Category Archives: Football Manager

Manchester City 2-1 Tottenham: Mancini’s three-man defence shows first positive signs

“Manchester City turned the game around with a strong second half performance, helped by Roberto Mancini’s mid-game formation switch. Mancini named Aleksandar Kolarov on the left of midfield, with Samir Nasri ill. David Silva returned on the right, while Matija Nastasic was again at centre-back. Javi Garcia was on the bench, and Mario Balotelli left out completely. Andre Villas-Boas decided to use Emmanuel Adebayor upfront instead of Jermain Defoe, and Brad Friedel was picked ahead of Hugo Lloris. This was an interesting tactical contest – Mancini’s switch wasn’t the only key feature, and it wasn’t the sole reason City won, but it was certainly an important factor.” Zonal Marking

Attack the best form of defence

“If Manchester United’s comebacks are a tradition, the formation for many a fightback is old-fashioned. The system Sir Alex Ferguson is most associated with is 4-4-2 or, he would argue with reference to split strikers, 4-4-1-1. But when United need goals and have nothing to lose, it becomes 4-2-4, the shape Brazil brought to prominence in the 1958 World Cup. It is a risky formation but when United have to gamble, they push both wingers right up against the opposition defence, with both full-backs advancing in their slipstream. It can leave the two centre-backs isolated and the two central midfielders outnumbered – and as United’s pair usually aren’t tacklers by trade, it means they effectively only have two defenders.” ESPN

Schalke 2-1 Werder Bremen

“Schalke fought back after a lacklustre first half performance to beat Werder Bremen 2-1 and keep pace with 1. Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich. An Aaron Hunt-inspired Bremen deserved the 1-0 lead they took into the break after executing an effective gameplan and capitalising on some lethargic play by the home side (with Hunt himself putting the ball in the net). But after being allowed to equalize a little too easily shortly after the hour mark (Roman Neustädter’s headed goal was pretty defendable, and came at a time when Bremen were still exerting a degree of control), Schalke took charge, with 18-year-old substitute Julian Draxler showing great composure – amid erratic defending by the visitors – to score the winner with just under 20 minutes to play.” Defensive Midfielder

Celtic 2-1 Barcelona: a famous victory

“Little possession for long periods – then a set-piece opener followed by a second on the break – a classic underdog victory. Neil Lennon was forced into a few changes from the side he used at the weekend, but kept to a 4-4-1-1ish formation. Adam Matthews played at left-back despite being right-sided, Kris Commons moved to the right of midfield, and Miku linked up with Georgios Samaras upfront. Tito Vilanova picked roughly his expected side – Cesc Fabregas was only on the bench (he’s been a regular this season) and Marc Bartra started at the back. Alex Song was in the holding role. Yes, Celtic spent most of the game in their own half, and rode their luck at times – but they didn’t simply park the bus. They retained an attacking threat throughout the game, while changing their usual strategy to suit the task at hand.” Zonal Marking

CL (mini) review: Celtic 2 – 1 FC Barcelona: Same scoreline as before, wrong way ’round…
“Due to circumstances on my end, this review will be on the shorter side. I apologise. But please don’t leave yet! Barça lost…trolls, come out from your hiding place! So Barça finally lost a match – but all winning streaks come to an end. Even Barça’s! Tito started the match with the following players: VV – Alves, Bartra, Mascherano, Alba – Song, Xavi, Iniesta – Messi, Alexis and Pedro. No Busquets, as he was suspended, but he’s still the best DM in the world and I rate him a 12 for this match!” The Offside (Video)

Celtic’s big win a reminder of the Euro gap
“Celtic’s 2-1 upset win over Barcelona on Wednesday prompted some to describe it as the ‘second greatest night in the history of the club’ after — presumably — that night in 1967 when 11 men born within a few miles of Parkhead went out and became champions of Europe.” ESPN

Liverpool 1 Newcastle 1: In-Depth Tactical Analysis

“As expected Reina and Johnson were injured, so Jones and Enrique started instead for Liverpool. Everyone else who featured in the past several league matches started, and even Sterling and Suso reverted to their usual positions on the left and right flank respectively. For Newcastle there were no major surprises either, except for the fact that Anita started on the right and Simpson on the bench. Ba was fit to feature and Steven Taylor was restored alongside Coloccini.” Tomkins Times

New Messi Or Barn Door Luis? Suarez Deconstructed
“He definitely doesn’t score when he wants or he’d be on 30 goals by now, but to deride Suarez as a poor finisher shows a complete lack of understanding of the situation. Here’s a look both at and behind the stats of the man everyone bar reds loves to hate…” Sabotage Times

Mousa Dembele – breaking the mould

“Football is becoming increasingly universal when it comes to tactics: the best defenders can start attacks; top-level attackers are expected to defend. Classic number tens have declined in popularity, but then so have traditional wingers — there are more multi-faceted, versatile players. Because of the convergence of player styles, it’s rare that a player’s unusual technique grabs your attention. When witnessing a talented player for the first time, you can generally crudely compare him to a more established player; Argentina has had plenty of “new Maradonas” — primarily because of the overwhelming desire to create another superstar in his mould, something eventually achieved with the ascent of Lionel Messi into the world’s greatest player, but also because it’s easy. Why spend a minute explaining a player’s characteristics when you can accurately summarise it with a quick comparison?” ESPN – Michael Cox

Blogging as an Historian

“In an increasingly open sourced world where libraries and archives are accessible from everywhere and in which working and writing in a cloud has become state of the art, where do we place history and historians? This is an attempt to describe the work as an aspiring historian of sport and as a blogger and how to combine these two.” Do not mention the war – Jonathan Wilson

Shakhtar Donetsk have learned lessons and again stand in Chelsea’s way

“And so it goes on. Shakhtar Donetsk beat Metalurh Zaporizhzhya 2-0 on Saturday – Douglas Costa converted a penalty before a late goal from Luiz Adriano sealed it – to take their winning streak in the Ukrainian league to 23 games, 14 of them this season. They lead the table by 12 points and, already, with the season one game from its halfway point, it seems inconceivable that they will not lift a seventh title in nine years. The focus, understandably, is all on the Champions League and Wednesday’s game against Chelsea.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Valencia 2-0 Atletico: neither side at their best as Simeone’s midfield selection backfires

“Valencia won 2-0 in a disappointingly tame contest. Mauricio Pellegrino changed his two wide players, bringing in Andres Guardado and Sofiane Feghouli, and also introduced Jonas behind Roberto Soldado. Diego Simeone made a few changes, bringing back Tiago, Arda Turan and Adrian Lopez and moving to a different midfield format. Neither side played particularly sparkling football in this match – the only interesting tactical feature was in the centre of midfield.” Zonal Marking

Football Manager 2013 – review

“Another year goes by, and so, another release of Football Manager to review. Describe the new features, add in a little colour about how addictive it is, name-drop Tonton Zola Mokouko – job done. Sadly, I’m not going to be able to use the tried-and-tested formula this year as Football Manager 13 is quite unlike any previous edition in the series. While the original game is still there (and yes, don’t worry, I’m still planning on describing its new features), this year marks the arrival of Classic mode – a new, streamlined version of the game aimed at lapsed ChampMan enthusiasts. It’s a pretty radical departure for Sports Interactive, what with their unerring focus on adding complexity and depth to the series over the past 10 years. To abandon that now is somewhat surprising – after all fans have been moaning about how complex and time-consuming the game has become for a long time.” Guardian

Can the king of the dugout retain its crown?
“Dust off your suit, prepare your best post-match clichés and get ready for some fallout with a nefarious agent or two, because you’re about to be flung back into the cut-and-thrust world of football management. The most successful series of football manager sims is looming on the horizon, ready to leave an array of broken relationships and destroyed social lives in its wake. While you may well be well into the second half of the 2026 season with Hereford United, having taken them from League Two to the upper echelons of the Champions League in last year’s game, the simple fact is you’re going to have to bite the bullet and upgrade to Football Manager 2013 at some point.” IGN

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013- Beta Review and Key Features
YouTube:

Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal: United attack down the right

“Manchester United won comfortably without having to play well. Sir Alex Ferguson named the same side that started last weekend’s win over Chelsea – Tom Cleverley retained his place in the centre of midfield. Arsene Wenger also named an unchanged side from Arsenal’s last league fixture, so Theo Walcott was on the bench despite his midweek hat-trick. Manchester United raced into an early lead and Arsenal never looked likely to get back in the game, failing to record a shot on target until they were 2-0 down, and reduced to ten men after Jack Wilshere’s dismissal.” Zonal Marking

Manchester United 2 – 1 Arsenal
“Robin van Persie struck inside three minutes against his former club as Manchester United eased to a comfortable 2-1 victory over 10-man Arsenal at Old Trafford. The prolific Dutchman was taunted throughout by visiting fans but reminded them of his talents in the opening moments in a Barclays Premier League contest United dominated from the outset. Wayne Rooney missed United’s fourth penalty of the season but Patrice Evra added a second and Arsenal’s misery was compounded by the sending-off of Jack Wilshere before Santi Cazorla hit an injury-time consolation.” ESPN

The end of the holding midfielder?

Jan Brueghel, the younger – Venus in the forge of Vulcan
“When Manchester City beat Manchester United in what was effectively a title decider at the end of April last season, the area in which they were dominant was clear. United fielded a midfield three of Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Park Ji-sung. Against City’s 4-2-3-1 that should have given them an additional man in the centre. Even though City had the trident of David Silva, Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri dropping back, United had Ryan Giggs and Nani doing much the same – but as it turned out United were physically overwhelmed.” World Soccer – Jonathan Wilson

Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United: two goals a dangerous lead, two men a significant advantage

“Manchester United snatched the three points after Chelsea went down to nine men at 2-2. Roberto Di Matteo was again without John Terry through suspension, while Frank Lampard was injured, so Chelsea’s starting XI was as expected. Sir Alex Ferguson returned to more of a traditional Manchester United system after recent experimentations with a diamond. Ashley Young was the biggest surprise on the teamsheet, deployed out on the left. Manchester United went ahead on the counter as Chelsea dominated the first half, before the away side’s numerical supremacy led to dominance of the final 25 minutes.” Zonal Marking

Borussia Dortmund – Back In The Game

Jurgen Klopp
“Last season was truly memorable for Borussia Dortmund’s many supporters, as their beloved Schwarzgelben retained their Bundesliga title and also secured the first double in the club’s 103-year history by winning the DFB Cup too. Not only did they avoid the dreaded second season syndrome, but they actually did so in record-breaking style by setting the highest points total (81) and the longest unbeaten run in a single season (28 matches). Germany’s leading sports magazine, Kicker, compared this achievement with Bob Beamon’s “unbelievable” long jump record in the 1968 Olympics.” Swiss Ramble

Old school at Villa Park as opponents embrace 4-4-2

“It was the unexpected against the expected. Not in the scoreline – as these two teams have one win apiece, a draw was not unsurprising – but in the shape of the sides. Norwich manager Chris Hughton followed the old maxim to never change a winning team. His Villa counterpart Paul Lambert often ignored that footballing truism in his time at Carrow Road and has used unpredictability as an asset in the past.” ESPN: Tactics and Analysis

Dortmund 2-1 Real Madrid: Dortmund press as a unit and expose Essien at left-back

“Dortmund bounced back from their weekend disaster against Schalke to record an important victory. After Saturday’s disaster against Schalke, Jurgen Klopp returned to something approaching his first-choice formation and XI, although Jakub Blaszczykowski remains unavailable. Jose Mourinho selected his expected starting XI. With Fabio Coentrao, Marcelo and Alvaro Arbeloa all out, Sergio Ramos and Michael Essien were at full-back. Sami Khedira only lasted twenty minutes before being replaced by Luka Modric.” Zonal Marking

Zenit learning that money doesn’t always buy success

“After a couple of seasons mixing domestic success with continental disappointment, 2012-13 should have been Zenit St Petersburg’s time to shine in the Champions League under highly rated coach Luciano Spalletti. There were various reasons for optimism. After an 18-month transition season to shift the Russian Premier League from a summer to a winter calendar, in keeping with the rest of Europe, Zenit could have no complaints about fitness levels at certain stages of the campaign — a common complaint for many Russian clubs over the years.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Shakhtar 2-1 Chelsea: Shakhtar attack with pace and forward bursts from Fernandinho and Srna

“Shakhtar dominated the match, and should have won by more. There were no major surprises from Mircea Lucescu – Alex Teixeira was on the right, and Tomas Hubschman in the centre of midfield. Roberto Di Matteo brought Frank Lampard back into the side, with Ramires pushed to the right. But Lampard only lasted 18 minutes – Eden Hazard came on, Ramires dropped back into the centre of midfield, and Chelsea were back to their usual format of three rotating attackers. John Terry returned in place of Gary Cahill. This was an extremely fast, frantic game that Shakhtar dominated primarily of better attacking combinations.” Zonal Marking

Juventus 2-0 Napoli: substitutes settle a tight encounter

“First versus second in Serie A – Juventus eventually got the breakthrough, and now lead Napoli by three points. Antonio Conte’s main decision was about which forward combination to select – he went with Fabio Quagliarella and Sebastian Giovinco, the same duo he selected at Fiorentina, last time ZM covered Juventus. Marco Storari played, as Gigi Buffon was injured. Walter Mazzarri rarely makes any surprise selection decisions, and his XI was as expected, with Alessandro Gamberini starting on the left of the back three. Tight, tense and tactical. These sides have played each other so frequently in the past twelve months – with Conte choosing a system that deliberately mirrors Napoli’s – that it rather felt like the sides knew each other too well, and both needed a surprise element.” Zonal Marking

Tottenham 2-4 Chelsea: Mata stars in an eventful game

“Tottenham had a strong spell either side of half-time, but Chelsea were the better side. Andre Villas-Boas was unable to select either Moussa Dembele or Gareth Bale, so used Clint Dempsey on the left and Tom Huddlestone came into the centre of midfield. Brad Friedel started, with Hugo Lloris on the bench. Roberto Di Matteo left Frank Lampard on the bench and persevered with three rotating attackers behind Fernando Torres. John Terry was banned. This was a strange game – it was open and enjoyable, yet lacked a defining tactical feature.” Zonal Marking

Eight Tactical Points from Valencia v Athletic Bilbao

“Mathieu struggled at left-back. The understanding between Jordi Alba and Jérémy Mathieu over the last few seasons has been sublime, combining well and covering for whoever was furthest forward. Mathieu appeared more vulnerable with a more natural winger in-front of him, Markel Susaeta and Óscar de Marcos both gave him a torrid time in the first half, crossing the ball early when he wasn’t tight enough, beating him individually and looking to overload him with 2 v 1situations. It was no surprise the opening goal came from his side as he was caught out positionally, as Iker Muniain’spass got in behind him, though the Frenchman was unfortunate that his last-gasp sliding challenge fell to Aritz Aduriz. Who opened out his body and executed a curling effort into the back of the net.” La Liga UK

Weak at the Knees – Is Germany suffering from mental and tactical regression?

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“Sweden’s incredible and historic comeback against Germany on Tuesday will no doubt add fuel to an already fiery debate about the National Team’s supposed mental frailty and Löw’s ability to truly reach their potential. Images of despair and disbelief have become commonplace in German football over the years, whether it was Bayern’s dramatic and unexpected loss in the Champions League final against Chelsea, Germany’s capitulation against Italy at the EUROs or the seeming inevitability of a loss whenever Germany is faced with Spain. German clubs’ failure in European competition only enhances a growing reputation of shortcomings and underachievement.” Bundesliga Fanatic

Germany collapse against Sweden brings questions, consequences
“‘I’m in a state of shock,’ said German national team coach Joachim Löw immediately after his squad’s 4-4 draw with Sweden in the World Cup qualifier Tuesday night. ‘This is inexplicable.’ His players were similarly stunned by the biggest collapse in the country’s footballing history; no other German team had ever squandered a four-goal lead before. TV reporters and journalists seemed lost for words, too, initially, before a number of reasons for the embarrassing result were put forward.” SI

Real Madrid And Barcelona – Leaders Of The Pack

” A couple of weeks ago Barcelona and Real Madrid produced an enthralling 2-2 draw in El Clásico with two goals apiece from their superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It seemed appropriate that the latest match in a series of titanic struggles finished level, as there has been little to separate the two Spanish giants recently. Their dominance in La Liga has become unquestioned, as they have shared the last eight league titles between them, Barcelona winning five times, while Madrid have been victorious on three occasions, including last season. In Europe, Barcelona have led the way, winning the Champions League twice in the last four years. Although Madrid have not been quite so prominent recently, they have reached the semi-finals of the last two tournaments, and they have won the trophy more than any other club (nine times).” Swiss Ramble

Serie A’s new title rivalry

“Europe’s title battles this season will be somewhat familiar — Real Madrid versus Barcelona, Manchester City versus Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund versus Bayern Munich. Though we’re only in October and there’s still time for outsiders to spoil the party, the lack of variety can be frustrating. Serie A is different. This weekend Juventus takes on Napoli: it’s first versus second with both teams having picked up 19 points from a possible 21 so far — but more intriguingly, it’s a genuinely new title rivalry.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Spain 1-1 France: Deschamps’ formation switch results in late France dominance

“Spain failed to win for the first time in 25 qualification matches. Vicente del Bosque continued with Sergio Busquets at the back and Xabi Alonso as the sole holding player. David Silva started on the left, but went off injured after 13 minutes, replaced by Santi Cazorla. Didier Deschamps started with a single striker, Karim Benzema, flanked by Jeremy Menez and Franck Ribery. Patrice Evra came back in for Gael Clichy, and Maxime Gonalons played as the holding midfielder. Spain dominated before the break, but France were excellent for the final half hour following a clever change in formation from Deschamps, and the away side created enough goalscoring chances to feel they merited a point.” Zonal Marking

Uruguay still struggling to get best out of Edinson Cavani

“In the past couple of years, Uruguay have been South America’s best side. At the 2010 World Cup, they advanced further than any other CONMEBOL nation, then triumphed at last year’s Copa America. The man behind their success is Oscar Tabarez. A veteran coach who won the Copa Libertadores as long ago as 1987 and started his first spell as Uruguay coach a year later, Tabarez is a wise tactician, both methodical and ruthless with his starting selections and strategy.” ESPN – Michael Cox

The Peerless Jozsef Bozsik

“Among the most widely noted tactical phenomena of the last ten years has been the increasing importance of the ‘deep lying playmaker’. As teams have lined up with ever more defensive midfielders, previously advanced midfielders have dropped ever deeper themselves in search of precious space. In many ways this isn’t a new trend, but simply a return to a practice of the 1950s and earlier. For prior to the advent of the WM, the deep lying playmaker (such as Austria’s attacking centre-half, Ernst Ocwirk) was a mainstay of the game.” In Bed With Maradona

Argentina 3-0 Uruguay: Messi the main man

“Argentina dominated the entire match, but took an hour to get the breakthrough. Alejandro Sabella kept a similar side to the XI that drew in Peru last month, with a couple of Manchester City players replacing a couple of recent Napoli players – Pablo Zabaleta replaced Hugo Campagnaro and Sergio Aguero returned in place of Ezequiel Lavezzi. Oscar Tabarez was without Diego Perez, Alvaro Pereira and Gaston Ramirez, so in came Walter Gargano, Martin Caceres and Alvaro Gonzales. Argentina were superior in every department – although particularly in the final third, thanks to the fluidity, movement and clever combinations of the attackers.” Zonal Marking

Uruguay still struggling to get best out of Edinson Cavani

“In the past couple of years, Uruguay have been South America’s best side. At the 2010 World Cup, they advanced further than any other CONMEBOL nation, then triumphed at last year’s Copa America. The man behind their success is Oscar Tabarez. A veteran coach who won the Copa Libertadores as long ago as 1987 and started his first spell as Uruguay coach a year later, Tabarez is a wise tactician, both methodical and ruthless with his starting selections and strategy.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Scout Report: Tim Howard – Best of the rest?

“When you’ve had the pleasure of watching one of the greatest players of all time in his position play for your club, it’s difficult to judge his successors fairly. Only Nigel Martyn has been universally accepted by the Goodison faithful as a great keeper since Neville Southall left Everton in 1998. Tim Howard easily comes next as best of the rest but he’s never totally convinced all fans that he’s as good as we can get. Is this fair? What can the stats from last year tell us about Everton’s No 1?” The Executioners Bong

A Barcelona Expert On Why Mourinho Is The Special One

José Mourinho
“Modern football has produced many greats on the pitch but few off it. The casual football fan may be more familiar with Argentine genius, Diego Armando Maradona, his Brazilian counterpart, Edison Arantes do Nascimento, or as he is better known, Pelé, or Dutch master Hendrik Johannes Cruijff alias Johan Cruyff. Though they have hanged up the football boots decades ago, their names still resonates with football fans worldwide. The majority of younger football fans have never seen Pelé, Johan Cruyff or Maradona live, due to being handicapped by not being alive during their respective era, but their parents had the privilege to have witnessed some of the greatest footballers of all time.” Sabotage Times

The State of Analytics: Too many soccer analytics posts lack Statistical Power

“I mentioned at the start of these columns I know next to nothing about even basic statistical science, but it appears if I or indeed any of us are going to help in moving forward on developing useful metrics in gaining a better understanding of best practices in football, that might have to change. The reason is that one of the major misunderstandings among amateur soccer analytics writers is the importance of Statistical Power, generally determined by an accurate and useful sample size. The name of the game is eliminating the possibility of Type I and II errors, which involve ruling out a null hypothesis (no statistical correlation between factor X and result Y).” The Score (Video)

The Secrets Behind The Success Of Dutch Football

“The Netherlands are not only known for their tulips, clogs, windmills and marijuana. When you think of Holland and football, you think of Total Football, Johan Cruijff, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and, more recently, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Robin van Persie. The country is known for producing talented and skilful football players that are among world’s best. One of the core reasons Holland produces so many talents is the excellent organisation of youth football from which other countries can learn a lot.” Sabotage Times

Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid: two goals each for Ronaldo and Messi

“Both sides appeared content with a point from an entertaining match. Tito Vilanova surprisingly named Adriano at centre-back rather than Alex Song, in the absence of Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. Andres Iniesta returned to the side in place of Alexis Sanchez. Jose Mourinho went for a familiar side – with no Luka Modric or Michael Essien, it was essentially the Real of last season, with Mesut Ozil as the number ten. It was the usual pattern – Barca dominating possession, Real a threat from quicker attacks and set-pieces.” Zonal Marking

Messi, Ronaldo duel to stalemate in clásico as Barça’s perfect start ends
“Thoughts from the Real Madrid- FC Barcelona match. Pressure, pressure, pressure: That Madrid lay in wait for Barcelona was not hugely surprising, even if they have pressured higher against them in recent clásicos, forcing mistakes from Valdés, Mascherano and Piqué. That Barcelona did not press was more unexpected, though. Madrid were largely allowed to bring the ball out from the back. Only Pedro really chased to close down Madrid’s defenders. Notably, it is not just Madrid, either: this season Barcelona have tended to play a little deeper and press less. Is one of the signatures of Pep Guardiola’s side being abandoned?” SI

Team Ronaldo Or Team Messi? Watch Yesterday’s Goals And Judge For Yourself
“Messi Or Ronaldo? Who do you think is the greatest player of all time? In last night’s El Clasico the two superstars took turns at winning our affections. Ronaldo’s typical storming run into the box followed by a powerful finish opened the scoring for Madrid. Messi then bagged two for Barcelona, the first an opportunistic finish that countless less agile players with inferior anticipation would have made a hash of, the second could not have been more different; a beautifully curled free-kick that Iker Casillas would not have got close to had he been a foot taller. Ronaldo then equalised almost immediately with a clinical finish on the break that he made look very easy indeed.” Sabotage Times (Video)

Another classy clasico
“It was quite a weekend, and how nice for all the games to be played by the end of Sunday night – just like the old days. It almost felt like a broadcast in black and white. Celta v Sevilla was played on the Friday night, which was slightly odd (maybe that’s what affected Sevilla, who lost), but there were several significant games that all coincided on the seventh week of the Spanish league programme. Now there’s a rest for the international fixtures, and in any case it’s a four-day week in Spain, with a national holiday on Friday.” ESPN

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo swat politics aside in breathless clásico
“The homage to Catalonia turned into a homage to Cristiano Messi and Lionel Ronaldo. They say that sport and politics should not mix but sport and politics do mix, especially when it comes to Real Madrid versus Barcelona. The myths matter, even when they are myths, and symbolism seeps through the sport. There may be no more political match on the planet and this Sunday was billed as the most political match of them all, certainly since 1975. Madrid-Barcelona, Gerard Piqué admitted this week, has come to be seen as Spain-Catalonia, even if it shouldn’t. And this time more than ever. In the end, though, it was another match that captured the imagination: Messi versus Ronaldo.” Guardian

Ronaldo, Messi net 2 as Madrid draws 2-2 at Barca
“Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dueled to an entertaining stalemate on Sunday, with both superstars scoring twice as Barcelona drew 2-2 with Real Madrid to keep an eight-point lead over its archrival intact. The result ended Barcelona’s perfect start to the league campaign as it dropped points for the first time in seven games, but provided yet another memorable chapter in the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo, two of the biggest names in the sport.” SI

Newcastle 0-3 Manchester United: Ferguson’s diamond forces Newcastle to change shape

“Manchester United won the game primarily because of a dominant opening 15 minutes. Alan Pardew selected a 4-4-2 from the start. James Perch was at centre-back, Davide Santon on the right, and Shane Ferguson at left-back. Sir Alex Ferguson continued with the diamond he played against Cluj in midweek. Danny Welbeck replaced Javier Hernandez, while Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick came in for Anderson and Darren Fletcher. There were three phases here. First, Manchester United’s diamond dominated Newcastle’s 4-4-2. Second, Pardew switched to a 4-5-1 to compete in the centre of midfield. Third, Ferguson switched to a 4-5-1 to give protection to his full-backs.” Zonal Marking

Toure de force, Arsenal back five

“Roberto Mancini is a man of many formations, sometimes within the space of the same game and many of them revolving around Yaya Toure. But as Manchester City kept a belated first clean sheet of the season, their manager went back to basics. As is often the case in his tactics, Toure was crucial. In both personnel and shape, City provided reminders of the 2010-11 season when Mancini was often accused of being overly defensive. This was the 4-2-3-1 approach they adopted then, but less frequently last year because of Mancini’s preference for two out-and-out forwards in attack.” ESPN

Manchester City 3:0 Sunderland
“Sunderland’s trip to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon was not very rewarding. Aleksandar Kolarov contributed a goal and an assist as Manchester City dominated the match, earning a 3-0 victory over the visiting Black Cats. The hosts made a host of changes to their lineup from their midweek draw to Borussia Dortmund. The team assumed a 4-2-3-1 shape, but with two forwards in the team. Carlos Tevez played at the front, but Mario Balotelli came in to play as an attacker cutting in from the left. Gareth Barry came back into the side playing in his familiar role as a ball winner in front of the defense.” EPL Talk

Benfica 0-2 Barcelona: Sanchez and Fabregas exploit the space between Pereira and Jardel

“Barcelona constantly attacked into an inside-left position in their comfortable victory over Benfica. Jorge Jesus chose 4-1-4-1ish system with Nemanja Matic sitting deep in midfield and Bruno Rodrigo having most license to get forward. Oscar Cardozo wasn’t fit, so Lima started alone upfront. Tito Vilanova brought back Carles Puyol into defence, while Cesc Fabregas played in Andres Iniesta’s left-centre midfield position. That turned out to be a crucial part of Barca’s gameplan – Fabregas stormed forward to turn Barcelona’s front three into a front four and overwhelmed the Benfica defence.” Zonal Marking

Tito Vilanova sticks to just tweaking Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona plan
“From the first day, the message was clear: keep calm and carry on. On 27 April, Pep Guardiola, appeared in the press room at the Camp Nou to announce that he was leaving at the end of the season. Sat among the journalists were a handful of Barcelona players but Lionel Messi was not one of them. He later said that he just couldn’t be there: the emotion was too great. Barcelona’s most successful coach was leaving, the man who symbolised the club better than anyone else, ever.” Guardian

Porto 1-0 PSG: Porto dominate with more width

“PSG remained narrow while Porto played with plenty of width – and the home side’s two wingers were the key attacking players. Vitor Pereira chose his expected line-up in the usual 4-3-3 system. Carlo Ancelotti left out Javier Pastore, preferring Jeremy Menez and Nene. At the back he brought in Mamadou Sakho. Porto played superior football throughout the match, and although PSG had a few chances on the break, Pereira’s side were fully deserving of the three points.” Zonal Marking

Carlo Ancelotti should sharpen his tactics
“For a double European Cup winner, a title winner in two major leagues, and one of the most celebrated coaches of his era, it’s surprisingly difficult to work out whether Carlo Ancelotti has any tactical nous. Wednesday night was a great example. Ancelotti’s Paris Saint-Germain club traveled to Porto and produced a poor performance completely lacking in creativity, width or ambition. PSG lost 1-0 after a late James Rodriguez goal, but the score line could have been 3-0 or 4-0 and not flattered the Portuguese champions, who had 20 shots to PSG’s eight, six on target to PSG’s two. It was a 1-0 thrashing.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Liverpool: Glen Johnson Proves Again That He Can’t Defend For Toffee

“The last two home games for Liverpool have seen superb performances undermined by a mix of gross incompetence from referees coupled with individual defensive errors which have ruthlessly been capitalised on by proven goalscorers, and the Reds have somehow come away from both games as the losing team, despite having dominated the majority of the play. This is nothing new for the Anfield faithful, who saw the same thing happen time and time again last season, but despite it feeling like the same old cycle, with each game that passes this team looks more and more comfortable in Brendan Rodgers’ system.” Sabotage Times

Arsenal – The Song Remains The Same

“It has been a mixed start to the season for Arsenal, as promising away performances at champions Manchester City and a rejuvenated Liverpool have been balanced against a disappointing home defeat to Chelsea. However, there is an air of quiet optimism among the fans that Arsène Wenger’s new-look side will be able to mount a challenge once the new players have fully gelled. It certainly feels better than last year when the Gunners were on the wrong end of an 8-2 thrashing by Manchester United. In fact, Arsenal recovered well after that disastrous start to finish in a creditable third position, securing qualification for the Champions League for a hugely impressive 15 seasons in a row.” Swiss Rambler

Manchester United 2-3 Tottenham: Spurs attack directly then defend deep

“An excellent first half performance put Tottenham in control, and they hung on with a fine defensive performance in the second half. Sir Alex Ferguson brought Paul Scholes back into the starting line-up and used Ryan Giggs on the left. Wayne Rooney was on the bench. Andre Villas-Boas chose Clint Dempsey ahead of Gylfi Sigurdsson, and played Jan Vertonghen at left-back with Steven Caulker coming into the centre of the pitch. Brad Fridel continued in goal. The halves were completely different – Tottenham were excellent going forward before half-time, before gradually sitting deeper and deeper in the second half.” Zonal Marking

Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea: both sides vulnerable down their left

“Chelsea stay at the top of the table after scoring two goals from free-kicks. Arsene Wenger went with the pace of Gervinho rather than the physicality of Olivier Giroud upfront, and continued with Aaron Ramsey on the right – although he had to shuffle into the middle after Abou Diaby’s injury. Roberto Di Matteo left out Frank Lampard and continued with the front four that failed to click against Stoke last weekend, with three versatile playmakers behind Fernando Torres. This wasn’t an inspiring game – none of the playmakers were on top form, and neither side played good football.” Zonal Marking

Lambert’s way to make diamond sparkle

“Diamonds are not forever, but they occur frequently in Paul Lambert’s management. The Scot is one of the most tactically flexible coaches around and played 4-2-3-1 in the Capital One Cup win at Manchester City, but he often reverts to the system he used for most of Norwich’s promotion season and at times last year: 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond.” ESPN

Napoli 3-0 Lazio: Cavani x 3

“Edinson Cavani hit a hattrick – and missed a penalty – as Napoli stormed to victory. Walter Mazzarri started Alessandro Gamberini rather than Salvatore Aronica in defence and Valon Behrami ahead of Blerim Dzemaili in midfield. Vladimir Petkovic moved back to his 4-1-4-1 / 4-3-3 after an unsuccessful experimentation with 4-4-2 against Genoa, with Miroslav Klose returning upfront, Stefano Mauri moved inside and Senad Lulic out on the left. Despite Klose’s early disallowed goal (struck off because he admitted punching the ball into the net), this was a fairly simple game. Napoli were more forceful, energetic and direct than Lazio – they won the battle in the midfield and counter-attacked swiftly.” Zonal Marking

Inverting The Pyramid-Barcelona’s 1-2-3-4 formation

“Modern football, has it’s foundations laid upon the ‘false’ tactics – so to say the ‘False 10′ and the more popular and widely accepted ‘False 9.’ The present era is a period of sustained innovation, where new formations, different chalkboards and novel setups come up to the fore every day. But the setup which I am going to talk about is the 1-2-3-4. Yes, you don’t need to rub your eyes and read again. It’s called ‘Inverting the Pyramid’ – Why?” The False 9

Fiorentina 0-0 Juventus: home side dominate in a clash of similar systems

“3-5-2 versus 3-5-2, and one point apiece. Vincenzo Montella made three changes. The most significant involved him selecting the industry of Romulo over the creativity of Mati Fernandez. Adem Ljajic came in for Haris Seferovic, and Manuel Pasqual for Mattia Cassani. Antonio Conte and Massimo Carrera decided to rest Claudio Marchisio, with Emanuele Giaccherini starting instead. Fabio Quagliarella replaced Mirko Vucinic after his impressive impact in the last couple of games. Fiorentina were the better side but struggled in front of goal, with Juventus seemingly happy with a point.” In Bed With Maradina

Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United: United come from behind to win

“Liverpool started stronger, but Manchester United gained control of the game after Jonjo Shelvey’s dismissal. Brendan Rodgers used Shelvey as the highest player in his midfield triangle, and Glen Johnson continued at left-back. Sir Alex Ferguson rested Nemanja Vidic, and played Ryan Giggs, rather than Paul Scholes or Tom Cleverley, in the centre of midfield. Liverpool dominated the first half, United the second – Shelvey’s dismissal was a huge turning point in terms of the tactical battle.” Zonal Marking

Manchester City 1-1 Arsenal: two goals from corners
“There was plenty of attacking talent on show, but centre-backs Joleon Lescott and Laurent Koscielny got the goals. Roberto Mancini chose Scott Sinclair on the left in the absence of Samir Nasri, with Sergio Aguero returning upfront to partner Edin Dzeko. Arsene Wenger was without Thomas Vermaelen so Laurent Koscielny came in at the back. Aaron Ramsey started on the right, with Gervinho as the primary forward. Arsenal can be more pleased with their performance – they dominated possession and got into dangerous positions in the final third – but they trailed for 42 minutes, and had to scrap to win a point.” Zonal Marking

Schalke 0-2 Bayern: Kroos controls the game
“Bayern dominated possession throughout the match, and eventually found a route to goal. Huub Stevens made just one change from the side that defeated Olympiakos in midweek, bringing in Julian Draxler in place of Tranquilo Barnetta. Jupp Heynckes’ Bayern side had played a day later than Schalke (beating Valencia 2-1) so he freshened up the side with three changes – Mario Mandzukic was back in for Claudio Pizarro, while Thomas Muller and Luis Gustavo replaced Franck Ribery and Javi Martinez. Bayern always seemed on top, but the game was lacking in excitement and tempo, so there were few goalscoring chances until the away side took command early in the second half.” Zonal Marking

Match Of The Week: Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United

“Perhaps, and this is a theory that it is impossible to substantiate, Sir Alex Ferguson has come to realise a fundamental truth of football which frequently seems to slip under our radar. It doesn’t matter whether you play well or not. It’s a result-based business and what matters, all that matters, is getting that result. Manchester United were poor at Anfield this afternoon, but when the ball needed to roll for them it rolled for them, when they needed referee Mark Halsey to make misjudgements, they got them. They came away from Anfield this afternoon with all three points, when all bar the most one-eyed could only consider that they might even have deserved none.” twohundredpercent

Red card ruins Liverpool’s midfield plan to dominate Manchester United
“This match was essentially two separate tactical battles; before and after Jonjo Shelvey’s game-changing red card. His dismissal will have been particularly infuriating for Brendan Rodgers, whose starting approach resulted in a fine Liverpool display before half-time. Sir Alex Ferguson is generally cautious in this fixture, naming a defensive-minded 4-5-1 system in each of his last two visits to Anfield. Unusually he selected a true playmaker, Shinji Kagawa, behind Robin van Persie in conjunction with two natural wingers.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/sep/23/liverpool-midfield-dominate-manchester-united”>Guardian – Michael Cox

Reds fall short on emotional day
“All things considered, Manchester United represented worst possible visitors to Anfield on such an emotional occasion. Not the club, who behaved with immaculate dignity, but the players, who pilfered three points their display did not deserve, and some supporters, who put a sizeable dent in their reputation, particularly when provoked by a moronic minority at Anfield.” ESPN

Manchester United, Liverpool set for emotional match at Anfield
“On Sunday afternoon, 96 red balloons will float up and out of Anfield, each one released by the captains of Liverpool and Manchester United to symbolize one of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster. It is more than 23 years since they died, but the match will be Anfield’s first chance to mark their passing since a report from the Hillsborough Independent Panel finally and formally allocated blame for the tragedy this month. After two decades of campaigning, it took a matter of moments for the chair, the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, to confirm that a catalog of poor decisions by the authorities had caused the deaths.” SI

Chelsea 2-2 Juventus: Juve take advantage of their areas of strength

“Oscar’s strikes gave Chelsea two-goal lead, but Juventus found a way back into the game. Roberto Di Matteo selected Oscar as the central playmaker in his 4-2-3-1, with Juan Mata on the bench. The rest of the side was as expected. Antonio Conte (and assistant Massimo Carrera) named the expected side. There were no major surprises in the way the sides lined up, either – it was 4-2-3-1 against 3-5-2, and both sides had areas of strength and weakness.” Zonal Marking

Oscar shines, but Chelsea’s defense breaks in draw with Juventus

“Sooner or later people are going to start believing in Oscar’s genius. Last year, in extra time in the final of the Under-20 World Cup in Bogota, he floated a chip from wide on the right over Portugal goalkeeper Mika to complete his hat trick and give Brazil a 3-2 victory. It was, everybody agreed, a sensational goal — if he meant it. He insisted he did, but there was doubt: could anybody really, in the heat of the game, have had the vision, the audacity and the control to execute such a shot?” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Dortmund 3-0 Leverkusen: Leverkusen caught out by Dortmund full-backs overlapping

“Dortmund recorded a comfortable victory over Leverkusen side that offered little attacking threat. Jurgen Klopp named a side familiar from last season, with Marco Reus carrying a slight knock and therefore only on the bench. Sami Hyypia made a single change, bringing in Jens Hegeler for captain Simon Rolfes. This was an interesting formation battle that favoured Dortmund, whose movement had a clear purpose and was effective at dragging Leverkusen out of position, before exploiting the space on the flanks.” Zonal Marking

Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City: second half switches leave City exposed down their right

“An excellent match, defined by a chaotic final 15 minutes. Jose Mourinho surprisingly named Michael Essien, rather than Mesut Ozil or Luka Modric, in the centre of his midfield. Sergio Ramos was dropped, with Raphael Varane starting at centre-back instead. Roberto Mancini also made a surprise selection decision, with Matija Nastasic starting over Joleon Lescott at the back. Yaya Toure played at the head of City’s midfield triangle. Real dominated the majority of the game but twice fell behind, while City scored two goals against the run of play, before losing the game after some shambolic defending late on.” Zonal Marking

Genoa – Strange Relationship

“It’s fair to say that last season was not particularly enjoyable for Genoa. They only just managed to avoid relegation, while their defence was the worst in Serie A, conceding a horrific 69 goals. Matters came to a head when a group of their fans staged a protest during the 4-1 home defeat to Siena, throwing flares and demanding that the players gave them their shirts, leading to a 45 minute suspension of the match.” Swiss Ramble

Tactics for Beginners – an Introduction

“Mihail, I have been watching football for over 40 years, but recently I’ve increasingly realised that the way I have been watching games is very limited. I want to see more. I want to look at something that is familiar and ordinary and see it as fresh and extraordinary. You could say I know there is a different paradigm, and I’m trying to shift myself to it. …” Tomkins Times

The problem with Southampton

“The league table doesn’t lie — and neither do the record books. Bottom of the Premier League with no points, Southampton is faced with a statistical barrier to survival: no newly promoted side has lost its first four matches and escaped relegation.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Dortmund 3-0 Leverkusen: Leverkusen caught out by Dortmund full-backs overlapping

“Dortmund recorded a comfortable victory over Leverkusen side that offered little attacking threat. Jurgen Klopp named a side familiar from last season, with Marco Reus carrying a slight knock and therefore only on the bench. Sami Hyypia made a single change, bringing in Jens Hegeler for captain Simon Rolfes. This was an interesting formation battle that favoured Dortmund, whose movement had a clear purpose and was effective at dragging Leverkusen out of position, before exploiting the space on the flanks.” Zonal Marking

Sevilla 1-0 Real Madrid: Sevilla score after 2 minutes, then protect the lead for 88

“Sevilla triumphed in a fascinating tactical battle at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Sevilla coach Michel made an interesting selection decision, introducing Hedwiges Maduro into the midfield triangle. This pushed Piotr Trochowski forward to the left, and meant Manu had to settle for a place on the bench. Jose Mourinho chose a familiar side, with Luka Modric on the bench. Gonzalo Higuain started ahead of Karim Benzema upfront. There were two major phases to this game – the first half was about how well Sevilla’s initial gameplan worked, the second half was about how Mourinho adapted, and then the two coaches traded blows with substitutions until the end.” Zonal Marking

What is American Soccer?

“For Howler’s debut issue, Matthew Doyle (MLSsoccer.com’s Armchair Analyst) watched more than 50 hours of USMNT tape (going all the way back to Italia ‘90) to discern what—if anything—characterizes the American style of play. With tomorrow night’s WCQ against Jamaica looming, we thought we’d share it early, especially because his analysis has a lot to say about what went wrong in Friday’s loss to Jamaica.” Howler

Is Juergen Klinsmann as conservative a coach as Bob Bradley?
“In preparation for the release of Howler magazine, the whatahowler tumblr released the full text of an article with the ambitious title, “What is American Soccer?” by MLS Armchair Analyst Matthew Doyle, and it is a riveting read for CONCACAF nerds especially (full disclosure—I contributed a short piece for issue one). I was struck though by the final paragraphs on US mens national team coach Juergen Klinsmann’s dogmatic belief in the possession-based 4-3-3, and they should be of interest to Toronto FC fans in particular, still reeling from the collapse of the Aron Winter era…” The Score

Sabella meshes Argentina’s abundance of attacking talent

“It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez, Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore, Ezequiel Lavezzi … no other nation comes even remotely close to Argentina in terms of attacking and creative talent. The problem has been trying to fit as many of them as possible into the same squad. It did for Diego Maradona and it did for Sergio Batista.” SI

You Think You Know Me? The 5 Greatest Football Metamorphoses

“Thanks to the modern day media saturation of football, Sky TV, the evolution of the internet, twitter, etc., etc.; we are all very confident of our knowledge and familiarity with all involved; the clubs, players, managers, chairmen, pundits, presenters are all very well known to us. Sometimes there are those that surprise however, the ones that we think we have all figured out, only to learn that they’re not as crap as we thought, or not as much of an imbecile, or not quite the disaster waiting to happen that we had all concluded; these select few, are football’s five greatest metamorphoses.” Sabotage Times