero (‘free’) defender, also called ‘sweeper’, who was positioned behind a line of three defenders. The sweeper’s role was to recover loose balls, nullify the opponent’s striker and double-mark when necessary. Another important innovation was the counter-attack, mainly based on long passes from the defence. In Helenio Herrera’s version of catenaccio in the 1960s, he used a 5–3–2 formation, in which four man-marking defenders were tightly assigned to the opposing attackers while an extra player, the sweeper, would pick up any loose ball that escaped the coverage of the defenders. The emphasis of this system in Italian football spawned the rise of many top Italian defenders who became known for their hard-tackling and ruthless defending. …”
Wikipedia
Football Tactics For Beginners: Catenaccio
YouTube: Catenaccio explained

2021-22 UEFA Champions League Group Stage

“The map is a standard location-map showing the locations of the 32 qualified teams in the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League Group Stage. There are several other aspects to the map page… 1). Groups A through H… At the very top of the map are the eight 4-team groups of the Group Stage, arranged with with each club’s home-country flag shown alongside. 2). Allocations vs. Qualified teams, by country… At the left side of the map page, Allocations (by member-nations) are shown, via a list of the top 41 UEFA Member-Associations in their current [2021-22] Country Co-efficient ranking. I stopped at 41 (out of the 55 total UEFA member-nations) because #41 is the current ranking of Moldova, and Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova was the club from the lowest-ranked country to qualify for this season’s tournament. This is the first time a club from Moldova has qualified for the elite competition that is the Champions League. But it is not really any sort of fairy-tale story of a David making it into the realm of the Goliaths. …”
billsportsmaps

Jamal Musiala: Bayern Munich’s “magician of the match” casts a spell on RB Leipzig

“… Musiala was named on the substitutes’ bench at the Red Bull Arena, but didn’t hang about after entering the fray in first-half stoppage time for the injured Serge Gnabry. Within two minutes of the restart, the teenager brought an Alphonso Davies ball under his spell and fired with unerring accuracy beyond Peter Gulacsi. The Germany wizard then turned provider for Bayern’s third, ghosting in behind Mohamed Simakan and telegraphing the unmarked Leroy Sane‘s run with an inch-perfect cross towards the back post. It was footballing sorcery at its finest. …’
Bundesliga (Video)
Bundesliga – Jamal Musiala: Who is Bayern Munich’s Germany star of the future?
YouTube: Best of Jamal Musiala – Bayern’s and Germany’s New Wonderkid

Bosman ruling

“Twenty years ago today, Jean-Marc Bosman won a court case that changed the game forever – but did the Belgian’s just victory actually do more harm than good? Dec. 15, 1995 is one of the most significant dates in football history. For some, it was the day on which footballers were finally empowered. For others, it was the day on which the game stopped being a sport and became a business. As with any dramatic shift in power, the truth lies somewhere in between. What is beyond dispute, though, is that the old system had to change. In the spring of 1990, Jean-Marc Bosman’s two-year contract with SA Royal Club Liegois was entering its final few months. The Belgian was offered a new deal that would have seen his weekly wage reduced by 75 percent. Unsurprisingly, Bosman rejected it. He was promptly placed on the transfer list. …”
The Bosman Ruling may have freed footballers from ‘slavery’ – but the elite now own football
W – Bosman ruling
W – Jean-Marc Bosman
YouTube: How the Bosman Ruling Changed Football

Premier League 2020/21: The biggest underachievers and overperformers based on expected goals

“The Premier League season has reached its conclusion but does the final table accurately reflect performance? Manchester City deservedly wrapped up the title, while many expected Fulham, Sheffield United and West Brom to be relegated as the campaign progressed. Elsewhere though, some teams have managed to accumulate more points than their showings suggested they would, while others have been left confused as to how they aren’t higher up in the standings. Using data from Infogol’s expected goals model, we look at four teams who found themselves in a ‘false’ position after 38 games. …”
Sporting Life (May 28, 2021)
The Athletic: Premier League top-four permutations: What form table, xG, odds and fixtures show (May 11, 2021)
W – Expected goals
Sporting Life: Premier League: Team by team xG analysis on the 2020/21 season (May 28, 2021)
Five Thirty Eight: Club Soccer Predictions (Sept. 8, 2021)
YouTube: Football’s New Stat – What is Expected Threat?, What is xG? | By The Numbers (Jan. 2018)

Which Premier League team has the best goalkeeper?

“Which side has the best attack in the Premier League right now? What about the best midfield, defence, and goalkeeper? When you split the team up into its parts, it’s not such an easy question to answer. But, here at The Athletic, we have tried. Starting with the midfield, our writers nominated the sides they feel have the best set of players in that area. Now we’re on to the goalkeepers. There will be follow-up articles on the other two team sections later in the week. Don’t agree? Come and let us know in the comments and vote for the Premier League’s best goalkeeper in the poll at the end of the article…”
The Athletic
The Athletic: Which Premier League team has the best defence?

A World Cup Every Two Years? Why?

“This is soccer’s age of the Big Idea. There is an incessant, unrelenting flow of Big Ideas, ones of such scale and scope that they have to be capitalized, from all corners of the game: from individuals and groups, from clubs and from leagues, from the back of cigarette packets and from all manner of crumpled napkins. The Video Assistant Referee system was a Big Idea. Expanding the World Cup to 48 teams was a Big Idea. Project Big Picture, the plan to redraw how the Premier League worked, was a Big Idea. The Super League was the Biggest Idea of them all — perhaps, in hindsight, it was, in fact, too Big an Idea — an Idea so Big that it could generate, in the brief idealism of its backlash, more Big Ideas still, as the death of a star sends matter hurtling all across the galaxy. …”
NY Times

Johan Cruyff

“Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON (Dutch: [ˈjoːɦɑn ˈkrœyf] (listen, internationally spelled Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and coach. As a player, he won the Ballon d’Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Cruyff was a proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football explored by Rinus Michels, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, and one of the greatest managers. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dutch football rose from a semi-professional and obscure level to become a powerhouse in the sport. Cruyff led the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. … Cruyff is widely seen as an iconic and revolutionary figure in history of Ajax, Barça, and the Oranje. David Winner, the author of Brilliant Orange, wrote about Cruyff’s influential career in the football world, ‘There have been lots of brilliant football figures down the years, but none has been as significant as Johan Cruyff. … As coach at Ajax and Barcelona, he built thrilling sides, nurtured a remarkable number of genius players and influenced many of the most important teams in the world. .. Once radical and revolutionary, Cruyffian principles have become standard throughout the modern game. His blueprint for developing young players has been copied all over the world.’ …”
Wikipedia, W – Style of play and views on the game
Total Football Journeyman: From Mighty Magyars to Flying Dutchmen
Guardian: What formation did Holland’s Total Football side actually play?
Cruijff’s Total Football Guide (433-2)
W – History of AFC Ajax
W – Rinus Michels, W – Ruud Gullit, W – Frank Rijkaard, W – Marc Overmars, W – Dennis Bergkamp, W – Louis van Gaal
YouTube: Total Football Explained 5:09, Football’s Greatest International Teams .. Netherlands 1974 26:08, Netherlands – Argentina: Bergkamp Goal 1998, Johan Cruyff ● Flair Like No one Else (Rare Footage)

USMNT, Ricardo Pepi shine against Honduras in second half of World Cup qualifier

“The U.S. men’s national team has gotten its World Cup qualifying campaign back on the rails with a 4-1 win over Honduras on Wednesday night. After entering halftime down 1-0, manager Gregg Berhalter made three substitutions to start the second half with aplomb. What ensued was a four-goal onslaught, as the USMNT climbed all the way to third in the Octagonal as the first international window comes to a close. It was a classic ‘tale of two halves’ type of match. After struggling in the 4-3-3, Berhalter lined his team up in a 3-4-3. What ensued was an even sloppier 45 minutes than any of the previous four intervals, with gaps galore in the midfield, between the back seven and the attack, and all over the defensive line. …”
The Athletic
NY Times: For U.S. Men’s Team, Win Salvages a Week They’d Rather Forget
Guardian: A brilliant 45 minutes against Honduras failed to mask US World Cup problems

UEFA World Cup qualifying scores: Poland end England’s winning streak; Spain, Germany notch victories

Poland 1, England 1
“…In a night of relatively low drama most of the big guns of European football eased to a further three points, not least Germany, who looked impressive in swatting aside Iceland 4-0. An early goal from Serge Gnabry set Hansi Flick’s side on course for a win that takes them four points clear in Group J before Antonio Rudiger, Leroy Sane and Timo Werner found the net, the latter only after wasting a string of presentable opportunities. After two games in which they dropped points the visit of Lithuania came at a good time for Italy with new Juventus striker Moise Kean netting a first-half brace. Their lead in Group C had been looking precarious after a draw against Switzerland but they had Northern Irish goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell to thank as he saved a penalty that meant Northern Ireland held the Swiss to a goalless draw in Belfast. …”
CBS Sports (Video)
BBC – World Cup 2022 qualifying: Who is close to qualifying? Who are the surprise packages?
Guardian: Szymanski denies England as Poland snatch late draw after Kane’s opener
ESPN: England’s draw in Poland keeps Three Lions on track for Qatar 2022, but they’ll need complete performances to vie for World Cup

Rosters Reimagined! A Post-Transfer Market Tinkering of the EPL’s Big Six

Liverpool – Most used so far: 4-3-3, Alternative pictured: 4-2-2-2
“The transfer window has closed and we’re left with a week of international football to wonder what money truly buys. So for kicks, let’s incorporate the new lads in alternative formations for the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ and see what cleverness or calamity results… Because why not, right? …”
The Mastermindsite

Explained: Why South American Premier League stars are heading to Croatia after international duty

“After Colombia play Paraguay in Asuncion this Sunday evening, the eighth of their 18 qualification games for next year’s World Cup, Davinson Sanchez will not stick around for the ninth. Rather than staying on for the home game with Chile in Barranquilla on Thursday, Sanchez will fly back across the Atlantic. Not back to London, but to Croatia, for a hastily arranged 10-day training camp by the Adriatic Sea. This is all part of a plan that Sanchez agreed with Tottenham Hotspur to make sure that his involvement in Colombia’s World Cup qualifiers will cause minimum hassle to Spurs’ season. …”
The Athletic (Audio)
NY Times: Brazil-Argentina Match Stopped After Health Officials Storm Field (Video)
The Athletic: Spurs and Villa receive clarity over Argentina stars and hope there is no repeat next month Argentina, Brazil
YouTube: Brazil vs Argentina | Matchday 6 Highlights | CONMEBOL South American World Cup Qualifiers

Spain Loses World Cup Qualifier For The First Time In 66 Matches, 2-1 Against Sweden

“The Spanish national team tasted defeat for the first time in 28 years in a World Cup qualifying match after they lost to Sweden 2-1 on Friday in Stockholm. Sweden came back from a goal down to defeat Spain who lost a World Cup qualifying match after 66 games undefeated. The defeat means that Spain have lost a World Cup qualifying game after 66 matches and 28 years. During this undefeated run, they also managed to win 10 in a row before the 2010 World Cup which they ended up winning. A defeat that Luis Enrique would not have excepted as his men had done well in the Euro 2020 having made the semi-finals where they lost eventual Champions Italy on penalties. …”
Republic World
YouTube: Sweden stuns Spain 2-1 in World Cup qualifier | WCQ Highlights | ESPN FC
UEFA: European Qualifiers: England and Belgium rampant, Sweden stun Spain

For U.S. Men, Two Games and No Wins Add Up to Concern

“If every World Cup qualifying campaign is a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows, then the United States men’s soccer team has not yet left the ground. The Americans have played two games in four days to start the final round of their regional qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and though they expected to win both matches, they have settled instead for two disappointing draws. These are early days, still. There are 12 games to go. And two points are better than none. …’
NY Times (Video)
Guardian: John Herdman aims to end Canada’s time in the World Cup wilderness (Video)

Total Football

Johan Cruyff playing with Ajax in 1971
“Total Football (Dutch: totaalvoetbal) is a tactical system in association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. Although Dutch club Ajax and the Netherlands national football team are generally credited with creating this system during the 1970s, there were other sides who had played a similar style before, such as the Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s, the Argentine side ‘La Maquina‘ of River Plate in the 1940s, the Golden Team of Hungary in the 1950s, English team Burnley in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and Brazilian side Santos in the 1960s. In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team’s intended organisational structure. In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role; anyone can successively play as an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The only player who must stay in a specified position is the goalkeeper. …”
Wikipedia
YouTube: Total Football Explained

Analyzing Maurizio Sarri’s First Home Game in Charge of Lazio

“Lazio kicked off the Maurizio Sarri era with a 3-1 win against newly promoted Empoli, where Sarri coached from 2012 to 2015 and led to promotion. Their final match before September’s international break saw them host Spezia, coached by Thiago Motta following Vincenzo Italiano’s departure to Fiorentina in the summer. Whilst Spezia started in a 3-4-3 formation, Sarri continued with his traditional 4-3-3 formation, making just two changes: Luis Alberto came in for Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro on the left side of midfield, whilst Patric started on the right side of central defense in the place of Luiz Felipe. Lazio started off with a 4-4-2 high-block pressing scheme, with Felipe Anderson joining Ciro Immobile up top whilst Pedro dropped deeper to the wing. This was a flexible shape as Sergej Milinković-Savić often stepped out from midfield to press, which then saw Anderson drop back to a wider, deeper position. …”
Breaking the Lines
Tactical analysis analyze Lazio Empoli
NY Times – Maurizio Sarri: Chelsea’s Tuscan Son (Aug. 2018)
W – Maurizio Sarri

Fans don’t want legacy clubs dominating or state-funded clubs, so can football ever be happy?

“OK, so let me get this straight. We don’t want blue-blood clubs, like Liverpool and Manchester United, dominating for decades at a time and we are deeply suspicious of how enthusiastically these aristocrats embraced financial fair play (aka, Operation Drawbridge). When it comes to winners, we want to spread it around a bit — we like disruption. But we do not want these new challengers to be funded by oligarchs or sovereign wealth funds — unless it is our club, then it is completely fine — and we are not too keen on American investors coming over here and expecting to make some money. Is that right? If it is, many of you are going to be disappointed. But you will not be the only ones. …”
The Athletic

The Problem When Teams See Athletes as Assets

“One of the things that appealed most to Manchester City about Marlos Moreno was his flexibility. The club spotted him as a teenager, coming off the back of a breakthrough season in which he helped Atlético Nacional, his hometown club in his native Colombia, win not just a national title but the Copa Libertadores, too. Moreno, then 19, had the air of a rising star. He was the sort of prospect who stood out among the thousands of players around the world whose names and performance data flash in front of the eyes of the scouts and analysts at Europe’s biggest clubs. … Executives were sufficiently excited by the acquisition of a player they felt was one of the most promising in South America to mention his name to Sheikh Mansour, City’s owner. …”
NY Times
Who is Man City owner Sheikh Mansour and what’s his net worth?
W – Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Case for the Planet: Football Needs to Think

“By any football club’s standards, 2020 was a catastrophic year. Pandemic-driven shortfalls caused by the absence of fans has left clubs across Europe cash-strapped. The continent’s superclubs are no exception. Last month, The Financial Times reported that Inter Milan are rushing to raise $200m in emergency funds to cope with a €102m loss last season. In Catalonia, the world’s highest earning club are in crisis, off-loading players and staff to mitigate the effects of amassing debt and an income shortfall of over €200m for the 2019-20 season. …”
Football Paradise

Bochum celebrate their Bundesliga return by beating Mainz in style

“They streamed down the streets in blue and white, gravitating to the Castroper Strasse where trams drop right outside the Ruhrstadion and the smell of grilling sausages hits you as soon as the double doors open. ‘The euphoria was palpable throughout the city,’ said Thomas Reis. They had waited for this and how they deserved it. Bochum is a city of 365,000 people hiding in plain sight in football’s landscape, in the German game’s most teeming region. On a wider scale, VfL Bochum are destined to be the forgotten of North Rhine-Westphalia, squeezed into the space between the bigger and brasher Borussia Dortmund to the east and Schalke to the west. …”
Guardian
W – VfL Bochum

Golden Team

W – Gusztáv Sebes, W – Ferenc Puskás
“The Golden Team (Hungarian: Aranycsapat; also known as the Mighty Magyars, the Magical Magyars, the Magnificent Magyars, the Marvellous Magyars, or the Light Cavalry) refers to the Hungary national football team of the 1950s. It is associated with several notable matches, including the ‘Match of the Century‘ against England in 1953, and the quarter-final (‘Battle of Berne‘) against Brazil, semi-final (against Uruguay) and final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup (‘The Miracle of Bern‘). The team inflicted notable defeats on then-footballing world powers England, Uruguay and the Soviet Union, before the 1956 Hungarian Revolution caused the breakup of the side. Between 1950 and 1956, the team recorded 42 victories, 7 draws and just one defeat, in the 1954 World Cup final against West Germany. …”
W – Golden Team, W – Total Football
The greatest teams of all time: Hungary 1950–56
Guardian – Hungary’s Golden Squad: the greatest football team never to win it all?
The Curious Case of Hungarian football
Remembering Josef ‘Pepi’ Bican, once Europe’s greatest goalscorer
The glory of Josef Uridil, the first man to transcend football and celebrity in Austria
Hungary 1950s (Video)
W – Match of the Century (1953 England v Hungary football match), W – Battle of Berne (1954 FIFA World Cup), W – 1954 FIFA World Cup Final

Felipe Jorge Loureiro

“Felipe Jorge Loureiro (born 2 September 1977), known as Felipe, is a Brazilian football coach and former footballer. A left-footed midfielder, Felipe is known for his playmaking style, that nicknamed him as Maestro, with his excellent ball control, dribbling skills, and vision for orchestrating offensive plays and providing precise passes. … Years after his retirement as a footballer, Felipe started his career as a coach, debuting at Tigres do Brasil. …”
Wikipedia
YouTube: Felipe On Vasco da Gama

Player Analysis: Ryan Gravenberch

“Ajax were denied the chance to have back-to-back Eredivisie titles for the first time since 2014 after the league was suspended and announced as null and void last season. Yet, it looks like they will be winning the title this time around, as they comfortably sit six points ahead of their nearest threat, and have a game in hand too. Their academy, De Toekomst – or, the future – has played its part in this as they have provided the first-team with more hungry young talent. One player in particular, is one that could be a very special player. Ryan Gravenberch is just 18 years old but has had a major part to play for de Godenzonen, starting 21 out of 23 possible matches in the Eredivisie. The Dutch midfielder was introduced to the first-team last season, but it has been this campaign where he has placed his marker and showed his quality. …”
Breaking the Lines
A Wijnaldum-inspired Netherlands hope to finally reap the benefits of consistency
Wonderkids: Ryan Gravenberch
W – Ryan Gravenberch

A Look at Possible Build-up Mechanisms in a 4-1-2-1-2

“We’ve done a lot of tactical content here through the years, from investigating Paulo Sousa’s innovative Fiorentina tactics to Thomas Tuchel’s build-up patterns at Borussia Dortmund and Diego Simeone’s suffocating, positionally-oriented Atlético de Madrid. However, this piece is not an analysis of a team or a coach; rather, this piece investigates possible implementations coaches could use when building from the back in a 4-1-2-1-2/4-4-2 diamond. …”
Running the Show (Nov. 2020)

‘This is our final’: the team who led athletes’ escape from Afghanistan

Khalida Popal, former captain of the Afghanistan women’s team
“‘We have been working like fingers on one hand, with different roles, and we came together as a big strong punch,’ says the former captain and one of the founders of the Afghanistan women’s national football team, Khalida Popal. She is talking about the small team that pulled off the mission to evacuate 100-200 Afghan athletes and a number of individuals connected to them from the Hamid Karzai international airport in Kabul. Across a two-week period those fingers worked tirelessly around the clock and across numerous time zones, tracking the real-time movements of the Taliban and military personnel on the ground to pull off what seemed completely impossible: to get a group of female football players, many teenagers, and a host of others, including family members, into the airport and on to planes. Who is this motley, but multitalented, crew and how did they manage to get so many out where many more failed? This is their story. …”
Guardian

Rangers 1-0 Celtic: Filip Helander header settles pulsating derby

“Filip Helander’s thumping header settled a pulsating Old Firm derby as a depleted Rangers inflicted Celtic’s second Scottish Premiership defeat of the season at a packed Ibrox. The home side, with manager Steven Gerrard and several players absent after a Covid outbreak, made it seven derbies in a row without defeat, with victory in six of them. Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard somehow squirted wide from close range with the game goalless, before Helander’s header claimed the points for the champions. The victory moves Rangers to within a point of Hibernian and Hearts at the summit, with Celtic in sixth place after two defeats in four matches. …”
BBC
Guardian: Filip Helander heads winner for Covid-19 depleted Rangers against Celtic

Chelsea Proves a Point While Collecting One at Liverpool

“LIVERPOOL, England — Romelu Lukaku’s second half was not an especially glamorous one. There was a lot of running, darting into the slivers of space on either side of Liverpool’s central defenders, hoping for a ball that rarely came. There was a substantial amount of tussling and wrestling with Joel Matip, in particular, the two scrabbling for every inch of ground. There were not, conversely, many touches: only 20 in all after halftime, not quite one every two minutes. …”
NY Times
Guardian: Chelsea show resilience to survive Anfield’s medieval battle scenes

Why this season’s Champions League draw should see more glamour ties than usual

“The frantic pace of the football calendar means one can often overlook particular checkpoints until they have arrived. … Marc Albrighton is still somehow only 31 years old. These are all things that slip out of the back of our footballing minds, only to swing back into view during quiet moments when we finally get to have a cup of tea and go over the facts at a more sedate pace. … Six more places in the competition’s group stages will be decided this week but, of the 26 sides that we know will feature in Thursday’s group draw, there will be some difficult challenges ahead. Here’s The Athletic’s guide to how it all works. …”
The Athletic
Champions League Narratives: Looking at the major talking points from the group stage draw

Athletic Club 1 – 1 Barcelona

“Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga on goals scored as Memphis Depay rescued a point in an entertaining draw at Athletic Bilbao. Depay’s ferocious strike cancelled out Inigo Martinez’s headed opener after Athletic Bilbao had dominated. Both sides hit the crossbar and passed up numerous chances to claim all three points. Barca defender Eric Garcia was sent off in injury time for fouling Nico Williams when clean through. There is no doubt Ronald Koeman’s side are in transition – the loss of Lionel Messi leaving them in search of a new talisman and trying to find new ways to win. …”
BBC
10-man Barcelona forge their new side in the fires of San Mamés after 1-1 draw with Athletic Club
YouTube: Tactical Analysis : Athletic Club 1 – 1 Barcelona | Barca Tactics In The Post Messi Era, Highlights Athletic Club vs FC Barcelona (1-1)

Forza Pro – Video games, small-town Italian soccer by Brian Phillips

“I. My Magical Connection With the Tiny Italian Soccer Club Pro Vercelli. I have a magical connection with the tiny Italian soccer club Pro Vercelli because I once spent a year pretending to be them in a video game. Moreover, I spent a year blogging extensively about pretending to be them in a video game. Without going too deeply into my reasons for doing this — more or less the usual Internet cocktail of narcissism, a ‘desire to interrogate constructions of fantasy and reality in sports,’ and generally warm feelings about playing Football Manager at two in the afternoon for money — I can say that the project spiraled hopelessly out of control, sucked in hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of words, generated about a million inside jokes on my old soccer site, and left me with a permanent love for this obscure little club from a city of fewer than 50,000 people in the northern Italian province of Piedmont. …”
Grantland (August 23, 2012)
Pro Vercelli: They were one of history’s greatest teams. (2012)

2021–22 EFL League Two

“One point from their final seven matches last season is hardly stirring evidence of a title push but this incarnation of Bradford City are determined to mount a challenge and in Derek Adams they have a manager eyeing a third promotion from the division after guiding Morecambe into League One against the odds in May. The recruitment looks sound but the arrival of Adams, a Marmite character, may be the most important piece of the jigsaw. …”
Guardian: League Two 2021-22 season preview
W – 2021–22 EFL League Two
Who will win the 2021/22 League Two? FourFourTwo’s season preview and predicted final table
YouTube: EFL League Two 2021-22 Stadiums 14:55

How to sell a footballer

“… All six were pitched into the seller’s market — and welcome to it, whether you want to be there or not. Clubs spend endless hours formulating lists of targets they want to recruit, the footballers who improve a team, but maintaining the balance of budgets and dressing rooms is every bit as dependent on clubs ridding themselves of the ones they no longer need. Finances, tactics, personality clashes, fitness concerns; the motivation for getting shot of a player varies from case to case but the process has an identical goal: Find a taker and draw a line through the name, while saving yourselves as much money as possible. …”
The Athletic

What’s the Endgame in the M.L.S.-Liga MX Alliance?

“One could forgive the top soccer players in Mexico and the United States if they feel as if they have seen quite a lot of each other recently. When some of the best players from Mexico’s Liga MX lined up against some of the biggest stars from Major League Soccer in the M.L.S. All-Star Game on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, it was not — for a handful of them — the first time they had played an important match north of the border this summer. Whether in a series of new cross-border club competitions or in two important national team tournaments, the Nations League and Gold Cup, U.S.-Mexico matchups — in a variety of jersey colors — are now more frequent than ever. …”
NY Times

Nice v Marseille descends into chaos as fans heap more shame on Ligue 1

“Kasper Dolberg walked down the tunnel, removed his shirt and ruefully shook his head. The Nice striker’s reaction reflected the thoughts of nearly everyone watching. There were still 15 minutes remaining of Marseille’s trip to Nice on Sunday night, but the Danish international, whose stunning chested finish had lit up the game minutes earlier, had not been substituted or injured. He had simply left the pitch in disgust as events descended into farce and humiliation for French football. After 18 months without fans at the Allianz Riviera, Nice’s derby with their south-coast rivals was their first big home game in front of supporters since March 2020. However, sections of the crowd embarrassed themselves throughout the 75 minutes of play, as bottles were thrown at Marseille players. …”
Guardian (Video)
Guardian: Another Ligue 1 season, another Lyon manager and another crisis
YouTube: OGC Nice vs Marseille | LIGUE 1 HIGHLIGHTS

Penalty area

“The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Within the penalty area is the penalty spot, which is 11m (12 yd) from the goal line, directly in-line with the centre of the goal. A penalty arc (often informally called ‘the D’) adjoins the penalty area, and encloses the area within 9.15m (10 yd) of the penalty spot. It does not form part of the penalty area and is only of relevance during the taking of a penalty kick, when any players inside the arc are adjudged to be encroaching. … Previously, penalty areas extended the width of the field, but were reduced to their current dimensions in 1901. …”
Wikipedia
YouTube: Why do penalty boxes have Ds?

FIFA, Deemed a Victim of Its Own Scandal, Will Share $200 Million Payout

“Even as top soccer officials were still being arrested as part of a sprawling corruption investigation in 2015, lawyers for the sport’s global governing body and U.S. prosecutors began to embrace an intriguing premise: The soccer organization, FIFA, and its affiliates were not only the hosts of the scheme, the thinking went, they were also its victims. For prosecutors, the notion distinguished between the hijackers and the hijacked: It held individuals accountable for their crimes but spared the organizations and the sport that they had defrauded. For FIFA and its new leaders and lawyers, the framing had a bigger benefit: It protected against prosecution, and it offered the organization a chance to reclaim the tens of millions of dollars siphoned away by corrupt officials. Tuesday brought the payoff: Six years after a wide-ranging criminal indictment laid bare decades of corruption in global soccer on a stunning scale, and five years after those in power started pursuing a piece of the millions that American authorities were rounding up, the U.S. government approved the payment of more than $200 million to FIFA and its two member confederations most implicated in the scandal. …”
NY Times
W – Gianni Infantino
W – Sepp Blatter

Mamelodi Sundowns’ Three Coaches: Are You Not Entertained?

“The departure of Pitso Mosimane from Mamelodi Sundowns dominated the build-up to the 2020/21 DSTV Premiership, as the reigning champions had to prepare for life without the stewardship of arguably the greatest manager in the club’s history. Forward came co-head coaches Manqoba Mnqithi, Rulani Mokwena and senior coach Steve Komphela; the trio took over in an attempt to perpetuate the team’s dominance of South Africa’s top-flight football. From the start, the coaches rapidly uncovered their go-to formation (4-3-3) at the club, and to date, the results have been fruitful, winning the league at their first attempt. The 4-3-3 presents a different configuration in build-up and attack. The below illustration shows a staggered 2-1-4-3 or 2-5-3, not much of a surprise with more teams that play a possession-conservative style of football in this configuration. It offers multiple passing lines vertically, diagonally and horizontally. …”
Breaking the Lines

Long, raking balls and a sublime volley: Watching Alex Mowatt for 90 minutes

“For the last few seasons it has looked as though Alex Mowatt has the potential to be a Premier League player. The challenge this season is for him to be as important for West Bromwich Albion as he was to Barnsley in order for that potential to be realised. If the 26-year-old thrives then so too should Valerian Ismael and his team, who have started the campaign at a canter with three wins and ten points. In their latest, a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers, Mowatt showed his quality in spades as The Athletic watched his every harrying run and kick of the ball. It is probably underselling things a little to suggest he started the game well. …”
The Athletic
W – Alex Mowatt

Liga MX

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“The Primera División de México (Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons with BBVA through its Mexican subsidiary BBVA México), is the top professional football division of the Mexican football league system. Administered by the Mexican Football Federation, the league comprises 18 clubs with plans to add 2 more teams. The season has two tournaments: Apertura, which starts in the summer, and Clausura, which starts in the winter. … Of the 56 teams to have competed in the league, América has won the title 13 times, followed by Guadalajara (12), Toluca (10), Cruz Azul (9), León (8), UANL and UNAM (7). The current league champions are Cruz Azul, winners of the Guardianes 2021 tournament. …”
Wikipedia
W – Football in Mexico

Wunderteam: Hungarian soccer team 1930s

1930: Beginning of the match.
“Wunderteam (Wonder Team) was the name given to the Austria national football team of the 1930s. Led by manager Hugo Meisl, the team had an unbeaten streak of 14 games between April 1931 and December 1932. The style of the team was based on the Scottish school of football that focused on quick passing introduced by Englishman Jimmy Hogan. The forward line was complemented by wide half-backs and an attacking centre-half. Matthias Sindelar, Josef Bican, Anton Schall, Josef Smistik and Walter Nausch were the referents of the team that would dominate European football during that era. Matthias Sindelar, known as Der Papierene (The Papery Man) due to his slight build, was the star and captain of the team. In the early 1930s, Austria became a very celebrated team in Europe. … The cup was to be Wunderteam’s only championship win. …”
W – Wunderteam
Guardian – World Cup stunning moments: Austria’s Wunderteam go close, YouTube: Matthias Sindelar: The Footballer Who Defied The Nazis
Jimmy Hogan: the English pioneer who set Hungary up for greatness
How Austria’s Wunderteam defied the Nazis for one last act of greatness
Matthias Sindelar: the great pre-war footballer who danced before the Nazis
W – Austria–Hungary football rivalry
W – Jimmy Hogan, W – Béla Guttmann, W – Hugo Meisl, W – Márton Bukovi, W – Gusztáv Sebes, W – Izidor Kürschner

Matthias Sindelar

Scottish Soccer’s Brexit Problem: No Way In, and No Way Out

Scotland’s two biggest teams, Celtic and Rangers, have the means to support some of their ambitions. Most of their Scottish rivals do not.
“Juhani Ojala knew he would have to wait. Travel restrictions were still in place in Scotland when, in the middle of July, the Finnish defender agreed to join Motherwell, a club of modest means and sober ambitions in the country’s top division. Upon landing, Ojala knew, he would have to spend 10 days isolating in a hotel before joining his new teammates. … All of that changed in January, when — four and a half years after the Brexit referendum — Britain formally, and finally, left the European Union. As of that moment, clubs in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland no longer had the untrammeled access to players from its 26 member states (a different set of rules apply to Ireland) they had enjoyed since the 1990s. …”
NY Times

Interchanging front threes or a traditional No 9? Why top Premier League teams prefer flexibility

“As the Harry Kane transfer saga rumbled on in the background, the scene on the pitch for last weekend’s Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City clash was more typical of modern football. With no Kane available, Tottenham used Son Heung-min up front. With their pursuit of Kane so far unsuccessful, City used Ferran Torres up front. Son and Torres are both generally regarded as wide players. That’s not to say they’re not sporadically prolific — each one scored a Premier League hat-trick last season, and both say they’re perfectly happy playing through the middle. But neither is anything like traditional No 9s: they drop off, they come short and they make runs into the channels. …”
The Athletic

The Parable of Inter Milan

“The first alarm rang in February, a warning from thousands of miles away. Jiangsu Suning was one of the mainstays of that strange period, five or six years ago, when soccer awoke — almost overnight — to discover that China had arrived, its pockets bottomless and its ambitions unchecked, intent on inverting the world. At first, Europe saw this new horizon as it sees everything: as a market. China’s corporate-backed clubs were, as Turkey’s and Russia’s had been years before, a convenience and a curiosity, a place where they could offload unwanted players from bloated squads. …”
NY Times

Forget the Tournaments, Football Is Already Home

“Football is obsessed with nostalgia. At no time is this more evident than during international competition wherein football cultures, nationalisms, and emotion blend into a heady liquor which draws in even the most casual of sports fans. It is no surprise, therefore, that in a football landscape dominated by human-rights-abusing petrostates and governing bodies who are both morally and financially corrupt, we are all (even those of us who weren’t alive then) drawn towards the seemingly ‘Golden Age’ of the game. In that pre-Sky Sports age of shorter shorts, baggier shirts, bigger haircuts, and, as some would like us to believe – better players – many people see the antithesis of the sterile and corporatised experience we have now. …”
Football Paradise (July 27, 2021)

Borussia Dortmund 1 – 3 Bayern Munich

“The first half was a blink-and-you-miss it affair, with chances coming and going seemingly by the minute. Bayern targeted BVB right-back Felix Passlack early on, robbing him of possession three times with their relentless high press to set up presentable scoring chances, but neither Kingsley Coman (twice) nor Müller managed to hit the target. Dortmund were also dangerous going forward, though, and Bayern needed a world-class stop from Manuel Neuer to deny Marco Reus following a sensational through-ball from Jude Bellingham. Reus, Müller, Lewandowski and Erling Haaland all went close thereafter, while 16-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko had a goal disallowed for offside before Lewandowski thundered in the opening goal with a powerful header from Serge Gnabry’s cross to give the visitors the lead at the break. …”
Bundesliga: Robert Lewandowski double as Bayern Munich overcome Borussia Dortmund to win the Supercup (Video)
W – Der Klassiker
YouTube: Tactical Analysis : Borussia Dortmund 1 – 3 Bayern Munich || Nagelsmann’s Mid-Game Adjustments, Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Bayern Analysis |How Bayern won the German Super Cup

No surprise Leeds lost to Manchester United, just look at the wage bills

Marcelo Bielsa
“The easy thing is to blame the manager. It has become football’s default response to any crisis. A team hits a poor run or loses a big game: get rid of the manager. As Alex Ferguson said as many as 14 years ago, we live in ‘a mocking culture’ and reality television has fostered the idea people should be voted off with great regularity (that he was trying to defend Steve McClaren’s reign as England manager should not undermine the wider point). Managers are expendable. Rejigging squads takes time and money and huge amounts of effort in terms of research and recruitment, whereas anybody can look at who is doing well in Portugal or Greece or the Championship and spy a potential messiah. Then there are the structural factors, the underlying economic issues it is often preferable to ignore because to acknowledge them is to accept how little agency the people we shout about every week really have in football. …”
Guardian: Jonathan Wilson
Man United 5-1 Leeds – Tactical Analysis – Pogba’s Masterclass
YouTube: actical Analysis : Manchester United 5 – 1 Leeds United | Solskjaer’s Tactics vs Bielsa

Cox: How Nuno repeated Tuchel’s trick by using narrow attack to beat Manchester City

“Manchester City’s 2021-22 started in the same way their 2020-21 ended — with a 1-0 defeat. Sunday’s loss at Tottenham wasn’t as disheartening as their defeat by Chelsea in the European Cup final, but there was a common pattern in how their opponents set up without possession. Although the 3-4-3 of Thomas Tuchel was different to the 4-3-3 used by Nuno Espirito Santo in his first game as Spurs manager, it’s worth looking at the positioning of the front three. In Porto, Tuchel evidently told his three attackers to remain in narrow positions and block any passes through the centre of the pitch, as shown below, which largely hampered City’s build-up play — particularly their ability to feed the ball into the centre of midfield. …”
The Athletic
Tottenham 1-0 Man City – Tactical Analysis – Nuno’s First Game
The Stats: Who was Tottenham’s biggest threat? Why didn’t City score? Do either need Kane?
YouTube: Tactical Analysis: Tottenham 1-0 Manchester City |How City’s Best Tactic Was Their Biggest Weakness|

Gerard Piqué shows his Barcelona colours as pay cut helps set up victory

“Gerard Piqué was 13 or 14 the day the Barcelona manager came to tea. When his grandfather proudly introduced him as the future Camp Nou centre-back, Louis van Gaal walked over and without a word pushed him to the floor. Standing over him, he looked down at this kid lying there and delivered a devastating verdict: you’re too weak to play for Barcelona. Twenty-one years, 567 games, eight leagues, eight cups and four European Cups later, a World Cup and a Euros too, he’s not just still standing; he’s carrying the club on his shoulders. Well, someone has to. …’
Guardian
Guardian: Barcelona lift post-Messi gloom with win over Real Sociedad
Five talking points from Barcelona 4-2 Real Sociedad (Audio)

The Original Pirate Football League

Alfredo Di Stéfano’s adventures in Colombia
“The Golden Age of football in Colombia had war, destruction and corruption, long before Pablo Escobar. Between 1949 and 1954, some of the world’s very best players congregated in a brand new league with no history, in Colombia. Tifo uncovers how a ‘pirate league’ attracted stars of the day (including Alfredo Di Stefano, World Cup winner Schubert Gambetta, and Manchester United’s Charlie Mitten), how an assassination of a presidential candidate launched the competition, and how the fallout changed a FIFA law forever. Written by Seb Stafford-Bloor, illustrated by Philippe Fenner.”
YouTube: The Athletic
‘The Only Thing That Unites Us’ – Origin Story of Colombian Football: Part 1, El Dorado – Origin Story of Colombian Football: Part 2
W – El Dorado (Colombian football), W – Alfredo Di Stéfano
NY Times: The Lessons of the Pirate League
Colombia: …and an overview of the El Dorado era (1949-1953).

Masters of Modern Soccer: How the World’s Best Play the Twenty-First-Century Game – Grant Wahl

“In Masters of Modern Soccer, Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl asks: How do some of the game’s smartest figures master the craft of soccer? By profiling players in every key position (American phenomenon Christian Pulisic, Mexican superstar Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, Belgium’s Vincent Kompany, Spain’s Xabi Alonso, Germany’s Manuel Neuer) and management (Belgium coach Roberto Martínez and Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc), Wahl reveals how elite players and coaches strategize on and off the field and execute in high pressure game situations. …”
amazon
Google

Player Analysis: Noni Madueke

“As if the new generation of English footballers isn’t already special enough, another budding winger is starting to make serious waves with PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie. Most young players who come up in Premier League academies either break into the first team at their respective clubs or end up being sold to a championship side and other top leagues but rarely opt to completely try to make a name for themselves in a foreign league from the get-go. With Noni Madueke, that has been the case. At the time the decision may have seemed a bit rash, but at 19 the venture to take a different path is starting to pay dividends for the young starlet as he looks to have cemented a starting spot in PSV’s vastly talented team ahead of their 2021/22 campaign. In the summer of 2018, he signed a three-year contract and hasn’t looked back. Upon his arrival, Noni played a single season with the youth team before taking the next step into the Eerste Divisie (Dutch First Division). …”
Breaking The Lines
W – Noni Madueke

Blunt going forward, weak at the back – dissecting Arsenal’s defeat at Brentford

“Despite getting their first semi-proper pre-season under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal began the 2021-22 Premier League season as they ended the last, struggling to penetrate in the final third and unable to dominate defensively. They failed to match Brentford in their first game in the top flight since a 1-0 loss to Arsenal in May 1947. … His glare was caught by the TV cameras and it was justified. Arsenal did not show what was necessary to take anything back to north London. Neither in attack, nor in defence did Arsenal assert themselves. To some extent, with very young players leading the charge. that is understandable. But those more senior players who could guide the youngsters did not do that job. Here is where it went wrong. …”
The Athletic
Did you just fall in love with Brentford? Quick, learn the basics on Toney, Canos, Frank and the rest

The Wisdom of the Crowd

“Conspicuous consumption runs through soccer’s billion-dollar transfer market. Club executives hold meetings in deluxe suites in the finest hotels in London, Monte Carlo and Milan: the Connaught, the Méridien, the Palazzo Parigi. There, they haggle with agents in tailored suits over eye-watering transfer fees, lavish salaries and towering commissions. The players being traded sink into the plush leather seats of private jets to travel between clubs, before signing contracts worth tens of millions of dollars in sumptuous, state-of-the-art training facilities. …”
NY Times

Brentford 2-0 Arsenal: Jubilation for Bees as fans return for victory over Gunners

“The charismatic Dane, a cult figure loved by Brentford fans after ending their 74-year wait for top-tier status, need not have bothered. Brentford’s followers needed no encouragement or orchestration to lift the decibel levels to deafening on a memorable, emotional occasion for a great old club and its fiercely loyal and fervent fanbase. The stage was set hours before kick-off as fans, finally allowed to fill this modern stadium to a 16,479 capacity, gathered around Kew Bridge Station and Chiswick roundabout with a sense of anticipation that was almost tangible. And expectations were fulfilled in 90 minutes Brentford fans will never forget, ending with the chant of ‘we’re top of the league’ (which of course, they are) after a fully merited 2-0 win over Arsenal. …”
BBC
BBC: Brentford 2 – 0 Arsenal
“This was the perfect start” – Five things learned as Brentford sting Arsenal 2-0 to kick-off the new Premier League season
Guardian: Canós and Nørgaard sink Arsenal to give Brentford dream start
Guardian: Arteta’s Arsenal already on back foot after bruising first night failure
YouTube: Sergi Canos blasts Brentford in front of Arsenal

Should the Premier League have a salary cap?

“… It may be a surprise, but Premier League football clubs are not actually good at making money. This years’ winners of the Premier League and Champions League (Man City & Chelsea) made pre-tax losses of over £1.5 billion. But is that the cost of success? Would bringing in a salary cap make the Premier League a more even playing field? Could they follow La Liga’s rules? Or could a salary cap actually hand the advantage to the traditional big six? …”
YouTube: Should the Premier League have a salary cap?

Premier League round table: Who can challenge City? Which teams should fear drop? What would make you happy?

“In two days’ time, the Premier League is back. Promoted Brentford kick things off by hosting Arsenal at their shiny new stadium on Friday night and the first weekend of fixtures also treats us to Harry Kane-admiring Manchester City against Harry Kane-owning Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon. City are the team to beat after coasting to the title in 2020-21, so who are the teams that are going to challenge them? Which clubs should be looking over their shoulder in the bottom half of the table? And who are you most looking forward to watching this season? We asked four of our writers to answer those questions and more, as we ramp up our Premier League content before the 2021-22 season gets underway…”
The Athletic
BBC – Premier League predictions: Who will finish where in 2021-22?
Guardian – Back in the game: here comes the Premier League again

How Vienna coffee houses gave rise to a new era of intellectualism in football

Cafe Griensteidl in Wien
“The intellectual scene in football has taken a sharp upturn with the emergence of quality publications over the last half a decade that fearlessly delve into the niche and fascinating aspects of the game that may otherwise be overlooked. Alongside this, the rise of social media has allowed us to engage more intimately with tactical theoreticians and pundits, giving our understanding of the game’s nuances a chance to thrive. Essentially, we know more about football than ever before. It’s hard to imagine that we could trace the emergence of this facet of football culture all the way back to interwar Vienna’s coffee houses. It was here that the game became an intellectual pursuit, not just a sport, and it helped give rise to one of the most ephemerally wonderful international sides of all time. As well as being a movement about the unrelenting desire for growth and development, it was also one marred by tragedy. …”
These Football Times
Coffee Houses of Vienna: Birthplace of Intelligent Football – Jonathan Wilson
Coffee House rules – how football was shaped in Vienna’s cafes
BBC – Dancing over the edge: Vienna in 1914

2021–22 La Liga

“The 2021–22 La Liga will be the 91st season of La Liga, Spain’s premier football competition. It will begin on 13 August 2021 and will conclude on 22 May 2022. On 24 June 2021, the Spanish Council of Ministers resolved that spectators could return to stadium by means of a modification of the royal decree regulating the ‘new normality’, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Atlético Madrid are the defending champions, having won their 11th title in the previous season. RCD Espanyol, Real Mallorca and Rayo Vallecano are joining as the promoted clubs from the 2020–21 Segunda División. …”
Wikipedia
W – La Liga

What On Earth Is Going On At Werder Bremen?

“Werder Bremen are the third most successful club, and sit third in the all time Bundesliga table, trailing only Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in both instances. And yet, following relegation last season, the Green-Whites begin the 2021-22 campaign playing in the 2. Bundesliga for the first time in over 40 years. In this short documentary, HITC Sevens takes a look at what went right for Werder Bremen, and ultimately what went wrong, in a tale containing cheats, liars, genius, brilliant signings, awful transfers, relegation, league titles, and everything in between.”
YouTube: What On Earth Is Going On At Werder Bremen?
W – SV Werder Bremen