Special Feature: Evaluating Football Tactics In 2010 - Part 1
‘The key to success is the ability to adapt’, this quote might be quite old but it has not lost its usefulness. When http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Diego-Maradona-c11160. The European giants employed the Catenaccio system which has come to typify a sceptical approach to football tactics.
In reality, tactics have been played down by several football managers over the years. Brian Clough, the Englishman who led Nottingham Forest to successive European Cup wins in 1979 and 1980, stated, "Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much c**p talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes." Clough might be right in his own regard but in modern day, football tactics have come to define the way teams function and most importantly, out think each other.
In the calendar year 2010, tactics gained new importance as Barcelona, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan all used different systems to achieve their end results. In some cases such as Chelsea, the team didn’t gain much acclaim in the European theatre of football but domestically, the London club lifted the double with an English Premier League triumph coupled with a F.A. Cup win.
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757 as the Europeans prevailed once more.
In the UEFA Champions League of 2009-2010, a tournament which Inter Milan won in the end under Jose Mourinho, the Italian club side made effective use of the reformed Catenaccio system. In older times, the Catenaccio strategy was used to nullify the opponents by playing a sweeper behind the three regular defenders in defence. The system in its earlier days led to the emergence of counter attacking football. Inter Milan refined the system and tinkered it to their own specifications. The best example of Jose Mourinho’s tactical innovation was Inter’s victory over Barcelona in that UEFA Champions League's semi-finals.
The Portuguese manager emphasized on the importance of counter attacking football as Inter Milan allowed Barcelona to dominate possession. In the first leg that was played at San Siro, Inter were ruthless in their counter attacks as they broke at speed and precision to win the encounter by 3 goals to 1. In the return leg at Nou Camp, Barcelona were unable to break down Mourinho’s reformed Catenaccio system as the tactical genius directed his team to defend deep so that they can deny space behind the defence to the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 and Pedro.
Barcelona tried to respond with a tactical change of their own. The Spanish giants defended high up the field to firstly control as much of the possession as possible by shrinking the field. Secondly, Pep Guardiola asked his full backs to push up the field as well so that Barcelona can overwhelm the Inter Milan attack. In the end, Barcelona did win the match by a single goal but the Catalans went out on the aggregate score line.
Continued in Part 2...
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