Special Feature: Evaluating Football Tactics In 2010 - Part 2
Alternatively, Bayern Munich employed inverted wingers to get the better of Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals of the 2009-2010 season. Louis Van Gaal played Robben as a right sided winger whereas Frank Ribery was used as a left
sided winger by the Dutch manager. This allowed Bayern to work the play brilliantly as Ribery and Robben used to cut infield on their stronger feet more often than not.
With Robben, it was a case of coming in on his stronger side i.e. the left foot whereas for Ribery, it was his right foot. This switch by both the wingers was instinctive in nature due to their style of play but what is important to realize is that these
tactics opened up space on the wing for Bayern’s full backs to push forward. Against a team which utilizes its wingers more often than not in the shape of Manchester United, Bayern Munich forced http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 to track back and thus in doing so, pre-occupied
the Red Devils with their own attacking surges.
It was an http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arjen-Robben-c6521 special which knocked Sir Alex Ferguson’s team out of the competition on away goals in the end. Another brilliant example of tactical innovation in the 2010 calendar year was Chelsea’s emphasis on their diamond formation. Carlo Ancelotti
brilliantly used http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicolas-Anelka-c27786 to their fullest potential as Chelsea raced to their first English Premier League title in four years.
Sometimes managers are criticized for trying to use all of their star players in a system which doesn’t really allow for many offensive minded individuals on the pitch. With Ancelotti’s Chelsea it was the opposite, the Italian used all his star players in
the diamond formation with one defensive midfielder and two offensive minded midfielders apart from one deep lying playmaker. In the attack, Chelsea used Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba in tandem whereas in defence, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/John-Terry-c18895 and Alex were the cornerstones
of their marvellous domestic season.
Despite Carlo Ancelotti’s diamond system, the players were allowed to express themselves on the field. In Mikel and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Deco-c10735, Chelsea had good players on the bench as well to provide any backup that was needed in case of substantial injuries in the first team
line-up. This led http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 to the English Premier League title in the end albeit by just a single point.
On the other hand, Spain were the stars of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Under their manager http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Vicente-c36001 Del Bosque, Spain took a page out of Barcelona’s book as they made excellent use of the Tiki Taka system. Spain mostly used a 4-2-3-1 formation in the 2010 World
Cup. In the midfield, Xavi Hernandez pulled the strings whereas http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Villa-c10629, Andres Iniesta were the key to success.
Spain used the slick possession football which is known as Tiki Taka in modern footballing terms. The Tiki Taka philosophy, which emerged at Barcelona football club, requires the players to pay heed to the importance of possession play. It asks the teams
to keep hold of the ball for large periods of the match. To do so, players must have tremendous vision, stamina and technical ability. Luckily enough for the Spanish national side, their squad wasn’t short on talent. Spain started the tournament off slowly
in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904 in the semi-finals.
The La Furia Roja took no prisoners in the semis as they outplayed the Germans. The Spaniards didn’t allow their counterparts to have time on the ball and when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011 had the ball, it was next to impossible to rush them into a stray pass.
Continued in Part 3...
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