Even though it’s written fairly selfishly, I’m sure (and I hope) that there’s stuff in here that you’ll find relatable or useful too.

Personally, 2025 has been the most transformative year of my life for a long list of reasons none more important than the fact this was the first year of my first child.

As somebody who studied their entire life to become a doctor, I also left my job and now work as a football correspondent, not an orthodox path for a formally educated doctor at all.

With all of that being said, here are the 25 things I learnt in 2025:

1. Energy is emergent.
   Energy is created or destroyed according to the context you’re in. This sounds confusing so I’ll illustrate it with an example. No matter how tired I am, coming home to see my son in a good mood creates energy within me that allows me to play, even when my energy reserves were on empty no more than five minutes prior. It is a magical thing how human energy is born and destroyed. Surrounding yourself with people, things and situations that create energy in you like magic should be a priority. Notice when this happens and do more of that.

   

2. A flexibility in time is a great measure of career satisfaction.
   I left my job as a doctor when my second year came to a natural conclusion. Long night shifts before having to jump into long day shifts no more than a few days later were painful. At my new job, I am very grateful I have the privilege of coming in later if my son and family need something, if I make up the time somewhere else. This flexibility in schedule that permits me to be a better family man is the number one thing I would prioritise as an employee.

3. Do more than you consume.
   This one is self-explanatory. My added bit of wisdom will come in the form of telling you that sometimes ‘productive consumption’ of content that feels educational will trap you in metaphorical quick-sand. Because it’s fun and easy, it’s harder to recognise that you may be wasting time consuming rather than doing the thing that helps you achieve the goal you want to achieve.

4. Learn from the greats before you.
   I found out about David Senra’s Founders podcast this year. He reads an autobiography from one of history’s greatest founders, takes detailed notes then solo-explains and storytells the lessons he found. This has primed my brain with decades of experience that I haven’t yet lived. Interestingly, many of the great founders themselves talk about the value of learning from past greats, alive or through books and interviews.

   

5. Don’t shy away from chasing greatness.
   The conversations around Timothée Chalamet’s speeches and mindset ‘shift’ this year through the Marty Supreme press run were interesting. Without delusional optimism and self-belief, greatness is unlikely.

6. Surround yourself with your future self.
   I was added to an X group chat of around 40 cracked entrepreneur, founders and all round great guys. Between us, there are millions of followers and millions in net worth. The conversations I have, or read others having has given me knowledge formal education won’t. It has also given me a hyper level of drive each day seeing the consistency and quality of my peers, some in positions I am striving to end up in.

7. Crowdsource learning.
   Building on the group chat point above, if two people spend all of their time researching a topic before sharing their findings, they have double the knowledge of a singular man on the same mission. The more people that closely share you mission, the faster you become experts.

8. Play keeps you young.
   Seeing the oldest relatives become bright, energetic and playful when they see my son is such a nice thing. It brings out a younger version of themselves. There’s an inner child within us all that deserves to be teased out often. The world is too serious and dreary otherwise.

9. Failing without shame is the key to success.
   My son is the best. Babies are born knowing like, three things. They can’t talk, walk, crawl, I mean, they can’t do much at all. One year on and my son can do a ridiculous amount and he didn’t strategise or learn theory. He observed and tried, and failed. He did this often until he could crawl and talk and stand. It is objectively insane. Adults would be better taking that approach.

10. Simplify and delete obsessively.
    When you learn something for the first time, you don’t know much. Then you begin to amass lots of knowledge and your understanding is vast but messy. Expertise is then in the act of taking that dense mess and extracting the essence from it. Delete things. Simplify things. If you can get to the essence of situations, topics, ideas and plans – you move in the right direction, and faster.

    Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple – Steve Jobs

11. You need to say no to things you want to say yes to.
    I want to do everything. I have a huge list of passions and it is a blessing and a curse to be good at a few different things. My biggest struggle for many years has been trying to do everything and jumping between different ideas often. I have always slightly envied people who had their one thing they loved. By focusing solely on a singular direction, they were able to go further than somebody with a scattered focus.
    Now I still don’t opt to do one thing solely – I think a combination of expertise makes you unique in whatever you decide to give the most time to, but saying no to things that would be good ideas is hard but important.

12. Have a ‘too hard’ pile.
    I heard the fellas from the Acquired Podcast talk about this idea and they got it from Warren Buffett. Buffett has a ‘this is too hard’ pile on his desk where he puts new work that he deems too hard.
    He accepts not all (voluntary) work is worth doing. Deeming some work too hard gives you the brain space and time to do work you would be able to do well. What I feel is key to this whole idea is having a strong grasp on your own strengths and skills.
    The ‘too hard’ pile represents things that less efficiently line up with your strengths. Follow your skills and spend time doing the most high leverage things you can actually impact.

13. Be grateful for what you were excited about when it happened
    Good news feels like the best thing ever in the moment. A new purchase does too. Humans however like novelty and the novelty wears off quickly. It is easy to feel ungrateful and frustrated with new problems that arise with situations you were once over the moon about. In times like those, take a step back, recall the joy you felt on first hearing the news and appreciate the position you’re in.

14. Talk through your problems, it doesn’t matter who to
    The act of talking, like the act of writing, gives your brain the deliberate task of sorting and making sense of whatever mess is in there. You can talk to a doll and the benefit of what I’m describing still holds up. The act of talking to a person and the feedback you get is addicting though. My brother gets a phone call as I drive back from work and acts as the backboard for me to make sense of the world.

15. If you have the privilege of a back-up, take risks
    Not everyone has this privilege and growing up, I didn’t either, so I completely accept that this isn’t something some people will want to hear given how difficult life can really be.
    But if you are young, if you live at home, if you don’t have dependents, if you have a great back-up with regards to employment, there is little downside in taking big risk. The world favours risk takers so do so whilst you have the chance. The answer to ‘what’s the worst that could happen’ is not so scary for some.
    I decided not to pick a training pathway in Medicine because I wanted to spend time with my family and see if the sports world had anything in store for me. I had the back-up of picking up locum shifts as and when I needed to pay the bills, but in the last week of my job, I was offered the football correspondent’s role I currently do – one I wouldn’t have been able to do if I had accepted a medical training job

    

16. A little bit of something big is better than all of something small
    I started an educational software business. I don’t have a technical or coding background. I paid a friend to build out my idea after I had vibe-coded an MVP and shared it on TikTok. That video went viral so I knew the idea was strong. Long story short, after v1 was published, I made a fair bit of profit. I wanted the product to be better and ended up splitting ownership with my friend for continued tech updates. I own less but share equity with an incredibly talented person now empowered to make this project a success as much as I want it to succeed.

17. It takes a village to raise a family.
    A known cliche but it’s a cliche because it’s true. It’s in here because my in-laws live within a walk’s distance to our home. With a baby, it has been the single greatest ROI decision (we unintentionally made) – no exaggeration. If you can live close to extended family as you navigate parenthood, do it and thank me later.

18. Health is wealth.
    Two back to back cliches, crazy. That must mean we’re getting towards the end of the list. I’m (mostly) joking.
    The reason this lesson is here is because people around me had some of the most unexpected run-ins with bad health you could imagine.
    A family friend in their mid-twenties, with no past medical history, had a stroke. Something like that you can’t prepare for or comprehend. You can only deal with it once it happens.
    Taking every day to practice gratitude for our good health whilst taking decisions to protect our health is something each one of us should take seriously.

19. Taking initiative creates luck.
    Initiate things – invite people over, reach out to old friends, say hello to co-workers. It increases your surface area for luck. You can increase your capacity for luck by taking as many shots as possible, creating as many situations in which luck can arise.
    By starting three or four conversations you may otherwise not have done, you are giving yourself three or four more chances to become lucky.
    You never know which avenue unlocks a 100x return on your small, forward action.

20. Goodwill you amass today will pay dividends in ten years
    I formally applied to the job I currently have but my application got lost for 8 weeks. My application was only found and reviewed because somebody I had worked with in the past and left a good impression on mentioned me as somebody who would do well in this role to a staff member at the company. All of this happened prior to my interview and without me knowing the conversation had taken place.
    Who knows what I’d be doing day-to-day if that conversation never took place or if I had not amassed goodwill with this specific person, a long time ago.

21. Please stop multi-tasking.
    Activity-stacking is the norm. We listen to podcasts whilst we walk; we watch YouTube whilst we eat; we talk on the phone whilst we drive. We lack the ability to be bored. We lack the ability to sit with what we know and let our brains unpack information. We don’t give our brains the space to analyse, interpret and add to information we have collected. This needs to change otherwise we end up simply regurgitating what we have heard and read from others without filtering it through our own brain.

22. What success looks like is changing.
    This is specific to me but what success looks like isn’t singular. My favourite founders in the world are Ross Mackay and Marcus Milione. Ross Mackay, I love because he is a successful founder, creating a mission-led product, whilst prioritising health and being a present father.
    He wakes up at 3am to run so he can be home before his daughter wakes up. I’m paraphrasing but his point is if he wants to work and achieve things, that’s on his own time – it shouldn’t eat into family time. This is contrary to many founders’ experiences but when so many successful people say they wish they spent more time with their family, whilst on their death beds, MacKay’s approach is inspiring and one I have adopted too.

23. Winning in multiple fields isn’t done by doing a little bit everyday.
    The general advice is to do a little bit often over a long period of time. That’s fine and it works to an extent but big exponential gains are seen when periods of intense work are done. For me, I’ve always gone hard and fast on a particular topic, realised the gains, switched to a maintenance period in that field and pivoted to do the same in the other area I was interested in. This novelty keeps me excited and it allows me to master multiple fields, albeit through this alternative approach.

24. Social media immersion works to speed-run expertise.
    The best way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in the country’s culture entirely, hearing only the language you want to learn. The best way to learn anything follows this theory, in my opinion. In-person immersion is the best method possible but virtual immersion has been my primarily method for becoming a superficial expert quickly, before mastering a field through attempting to achieve a specific goal.
    I create a Twitter account or list, follow everybody talking about a field at a high-level, look at who they follow and reply to and do the same again, and read my timeline obsessively sorting by new.
    You’d be surprised at how fast you learn the language and tactics of a particular field this way.

25. Input goals over output goals.
    It feels apt to round up this year review talking about goals, especially with people’s obsession around new year’s resolutions.
    What has worked for me has been setting goals based on inputs – things you can control and achieve predictably, such as: ‘I want to make three videos a week,’ rather than ‘I want 40,000 followers.’
    This is a particularly powerful reframing because by consistently hitting your input goals, the outcome you achieve has the potential to be far greater than what somebody would’ve set their output goals to be at the start of their journey.

25 is a long list. I hope you found it as insightful to read as it was for me to write. There’s lots in there that can become its own blog post so if you’re keen to hear me dive deep into a specific bullet point, do let me know.

Let 2026 be great for you. I have the unrelenting self-belief that it will be for me. Subscribe to my writing here to see where I land. I’m committing to writing often.

On the face of things this appears logical and fair. Fans have made comments in reference to a supposed poor mentality for not wanting to stick it out and make that position his own. I get it from their perspective but it misses key context.

Superficially, Amorim has spoken about how Mainoo is competing with captain Bruno for that specific position. In a very basic way, this partly explains why Mainoo playing many minutes becomes less likely, especially in a one-game-a-week season.

More importantly analysing Amorim’s game model more closely makes it all the more apparent why Mainoo, irrespective of his quality, irrespective of his performances and irrespective of how hard he trains, may struggle to make that position his own if this system in its current version persists.

Let’s touch upon Amorim’s game model briefly.

I elaborate on it in more depth for a tactical deep-dive for BBC Sport that comes out tomorrow.

Anyways, a non-exhaustive list of Amorim’s principles for the purpose of illustrating my point:

• A positional system, not possessional – players stay in their given areas of the pitch but Amorim does not stress the need to dominate the ball and play slow the entire game. Players don’t rotate much into other zones although we’ve seen more glimpses of this since pre-season.

• A focus on building down the flanks.

• A focus on overloading various parts of the pitch, namely the wide areas.

• A system that asks for repeatable, almost-choreographed passing circuits to be performed, often with minimal touches in midfield – this is often in the form of a vertical direct pass up the pitch followed by a layoff before the third player plays a lofted through ball to a wingback or attacker running in behind. (When you begin to notice this, you’ll see it everywhere).

• The above scheme aims to bait the opponent’s defensive line to step up when the first pass goes into the forward player (who has dropped deep).

• The lofted through ball aims to find a runner who then can cut the ball back for attackers in the box, after this artificial transition situation has been created. United try to force that direct through ball very often under Amorim.

When you understand these things (and there’s more, we’ve not touched on, particularly the out of possession stuff) then you begin to understand why Amorim makes the personnel decisions he does.

Again I elaborate on this in the BBC piece tomorrow.

So what does this mean for Mainoo?

The passing circuit described above is sometimes called an up, back, through in the coaching world mirroring the movement of the ball in the scheme — a pass up the pitch, a lay off backwards, and a through ball.

The midfielder is central to this circuit.

On the ball they’re often asked to play with fewer touches, aiming to enact some of these passing patterns. Many of the passes that an Amorim central midfielder ‘should’ play are longer, more direct ones.

Off the ball they’re asked to cover big distances, attempting to back up the attackers running in behind as well as running back to defend big spaces when the ball is lost.

Amorim is fairly rigid to his system. He has a very specific image for each role and doesn’t alter his system to accommodate the player quality at his disposal. He wants players to work to fit his demands.

Mainoo is a brilliant footballer, one of the best young midfielders in football and his involvement for the national team as a teenager in knockout football is a testament to that.

What he isn’t is a big space runner, who thrives playing with very few touches, used as a slingshot to launch balls over the top.

Mainoo is a wonderfully talented connector between multiple players in smaller spaces, he thrives taking numerous touches, drawing pressure and shrugging nearby defenders off him. He takes his team up the pitch slowly and contributes to goals around the box.

It becomes easier to see the mismatch in player and role here.

Kobbie Mainoo’s innate way of seeing and playing football is inherently not what Amorim wants in his version of the central midfielder at present.

My brief summary of what an Amorim midfielder is helps explain why Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro are the first choice pair. Think about what they offer comparatively. Hard running, minimal touches, direct vertical passes over the top, duelling quality.

Irrespective of how hard Mainoo tries to adapt to become this style of Amorim midfielder and even if he does decently well at it, it may more broadly be a misuse of his biggest strengths unless Amorim tweaks his game model to get Mainoo in areas he suits, being encouraged to play his natural game.

Fight or hard work won’t necessarily change that.

Against Grimsby, Mainoo showed individual quality going against some of the Amorim automatisms and passing routines often used. He took extra touches, dribbled more, and disrupted the League Two sides man to man press.

Although this was functionally beneficial, I wonder what Amorim thought seeing successful actions that stray from his broad tactical instructions.

If he insists on having his midfielder play a specific way, there is potential for Mainoo expressing his natural game to be the source of concern for Amorim, even if it does lead to some good attacking moments.

In a World Cup year, being platformed in a way that plays to your strengths, playing weekly maximises your chances of being selected.

For the young midfielder who lit up the Euros as a teenager, missing out on the World Cup this summer would be an unfortunate turn in his so-far promising career.

Dr Umir Irfan, professional football analyst and scout.

📧: contactumirf1(at)gmail(dot)com

I’m sharing it now as a example of the quality and depth of my work – for portfolio purposes. I hope it is of value.

NAME: Nicolo Amadori

NATIONALITY: Italian U20

CLUB: Ancona Calcio / Cesena Primavera

POSITION: Centre Forward

PREFERRED FOOT: Right

AGE: 20 (Jan 9, 2005)

SUMMARY:

Nicolo Amadori is an exciting Italian youth forward with a skillset founded upon a versatility that projects really well given the context of the modern game. A greater sample size is required but he is a player that looks to have the potential for a strong future

+ Has shown signs of being able to drop deep, attack the last line, and drift to both

flanks, displaing positional versatility.

+ Displays a strong back to goal game which is useful in a high possession side.

+ Ability to lead a press well.

+ Good ball striking in both his pass and shot selection.

+ Two footed.

+ Strong ball carrying/dribbling in bigger spaces.

+ Positive psychological traits

+/- Tendency to go to ground

+/- Aggressive

- Positioning in attack with regards to occupying the box or dropping deep can be

improved.

- Gets shots away taking more than one or two touches

- Aerial duels to be worked on for a player of his frame. Flight of the ball can be read better.

- Attacking threat in the air can be improved.

NOTE: For accessibility, this above section and the conclusion section would

capture most of the details in a succinct manner.

For most audiences including when talking to players, the above section and the concluding section should be shared and internalised. Ease of communication aids its implementation.

For the rationale behind the more succinct sections, the remaining sections within can be read.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES:

Height, weight and frame:

The height and weight metrics of Amadori aren’t readily available but NA looks to be of a height that enables a proficiency in his duelling ability against central defenders.

At the youth level, there is a general trend of the more physical players playing central defence within their age cohort so by comparison the ability NA possesses to duel strongly against them is a positive. Public records of Amadori state his height to be 186cm with a weight of 79kg. The accuracy of this is contested but forms the basis of some of my frame comparisons moving forward.

Amadori doesn’t look overly gangly or bulky in a way that hinders his movement or technical proficiency. A positive to his imposing frame is the fact he is at this size at a young age, and on a stage in which he is able to explore with regards to a more complete game, rather than immediately being used as a target man type.

For taller players there is a need to get used to their frame and play a game predicated on many touches at points in their career to improve technical proficiency. NA looks to have been given that.

NA’s height doesn’t massively negate his technical proficiency which is a balance that can sometimes be lost. If Amadori doesn’t have a growth spurt and remains of this height and weight, he boasts a good build for his profile and one that should translate more easily to the senior, physical game.

Stamina, energy economy, work rate, pressing:

Amadori possesses an impressive ability to press. The quality of his press is predicated on numerous aspects that come together to work.

Amadori’s presses with a full commitment with regards to intensity. His pace is serviceable in this case and his frame paired with this often induces panic in the opposition defenders and keeper. Amadori continually forces the opposition to kick it long after he presses them.

Amadori therefore is someone able to lead a team press. He seems to recognise good situations in which to press but his inherent aggressiveness may lead to him unnecessarily pressing opposition players individually, meaning he is bypassed.

This is a negative quality but far easier to iron out than training a non-pressing forward to press with more intensity.

Amadori angles his body very well as he presses. He almost always curves his run to block the angle of return passes and his cover-shadow minimises the options for the opposition to play.

In terms of energy economy, Amadori jogs when his team are in a settled shape or when the play is behind his line. Amadori doesn’t necessarily stand around, he walks or jogs but doesn’t expend massive amount of energy unless he is carrying the ball, running in behind or pressing. When he does make his actions however, he does run hard and with seemingly full commitment.

On top of all of this are the psychological traits that enable him to work for the team and press with the aforementioned intensity. These will be discussed in more detail in the relevant section.

It is important to briefly note Amadori's tendency to track back and attempt to win the ball when he is directly responsible for the loss of possession or was previously involved in contesting in and around said duel. His speed in tracking back and his physical nature means he can be used as a good blind-side pickpocket, pressing opposition midfielders from the back.

TECHNO-TACTICAL:

Scoring —Ball striking, shooting, off-ball movement:

In an analysis of all of Amadori’s tagged shots available on Wyscout, patterns begin to emerge. Of the 23 shot situations I made notes on, there were goals in six scenarios. For all of the goals scored, no more than three touches were made before the goal was scored. 4 of these goals were right footed, two were left footed. The goals came primarily from central or right sided areas on the field, which indicates the inside right as a preferential angle/zone for Amadori to attempt to score from.

From a ball striking perspective, Amadori is relatively impressive. His standing foot is typically well planted in close proximity to the ball giving him good leverage to shoot with power. On top of that, Amadori positions his chest in a manner he strikes the ball well.

When looking at this compressed chest position, it is a quality seen by strong ball strikers at the highest level so stands out as a green flag. Amadori’s strong ball striking and good frame resultantly mean he is a goal threat from distance (boding well for a second striker/third midfielder/false 9 type).

At times, Amadori can end up taking too many touches. From the sample I analysed, Amadori did not score in scenarios taking more than 3 touches, however he had situations in which he had taken: 8, 7, 7, 5, 5, 4, and 4 touches before his shots respectively — none of these leading to goals.

To assess these holistically, it is important to appreciate that on occasion NA has lacked support and impressively manufactured a shot individually. This will be expanded upon in the dribbling subsection. His ability to manufacture space to shoot and his ability to strike well off both feet is a positive. He is able to shift a ball then shoot on the second touch in quick succession.

Amadori has a preference to ghost towards the back post from corners. His heading ability leaves more to be desired especially given his size and otherwise physical nature. I think this again stems from his inadequate (at present) ability to read the flight of the ball and meet it at pace aerially. Amadori should aim to be a bigger direct aerial threat in attack. His best moments aerially come from holding it up in crowded areas more than dangerous headed shots towards goal.

Passing:

NA’s angle preference for his passing is influenced heavily by the fact he plays lots of his game back to goal. Receiving passes whilst facing his own goal and away from the opposition goal, as a right footed player results in a large majority of his passes being played in-field.

As a backboard player to bounce passes off, think Giroud and Toney, NA is able to play the on-floor and to-the-chest part of this role. If this role is considered midfield teammates would be best positioned to the right of NA as passing options. Amadori’s ball striking from a passing perspective highlights his impressive cross from the right side often fizzing and quick in its delivery. From underlapping positions of the right flank, Amadori’s final ball is a tool that can be utilised.

NA’s weight of pass, facing up whilst carrying is good.

Hold up, fouls, aerial play:

This section is probably the most interesting with regards to Amadori.

For a player who’s game is founded heavily on his physical nature, the disparity between his hold up quality and his aerial quality is notable.

Amadori tends to get lower to the ground, plant himself and use that leverage to keep opposition defenders at bay. His back, glutes, arms (pushing into the trunk of defenders) paired with this lowered centre of gravity provides him great ball retention and strong hold up play in certain situations. These situations include when the ball is played into his feet, or when the ball is played into his chest.

Amadori has a genuinely stand-out ability to hold-up play via chest control. He is difficult to dispossess ball into his feet too. These qualities can be used by playing flatter long balls into him — for illustrative purposes, I’ll mention here that this is something we have seen Manchester United try this season. It may be a viable tactic in the mainstream in seasons to come.

In aerial duels and for hold-up play receiving a higher pass or a loose cross, Amadori’s collection of qualities don’t line up as well. For a player who looks fairly tall and uses his arms well in duels, Amadori tends to bend down to keep opposition off his back.

This means he is at times lower down, and second to get up to jump in an aerial duel. The opposing defender is able to utilise their weight or leverage upon Amadori’s back to win the duel. Amadori’s arms could be better used, being raised as he jumps. Amadori may be better off using his arms, as he sets for aerial duels, in a different manner to how he uses his arms to keep defenders off his back when playing for ball retention.

Amadori’s jumping technique requires work. For a player of his height, he could be trained to meet the ball higher and at the top of his jumps (timing).

Amadori’s reading of the flight of the ball could be improved. He is often reaching for headers and ends up flicking them on (a result of being in front of the ball when making contact). On the occasions NA is able to make contact from a good location, he is aware of the directionality of his header and plays them into good zones. To accommodate for this, his attacking partner could pre-empt/make a run anticipating the flicked on header as this is a fairly common outcome for Amadori.

From throw-ins or when Amadori floats towards the flank, his heading duel success rate appears better. This may be because of the opposition at fullback, who tend to trend shorter and less physical.

The manner in how he bends and backs into players, alongside his flawed aerial duelling quality means he feels he is fouled often. In the Primavera this is not always called. In senior football this may be called more often than it currently is, but not all of the time.

The ability to buy fouls in this way is a strong tool to control the tempo of the game and relieve pressure as an out-ball.

Dribbling:

Amadori boasts an impressive ability to carry the ball. Continuing on from discussing his hold-up play, NA’s ability to feel the contact of the defender behind him, retain possession before rolling the defender and carrying the ball is a quality that stands out.

Amadori involves both his right and left foot when carrying the ball which helps him protect it. This protection (getting his body between the opposition and the ball) results in fouls won if the carry is not otherwise successful. His physicality whilst he carries the ball enables him to cover big distances and keep defenders at bay.

The manner in which Amadori tends to manufacture his shots individually, without support, is not predicated on pace or burst but instead via his fake shots and his ability to repeatedly change direction (Cruyff turn etc).

Amadori has a preference for faking his shot exiting inside (to the left of the pitch, when facing the goal) which can at times lead him into crowded areas but despite this he tends to get a shot away or retain the ball.

PSYCHOLOGICAL QUALITIES:

NA’s psychological traits through this film study have centred primarily on three things.

Firstly there is an undeniable aggression to his game that bodes well for players active in the modern footballing tactical climate. There is a continued willingness to run hard both when leading a press or whilst tracking back to win the ball. This aggression does however tread the line at times.

In games for the Italian U19s, Amadori off the ball was seen antagonising opposition defenders pushing and barging them, which saw him see a yellow card. This antagonistic nature is a good quality for getting the better of individual opposition psychologically, and Amadori was aware when to withdraw, but his second barge/elbow could’ve seen him see red. He has another red card in the domestic division last season too so this is a trend to keep an eye on.

NA demonstrates resilience/determination/grit. In losing game states, NA continues to exhibit actions of high energy whilst others may drop their head particularly within his age group.

Cesena’s form has meant they’ve less often experienced losing game states so a further study on this would be beneficial however upon watching moments in which a press lead by NA has been bypassed, he momentarily has dropped his head before running back to get into position. He doesn’t let it affect his game massively .

NA presents a fairly unselfish psychological profile all things considered. For an out and out striker, this is something that requires some fine tuning but for a more complete modern day forward it is again a positive quality.

I will expand on my profile comparison for NA in the final part of the report, however I will introduce the comparisons at this point for illustrative purposes. The macro-unselfishness

NA demonstrates (willingness to fulfil a role for the team) whilst still having some selfishness to shoot and create something for himself in front of goal looks like something of a Karim Benzema or a Julian Alvarez. These are comparisons on profile, not quality naturally.

These are two players I’ve compared to each other previously. Amadori looks to be a player happy to roam into wide areas or deeper areas to accommodate central runners in this way.

NA plays in a manner that, I feel, would be receptive to accepting tactical instruction from the coach.

CONCLUSION:

PROFILE, PROJECTION:

For Amadori, his profile is fairly expansive and could be used in a myriad of ways. I believe he looks to be a very versatile and physically apt players — a combination that slots into the tactical landscape of the next 5-10 years.

Stylistic comparison:

If I was to make a stylistic comparison, I would echo my mentions of Benzema and Alvarez here again, namely Karim. This is not a comparison of quality, but it is a comparison of how they play, where they like to roam, the areas they look good in and how they could potentially be used.

For Amadori, it would be sensible to study tapes of Benzema at various parts of his career.

The only information I have found relating to Amadori’s height states he is of 186cm, with Karim Benzema standing at 185cm. Whether NA’s height here is correct is to be verified, but in their frame they look similar (see how they dribble to create separation to shoot) and in their macro function for their squad they play in a similar manner.

Profile:

Amadori’s height and proficiency back to goal allows for him to be used as a roaming forward. For a player who is physical, able to duel aerially and hold defenders off of his back, there would be a likelihood they’d be used in target-man-fashion. This is viable but possibly short sighted as he offers more than this, as well as his imperfect aerially duelling quality.

Amadori has the ability to play left wing areas, particularly if in a team that holds lots of the ball. His ability to resist pressure and retain possession back to goal would be utilised well centrally but also on the left, back to goal, with his right foot angled towards the inside of the pitch.

We can look to someone like Mattheus Nunes as an example here.

His crossing and shooting ability from the left is something I have not seen so it is hard to know if he would be any good from their in attack, but to play towards the left in the build-up (a la Benzema) could be a fair use of some of his traits.

Amadori is a player that could play as a third midfielder in formations in which the third midfielder nowadays plays in a similar fashion as an old-fashioned second striker.

This is becoming ever more common too and the examples of Havertz, De Bruyne and Julian Alvarez come to mind again here.

Ultimately I think Amadori should be used as someone who can enable rotations. He is an excellent profile to build around.

In games he is someone that can be used as an outlet when the side is under pressure in their own third.

He is a player that can be used as an outlet to retain the ball, especially on the left.

He is a player that can rotate to the right wing cross well from that side.

He is a player that likes to come short more often than not but can play on the last line.

His role should be adapted to the qualities of those around him and the fact he can

enable this is his biggest strength.

Final Words:

Ideally, Amadori is as a second striker/third midfielder type in a more rigid system or a roaming central forward.

He has great ball retention and hold-up play on the ground, or to-chest.

Rotating to the wings within the game would suit Amadori. Pairing him with versatile wingers who possess goal threat inside would benefit the team.

He plays better in the big spaces rather than small spaces but looks to manufacture space for himself not predicated on pace but rather feints and changes of direction which helps.

His goal threat looks largest centrally and leaning towards the right. These are the zones he should occupy, whilst looking to shoot early.

Overall, Amadori is a bright player who’s game looks to suit the senior stage (given the way he experiences fouls) and the modern game tactically and ball dominant European sides’ game models (versatility, pressing, ball-striking, ball-retention).

Recommendations for NA:

— Karim Benzema (and Julian Alvarez) tape as reference.

— Train timing and technique of aerial duels/heading.

— Experience against the physicality of senior players would be a good and necessary challenge.

— Pair Amadori with a late running central midfielder and/or wingers that move centrally and score goals.

— Assess his quality shooting from the left side of the field.

Umir Irfan [professional scout and analyst]

Contactumirf1(at)gmail(dot)com for all football work or enquiries.

A new genre of fullback appears to be emerging. Think Lewis-Skelly, Hall, and O’Reilly.

Positions are too strict a term, it’s not one I love to box players in anymore but traditionally these three are players who look like brilliant midfielders, right?

They’re not fullbacks who hold width strictly, nor are they the inverted fullbacks of recent praise. They’re wanderers.

Raumdeuter was a term made famous when used to describe Thomas Mueller meaning the interpreter of space. This is a term that describes our new fullbacks aptly.

Football is always changing. In conversations spanning a few years I’ve repeatedly mentioned that for high possession sides, and probably all sides, I’ve thought fullbacks are the positions – teams and coaches can use to utilise space best.

Given how teams defend in structured, centrally compact shapes, fullbacks are typically the multi-functional purpose players that can ghost into dangerous areas, receiving the ball in those spaces not by waiting for the ball but by arriving into them.

Although wingers generally seem to be pushed towards contributing defensively, in their upbringing, they tend not to like tracking back (why would they? They’re wingers!) and having the defensive awareness to now manage Lewis-Skelly types moving off of them before crashing the box is one coaches should be keeping a privy eye to.

Who picks up a run from that deep on the field? Diagonal running becomes notoriously difficult to pick up too. The central midfielder is disadvantaged in his running in this way.

David Moyes mentioned centre-backs are almost the new #10s but I’d pose that fullbacks are the new box to box midfielders. Think a Steven Gerrard in the manner he hit cross field passes, how he defended big spaces in transition,

The romanticism around these positions is lost. I aspired to be like the players I watched as a young boy. The kids growing up today may aspire to be a goal-scoring Gvardiol or Calafiori.

For now, the footballing outcasts, either too young, older or perhaps trying to make a name for themselves a step above what they’re used to, are the ones making this role their own.

Extremely talented academy midfielders at the best of clubs with paths blocked by the best of midfielders appear to have less competition at fullback and have put their stamp on those positions. Box to box midfielders at fullback is a strong solution.

Why not maximise that? It only sounds crazy because of the language used and connotations around the the positional term fullback but somebody like Jude Bellingham would look brilliant in that ghosting yet marauding box crashing full back role. He’d be able to pick the ball up early on the flank back to goal, he’d be in central midfield positions if there was a turn over, he’d be able to probe defences from attacking midfield zones, he’d be able to crash the box to score with foot or head.

Instead of that position feeling that an after thought, putting your best multi-functional, well-rounded players in a role that maximises their quality makes sense.

Convincing a brilliant name like Jude to do that though feels impossible because of what being a fullback means but perhaps in years to come, the new kids on the block end up inspiring a new generation of ‘fullbacks’.

Carra said, ‘nobody grows up wanting to be a Gary Neville,’ but perhaps future Ballon d’Or winners will grow up wanting to be a Josko Gvardiol.

– Umir.

Thanks for reading this piece.

My name is Umir, I am a professional scout, analyst and football consultant. I am also a qualified medical doctor and journalist.

Feel free to reach out to me via direct message on X (Umirf1) or email me at: contactumirf1(at)gmail(dot)com.

At an establishment as massive as Manchester United, I’d assume, like many that the intelligence, deep thought, and novel ingenuity on board scaled up as the size of the business did.

Hearing Sir Jim Ratcliffe speak, it feels as if United look and sound like they’re run by the most normal of people and not in a good way.

There’s a fumbling lack of assuredness in the same way a first time startup might possess.

Jim Ratcliffe’s profession that ‘nobody brought that idea up,’ and that he would’ve considered it, when Neville spoke about how a player-led dinner to raise funds for ex-players instead of cutting their funding might’ve been a more viable alternative — well, that’s what I’m talking about.

But this is Manchester United, a club with centuries of legacy and millions in money — leverage in their name brand second to very few.

I want to reflect on some Steve Jobs quotes. Manchester United’s failures aren’t footballing failures, they’re systemic team-wide failures.

‘The most important product I ever built was the team,’ Jobs said.

Everything came secondary to the team.

Having a bumbling team that echoes the competencies of those in positions far more junior is completely unviable.

For Steve Jobs, he spoke about A-players compared to B and C-players, and so on.

As a side note, I would add that sports teams are like this too, in my opinion, the ratio feels that stark.

Jobs continued:

Now a team of A-players are individuals who are one of ones, unique in their completeness and skillset.

It’s not simply a combination of the smartest, or the best spoken or the most experienced as individual traits.

By opting for B-players who look like A-players, you start sliding down the slippery slope of a group of supposed cosplaying experts.

If things don’t work out, who can fault a plan that meant putting smart people in a room.

It looks and sounds good on paper but it misses the point.

The combination of individual intelligence does not make for group intelligence.

A-players tend to bring intelligence and experience but they also bring drive, integrity, and an ability to make others better.

A-players want to work with other A-players. And their qualities work in tandem to bring out of others their strengths.

This reflection matters and is relevant for both the back room and the playing squad.

In businesses, the most successful founders often end up altering their job title to something more apt for their skillset.

There is a very honest self-reflective nature to their leadership.

In the same way, Manchester United’s leadership spearheads have to understand their strengths and not rule out of ego or hierarchy.

From the outside looking in, someone like Gary Neville appeared to have more football business acumen. Your public facing analysts read the ten Hag situation with more precision too.

What becomes evident through this interview is the fundamental disconnect between the club's storied reputation and its operational reality.

When institutions grow to Manchester United's magnitude, they often lose the nimbleness that once defined them, replacing innovation with bureaucracy and vision with management.

Until the club embraces a culture that doesn't merely collect impressive resumes and status, in staff and players alike, think the Sancho signing, but instead cultivates a self-reinforcing ecosystem of exceptional talent—individuals who challenge, elevate, and demand excellence from one another, and with deep consideration for how each piece works within the collective —Manchester United will remain caught in this cycle of mediocrity.

My brother is on immunosuppressants for a liver transplant he had as a child so was classed as clinically vulnerable to Covid.

As a result, I thought it would be sensible to study Global Health, a remote course from the same university, granting me the degree at the end of the year.

As I sat at my laptop, between Global Health Zoom lectures and collecting groceries delivered to our door, in mask and gloves, I typed.

I sat and typed a Bruno Fernandes blog post as my first piece of public writing. I only did so because I couldn’t verbalise my contrarian opinion in the character limit Twitter had at the time.

The feedback was surprisingly positive so I continued. 3 or 4 pieces in, Bernardo Silva had been sent one of my pieces about him and messaged me, thanking me for writing it.

Despite the little noise my work was making, I was still a university student writing for fun.

Twitter mutuals (people you might have in common with those you know) is a funny concept.

There’s a (probably unfounded) sense of inherent trust. In one instance, this trust was completely founded.

A good brother by the name of Abdul had reached out to me. He had an astuteness for recognising talent in the football space, unrecognised or underappreciated talent, particularly from minority backgrounds.

Like a friend I’d gone to secondary school with, he greeted me with the same warmth and slang. Salaam my bro — before he mentioned that he wanted to bring me in to work with him and Statman Dave.

I knew Statman Dave, and his place in the football world, and it was cool. One weekend, I traded the Global Health Zoom calls for a Zoom call with Dave and Abdul to discuss work.

For the next season, I had my first paid role in football, albeit in a completely different capacity to what I’d ended up doing.

It made something click, and it gave me momentum and proof that what I’d done worked. And it was thanks to Abdul.

As my presence in football grew, Abdul continued to look out for me — like he did for many.

He brought me onto JD’s Influencer partnership, and he invited me to London, for Chelsea’s away game at West Ham, again on JD’s expense.

Lyes is somebody I’ve grown alongside in the football space, our come-ups mirroring each others. This West Ham game, courtesy of Abdul’s invites, was where I first met him too.

This week, Abdul passed away. If I remember correctly, I think he was just 25.

It’s always sad when people die, but there’s a bitter sweetness in the eulogies of people collectively. I often wonder how people would talk about me when I die. What stories would they tell? What stuck out in their mind from our interactions?

I knew Abdul was a good guy, but the frequency and manner in which people have described his goodness this week cannot go amiss. A pure heart, and a brother gone too early.

In Islam, we’re encouraged to visit the grave frequently. It’s to remind us of the gift of every second, to be grateful for our each breath, the grass we see, the birds we hear, the food we can taste. The simplest of things we are so easily forgetful of are miraculous. Remembering death puts the gift of life into perspective.

Today, I witnessed the birth of my first child. My son. A little boy. Alhamdulilah, it’s the greatest blessing I’ve experienced.

When people speak about their children, I thought I understood it. Today I understood that I didn’t understand a thing.

I tried to imagine this whole experience over the last few weeks prior to the birth, but the real experience cannot come close to anything I imagined, irrespective of whatever logic I applied.

That little human is my little friend — the probability of his existence as miraculous as the most imaginary, fictional things.

Life is a really beautiful thing.

It’s a tragedy that we sulk through days, or feel bored.

Even on the worst of days, the miracle of something as simple as being able to feel one hand clasp the other is something my friend Abdul won’t get to do again, on this Earth.

For things on Earth to be beautiful and appreciated, they need to be finite.

It’s hard to come to terms with, I know but it’s is one of life’s most important reflections.

And although it helps us, it shouldn’t require the remembrance of death and the miraculous beauty of birth to bring that thought to the forefront of our mind.

The human body replaces (almost) all its cells every 7 years is the saying. The truth is probably between 10 and 15 years but for this introduction, I’ll abide by the rules of the lie.

In the same way, Guardiola’s City are technically the same ‘Manchester City’ — only their Champions League win had them stand as a human body with every cell replaced: a completely novel outfit 7 years into Pep’s tenure when compared side by side to the 2016/17 side.

John Stones’ metamorphosis into the flawless centre-back is an arc that has progressed into wanting to master midfield. He was excellent. Akanji, Ake, Dias too — formidable, pure defenders. Bernardo, Gundogan, De Bruyne and Rodri technical, difference-makers through season too but it is the big Norweigen fella up top who I can’t shake from my thinking when reflecting on this season gone by.

Erling’s interesting because his profile and performances have forced me to reflect on my hard and fast football rules. The more complete player being better when that completeness is paired with infallible quality is a rule I still align myself to but Erling’s game is so impactful within its restrictions it bridges the gap of his competitors’ completeness. In fact, it surpasses and leaves a gap in the opposite direction.

Completeness in the ilk of Lionel is quality paired with completeness that remains untouchable; it’s why the Ronaldo comparison’s have never made sense to me but Erling’s quality and uniqueness have forced me to do a double take like even the prolific goalscoring version of Cristiano has never made me do.

What I find most valuable with respect to Haaland is not only the acceptance to play with such few touches but the joy in playing with such few touches. Haaland just wants to score.

3 touches, 3 goals would be an ideal day out for Erling. Looking to the intangibles and through a lens of squad harmony, how valuable is that?

For generational types, ones that live in the history book’s pages — football is almost exclusively an expression of playing with the ball at your feet.

Wayne Rooney did not want to play traditional 9; he wanted to feel the ball, to dribble, pass, dance. Cristiano was an expressive winger — selfish. Lionel, Maradona, Pele…the list goes on.

In the post-Messi world, the crown has prematurely been given to Kylian. Mbappe is a young player who arguably boasts one of the greatest young CVs in football history. That trajectory to greatness has slowed a little since his World Cup win in 2018 — the reigning king in Leo putting a halt to being usurped this season.

Kylian too, however, has been vocally critical about his usage as this last line player — to finish off moves created for him.

The burden of ball-volume has been assigned to the geniuses: Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. Given their on-ball quality, in their dribbles, passing, vision and timing, this is the right decision. Sure, Kylian could do that role of greater ball-responsibility and volume but would he be in the all-time conversations playing in such a way? I personally wouldn’t bet on it.

Mbappe is one of the most dangerous (and one of the best players on Earth) but his completeness is probably overstated. I don’t think he displays a completeness in the mould of Messi compared to the Ballon d’Or winning scoring version of Ronaldo. I don’t think he displays completeness Thierry did (eg. back to goal game, variety of angles) compared to the ‘scorer’ van Nistlerooy. The impact of the formers compared to the latters’ on their sides were greater, especially for their time.

With all of that in mind, Kylian remains like like Rooney ideologically. They want to vacate the forward line. The want to score sure, but above everything they want to play.

“That type of player who plays with the ball, connected with the game, but can also play without the ball and create some movement without it

This is the type of complete player I want to be.”

— Kylian Mbappe

The problem then arises when the player who ideologically wants to be connected to the game, to play at a high volume, isn’t as genius in that regard. There’s a secondary issue too of the changing context of football. We will discuss both.

The crux of keeping the best talents in the world happy is one that could be discussed forever. Football (coaching) is ultimately about the individuals as humans and keeping them happy bleeds through the camp. Clubs are mini societies. If a player, no less the biggest player, has their expectations unmet, there exists an inherent dissatisfaction and unrest can be bred. There also becomes the issue of other ‘non-Mbappe’ players (Mbappe simply being an example here) wondering why their role is diminished. This is a non-issue if the quality of the player given that mass-responsibility is accepted by everybody to be at a level unmatched (Messi, De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes etc.) but it is still worth mentioning.

The intention of this reflection isn’t to criticise Mbappe and force this Mbappe x Haaland debate which it probably ends up doing. That is the lens though, through which I explore and make sense of the idea of Haaland’s relative ‘incompleteness’.

The macro landscape of football is narrowing — many top teams share many of the same principles but the same thing happened in basketball.

Now the areas in which the game can be won or lost are more precise. Finer margins everywhere have to be utilised to gain advantages on teams that look similar.

To afford Kylian Mbappe the role of an entirely connected, facilitator, creator, scorer to me makes less sense to for that reason. It is wasteful in the grand scheme of a team’s game-model. There are better uses of the ball (eg. travelling between players, or being at the feet of natural creators).

Therefore, given the changing landscape of the sport, perhaps how impact can be provided is changing too. The spaces on the field for most top teams are becoming ever-smaller.

There looks to be a hegemony with regards to the most popular and successful footballing philosophies at the highest level in football at present. There is a monopoly of attractive, high possession football and I suppose this makes sense some sense (although I prefer variety in the sport, always).

Take Conte’s Spurs as a case study, with stories of their players discontent and lack of commitment to the cause following relatively good results over the two years. Football players as humans compare themselves to others. It takes a certain temperament of footballer to be content with ‘tough conditions’ when traditional footballing pleasure in style and execution remains an option elsewhere. Either players need the mental fortitude to play in a pragmatic, ‘ugly’, low possession style always or they need to love those defensive actions and scoring no matter how (eg. happy with launching counter attacks) in a way similar to how most others love to play with the ball a lot.

I think it’s always why I’ve held the highest of admiration towards Atletico and Simeone. They’re a cohort of mentally reinforced players with many simply fond of digging in to protect their home under siege. Their team in its configuration was made in the image of Simeone and suits to play in such a way. Their fans understand and accept it too.

For most other clubs, the players require stimulation, the artists want to express their quality and fans remain unsatisfied with results alone (especially when their rivals are competing for leagues playing exciting and ball-dominant). Comparison is the thief of joy and all that.

So, given this move towards a general oneness in terms of club’s philosophical ideals and the more compact defensive shapes team’s face — perhaps questions should be reframed as to what kind of player fits best into those teams to allow them to perform at the highest level?

Unless the high volume, all-encompassing midfield/attacker hybrid is of an elite quality in both those parts of the game, opting for that mould of player is perhaps counterproductive. Perhaps it reduces from the potential ceiling of a team, perhaps specialist creators would be better taking up ball-burden, or perhaps other final action players would be taking up final action responsibilities.

I think the pool for players who could in theory do both parts to a high enough quality to warrant that additional responsibility to be tiny and I don’t think this version of Mbappe qualifies, at least at this point. When this is the case, I think the completeness argument is less pertinent.

In the past, the game presented itself as more end-to-end. The spaces between defences and defending and midfield lines were greater. There was an increased frequency in the number of isolated 1v1s a player was afforded too. In those conditions, a player like Mbappe makes so much more sense. These spaces show up now in transitional moments for box to box pivot players to exploit but for attack-minded players, those situations simply arise less often.

Given Mbappe’s quality, maybe you coach your side to get Mbappe is situations that give him a higher volume of the ball with space in and around him ie. false/forced transitions by baiting the opposition press. That would make lots of sense but I still think this is using him in a deliberate way and as a relatively specialised attacker rather than the free protagonist.

In 2023’s version of football, Erling Haaland definitely couldn’t do all of those Neymar, Lionel Messi things but he doesn’t try to which is is why his profile to me is of such a great value on the field, and off it.

A player of his stature being a player happy to play on the fringe of the game. How utterly bizarre. And this is something he does with the biggest of smiles on his face almost exclusively.

‘The areas in which the game can be won or lost are more precise. Finer margins everywhere have to be utilised.’

And Erling Haaland does that better than most.

He is arguably the best shooter/finisher I have seen, he certainly lives in a list you could count on one hand for me. Perhaps Messi rivals him on that front but I genuinely think Haaland has a shout for the best in that regard.

In a sport of narrowing margins, how valuable is that?

A freakishly strong giant, a freakishly quick last line player to make use of counter attacks (a la Mbappe), perhaps the best shooter I’ve seen, an improving but not perfect header-er of the ball (at that height!), somebody who attacks the ball with power and precision inside the box against compact defences.

A player with superstar classification who presses with the intensity of an academy player on a debut (incredibly rare).

A player with a physical look and presence that naturally intimidates.

A player who has an attachment to the fans of the club he plays for, celebrating amongst them.

A player with the ability to rally them in quieter moments — a catalyst for shifting momentum directly.

Then, you pair all of that with the mindset of somebody focused solely on winning, managed by the greatest coach of all time who has already improved Haaland with regards to leaving his last line and playing on the ball back to goal for the greater good of the team’s flow in bursts rather than conducting the game’s symphony. Crazy.

Ultimately, I love players that recognise their own limitations. That allows for those limitations to be accommodated for and improved. My personal philosophy stands upon the idea that each player has to be deployed in a way that maximally uses their strengths and looks to hide their weaknesses. It sounds simple but I continually see teams and players where this isn’t the case suprised performances are sub-par.

Erling Haaland is an almost-perfect cog for top teams given the trajectory of the modern game. If he is able to become proficient dropping in and playing on the ball, back to goal in ways we have seen others do at 9/false 9 for Manchester City, I don’t think there is a striker imagined that would be better suited to the sport in 2023 and onwards.

The only way I see a player being more valuable, impactful, and better for the game, is if somebody were to show up and perform consistently for one of the dominant sides like Manchester City but with a role that marries both midfield and attacking influence with greater ball-volume — somebody who looks like the driver of the Manchester City car.

Essentially you would be looking for somebody in the mould of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr able to produce consistent impact with the ‘keys’. Karim Benzema of last season fits into that picture too. The closest to that mould of player from the new school I feel would be a Phil Foden type — his season at false 9 the closest glimpse to that I think I’ve seen from his generation but given his injuries last season and rotation across positions this is not a reality as of yet.

Until then, the ‘robotic’ Haaland looks as the ideal player for where the game has ended up. He’s certainly the easiest of the generational types to fit in to these more deliberate, directed systems too. If I had to pick one player to sign, for any team in the world, Erling Haaland would make the most sense — a pure 9 able to play possession-football or pragmatic counter-attacking football. He’d thrive both ways and irrespective of the flow of the game, as long as he was scoring. As one of, if not the best shooter ever, this shouldn’t be massively challenging.

On top of all that, although ‘robotic’ in his game, when talking about efficiency and specialisation, the personality of Haaland to be charismatic, determined, funny, socially aware, and outwardly supportive matters more than you can believe for the superstar types. He is one of the rest whilst playing as one of a generation. Rare.

With Manchester City being arguably the most dominant of all the sides in world football, having Haaland slot in as the final piece only nurtures all of those freakish qualities.

What is scariest is Haaland’s acceptance to simply slot into that machine, to carry out those perfect actions, again and again and again and again…

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It feels like at its best final-form Man United could be something like Flick’s Bayern, ten Hag’s Ajax, or parts of Klopp’s Liverpool.

The biggest problem isn’t the theoretical system (at its best).

There are multiple other concerns I have.

At present there’s been a persistence from ten Hag to continue with this system.

Positives (and probably ten Hag’s rationale):
— players learn the system and improve in their execution of it through immersion.
— Repetition improves outcomes
— ten Hag has signings that need this repetition.

Negative:
— United are not good enough in their quality to win frequently doing so.
— I don’t think the current players all have the general ceiling to execute on these ideals (Sunken Cost Fallacy)
—I also don’t think all of these players are long term quality.

A lack of adaptability to player quality now may be explained by ten Hag’s need to stamp his personal identity on his team’s system.

This usually becomes the case by year 3.

Ole I feel, had similar issues he struggled with.

It would be personally difficult for ten Hag to reconcile with the fact that he did not get Man United to look like a ten Hag team if he were to get sacked.

I’m sure that plays a part in it too.

If ten Hag doesn’t show his game model and show it works, the higher ups will get rid.

Year 3 is often make or break.

There’s been numerous occasions in the first game where United have passed around the first line of pressure, found a midfielder facing forward (often Casemiro) who has over hit a pass for Rashford running in behind.

A better passer here gets Rashford in behind often.

That is an example of one part of the system’s intentions working in theory.

It’s the execution of the player’s resulting in it failing.

But those midfielders are a result of the transfer strategy and midfield selection of coach and club.

Transfer strategy has seemingly prioritised single valuable traits necessary for this system, rather than a global profile needed for this system.

What I mean by this is that— this system requires big space coverage from the CMs but also the ability to play long passes accurately whilst fatigued.

Ugarte solves problem 1, but does he answer problem 2 as well?

Continuing on from the previous point — United’s CB need brilliant, ingenuity and technical quality to create buildup solutions vs 1 vs 1 pressure consistently.

Lisandro and Yoro can do this.

But they’re also left 1v1 and exposed defensively.

Are they the best in this regard?

Which CBs have both the on ball genius and 1v1 superiority?

Klopp’s Liverpool had a ridiculous spine — VVD, Matip, Fabinho.

Flick had strong defenders in Boateng. Kimmich/Alaba did the technical CB thing for Flick and are good defenders.

You get the point.

Do United’s CB signings drive home similar confidence in both facets?

Perhaps Yoro but he’s young and injured.

Leaving yourself underloaded at the back requires a genius shot stopper — in long 1v1s and one that can build up well too.

United again have prioritised a brilliant buildup keeper but his long 1v1 shot stopper is suspect.

Klopp’s Liverpool had Alison. Flick had Neuer.

The system this ambitious could work but I have a few problems with the reliability of its success a la Flick.

It requires more specialised profiles that are harder to find in the market —

1) big space coverage midfielders who can play long passes accurately

2) CBs who are incredible technically but also brilliant 1v1 in counter defence situations

3) wide forwards who track back but then run in behind 30-40 yards, often.

4) fullbacks that have the intuition to invert and solve buildup problems by reading the game, relationally.

5) top ball-playing GKs who are over performers in long 1v1 situations

The implications?
— harder to sign these unique profiles
— harder for new managers to fit them into their systems

— relationism requires time/chemistry to develop, a sale/injury halts this progress.

EG. White, Odegaard, Saka // Salah, Trent, Henderson. When one of those three were out, the sub-unit struggled.

When Mane and Firmino left, the chemistry they’d built over years had to restart at 0.

— United’s very physical game model + relational game model means you need players to play often to develop relational understanding, but playing them often = more injuries.

Final thoughts.

Although this system can work in theory, and a perfect version of it would be exciting to watch — it is on the face of things far less reliable and repeatable particularly over the long term.

After heavy investment I still think player profiles signed lack part of the quality they need to succeed in the roles they’re being asked to do.

If every player in this game model was of the correct profile, it could work.

This game model introduces more variance (in performance and results) in the long term compared to systems Guardiola and Arteta deploy (which aim to minimise variance).

Umir.

Under pressure from the likes of Carl Anka and Jamie Carragher, there have been some answers around wanting to meld both Manchester United’s traditional DNA, with his own attacking, exciting Ajax-adjacent ideals.

Anything more specific than that hasn’t necessarily been divulged, so in an attempt to reverse engineer what ten Hag’s philosophy is and attempts to be – I took a closer look at their loss to Brighton.

In Manchester United’s first phase, in their build-up look to do a few things intentionally.

The first is in their shape. Manchester United use Onana as a +1 one in the first line between two the CBs who split.

In front of this first line, Manchester United tend to deploy their double pivot, who at present typically consists of Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo.

Their double pivot tends to be used in one of two ways – either as a narrow two (which plays slightly staggered) (forming a 4-2-2-2) or as a single DM with the second pivot player pushing up (forming a 4-1-2-3).

When their double pivot tends to become staggered looks like there is an intention to facilitate small-space interplay and to allow a player back to goal to pass it to a midfield partner facing forward.

When the pivot becomes double, they play narrow – in close proximity, and Brighton (like lots of opposition) committed bodies centrally, crowing that area of the field.

Naturally this opens up space in the wide areas of the pitch.

United seem to be reluctant to use the wide areas in the first line as an option.

FBs don’t often drop very low to receive the ball horizontally (a la Man City at times this season).

But at times against Brighton we saw Dalot receive the ball in line with Mainoo horizontally (see the image below) which is somewhat low for a fullback in the build-up all things considered.

This increases the distance Brighton’s FBs or CM have to jump to press Dalot, as Minteh has pressed Lisandro from out-to-in in this situation.

Lisandro then finding Dalot becomes a good solution, and Dalot can receive the ball in space.

In general – United focus on situational movements, in almost a relational fashion, in the build-up, as well as the individual brilliance of their central defenders to manipulate to ball against the pressure of opposition to then find fullbacks wide, or attackers higher up the pitch.

Whether Dalot stays wide or moves narrow, whether Dalot moves up the pitch or moves deep to receive the ball feels more based on intuition and reading the picture of the game than an instruction from ten Hag. This is a guess, not fact.

Putting onus on the central defenders and keeper to deal with the (often man to man pressure) leaves additional bodies higher up the field, which in theory allows them to attack quicker, with more bodies, and support against an underloaded opposition defence.

Cutting movements from out to in, from Mazraoui or Dalot aim to get the ball to the fullbacks in inverted/inside channels.

I believe these cutting, in-field movements help explain why ten Hag may play fullbacks on the opposite side to their natural foot. A two-footed FB in these situation would be ideal of course.

A right footed left back receives more naturally infield, with his right. The opposite is true too.

Wrong footed FBs also have the benefit of finding passing in-field, when building up back to goal. Angle-wise, it’s easier for a right footed left back to pass it to his central midfielder facing his own goal.

The third midfielders role in the build-up (Bruno on the left side, Mount on the right side) is focused on pinning potential markers, opening up passing lanes, or receiving the ball directly to spring vertical attacks.

Both Bruno and Mount may drop into an attacking midfield position to receive an initial direct pass, but it is unlikely to see them drop into central or defensive midfield positions.

The near side #8 (Bruno or Mount) drop in, the other plays as a #9.

The rationale here feels like to facilitate up-back-through schemes in which they pass the ball back to players who, facing the play, can play United’s attackers through – first time.

Casemiro is a player with a natural tendency to play direct passes and often.

He usually has a decent ability to execute on these too but United fans have criticised the frequency at which he plays these vertical passes.

I think ten Hag has asked him to play those passes instructionally.

A player like Eriksen in this situation, probably suits United better, for his quality in executing those long passes but as we’ll find out in subsequent pieces, the role of the central midfield two in ten Hag’s system requires lots of leg work.

It’s hard to find a player that sort of marries both of those qualities – big space coverage and accurate deep passing.

A fully fit Reece James sort of fits that mould.

The above image shows a very narrow double pivot, with Casemiro’s central movement opening up a passing lane for Mount who drops into a third midfield position, receiving a direct pass from Onana.

Mount receives the ball and Casemiro de-marks himself from Welbeck.

Casemiro's movement crowds that passing lane slightly but prior to doing so this he turns his head, noticing Mount is a viable option to get the ball.

In my opinion, Casemiro anticipates Mount will receive the ball after opening that passing lane for him, and spins in behind to receive a first time pass from Mount.

If this were to happen Casemiro has the ball facing forward (through an up-back-through scheme).

Casemiro would then look to release the quick wingers of Manchester United. Instead Mount with his right foot sweeps it out to the fullback.

A left footed, right half-space player here makes sense angle-wise – perhaps Amad? Perhaps Hojlund dropping deep?

Either way, the above example may help explain ten Hag's preference for focusing their build-up through the middle to manufacture those vertical situations in which the aim is to find your fast attackers in behind.

In the absence of strong, correct footed fullbacks, the up-back-through makes most sense from the perspective of footedness and angles – by playing through the middle.

When Shaw is back, the ‘up’ part of this scheme can be done with a left footed FB, the back can be done by the right footed left winger, and the through can be done by the left central midfield. In those situations you can look to find your 9 running in behind.

I don’t know if ten Hag has moved away from that due to lack of personnel, or due to a preference for attacking centrally – perhaps to ensure bodies remain in the middle for rest defence.

It’s something to think about but those are some potential answers.

Another example can be seen below.

Dalot’s inside movement pins Minteh, and Mainoo intelligently moves out wide to maintain positional balance.

Casemiro drops deep, staying narrow alongside Dalot, and drawing Gilmour out.

This opens the passing lane for Maguire to find Mount (third midfielder).

Casemiro turns to face the play and receives a first time pass from Mount.

Casemiro immediately looks for Rashford in behind and plays an (overhit) pass – attempting to find him.

Rashford in this situation is on the last line, anticipating this scheme but ten Hag’s plan is on full display here. It doesn’t come off but you can see what United are trying to do.

Erik ten Hag’s commitment to verticality and directness isn’t just seen in the on-floor build-up or central up-back-through schemes.

Onana’s pass selection is deliberately direct and vertical, often.

As Dalot situationally moves infield, behind the narrow pressure of Minteh inverting, he’s a viable option to receive the ball.

I think this is good movement from him.

What this does do is entice the circled player in red (I assume Veltman, but I can’t be sure) to step up and try to close the gap.

Instead, Onana having baited the opposition to step up realises that Rashford is 1v1 and plays it (with too much power) to Rashford, and United turn it over.

The player (I assume is Veltman) does well to cancel his pressure on Dalot when he realises Onana is ready to lauch the ball and forms a 2 vs 1 around Rashford.

Although Rashford gets the header, there are no players around him in this situation regardless – which is a problem we’ll discuss in a future piece.

Strictly focusing on the build-up tendencies of Manchester United, this does suggest some pre-formed ideas in Onana’s mind about finding the last line, directly when opposition players push up and leave them 1 vs 1.

Summary of ten Hag’s (build-up) principles:

• 2 CBs & GK in first line.

• Wide FBs making up a back 4 in build-up.

• Pivot fluctuates between single and double, but is primarily deployed in something that looks like 4-1-2-3.

• Third midfielder acts to pin opposition midfielders, act as a third man support for the midfield or the flank (winger, fullback & third midfielder)

• Fullbacks and pivot given the licence to rotate to create situational solutions to opposition press (Mainoo’s small space quality, positional versatility, and rotational intelligence in particular makes sense here as does Mazraoui, Lisandro and Dalot’s).

• Solutions to the above aren’t choreographed but include:

1. pivot player dropping short with FB staying wide.

2. FB cutting in-field to receive behind opposition winger moving.

3. double pivot / pivot + FB narrow centrally, to leave open inside channel for GK or CB to find third midfielder directly.

• Focus on verticality in their build-up, as seen in Onana’s launches in particular – (poor backing up / getting around for the second ball).

• Onana’s long balls into the wide-man potentially triggered by opposition (fullback?) stepping up and leaving Rashford 1v1.

• Focus on up-back-through as solutions, with end-goal to find runners in behind, early as seen in Casemiro’s first time passes when facing goal, and in Eriksen/Bruno’s use (by ten Hag) deeper in previous seasons.

• With wrong footed FBs coming in-field and less able to play vertical passes up field, the up-back-through schemes are focused on being facilitated through 8s back to 6s to wingers/CFs running in behind. FBs wide-positioning therefore makes sense in this regard.

There are questions around whether these are the principles most conducive to success.

It relies on technical brilliance from the central defenders – see Lisandro and Yoro.

Two footed defenders make sense if you’re focusing on the ability to manipulate angles and find the second line based on individual technical quality and courage — someone like Huijsen comes to mind.

At Ajax, ten Hag used both Timber and Lisandro in these central defensive roles. Tiny players all things considered but great footballers and the expectation and priority for them to play and solve individually makes sense looking at that selection.

It requires aerial or hold-up quality from the wide players. as well as an ability to run in behind. Rashford struggles with the hold-up and aerially part of winning his duels despite his height, at present.

Links to Sterling make sense to me for a number of reasons — his hold up play fits into the above mould, he’s a threat in behind and he crashes the back post to score, which suits how United attack in the final third, playing on minimum width principles.

It requires long passing quality and big space coverage from the pivot and there’s improvements on Casemiro in this regard. Examples of players of a profile that might suit this role? Someone like a younger De Bruyne or a Reece James.

Most of all it requires a hell of a lot from the fullbacks having to play two-way, whilst reading the game and moving into zones that exploit opposition shape – I have a new appreciation for Dalot and Mazraoui following this piece.

Daley Blind, an incredibly intelligent footballer, did it for ten Hag’s Ajax — that doesn’t surprise me at all. Zinchenko has his 1 vs 1 frailties but is a player that would do this role well. Calafiori, with an ability to play inside, or hold width makes sense too. I know I’m just naming Arsenal players here but they’re front of the mind, easy to go to examples to illustrate a point

In theory, I think it could possibly work as a set-up. It’s an interesting one.

I think it’s very unique and difficult to implement entirely.

It requires more specific profiles of players that are less readily available than other build-up systems and game-models top teams use.

But, if you profile players appropriately, perhaps you get something that looks like United now — only with a greater % of success per action.

Understanding ten Hag’s United is more than just calling it generic tactical buzzwords.

If United fans are to believe there is a vision or a plan worth getting behind, it is probably worth delving into some of the supposed intentions of the coach and trying to explain why the decisions he is making, are the ones he is making.

Hopefully, this exploration into Manchester United’s build-up contributes to that in some way.

France haven’t been short of brilliant central defending talents – Saliba, Konate, Fofana…you get the point. There’s a manufacturing line that is incredibly reliable from that part of the world and on the surface it appears as if Yoro is the latest model in that line of exports.

In this piece, I’ll talk about

• Leny Yoro – the player profile

• Manchester United as a destination for young talent (including Leny Yoro)

• How United can get the best out of him

As always, this will never be as comprehensive as I’d like it to be. I love depth, I think I’m always missing something, I’m also aware that by thinking both of those things I’ll never share anything. So, in the name of writing one focused football thing a week, here we go.

Name: Leny Yoro.

Nationality: French.

Height: 6’3.

Transfer: Lille → Manchester United.

Yoro played under Fonseca for LOSC Lille last season. The majority of their success was founded upon a strong defensive foundation, with Leny Yoro playing primarily at the right side of central defence. In their system, Lille (and thus Yoro) played a high line defensively.

Yoro’s height is an obvious talking point and we should mention it. Although skinny in frame, the fact he is a graduate of Ligue 1 bodes well for him for me. Ligue 1 talents map to English football more readily than a number of other leagues for me and for Yoro to be a talent at 18 years old who has survived a lengthy campaign in France is only a green flag.

Yoro’s long legs immediately jump out as a factor in his game. In an Inspector Gadget like way, he’s often able to pluck the ball out of the air, or from the control of the opposition attackers from seemingly impossible scenarios.

In circles of discussion online this sort of telescopic long-leggedness has been attributed to the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Camavinga. I think these are fair and valid comparisons.

Defensively, I’ll be more critical in this piece than others have tended to be because I like to be picky, provide depth and test theories. Secondly, it’s because there’s lots of analysis that simply looks like a list of a player’s strengths or theoretical strengths. With all of that in mind, Yoro is still 18. These slights in his game aren’t irredeemable by any stretch of the imagination.

Whether this is the result of systematic instruction, or whether its an individual temprament of Yoro’s, he displays a naturally aggressive and front-footed defending style. He is very willing to play touch tight and given the trend of high possession English side's deploying a high line system, Yoro’s profile suits the ideals of what (I assume) Manchester United are moving towards. Yoro’s front-footedness does require caution however – in pushing up to press the opposition attackers as they receive the ball deeper, space can open up in the space in behind Yoro, disrupting the last line.

Yoro’s temperament doesn’t remain static however. He’s not an always-aggressive player although he certainly leans that way. In a lower defensive shape, he has shown some signs of being able to play a little more reserved. I’ve seen van Dijk comparison online – I don’t necessarily agree with these, and in temperament these don’t make sense either, given van Dijk is someone generally composed and back-footed.

When Yoro does go touch tight, if the opposition attacker can get their contact with Yoro side on, rather than having Yoro on their back, then by leveraging their arm they can distance themselves moving sideways, and backwards, away from Yoro without his long legs being able to reach the ball. Horizontal runs from opposition attackers prior to receiving the ball on Yoro’s side therefore becomes something to explore. A side-on barge can get shift Yoro’s balance bettering him particularly from low centre of gravity, stockier, strong players. Think someone like Sterling or Aguero perhaps. You’d be using Yoro’s pace/aggression/frame/balance/momentum against him with such physical contact.

Yoro’s acceleration is alright. His top speed looks ridiculous however. Paired with this strong, innate defensive intensity when the opponent have a transition attack of their own – Yoro is a top recovery defender. His long legs help him in this regard too as Yoro is often seen pickpocketing the ball from behind as he slides.

The fact Yoro’s acceleration isn’t the best requires a keeper to trust he eventually gets back but perhaps this influences a keeper to step out too early. Opponents once past Yoro would be sensible shooting early knowing he’s more than able to then catch up. United’s keeper would in these situations, therefore, be better placed holding their position.

Once Yoro gets in front of his man, it’s fairly impossible to beat him. When both players are facing towards and the ball is in front of both, I’d almost always favour Yoro in such situation. One con to Yoro’s wide defending game is, when he does get isolated 1v1 with the opponent’s winger wide, it is usually fairly easy for the winger to get a cross off. There is a separation and distance between winger and Yoro that he doesn’t always close down.

Given his height and frame, Yoro is susceptible to being caught tall/upright with players being able to beat him via cutbacks/quick changes of direction to the inside of his body – infield. This is more evident on the flank. His long legs allow him to poke the ball when the opponent has passed him on the inside though so it’s not always a foregone conclusion. In general Yoro goes to ground readily. He does this too when he is off-balance and uses it to effect to ‘save himself’ in those awkward situations. It looks awkward but in reality it is just how he functionally uses his frame. In function, it tends to work. When he does go to ground, Yoro scoops the ball in his sliding action and is able to stand in the same motion.

Yoro in his aforementioned front-footedness bites on feints particularly inside and takes a moment to reset. Yoro wants to show his opponent down the channel/flank, in a similar way van Dijk dares his opponents too, but by squaring him up and playing on his readiness to bite on feints, players may get joy trying to cut inside.

In possession, Yoro is interesting. The stylistic comparison I want to make is that he looks a bit Busquets-ish which feels weird, but there’s a coolness, an upright deceptive posture, and a game that is predicated on feints, and both-footed ball manipulation that keeps the ball on far side (as far away as possible from opponents). His height works to his advantage in creating that separation. He’s composed under pressure.

I feel like he defends better 1v1 from LCB rather than RCB. I want to watch more at a greater sample size to be sure of this, but in a van Dijk ish way perhaps the manner in which he turns and responds to changes in direction on the right feels more clumsy than on the left? There’s also the potential he offers up more perceived space inside when he defends at RCB rather than LCB. Again this paragraph is off of a hunch and a working theory. I might be wrong, but its something I’ll be watching out for.

I think its always important to talk about the human aspects of anything in any domain, and football isn’t any different.

Yoro’s front-footed nature, his gangly aesthetics, his readiness to go to ground in a sliding fashion – although they tend to work for him, are all actions conducive to looking visibly embarrassing if they were to go wrong. When players play bad due to inaction, being invisible – they often go unnoticed in the court of public opinion. My worry here is, Yoro’s style alongside his price tag, alongside the fact he plays for Manchester United at the price tag he boasts, that he could potentially end up the subject of ridicule – fail comps, memes, and other jobless things. We’ve seen the like with Jadon Sancho for example.

Yoro needs protection, although the mental maturity and fortitude to play as often as he did as a teenager in Ligue 1 is commendable and dispels some of those worries. One thing I’ll say is United need someone to share the minutes and more importantly share the responsibility with Yoro. Keep Maguire. The Evans extension was smart too.

With young talent, you play them with development in mind forgiving their mistakes (a la Wenger) or you share/slow the process. United isn’t conducive to being forgiving. It’s negligent not to treat Yoro’s development with care as good as he can be. At his age, in a physical league, with a unique frame – injury prevention needs to be a concept at the forefront of said protection too.

And please, please sign good midfielders in front of him.

Look, this isn’t a perfect profiling of Yoro. I’m never satisfied with my depth of work but there’s things in here that I’ve not seen mentioned and I hope that is of value.

Yoro’s a brilliant player for his age at present. He should be integrated more gradually than some should hope but he possesses raw tools, that if nurtured correctly could place him as one of the world’s best defenders in seasons to come.

I’m sure Real Madrid will have a watchful eye over him as that process develops, ha.

– Umir.

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– Umir

[10/06/2023] — I have a bad relationship with sleep and Manchester City play Inter Milan in the Champions League final tonight.

I’m up at unusual hours more often than not, only today Manchester City face Inter Milan in the Champions League final. I can hear the post-sunrise birds chirping away as I finish this piece that could never cover all of the intricacies of the upcoming match in depth sufficient enough for me to be content with, so instead I focused only on Manchester City’s potential solutions against Inter Milan in the attacking phase.

General —

Inter Milan do play with proactivity and step up within their 532 block.

When the ball does get played backwards by the attacking side, particularly under moments of pressure, it works to bait and draw Inter’s players (primarily their midfielders) out before the opportunity to play through and around them may arise. You get a sense of urgency and aggression from the Inter midfield at times. Paired with provocation and resetting possessions in a De Zerbian way, I wonder how effectively attacking sides could manipulate Inter’s defensive shape. Specific to City, I do think a small-space specialist like Foden and ball-retention monsters like Grealish and Bernardo would be of value as Inter try and press intensely with their midfield and defence.

Side note: I feel defenders would be less willing to leave their zones in a final as readily as they might otherwise do.

Onana, weak zones, buildup —

Onana seems to be weakest saving shots that go are high and to his right. This is particularly true if Onana has shifted his weight towards his left initially. Looking to fabricate situations where this may occur could be worthwhile.

Onana has a habit of punching crosses out potentially forcing loose balls in dangerous areas.

Particularly from lower crosses, near post movement seems to prove valuable against Onana too.

In an interview, Onana talks about the need for modern keepers who now have to ‘play where there is space’ — differing from the keepers of old being taught to avoid playing central. It’s a nice reflection. It also does highlight willingness and bravery in Onana’s game. What it does allude to is a potentiality to invite Onana to play into pressing traps. Onana is incredibly brave. Onana will take risks. Give him small percentage bait.

Forcing Inter down their left seems to be a viable option — Onana is great with both feet but less great with his left foot. Off of the eye test, I feel like Inter have been caught out more when they’re trapped towards the left and have to try to play out. This is a feeling more than anything, but a concrete example would be the tendency of Onana to play the long ball off his left against Juventus following an out to in press coming from Onana’s right. Short build-up was seen less in that situation.

Lukaku and Dumfries’ aerial, hold-up and outlet threat is right-sided before it is left sided. Perhaps that explains that side’s weakness in part. If the left footed DiMarco is playing back to goal whilst pressed, his left footedness causes awkwardness when playing it back to his centre-backs. It feels as if I’ve seen build up mistakes on that side more from centre-backs too, than on the right.

This is an insomniac’s guide to the final however and I cannot corroborate that in any more detail than this. The rest of the piece is detailed as it is. This might be breaking the fourth wall.

The in-swinging cross (particularly from the right) matters —

This is a method of chance creation Manchester City will have to look to — to maximise their chances against Inter Milan. This is for a multitude of reasons. The first being Onana’s tendency to play front-footed and claim crosses.

The in-swinging cross, particularly in a more looping trajectory is a question that requires Onana answering. In previous sporadic events, Onana has misjudged the flight of an in-swinging cross as he moves to aggressively claim the ball. To make use of exploiting Onana’s game here, you would be aiming for the back post, with a genuinely deep cross.

Onana aside, the deep in-swinging cross remains a great method of output particularly against five-back teams.

The subheading here mentions particularly from the right. That is mainly given Bernardo Silva’s profile and quality in fashioning the space to play the cross and playing the cross itself as seen in abundance through the 18/19 season. Bernardo’s in-swinging crosses most importantly introduces Ilkay Gundogan, with perfect timing and good aerial threat, to attack the box too (alongside an Erling Haaland and less often, but hopefully Jack Grealish).

De Bruyne, Walker or Stones can readily act as an underlapping decoy run to help Bernardo fashion a yard to play the cross with more ease when compared to his teammates on the left flank.

Set pieces and corners taken quickly —

Inter play two of their players, one of them being Dzeko or Lukaku at the front of the six yard box, zonally. They leave one, possibly two on the edge of the box (one preempting the short corner and the other positioned to stop rebounds/long shots/edge of the area actions, after the first action) and the rest of the players form a cohort around the penalty spot.

Regarding corners, a pattern that has found some success against Inter is to play a deeper cross looking for an isolated player who then heads it back towards goal. With at least one of Inter’s big aerial threats often positioned within the six yard area and with Onana a strong and proactive claimer of the ball aerially, moving the ‘others’ towards the goal whilst aiming for a player towards the back of the pack seems to root Onana to the spot and allow teams to create a favourable goal-scoring opportunities or second/loose ball situation — see Fiorentina’s goal against Inter, see Bayern’s goal vs Inter.

Within this too, given Onana’s (and probably many keepers’) weakness with dealing with shots placed high, the headers into the ground which then bounce up seem to have found success against Onana and Inter Milan.

There has also been some success or potential for success in quick set-pieces.

Onana’s proactive positioning from this free-kick tempts Napoli into shooting from goal under the guise of a deep cross to the packed box. This is completely viable.

The shot ends up going wide but with the ball-striking quality of a Kevin De Bruyne, this should be a possibility to consider in such a fine-margin sport.

Napoli (like the great Alexander-Arnold before them) demonstrate the value of quick corners against Inter Milan. Throughout that game, there was genuine and focused attention and ingenuity in the set-pieces that on another day would’ve rewarded them with multiple goals.

As we can see below, the proactive positioning of Onana is again evident but here it is more likely that the intention is to organise his box. We don’t see the two Inter Milan players in the six yard box as they usually are. The rest of the side is in the process of organising.

The quick corner finds the Napoli player able to take a shot off at the near post and Onana springs to get back and make the save but again, a genuine chance.

There is a need to push Inter’s back line back and exploit the space that presents in front of it, rather than just looking to get in behind —

There are various ways to achieve this but two primary methods both involve the threat of penetrative verticality. The first option would be to have a dribbler attacking the space and running towards the back line. The second would be to have the last line attackers move to run in behind, ideally collectively.

The central Napoli player (by the penalty spot) makes a darting run in behind as the ball handler fakes to play him in, before looking and deliberately finding the player in space vacated by his teammate’s movements and the gravity of the box.

Napoli score against Inter Milan with their goal highlighting both of the aforementioned ways to push a defence back before punishing them in the space they leave.

The directness of Elmas’ initial run pushes the Inter Milan defence back and with intelligence and poise, the Napoli attacker turns to play the pass into the opened-up space on the edge of the box. It’s sensible and ball-retentive.

Zielinksi then positions his body as to play a deeper, in-swinging cross (a valuable method in itself) but instead very astutely finds Anguissa on the edge of the area. This focused seeking for the player who has pulled away from the low block’s deep set defence is incredibly valuable against stubborn shapes.

It’s something I’ve spoken about for a while now.

Arsenal have shown a beautiful proficiency for it this season with players like Xhaka consistently looking for passes towards (the main player being) Odegaard, as the defending line is drawn to the gravity of the six yard box (zone gravity) or the gravity of attackers (note, certain attackers draw greater personal gravity and Haaland is one of the best in the world for it).

This is an example of a move Fiorentina conclude against Inter Milan. After a great passage of play, the winger’s shot is blocked. With the threat of the winger’s movement towards their goal and the numerous attackers in the box lurking in dangerous positions, both teams are being drawn towards the goal. This would’ve been an apt situation in which to have a player lurking on the edge or just within the box to receive a pass and play a first time shot.

The half-spaces — 

Inter’s back five tends to play extremely narrow, almost looking like 5 centre halves at times.

Shifting the ball horizontally forces the midfield three to have to cover greater distance which opens up the potential for passes through them and into the half-space.

How this may be best exploited is by the later arriving threat of a wide right player to draw the wide midfielder wide enough to play the pass into the half-space player.

For Manchester City this could be done in various ways but a potential solution could be to have the RB (eg. John Stones) make that later arrival as the now, wide right player.

The winger, in the most likely case, Bernardo Silva will have, in this situation, drifted into the half-space asking questions of the opposition left back — to jump or not to jump. Either way, with that option open, Bernardo is able to receive, turn and shoot or play a reverse pass to the now overlapping RB.

If not being done by the FB making that arrival wide with the winger moving inside, the winger (Bernardo) could be the wide player for the move, they’d have to start from a deeper position or drag the outside central midfielder towards them by other means. The #8 would then receive it in the half-space. I do think there are a few players better than De Bruyne in the small spaces though, but if he’s able to get a shot away, he’s one of the best for it.

Personally, the right half-space and the small spaces it exists in, suit Foden’s skillset most. I doubt he starts given City’s solidified and consistent starting XI but as he’s shown prior through the long shot goal against Dortmund, his assist against Atletico’s horrid (compliment) low block, and his assist against Real Madrid, he is a master of receiving, turning, and playing in that space. His unpredictability in his early, often near-post, long shot or excellent final pass from the right half-space is the sort of individually brilliant quality that is difficult to prepare for, that can be the difference in a fine margin match.

More broadly and in addition to this, it is certainly possible to play vertical and punch passes through the gaps that appear between Inter’s midfield three which express tendencies to leave spaces, I assume, expecting the front two to block passing lanes into. These become more obvious as the game goes on and players tire. This is not inventing the wheel by any stretch of the imagination but it is true nonetheless. For that reason, patience is paramount and a probing game of fewer chances is a pattern that may be to be expected. Not to worry, pass, pass, pass, wait for the right moment and when it does appear (possibly with Foden on the pitch at that point) act. These spaces I’m talking about are far less likely to be present earlier on if Inter do settle into one of their solid shapes.

Given Inter’s narrow back five and the large amount of space the midfield three have to cover laterally especially if the back five are pinned across the entire line (and with the additional gravity of Haaland) — the half spaces become areas in which players can receive the ball often. From here shots should be encouraged. If deeper, crosses to the back post are viable methods of scoring too.

Gundogan and De Bruyne should see the ball in these zones relatively frequently.

If we take a look at the Napoli fixture, we can see a unique doubling up of the Inter Milan players on Kvaratskhelia. The stylistic and functional similarities between Grealish and Kvaratskhelia aren’t lost on me and I wonder whether Inter deploy similar methods against Grealish (or Bernardo). In a way it is important Grealish makes his influence and aura known early on in the game to draw the extra man onto him. Inter are willing to commit two to one qualitatively superior player but with City having many quality players, space freeing up centrally or in midfield can be used to good effect.

Lastly in mentioning the value of the half space, it is important to mention the chance creation method of the underlapping run once the winger faces up his man.

This is such a commonality in Manchester City’s game with whatever right winger plays and Kevin De Bruyne, making that underlapping run to receive the pass into space before playing a cross. This is entirely viable particularly with the narrow Inter defence and difficulty in the Inter midfield three being able to shift across immediately.

By building down one side (in City’s case, the left), tilting the field towards that side before playing quickly to move it to the opposite side — as Inter look to shift across, the space is present for the inside right player to make a movement in behind.

Inter’s narrow LWB comes across but their narrowness could give rise to additional time for the right winger to play his pass. The gravity of the 9 may further occupy the LCB as does the aforementioned horizontal field tilt. The Inter Milan left central midfield is looking to cover the vertical pass and so the attacking side’s right 8 can make that run relatively unopposed.

There is a tendency for Inter’s centre-backs to follow 9s —

There is a tendency for Inter’s centre-backs to follow 9s out of possession at times. De Bruyne running in behind the space Haaland can vacate by dropping deep a la the Arsenal game becomes a possibility. Haaland’s left footedness makes him a better option floating towards the right side of the pitch, as back to goal his passes played inwards make more sense in execution and angles.

Ultimately though, Inter Milan’s defenders want to play deep and in a line together. By having attackers draw defenders out and not immediately returning to the last line instils an unease and on occasion Inter’s defenders have slotted back into their line of defence leaving attackers free to pick up the ball and turn in dangerous areas.

If Dumfries is involved in the buildup —

If Dumfries is involved in the buildup he plays at awkward angles and isn’t proficient back to goal so preventing him passing it back to the centre back and preventing him from playing facing the opposition goal amplifies an existing weakness. It is more likely than not that Dumfries will be pushed higher up the field and excused of build-up responsibilities in this way.

Throw-ins —

Off of throw-in situations, and this is more of a generic suggestion, Inter like many teams overload the near-side. Given their narrow midfield coverage however, facilitating a fast switch from throw-in situations, moving the ball to the far side works to prey on numerical inferiorities. It allows the attacking side to get their strong players at the least one against one, and in that situation you would hope their qualitative superiority (as Manchester City players) would shine through.

The Overloaded Side:

Lastly, with Inter Milan willing to play three players towards the flank with a fourth in the form of the central CB or the 6 shifting over, there is increased value in the defenders being able to support and contribute to attack, especially in the smaller spaces.

Walker is naturally able to play and become the sixth man, pushing high and wide on the right — this would outnumber the Inter back five but I believe Stones makes the most sense at right back. By playing Stones at right back, City are able play four, or even five players towards one flank (eg. Haaland, KDB, Stones, Bernardo, Rodri/Akanji). Stones is more proficient technically and has the ability to rotate and play well in numerous zones, whether that be deeper, centrally, or wide.

Both wide CBs are able to push up either side of Rodri and form what may look like a 1-3-6, without vastly overcommitting (even though it may read like that on paper). This is also predicated on the idea Inter Milan will be less reluctant to press and more focused on blocking space and based on the assumption switches may be difficult to manufacture as per the Brighton and Everton games. If Inter are willing to step up and press (the expectation of a final might factor into this) then resetting deeper (in that De Zerbian way mentioned at the start of the piece), can open up spaces on the opposite side of the midfield three.

Fin:

That concludes the hours of watching and extracting various theory regarding Manchester City in the attacking phase against Inter Milan’s 532.

The beauty of the sport is that even with all of those considerations explored, football is a game of infinity and some, all or none of the above may or may not come to fruition.

For at least 90 minutes, 22 people in and of themselves decide the outcome of the biggest game of the club season on their execution.

It’s cool and scary.

Good morning/night.

I think the transfer window can give us some clues as to where future trends may lie. Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, the biggest and most sought after players at the highest level (City, Madrid, Arsenal). Szoboszlai arrives at Anfield, Tonali the Italian Geordie, the list could go on — in terms of links and interest at least.

For me a truth that is at the centre of much of this is the idea that football is becoming ever-compact at both ends of the field.

During build-up & goal-kicks:

In the first third, build-up becomes its own chess match and the chess-masters are not afraid anymore of committing an even greater number of pieces in that first phase. If we think of the first phase as a game of its own, the opposition have responded by committing their own pieces far up the field. What we can end up with is a picture that looks like a highly condensed game by the keeper, the opposition's back line sits somewhere near the half-way line and one or two lone pieces are stranded in between.

Those pieces in no man’s land are where the Declans and the Judes would be. Players that eat up grass, physical yet technical enough to pluck the lofty pass from the keeper trapped in a busy box of players, before moving to make something happen. 

In reverse, when this sought-after profile of player (modern day second midfielders for lack of a better term right now) is part of the team out of possession during an opposition’s build-up from their keeper, their ability to accelerate and jump on the player receiving the ball allows for the possibility of high turnovers. The engine on these players, and perhaps I'd include Mason Mount of United now (someone who I hadn’t mentioned) permits them to provide opposition players the false security of an extra yard or two, baiting the pass and reception before then, springing onto them and winning the ball high with speed and intensity in an area that provides a greater % situation in which to score.

This matters significantly given the fewer scenarios in which defending teams afford you space, as large parts of games are played as low-set defences vs high possession attacks. Declan Rice’s dispossessions against Partey, sprinting from what feels like too far away, forcing an error which eventually resulted in a goal and Arsenal dropping points in the run-in, comes to mind.

In Settled Defence:

Just as the game becomes compact and busy in the in-possession team's third from a goal-kick and buildup opportunities, the game for a second time now gets compressed in the opposition's third when low-set defences protect their goal.

This mould of player tends to be able to slot in alongside the pivot. When it comes time to defend in a settled shape, the frame, intensity, and aggression seems to do a job in there. Declan Rice might be the best in world football for it as a central midfielder sat deep in a 442. If a compensatory number is needed for weaker second midfielders defensively, the 4141 works too and you can naturally shift between the two in a pendulum-like manner, the outside CMs taking turns to push to be the second striker or the second (or third) CM out of possession.

With the game compressed in final thirds (for different reasons) and with significant moments of the game occurring during these situations, players that can spring and exploit that space between the busy near-goal mess and the half-way line are ones to more pay attention to now.

A player who can block space then with excellent physical quality then carry it across large distances that present themselves, whilst being capable of breaking down these stubborn defences offensively, and running to get back into your defensive shape if not breaking up transitions the other-way. It's a really taxing and multi-faceted ideal you're looking for (which is why a player with all of these things is incredibly rare, but different teams opt to prioritise different traits).

In Attacking Possession:

When breaking down the opposition's settled shape is the challenge for the attacking side these transitional vertically shuttling midfielders shouldn’t become redundant and often don’t.

Looking to the second midfielders at the highest level or those that have been transferred, players seem to often possess set-piece value.

Now — in the biggest of games, there does seem to be this homogeneity, a oneness between how games are played which is sort of a shame. There exists differences and these should be encouraged but almost in this Guardiolan way (which is funny because Guardiola reinvents how players are used in his game-models), teams have become more similar, almost blueprint like at times. 

What then differentiates teams is 1) sheer player quality when profiled correctly (the De Bruyne types) 2) exploiting opposition tendencies (opposition analysis) 3) fine margin solutions in the form of set-pieces (set piece analysis and player profiles/quality).

The players being targeted by some of the top clubs in greater frequency seem to address that third point with (I’m sure) a deliberateness that makes lots of sense: Jude and Rice’s aerial threat, Tonali, Mount and Szoboszlai’s set-piece quality too. The aerial threat from taller B2Bs is two-way — in theory you’d concede fewer too.

The set-piece quality (of the aforementioned) is often predicated on quality ball-striking which speaks to another trend the sport is alive to at present.

We’ve established this oneness in football, the low-set compact defences against the high-possession attack but within that, goals are circling back to being scored from distance. It doesn’t make sense not to utilise that situation and to utilise it maximally we look to point 1, a few paragraphs back — sheer player quality. The best ball strikers can, will, should score from distance more often. And as low set defences pack the box, pushing them back before exploiting the space in front of them (rather than getting in behind) through long shots less opposed is a method of increasing viability that I’ve mentioned for a while. Rodri’s goal that won the Champions League final, a telling example if you need one. 

Ball-striking not only pertains to the ability to score from distance though and with these second midfielder types, looking for stand-out, difference-making, fine-margin quality, ball-striking in the form of the final pass too, a la Kevin De Bruyne or Trent Alexander-Arnold would be more than wanted when looking for these sorts of players.

It’s interesting init. The sport changes so much but old situations and patterns and trends and things all circle back and re-establish themselves. The sport doesn’t suddenly look like the mid 2000s again but things that were cool in the mid-2000s look to have just slotted themselves into this greater, novel 2020-sport — De Niro and Pacino cameos in 2023 films. It’s nice, you'll do a double take; they fit in but everything around them looks different.

Profiling and Classifying the Midfielders:

I struggled to term this profile of player but as I've written this, things have become clearer as often is writing's best gift. I view players in roles, not positions, and I’d probably group Rice, Jude, Mount, Tonali and co under the same broad role: that role being this shuttling box to box midfielder type found upon an elite physicality (engine, intensity and ideally height/strength). On top of that, this profile of player is one that makes use of the prototypical scripts of the games in 2023 — games compressed in the thirds; a heavy focus on buildup (from goal-kicks) and a heavy focus on compact defences that need to be unlocked. They’re players that aim to give teams in these prototypical game the fine-margin edge quality-wise.

I think there’s two ways this can be done, so perhaps I’d split the profile into sub-profiles: the shuttling, physical midfielders with game-changing superiority defensively (low set defence) — Rice/Tonali types. Both are excellent defenders, able to cover space, win duels, intercept. In low set-defences of their own, slotting back into a settled shape as a central midfielder, they’re able to provide cover like the best of defensive midfielders, before springing to press/carry/support the next part of play — Anchor Midfielders.

The second sub-profile would be those shuttling, physical midfielders with game-changing superiority in offence (in settled attack) — Szoboszlai, Mount, Jude are more in this mould. These players are able to do a job in settled defence as central midfielders, perhaps they’d need to be supported by a second wide CM in a 4141 as opposed to the Rices who can more than capably play the 442, but their individual superiority and ability to exploit fine margin things appear in attack. These would be in the form of things like superb ball-striking from distance when settled defences drop in, excellent set-piece quality, late running quality to score/header (Jude?) — Ship Midfielders.

Ultimately these Ocean midfielders (that's the wider term to classify them I've landed on, I summarise it all at the end of this section, it's actually cute and easy to understand) are players that are given the burden of the biggest spaces (like an ocean, ha).

They therefore have lots of responsibility and have to be fairly complete. The large spaces require physical proficiency but in the modern game this isn’t enough.

If I were to imagine it, perhaps I’d say it was something like the chain connecting the ship to the anchor. If settled defence was the anchor, with all the busyness of the sea-bed, and the attack was the ship itself with all the busyness of well, a ship, the *long* chain is what joins the two — vastly important, with responsibility but also with lots of space and emptiness around it.

Ocean midfielder have to move along the length of this chain, either towards the sea-bed or the ship and some may have a preference for being nearer the sea-bed (Rice) whilst others may have a preference for the ship (Szoboszlai) but ultimately they’ve got to be able to move along that length as needed, without stepping onto the ship or onto the sea-bed for too long.

Umir's Ocean classification for second midfielders (in 2023+)

• More specifically targeted towards elite European teams — given vertical space between thirds (due to situations in which lots of players commit to build-up from goal kicks and due to space between your team’s defenders and attackers as a result of low-block defences)

Necessary physical/mental traits:.

• Fast, great work-rate, excellent engine, strong (ability to shield).

  • Cover lots of distance quickly.

  • Tall is ideal but not necessary (exceptions include excellent 1v1 dueller/tackler ; Tonali/Dias/Ake quality or agile and attacking preference: Gundogan/Mount)

  • If not fast; needs great reading of game and at least good acceleration (Bernardo example)

• Excellent ball-carrying quality — comfortable and probably preferable to be vertical in nature/temperament.

• Good tackling technique

• Press resistance

• Willingness to close down shots/space when defending as CM in set-defence

Ability to demonstrate genuine qualitative superiority either in settled defence AND/OR high possession attacks v low blocks preffered:

• In Settled Defence: Excellent at closing down shots/passes, excellent tackler, great aerially v cross threat.

• In Attacking Possession: Set-piece threat (taker or heading), excellent long-shooting/ball-striking, late arriver/runner to score, cross/final ball. Dinked through ball (eg. Yaya, Gundogan). Exceptional needle passer/small space player (very rare).

• Ideally both.

Ocean Midfielder Classification (w/ non-exhaustive examples)

• Types: Anchor, Chain, Ship, True 

• Anchor (possesses defensive traits that provide significant qualitative superiority that would provide fine margin gains against teams (~ playing using similar blueprints) but able to slot in offensively to at least a decent level) — Rice, Tonali?, Bernardo, Kante.

• Chain —  (possesses neither attacking or defensive traits that provide significant qualitative superiority that would provide fine margin gains but able to slot in defensively and offensively to a fair level — quality instead predicated on carrying/shuttling ability and technical execution/consistency. These players may be better at these things (such as ball progression) than some of the other types: Kovacic, Frenkie De Jong, Curtis Jones.

• Ship — (possesses attacking traits that provide significant qualitative superiority that would provide fine margin gains but able to slot in defensively to a decent level) — De Bruyne, Bellingham, Mount, Jacob Ramsey, Sancet, Casadei.

• True (possesses both defensive and attacking traits that provide significant qualitative superiority that would provide fine margin gains) — Gundogan. Rodri? (Usually plays sitting 6 though) Tonali?

...1 minute added time:

Games are won and lost at either end so at the highest level, paired with that physical profile and technical base, traits that can decide the game and separate one team from another off of individual actions are what we need to look for. 

Decades ago, the sports was afforded bigger space by virtue of the defences' shapes. Teams in England at the least, didn’t drop in as readily, space in and around the midfield existed and defences didn’t look to find the midfielders first but instead went long to the last line after which midfielders would look to fight to win the ball.

Perhaps physical strength mattered more then. Long vertical passes mattered more then too.

Like then though, physical box to box types are incredibly valuable once again but speed is perhaps more valuable given the incessancy on pressing. Low set shuffling/tackling/blocking is key for settled defence too, and set-piece threat (two-ways) is often the difference maker in tightly contested matches.

Ball-striking from the edge should and probably will matter more now as it was encouraged then (after a period of optimising only for shooting from statistically favourable zones in the box).

It’s a weird blend of old and new but it’s interesting how after the Xavi and Iniesta types rose to prominence under Guardiola and influenced the footballing landscape globally, a resurgence of the Steven Gerrard types have found their place on top of that backdrop built by the diminutive Spaniards. It sort of coincides with the lifespan of Guardiola's side centered around De Bruyne, something that probably wouldn't have been predicted watching those dominant Pep Barca sides in style, live.

I suppose the wider point can’t be better illustrated than Jude Bellingham, the marquee midfield signing and latest Galactico, in a post-Modric and Kroos world. 

— Umir, football writer, analyst, scout (@Umirf1)

Guardiola, in what felt like a hail Mary attempt at salvaging the personality of a cohort he doesn’t completely recognise, spoke on the players and home fans’ lack of fire born out of the comfort that comes with success.

And this is not a new and unspoken concept. It’s not a concept reserved for the elite in sport either. I’d hedge a bet on calling it a universal truth.

As the noise of Thursday’s reflections faded into the night, I stumbled upon ‘procrastination (broke)’ — a song released that day by YouTube producer ‘bvtman' featuring J. Cole. The song’s release came about through a beautiful series of events in which Cole, as one of the planet’s most successful and talented rappers, was at one of many reappearing road’s end.

In search for a spark, to re-ignite the feeling and hunger that inspired the achievements of adolescence and early adulthood, Cole went to YouTube, typing in ‘J Cole type beat’. Bvtman’s produced instrumental was the one Cole wrote to before sending him the recorded version as a sort of thank you for his dedication alongside the millions trying to make their lofty ideals a reality.

The 2 minutes 59 of J Cole introspection attempted to make sense of trying to produce greatness after greatness had already been achieved.

Success for Cole meant getting up out of the mud, producing music incessantly given his need to sign the longly sought after record deal. The stakes aren’t as high and the drive isn’t all-encompassing once you stand upon the imagined pedestal that inspired all of that dedication. When Guardiola sharply emphasised Arsenal’s ‘two decades’ without a Premier League in the post-match interviews, he spoke to that same idea. Arsenal’s boyish squad are the J Cole tirelessly working with an enthusiasm that demands they get their record deal whilst Manchester City’s 4 Premier League titles in half a decade mirrors the Jermaine Cole that sits and reflects as one of the game’s most accomplished, deformed by success.

“Plus, it don't help that I'm rich now
So that means that I don't gotta deal
With stress of these creditors, callin' my cellular
Like that young rapper that don't got a deal
But do got the skill and do got the will
To make it no matter how long that it takes
For labels to see you or a song that'll break
And the rest of the world to catch on that he's great”

— J. Cole, procrastination (broke)

Guardiola singled out Rico Lewis, Julian Alvarez and Nathan Ake for their passion. The (new) academy graduate and captain of the U18s last season, the (new) 22 year old fiery Argentinian, signed for 15m from the Argentinian first division and the (new) defensive starter who, through previous campaigns was given minutes in crumbs at City or played for Bournemouth closer towards the bottle of the league. For all three of these players, there is a pure need to perform, succeed and prove a point. There is no assumption that their place is a given. Each moment is therefore cherished and through that, fire is born.

Not only does that bode well for the execution of various on-field instructions but the permeating effect of electric enthusiasm and optimism cannot be understated, club-wide. Football can be a lonely, cold, impersonal space.

I’ve often posed the question, ‘who coaches the coach?’ upon reflecting on the impossible job. For coaches like Guardiola who spend however much time alone, the enthusiastic and happy aren’t just necessary for squad dynamics to amass three points weekly, but to have the cold Manchester days feel brighter. Ten Hag’s quotes are continually dotted with mentions of smiles with Marcus Rashford being the man most referred to. From the outside, Casemiro’s beaming nature seems to have had a transformative effect on mood in the red half of Manchester too. Alvarez, Rashford, Saka — the intangibles those sort of players bring with them form the framework for the successful over the long season.

Cole’s song is seasoned with lyrics of vulnerability and honesty that speak from the voice of those successful. Most words throughout the song almost feel as if they could be in response to Guardiola’s complaints, expressing feelings players might be embodying, and not in a combative way of response either but in a way that agrees. In fact, there seems to be feelings of being lost, having strayed from the path wanting to return but not knowing how to become that old, hungry self.

How can the inexperienced, young, past me have been better? Not at everything but at something so valuable? That’s a thought hard to reconcile with. Growth is attached to improving so to lose something you want to keep ahold of in the process is the most bitter of things.

Cole’s bars alongside Guardiola’s exasperated appeals have personally occupied mental real estate on the basis of how utterly fascinating this mental battle is and the subjectivity and unknowns attached to solving that problem.

Motivation once you’ve succeeded has to come not from wanting to achieve what you’ve already achieved. The potency of that driver has waned. Perhaps it has to come from something intrinsic — Cristiano’s longevity and success being driven by his need to be immortalised in the ink of the history books. Perhaps it has to come from something intrinsic in the form of a duty. For the Muslim, with a belief in God that informs their daily choices ahead of their wants and needs, the duty to be proactive and maximally determined, in all facets of life, is a virtuous and encouraged trait that brings about good deeds the Muslim is continually pursuing for a greater reason.

Perhaps that intrinsic duty is to a family member, dead or alive, for who if you dedicate success to it’d mean far more. For the sibling or parent that sacrificed money, time, and relationships to allow you to perform on this stage — would it not be appropriate to play every game with the hunger of the academy graduate for them?

Or perhaps that intrinsic duty is the duty to our younger self, for the child that grew up around a small TV watching Zinedine Zidane grace the field, dreaming of occupying that very stage one day. The younger self who played with torn footballs in the street for hours upon hours would not understand why the professional self would not give everything.

“Now, I push the Lambo' truck down in the 'Ville. Hoping I connect with somethin' that's real…’ With those lyrics, the accomplished Cole in his self-awareness returns to his hometown, in his Lamborghini, hoping the tough environment he knows so well reignites some of that same fire that brought him sales, success and awards to begin with.

For the elite footballers, that same separation exists — lavish yet isolated lives of relative comfort with challenges coming in completely new forms. Perhaps for the Lambo Truck-driving footballers, revisitation (or at least reflection) of their ‘Ville’ and the faces of the passionate youth that still reside there, takes them back to their past self…the self that they’ve lost.

This isn’t to blame the players or fans entirely either. The peak looks to be a utopia as you stand at the bottom but upon arrival, novel challenges arise and have to be acknowledged with tact.

I often reread Marcelo Bielsa’s evergreen musings on this human condition:

“The moments in my life when I have improved are closely related to failure; the moments in my life when I have regressed are closely related to success.

Being successful deforms us as human beings, it relaxes us, it plays tricks on us, it makes us worse individuals, it helps us fall in love with ourselves.

Failure is the complete opposite, it forms us, it makes us more solid, it brings us closer to our convictions, it makes us more coherent.

Never allow failure to deteriorate your self-esteem. When you win, the admiration messages you get can be confusing.

They stimulate self-love and that can always deform you. When you lose, the exact opposite happens. What matter is being noble with all the resources you use.” 

With something so intangible, there isn’t one solution.

The magnets on the tactics board can’t be moved around to reignite that fire. I don’t know what ‘the’ solution is because the solution differs by context. This is a phenomenon that deals completely in the shades of grey, rather than in black or white.

The easiest and most natural solution comes in the form of Bielsa’s observation, for failure to occur before that inspires the hunger and success that follows but it is the impossible job of the manager to steer the heart of the team away from what is natural to then go on periods of dominance — the three-peat.

Given the way Guardiola’s words have etched my mind, perhaps his uncharacteristic public scathing has had the same effect on the satiated Manchester City and their crowd. Perhaps this was the solution that acts to catalyse a second-half of the season revival.

Pep has articulated a sub-plot that gives the players and fans of Manchester City the ability to write an ending to. Where that story goes this season is entirely dependant on their penmanship and their ability to subvert expectations — to write the ending nobody expects.

If Emiliano Martinez wasn’t able to make the saves he did in that penalty shootout, the narrative flips — Lionel Messi loses a second World Cup final and people revise how highly they rate him even though his performances would remain identical. It’s a fickle criteria.

Instead this was about Lionel Messi, as the best player to grace the beautiful game, being rewarded by the sport of football itself in this poetic way. For the 18 and counting years of artistry, a career that has married the unbelievable with the undeniable, this tournament was the most appropriate of thank yous.

The ball he kicks, the grass his studs tear, the woodwork his rolling shots kiss — the cumulative parts of the sport finally unified to give back to the genius that gave so much to the millions: young children of the new generations for the first time, inspired, and for the elders who have admired Messi’s journey, grateful to catch a fleeting vignette and who may not be here to witness his coronation in 2022.

Critique has followed Messi, despite his extraterrestrial quality, often born out of the Diego Maradona comparison. For the globe that fell in love with Messi, it was always interesting some of his more vocal critics came from the country that held claim to the man himself. And Maradona, like some of the Argentinians, had previously spoken about Lionel’s lack of an expressive personality. Messi was a lead by his genius player but when the team needed something to galvanise the team and speak to the heart, when the going got really tough, Messi remained true to his nature, a seeming introvert, hoping to shift the game through his footballing quality.

Amongst his unfathomable brilliance, what is lost in the Lionel Messi story is his unwavering need to be the greatest, built upon a career of hard work. The narrative between Lionel and his closest modern competitor has been advertised as natural talent against hard work but this poses an entirely false dichotomy.

Natural talent looks to explain away just how effortlessly the Argentinian makes alien things looks possible but Lionel has reinvented and improved on his game with the same ingenuity and invention he plays his assists.

Lionel Messi was never this good at free-kicks but at some point he decided it was an area he could devote time to mastery…

The best free-kick taker in the world.

Messi was a player criticised for a poor penalty taking record, which by the numbers actually just put him as an average taker. By the standards of anybody remotely near ‘GOAT’ conversation, I suppose being average is to be poor. That poor penalty taker narrative too was exacerbated by the timing of when he’d miss those penalties, on occasion during vital, all-eyes-on-him moments.

Through this tournament though, none of that was to be true. The second of two scored penalties today, came as Lionel clawed back the momentum after Kylian put away his third, and France’s first penalty of the deciding shootout. With remarkable coolness, Lionel ever so gently rolled the ball to the side of Lloris.

Messi, in his endeavour for greatness, internalised the penalty technique of a Neymar Jr, to walk, watch and wait for the micro-movements of the keeper to expose their diving intention, before caressing it the other way.

Look, for somebody as good as Messi, to sit as the greatest to play the game, it would be very easy for him to accept the skillset he’d amassed at say 26 years old. It was the skillset that delivered him countless trophies, record Ballon d’Ors and global adoration. This wasn’t enough. He had to become the best free-kick taker on Earth. He had to become proficient at penalties with an efficiency that matched the planet’s elites by taking what they do, and doing so as if he was the inventor.

And all of this acts to drive home one point.

Lionel Messi, the shy genius, the introvert, the one who lacked that personality…well, if this wasn’t the tournament to dispel that myth. The reinvention of personality, I mean how ridiculous is that.

In the pursuit for greatness, whether conscious or by virtue of his natural footballing journey, Lionel Messi became everything the hypothetical greatest would be, by doing everything the hypothetical greatest would do, all the way down to personality.

We saw the little boy from Rosario, Argentina: fearless, expressive, direct — his long hair trailing behind him as he fixated onto the opposition goal making a beeline for it, again and again. We saw him play protagonist in a side with players that, if not for Messi, would’ve boasted a career of Ballon d’Ors. We saw him, as Guardiola’s arrowhead, take apart Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

We saw Lionel Messi mature into the prolific, statistically-anomalous output machine, tallying more goals in a calendar year than any player ever has. And as he aged, a beard on his face, embodying wisdom of years played, he spent his nights in his studio, painting new canvases of classics. At this stage, Leo’s game was one of the creator, with full artistic freedom for what the picture of the game would look like, before giving those same masterpieces away for others to enjoy.

On that trajectory, one would assume Lionel’s flame would gently flicker before leaving the room in a content darkness.

But at 35 years old we saw Lionel Messi the leader, the captain, the president, the general.

Lionel Messi alongside his battalion, a few of them scarred through numerous shared past battles — think Di Maria, who could be eulogised in his own 10,000 words. Think Nicolas Otamendi, who for his unmatched commitment in everything he does, deserved to celebrate an honour of this magnitude. Think Sergio Aguero, who for this tournament was one too many, carried his brother since ‘05, on his shoulders, parading him for the nation to serenade.

The rest of the family comprised mostly of the hungry and enthusiastic players of newer generations. These were the children and teenagers who had grown up inspired by a Lionel Messi of myths and legends: a fictional character, a superhero, rather than a team-mate. Think the likes of Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, and Lisandro Martinez, probably all the way to Rodrigo de Paul, Leandro Paredes, and Emiliano Martinez too.

The 2014 generation alongside Messi couldn’t make the final step to footballing immortality but Lionel Messi tonight was raised high, on the shoulders of those he helped raised. This generation grew up watching Lionel Messi — years of his game imprinted into their mind and mimicked in their actions. Today, the children of Argentina were present to celebrate Messi’s coronation through a tournament they helped win.

Maradona and Argentina held the highest of expectations for young Leo born out of a tough love only explained in the way a strict but well-intentioned father might have for his son. And today was the day the torch was passed on. The ‘we’re proud of you’ moment for Lionel Messi with even those impossibly lofty expectation surpassed.

Draped in a cloak symbolic of royalty, as the best player of the tournament, Messi has genuinely done it. When he places his head down on his pillow and the roar of thousands becomes a silence only broken by the ringing of his ears, he can rest content knowing he has completed the beautiful game for everything it has to offer.

Knowing Messi though and having seen it finally bleed through the bandage of his previously introverted demeanour, he is relentless — blessed and cursed with a need to be better, always.

As a master of reinventing himself, to improve on each past iteration, competing only against himself, he won’t see today as the full stop on his story.

For the king, tomorrow is just another day of his incumbent reign.

Thank you Leo.

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I feel this sense that I’m home, deep in my heart or my soul. It feels peaceful, it feels concluding in nature. You know when you clasp your two hands together (try it now), and they just sit perfectly neat, quiet, warm, equally firm and gentle. It is like the same sense of safeness and return as sitting in your parents’ living room. It also feels almost empty, like nothingness but in a good way.

I get all of those feelings partly when I do all of the things just mentioned but also when I visit the mosque, or when I pray. I’m Muslim.

The feeling probably peaks when the mosque is busy enough to feel connected to my brothers from every continent but not so busy that I’m in my own head about if I’ll find a space in the congregational prayer. Honestly, that’s a genuine struggle.

Trying to identify the source of that feeling is an unusual thing. The individual parts of that list seem sort of all over the place but after deliberation, I feel they are all predicated on a core idea of safeness which I think extends from feeling accepted. That acceptance again, I feel is born out of feeling as comfortable as I can, in my identity, for all it encompasses, in that present moment.

The feeling I am describing is whatever feeling lives at the intersection between mindfulness (being present) and acceptance. Remember this feeling. I will refer to it a lot.

I know my line of thinking here might lose some people. That’s fine.

Domestically, I have supported the club I was born into supporting, felt an alignment in identity to said club, and been unwavering in support ever since. Internationally though, that feeling is one I have felt most strongly this competition supporting someone like Morocco. I have supported England too and have hoped they do well but to a lesser extent than the Muslim-dominant footballing nations. That too comes down to personal identity.

For England’s national side, this recent cohort are players are incredibly easy to support. I like them. Most of them are talented, charismatic and funny but it is players like Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling that I truly want to do well. Rashford went to the secondary school that housed the football training sessions I attended throughout university. It’s in an area I’ve walked often with friends. He boasts an outward expression of morals and lived experiences that make him relatable to someone like me. Raheem Sterling speaks in words people I know use, whilst getting his football education playing street football, in an expressive, prodding style that again, I recognise. He’s spoken out on societal injustice and discrimination he, like most ethnic minorities, have faced.

As a collective, it’s a group that better reflects what I know of my English experience and where I feel I fit in than past England sides. There’s lots more that I can go into about Englishness and identity. That’s not a topic to completely explore today, but there will be people who were born in England and have lived here for as many years as I have who will feel more English than me and by nature, be far more passionate supporters of the national team. That’s completely fair.

If you’re one of those people and don’t understand my position here, I understand and I can’t describe a life of lived experiences that have fed into why that is, although I can half-try throughout this piece. Regardless there will be a generation of people with heritage planted in other countries who instead place religious or cultural identity above nation in international support.

There is a strong national element to Morocco’s success, without a doubt, but it is the binding thread of religion that too glows through this Moroccan national team.

Social media has been flooded with these photos of joyous reunions between Morocco’s son and their mothers, a lifelong bond expressed in hugs, kisses and dance.

The World Cup sits in the eyeline of billions and seeing mothers, in their hijabs, arm in arm with their children — heroes of the continent, expressing the same pride they’d express when their children would achieve a good grade in school is completely new and in the best of ways. The mothers of Morocco look like women I’d call aunty before being insisted to stay and eat whatever family meal was being cooked at the time.

When Boufal celebrates with his mother after the game, that’s aunty celebrating.

Those families, unashamed of their heritage, unashamed of their religious dress, stand on a stage we’ve never seen us before, saying words of Islamic tradition we’ve never heard elite footballers say, never mind at the level of the World Cup knockouts.

Prior to the penalty shootout against Spain, a footballing nation famed for their technical mastery of the football above any other nation, the Moroccan’s huddled together and recited Surah al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Quran. It is a short chapter that every Muslim recites as part of their five daily prayers and so is an action that is entirely universal for the Muslim world.

Within the chapter the Muslims ask Allah (God) for help and guidance.

At 17 seconds of this clip, Abdelhamid Sabiri recalls the moment:

‘When we said (Surah al-)Fatiha bro, before the penalty, (it) was the best feeling in my whole life.’

The best feeling of your life being the moment before a high-stress World Cup penalty shootout, it’s a beautiful almost unbelievable thing but I’m fairly certain that - that feeling Sabiri reflects on is the same ethereal feeling I attempted to describe in the opening to this piece.

For the immigrants of the world, identity is a mosaic. It is easy to feel stranded at sea with few, if any points of references to latch onto. Sometimes you find your place in sub-communities made up of your fellow nationals within your new city. The Moroccans of West London are a perfect example of that.

Otherwise creating sub-communities within the city bound by a shared belief system, rather than nationality or race are our own mini-nations that we live in. Seeing the Moroccan side, with their clothing, in their mannerisms, in their language, in the profession for the religion, in all their actions — and having all of those things line up with what these sub-nations we invent for ourselves do too, explains why there is such a grand innate affinity for Morocco from people others may expect to support, say, England.

There’s a vast array of things that bind us all as humans but the English players weren’t told the same (Islamic) stories we were taught as children. The England national team had different cultural ideas about family and their roles within that family ingrained into them as they grew up too. The English players eat different food, dress in different clothes, and congregate in different societal spaces. That’s not to say those things are better or worse, they’re just less relatable.

The pub is more of a home for the English fans during the World Cup that (I assume) brings about that feeling of acceptance whilst being present. There is familiarity of faces, there is joy (or sadness) but a common goal and thing to believe in. There is a routine to it. I can be me here, I enjoy it, I’m surrounded by similar people for similar reasons and can relate to them, unashamedly. The Muslim fan gets that experience elsewhere.

For the Muslim footballing fan, football has been a stage upon which everything we have seen has been outside of that feeling. It is not entirely difficult to want well for a player you admire, irrespective of if they match up to all of the parts that make up your own identity. Often a skilful entertainer is enough to have you buy into his success but the ceiling of support is raised when that player shares parallels to your own story. You relate more to a member of your family than a distant friend.

After I have knelt in prostration and placed my head on the ground facing the qibla (the direction of the the sacred building at Mecca that all Muslims turn towards at prayer) I too, like the Moroccans raise my hands and call to Allah (God). I feel the same doubts followed by this familiar reassurance.

Above all, I know both those players and I feel that same feeling, of belonging, safeness, homeliness — the intersection between mindfulness and acceptance when we express our faith. That feeling wraps around you when you are expressing your religion in a connected way, within a community that understands you. It’s not a lonely feeling. Most within that sub-nation will have that sense of tranquility in their heart they can all relate to.

That feeling pulls me towards a side like Morocco in a way that is not conscious or premeditated. I relate to it beyond the level of skin colour or national identity.

Islam, for so many Muslims, sits above national or racial identity because it gets rid of it altogether. Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) felt that after his visit to Mecca, going so far as to rethink so many of his previously held ‘truths’ about race and nations.

Football, as a vessel for society to express itself through, now has millions of Muslims experiencing that same prioritisation with regards to their identity parts. The English-born Muslim, who has grown up in English society and may very well appreciate many of their experiences within the country, can still hold their faith above all else to the point it is expressed in football support.

It’s difficult to capture a lifetime of identity battles in a short written piece and have the piece be accessible universally. In spite of this, I pray some light has been shed as to why large parts of the Muslim world have gravitated to Morocco’s national side so strongly.

I’ll follow that prayer too with one last one that echoes the prayers of the many whose stories I’ve spoken on here — that this nation of sub-nations, bigger than its physical borders, has a miracle or two left in them. Ameen.

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Their commanding genius, that manifests in performances generations have never seen before and may never see again brings with it a sense of infinity. These are careers that are immortalised in statues standing for the world to see and thus remember with unanimous fondness forever, right?

The statue of ‘Cristiano’ has stood unmoved and proud, adored by international crowds for many years. It is only now that the ‘traveller from an antique land’ stumbles upon a shattered statue standing in a desolate land.

The conclusion of Ronaldo’s story is not an entirely unique one. Looking back through history highlights parallels to the kings that used to be.

The literary classic Ozymandias has a traveller tell the story of his experience of a statue, once colossal in size, history and value.

This same statue, with the gloating words of:

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!”

engraved onto its base, now stands destroyed.

The vast and trunkless legs of stone are all that remain attached to that boasting pedestal. And perhaps after Cristiano’s final true swansong of an 18 goal Premier League Season, those legs — the vehicles of the works others had to look on and despair, now stand trunkless, heavy and in stone.

The sneer of cold command, sculpted into the face of this gigantic statue, embodies a lifetime of experience. This is a king: cold, proud, great. But that same proud head of the champion lays sunken, detached from its body, buried in the sands of an empty desert that stretch towards nothingness in every direction.

In what took Shelley a fleeting moment to write is a story that Cristiano has written through 37 long and difficult years of perseverance and hard-work. The same irrational belief of undeniable inevitability that Cristiano demonstrates now is the same perspective that took him up each step and into the pantheon with the all-timers.

Cause and effect has it so it shouldn’t be massively shocking to see Ronaldo react in the way he has done. Does that make those actions correct or good? No, but it goes a little bit towards making those actions a little more understandable.

The reality is, for the 99.999…%, time on the planet is too short to reach a level at which a statue-worthy, king of kings status will be actualised. To come to terms with the loss of that is incomprehensible, not only for those who fail to reach that summit, but often for the mountaineers themselves too.

The journey down the other side of the mountain is one that is gradual. It happens day by day, without much visible or sudden change until suddenly you stand at the base, with the entire mountain behind you wondering how and when it all happened.

The only undeniable inevitability isn’t the performances or the accolades of the greats that include or have come before Cristiano.

There is nothing powerful or strong enough that it can remain powerful or strong forever. Empires fall. New empires rise. The story of Ozymandias bestows that lesson upon us.

Ultimately, the only true inevitability is father time itself.

An article and video by Umir.

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You don’t choose your partners in a club. It’s like a second family.

A single thread binds many of the greats together, country-by-country.

In Brazil, the expressive, smile-on-the-face flair is the thread by which their greats, the likes of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo Nazario, are bound.

In France, the French footballing archetype is one that has shifted in style over the last few decades. The French footballer blends a mixture of influences, taking inspiration from cultures born in all corners of the globe.

Prominent to newer France are children of football that grew up playing street football in the hood’s concrete stadiums — from Zinedine Zidane, to Paul Pogba, to Ibrahima Konate.

Careers are accomplished in ‘ballon sur bitume’, or concrete football, prior to taking their first step into traditional, grass stadiums.

On Sunday the 15th of July 2018, many graduates of those very concrete pitches represented their nation at a sold-out Luzhniki Stadium.

The air thick, in palpable tension and heat alike.

Tick, tick, tick.

The score settles at 4-2. France falls to its knee in a mixture of relief and unbridled joy as the referee exhales into his whistle for the final time.

The clouds open up and rain begins to fall on the French.

20 years after their first triumph, Les Bleus are champions of the world, again.

The most prestigious position in football, although a subjective thing, probably falls to either the number 9 or the number 10. What is true, above everything else, is that the children of football love to attack, to dribble or to score and ideally both.

The 10 gets given the burden of possession, and thus the burden of responsibility, creatively: Lionel Messi, Maradona, Pele.

The 9 typically takes place centre-stage, as protagonist: the scorer, the match-winner, Ronaldo Nazarios.

To climb into the national team’s armour branded by either of these numbers is an honour bestowed upon very few. And to win one of the 21 prior World Cups in either one of these two roles embeds you firmly into footballing folklore.

It is as close to the universal dream for young footballing children to play as the 9 or 10, for their country, lifting the World Cup…

Olivier Giroud has played the role of contrarian, the odd one out, relative to his football peers through his entire footballing journey. Against all odds is an admirable story once, and twice is a rarity, but for France’s number 9 there’s never been a period of more than a couple of years before a seemingly insurmountable challenge presents itself.

‘This is who takes Giroud’s place, finally. It has been a good career and he outdid what people expected of him,’ are the echoes of newspapers, social media, and in the streets before Giroud, with an unwavering faith in God and a magical sense of timing, deservedly claws his way back into favour.

That’s been the Olivier Giroud way.

If you’ve scrolled conversations about the Frenchman, you’ll surely have come across something along the lines of, ‘if you just looked at a video of Giroud’s best goals, you’d think he had the career of an all-timer.’

Whilst true, it’s a reductive statement. It reduces Olivier Giroud’s career to something that is not one for the history books when he deserves a paragraph or two within it. Giroud’s museum of goals are only part of the story. This is a player who has achieved as close to it all, and in part down to the fact that he’s been an impressive footballer and valuable profile. We have to highlight this easily missed fact.

Focused inspection of Olivier as both a person and player reveals two things. The first being an interesting parallel between his footballing role and his personality as a human being. The second being this sense of connectedness in Giroud’s story. Every loose end seems to tie up beautifully and almost poetically, in a way that feels scripted. There’s numerous examples of this, I try to weave a few of them into this piece but for brevity, I’ve left out a few genuinely lovely storylines. Perhaps I’ll revisit them in another piece.

Giroud holds central to his entire being, a belief in God, which has been the case for as long as Giroud’s conscious memories go back. From as early as the age of 4, Giroud would attend the church on Sunday mornings alongside his mother and year on year, this faith would continue to strengthen. Perhaps Giroud would attribute the aforementioned connectedness and the ‘lucky coincidences’ to God. Given how many of these stories line up, a higher power probably explains it better than anything secular might.

For many people, being doubted as many times as Olivier has would result in an eventual acceptance, especially this late into a career. At 34, being a rotation striker for Chelsea is a role most would accept whole-heartedly but this was never the Olivier Giroud way.

The transfer window of January 2020 opened with Giroud adamant on a transfer away from Chelsea. Frank Lampard and the striker he innately favoured, Tammy Abaraham, meant Giroud was placed as an often unused bench option.

It echoes the story of Maurizio Sarri and his preferred favourites in Higuain or Morata. Prior to that, Giroud had taken the leap to Stamford Bridge following Arsenal’s big money moves for Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Prior to that, Karim Benzema sat in the driver’s seat for the national side, and so on. You get the point.

That winter transfer window was a mocking month for Giroud, who pushed for a move to Inter Milan for weeks on end. Although Inter Milan wanted Giroud, Chelsea insisted on a replacement third-choice striker to take Giroud’s place, behind Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi, before they allowed the Frenchman to leave and Giroud’s hopes for game time, which directly correlated with his chances of playing at the upcoming Euros, faded.

How this saga resolves illustrates the beauty in remaining well-intentioned and holding an unwavering belief that things will work out. As a person of religion myself, I’ll attribute it to God like Olivier does, but irrespective of religious or non-religious belief, there’s beauty in the resolution for everybody.

Following the breakdown of Giroud’s transfer to Inter Milan, he remained at Chelsea, plagued by feelings of uncertainty. Giroud’s incessant pestering of Lampard culminated with Lampard agreeing to offer him opportunities to play, upon which further game time would be earned on merit. There was a lifeline for Giroud who grabbed onto the chance with an unrelenting grip.

Giroud scored and performed well in continuous games, soon displacing first-choice Tammy Abraham. This hurdle like those before it had been cleared…

Pandemic.

A new, unprecedented challenge reared its head. It’s a continual story of peaks and troughs for Giroud but when football eventually resumed, and the season concluded, Giroud finished strongly with 6 goals in 7 starts. Chelsea cemented top four with a side many had written off on the backdrop of their transfer ban.

A subsequent Champions League campaign awaited but not before Giroud would be pushed down the pecking order again, this time behind big money acquisitions Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.

Like I said, never a period of rest or calm.

Tuchel placed Giroud out of favour but Olivier still played a key role in Chelsea’s eventual Champions League win. This was a Champions League campaign too, remember, that Giroud shared a fair responsibility in helping Chelsea qualify for at the tail end of the prior season.

To say Giroud is the understated, unsung constant in so many of his sides’ successes is a truthful assertion but Giroud punctuates his incredibly valuable yet humble role with some of football’s most outrageous goals. His Puskas Award winning scorpion kick is the exclamation point to a well-crafted, subtle sentence — an appropriate reminder that says, ‘Hey, I’m not just a facilitator, I’m still a number 9 at heart.’

The bicycle kick against Atletico’s villainous defensive shape acts as another of those memorable moments for both Giroud’s career and Chelsea’s Champions League winning campaign.

The season ended as Giroud, a non-starter, missed out on a starting place in France’s national side in the COVID-delayed Euros tournament. He would end up moving to AC Milan that very summer, a family settled in London accompanying him regardless, in search of greater game time, knowing his story was unfinished. And that road lead to Derby di Milano.

Anybody with a grain of footballing appreciation understands the gravity of this historic occasion on any weekend but in February 2022 it was presented with raised stakes.

AC Milan, in fine form, 11 years without a league title played their rivals, enemies in war, who at that point sat atop the league.

Olivier Giroud leads the team, uniformed in those iconic red and black colours that his striking inspiration, Shevchenko donned all those years before him.

Inter Milan, the leaders, translated that lead into the individual match, going into half-time a goal up. In the 74th minute however, fortunes turned as Giroud put away the equaliser sliding into a zone that mirrored his first ever league goal for Arsenal. Connected. AC Milan might’ve taken a draw but Giroud in his powerful frame, only 3 minutes later, darted horizontally across the box — a gentle, beautiful, artistic Cryuffian flick, a touch that resembled his ex-teammate in Eden Hazard, freed him. Giroud then struck the ball, the energy behind the strike brought him crumbling down in the opposite direction as the ball nestled into the bottom corner. AC Milan 2, Inter Milan 1.

The story, in this fairytale way, resolved with Giroud’s AC Milan lifting the league title by a mere 2 points ahead of…almost-Giroud’s Inter Milan.

In the moments of those transfer window pleas, there would’ve been natural feelings of lost confusion but it was a story that reached a crescendo in the form of a Scudetto for their city rivals. Hold the faith, work hard, be ambitious. It’s a story that the most poetic of scriptwriters would struggle to author. It’s certainly not a story that Giroud would’ve foreseen in January 2020.

In buying his time prior to his eventual transfer, Giroud remained assured with good intentions and a concrete faith — in Islam we call it Tawakkul or ‘the perfect trust in God’s plan and a reliance on Him alone.’ I’m sure there’s a similar idea in other religions whether or not there’s a specific word for it. Regardless, Giroud committed entirely to the Chelsea project and reaped the rewards for it. Equally, that selflessness is a quality that extends into Giroud’s on-field footballing game.

Eden Hazard once described Giroud as the best target man in the world, somebody he could play off of, and Kylian Mbappe expressed this feeling alike, feeling liberated by Giroud’s central, physical presence and link-play.

The naturally generational types in both Eden and Kylian fostering a chemistry, that brought great success, with Giroud actually illustrates the quality he has. The best in football, a team sport, are those that can maximise the chances their team succeed and Olivier has always done so.

Although it’s changing a little now, fans have previously focused very heavily on the flashy, on-the-ball actions. That perspective would’ve explained some of the questionable takes on Giroud’s game by social media fans and journalists alike but coaches approach football differently and have, with good reason, always valued Giroud’s immense quality.

As I continue to develop my understanding of the beautiful game, what becomes more evident is how football is simply an expression of humanity, of the stories these individuals, whether it be players or coaches, have experienced over decades. The upbringing of a central forward player, from a certain town, with certain religious values, and the lessons learnt from specific friends can all be seen in the style of play, the success and the manner a footballer boasts.

Olivier has always carved out a place for himself — a spot he is needed in, despite others not initially seeing it. As an almost odd-one-out figure, he’s found himself being this perfect counter, providing balance to many of those around him. The concrete stadium footballers, who grew up in the suburbs of Paris to immigrant parents are a far cry from Giroud’s swimming pool and apple tree having home in Froges but this doesn’t act as a deterrent for anybody involved. In fact, Giroud’s complimentary role as this link-play, supportive pillar of a striker translates into everyday life where Giroud is similarly a person of a warmth, humility and supportive non-confrontation. There is this altruism in his footballing game that is in born through his personal life experiences — a selflessness married to resolute work-ethic.

‘You don’t choose your partners in a club, the coach is the one who builds the team, (street) soccer teams are of all ages. It’s like a second family.’ [Ballon sur Bitume]. This the principle upon which the playground footballers play. It’s a quote directly from Ballon sur Bitume, a documentary about France’s street football culture.

Remember the aforementioned connectedness in most things Giroud? Well, without hearing the street footballer’s quote, Olivier matches his sentiment applying it instead to the national team. Identically, Giroud has described the French team as becoming ‘a second family’, with a focus on the age disparities that become irrelevant in a family setting — the ‘old guard, (that he has) formed close relationships with, Lloris, Koscielny, Debuchy (and the young players) Hernandez, Pavard.’

Giroud too specifically mentions Pogba, Griezmann, Matuidi, and Varane, with these four being brothers that Giroud has developed a closeness with through highs and lows that certain family members may never even reach.

Giroud’s footballing excellence is something to sit back and watch with pride and delight, but it is his expression as a person and knowing how this informs his footballing profile and subsequent relationships, that I particularly love.

If you were to ask Giroud, he’d probably tell you that it’s not entirely deliberate or calculated and that he does those things on a football pitch because they feel natural, but…they feel natural because of the human being he is.

Olivier Giroud’s story is very little like, for example, the expressive child from the hoods of France in Paul Pogba but they both prescribe to the notion that football creates you a family — a brotherhood. Football is this incredibly powerful, societal thing that binds people together irrespective of age, race, economic or social background. In a sense, that is a big part of the beauty in certain religious expression too, this idea of unity and multiculturalism.

The more both football and society can cultivate harmony whilst allowing people to feel comfortable expressing themselves, the better both environments become. What is undoubtedly true is that Olivier Giroud has done both, as a selfless, talented central pivot who has remained grounded and welcoming, despite achieving a level of success that has tempted many a celebrity away from said straight path.

Sure, Olivier Giroud is unlike many of the players that receive unanimous vocal praise throughout their career. Giroud is not the dribbling, flashy, possession-heavy, agile winger. Giroud is not a player that is showered in public campaigns that aim to portray him in this superstar light for the sake of it either. But Giroud is an honest, hard-working talent who has stayed true to set rules that have held him in great stead throughout a wonderful career.

There have been many doubters at every step of the way and it would have been easy for Giroud to lose belief or react with anger, wondering how much more he’d have to do to finally convince people.

As I pen the final words to this piece Giroud has just been selected as part of France’s World Cup squad of 2022. The Frenchman lives only two goals away from achieving the record for the most goals of all time for France, a truly ridiculous feat to be so close to achieving. And, this is all on the backdrop of impressive 2022 form that most recently saw Giroud induct himself into the record books again, as the oldest player to register three goal contributions in a Champions League game.

This piece reads almost as if Giroud has recently retired given the career-long reflections and complimentary nature of it, but make no mistake, the veteran striker still has records that remain to be broken, ready to be broken.

Van Dijk’s words were telling and summarise the Olivier Giroud story better than anybody could. After naming him as his hardest opponent faced, Van Dijk ends by saying:

‘I feel like I got him but in some way he always managed to score.’

And isn’t that the Giroud way we’ve been talking about this entire time? At every hurdle, at every challenge, with every transfer, they feel like they have him but…in some way, he always manages to score.

After the final whistle of the World Cup final in 2018, Deschamps’ assistant, Guy Stephan, mocked critical narratives and asked Giroud:

‘So then? We can’t be the champions with Giroud on the team?’

A 16 year and counting career proves otherwise.

An Article by Umir.

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I knew there was a difference. I guess the light bulb moment for me was just how big a difference that was. After all, the universality of football is a truth that has been echoed for as long as I can remember. This round ball is the mutual friend, introducing strangers to each other, irrespective of language or location. Only in this metaphor, friend A and friend B, despite both being friends with the same friend C, experience their friendship with friend C in wholly different ways.

As the clock rolled into the 37th minute, Antony received a pass on his favoured right flank and in one fluid touch welcomed the ball, making two revolutions, before playing an overhit through ball into space that had opened up as he spun.

That’s all that happened. For completeness, I’ll add paint to the outline. It was a home game, at the Theatre of Dreams, in a Europa League group stage fixture against Sheriff Tiraspol, a Moldovan side. The score at this point, 0-0.

That’s it. The final whistle blew on an imposing, charismatic Manchester United performance, with goals coming from Dalot, Rashford and Cristiano.

The discussions as the players departed the field have bled into the next few days, with little concern for the great football on display.

Instead, many of the loud footballing voices of ‘authority’ in England have, in unison, been incredibly critical of Antony’s footballing expression.

Robbie Savage recoiled immediately, as he commentated the game. Manchester United legend Paul Scholes echoed the very sentiment, proclaiming he didn’t want to see something like that, and wondered if anybody in the world would want to see something like that. (They would).

“I just don’t know what it achieves,” Scholes pondered.

The football analyst (the adult) in me, and the football purist (the child) in me would both justify it in various ways.

In the most traditional on-pitch sense, the space into which Antony does attempt his pass opens up after the two spins. The imperfect pass execution may warrant critique but that’s a separate thing.

The Spanish have a phrase ‘la pausa’ meaning ‘the pause’ which is an ability to slow down the pace of the game, waiting as the perfect moment to pass the ball presents itself. It’s probably unlikely Antony’s skill was consciously done for this purpose, but it was a welcomed, functional side-effect.

Aside from considering efficiency of a skill on the pitch, a move like that cannot be truly appreciated without an appreciation for the intangibles in football.

The roar of the crowd as Antony completes his spin is a momentum-shifter, more so in a stadium as grand as a packed Old Trafford. There’s this palpable excitement and growing bravado that is transmitted by both player and stadium. Your side lean forward, on the front foot, with belief and their chest puffed out.

You get the same feeling when your keeper bats away the opponent’s penalty attempt, jubilation as the team parade keeper in gratitude. You get the same feeling when an academy graduate makes a crunching slide tackle in a derby match. You get the same feeling when a long shot arrows for the top corner from 35 yards out, before being parried over — a collective ‘ooooh’, followed by applause.

None of those things result in goals directly, but the life it breathes into the stadium shrinks the opposition. Something like a signature skill move, as long as it doesn’t become overdone to the point of losing its novelty, brings about those feelings and in a far less risky manner than saving a penalty or shooting from 35 yards. It’s exciting.

The showboater’s game antagonises the opponent. It distracts, humiliates and belittles them. Does that not affect their game? Functionally, Antony is the matador waving the red cape for the opposition who, given enough provocation, charges as the bull. It’s a weaknesses that is extracted. I can’t recall a better example in sport than the Ali shuffle: a crowd-pleasing momentum-shifter, an antagonising bait, and a distraction.

Garrincha was one of Brazil’s all-time great players and a genius dribbler, who was once described as a player that, when in form, would turn the pitch into a circus. The ball would become his obedient pet, and the game became an invitation to party.

Acts of showmanship turn 80,000 spectators into 80,000 party-goers. Reflecting on the solitude of pandemic-effected stadiums, former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said, ‘home and away is not like it used to be. It’s a different sensation now playing without the fans behind the goal at the Stretford End — they normally score a goal for us.'

Isn’t that telling?

To appease the fans is of function in and of itself and Ole describes that need to appreciate the intangibles for their value in altering game outcomes.

Football is stitched into our society’s fabric in a way that makes it impossible to detach from conversations about philosophy and culture. Bielsa, former Leeds United coach and legend of the beautiful game, believes in an obligation to play ‘beautiful’, alongside the only other obligation — ‘to win’, and his justification for this reflects his numerous years breathing and obsessing over football.

What somebody’s definition of ‘beautiful’ or desirable football is — is something subjective, and informed by their lived experiences. It would be against the definition of beauty to try and convince you of a singular definition of what beautiful football is. I can only offer a counter-view and defence to suggest why expression in Antony’s way matters.

England’s game has historically been one of physicality and no-nonsense, sitting on pillars of hard-work. Terry Butcher and his blood-drenched bandage is an image that epitomises that, and it reflects many of the most cherished values of traditional British society.

England has previously married itself with a hierarchy, an admiration for the monarchy who carry themselves as a focal point for the nation’s identity to be built upon. Stability, continuity, and properness have made up the cape England has worn. At the summit of English society is this almost mechanical properness.

There is an unwavering celebration of hard-work, and hard-work at the level of each individual. For the footballer, there’s an obsession with how far the midfielder has run, more-so than when or where they have made those runs.

Perhaps this is born out of England as a traditionally Christian country, that adopted this Protestant work ethic which subsequently permeated through into secular England’s work habits. Perhaps the political ideologies of England that have moved towards a capitalism, where every individual is more and more responsible for themselves as individuals, has cemented this need to work extremely hard to thrive (and in many cases, simply survive).

For a society built in this way, tireless hard-work is something relatable because it is how the people live. It makes complete sense why a long-hour labourer, on their off-day with football as their only outlet, would feel a great annoyance seeing the millionaire footballer put in anything less than a real shift.

Extravagance, flamboyance, play — these are ideas that parade on the opposite end of the spectrum, far less celebrated by traditional England.

Stoicism and the stiff upper lip rose to prominence as traits of Britain through the 19th and 20th century and a reluctance to display emotion is a quality British society has held in high esteem, associating it with elevated status, for decades gone by. The English align themselves with reservation, an identity of politeness, and a need not to offend.

The Brazilians contrarily play whilst they work, and work whilst they play, with a vibrance evident in their music and dance. In fact, in the 1950s, Brazil’s traditional genre of football of football was termed ginga — a word that roughly translated to ‘sway’. This ginga that radiates through the Brazilian footballer is a word that has origins in capoeriea, an acrobatic martial art-dance form that was the result of enslaved Africans and indigenous Brazilians coinciding in the 16th century, as well as samba dance.

And Antony sees it in the same was as his country’s greatest player did 60-odd years ago.

‘We’re known for our art’.

The questions asked of Antony post-game, that focus particularly on outcome on-field, therefore, I feel are misplaced.

‘Was it relevant? Was it needed?’ asks Ian Holloway. ‘It’s disrespectful, I don’t know what he’s thinking. It’s silly, grow up a bit.’

Answers to questions about the function of dance or ballet, as Pele mentions, shine more light on why Antony’s expression is needed.

The intention behind this piece isn’t meant to be ‘England, reserved, bad. Brazil, expressive, good’. Lots of the aforementioned parts that make up England’s jigsaw are extremely admirable qualities if that wasn’t already made clear.

There is incredible nuance to this conversation, and the piece is littered with the use of ‘perhaps’. I don’t have all of the answers but there’s ultimately utility in exposing people to the unfamiliar in a way that’ll hopefully spark conversation and reflection.

The TalkSport pundits, (Gabby Agbonlahor, Robbie Savage, Jim White etc.) alongside Ian Holloway and Paul Scholes were some of the vocal critics whilst the younger generation, pretty unanimously, loved it. Sure, not everybody English, 40 and above had a problem with it — Gary Lineker, for example, joined young Reece (see below) in his support for Antony’s skills, but it does feel like criticism and praise are divided in some way culturally.

Could Lineker’s lived experiences, as a Barcelona player, and exposure to other footballing cultures have contributed to an openness to this type of footballing expression? Maybe, it’s speculation but what is certain is that England now stand at crossroads.

England is a country, and a footballing landscape, that looks far more diverse now than it ever has done, bringing with it a new mix of influences and values. There is a cultural tug of war between wanting to be proud and connected to a long-standing identity whilst coming to terms with new influences that now populate the scene.

France’s 1998 World Cup winning side was deemed Génération Black, Blanc, Beur by their national press following the tournament — a play on the tricolours of their flag meaning black, white and Arab.

Zidane, the country’s star and son of Algerian parents, felt the slogan was nothing but a mere catchy, media invention intended to suggest a racial cohesion throughout society, which was dishonest to everyday France. France’s World Cup victory however, was the product of a multi-cultural unit that found a cohesion irrespective of racial or economic boundaries. Zidane of Algerian heritage, raised in the “banlieues” (large city suburbs) stood amongst brothers in Senegal-born Vieira and French-born Deschamps to name a few.

Society and football talk to each other but they don’t always say the same things. Utopia is for society to be a colour-blind, culture-blind conglomerate founded in love. As an ethnic minority, I’d concede that feels a way away in the understatement of the year, but having that as an aim for the world of football feels slightly more attainable.

Flair isn’t monopolised by the Brazilians. It can be harvested in the concrete pitches of France’s hoods, think Mahrez, Dembele, Ben Arfa. It can be found in Holland’s street football and futsal culture, think Danjuma or Depay. Such expressive, flair dribbling is grown in these cages, where many children of immigrants, from poorer neighbourhoods, spend hours on the playground. The concrete stadium becomes a central hub, a youth centre, a living room, and a pitch all in one.

For the poorest, ‘there is only football,’ Pogba says. ‘Whether it’s at school or outside, in the neighboorhood, everyone will play football.’ Pogba’s reflections aptly mimic the earlier Bielsa quotes, only this time from the perspective of the children of football, rather than legendary coach.

The concrete game limits time and space. Rules and formations are loose and there aren’t divisions by age. Dribbling is the soul of this alternative hyper-competitive, physical game that doesn’t resemble the formal education of academies that instead focus heavily on ‘the fundamentals.’

England’s South London is the equivalent of Greater Paris’ suburbs. Whilst Greater Paris nurtured the likes of Pogba, Martial, Kante, Coman, Mbappe, and Mahrez, South London brought up the likes of Sterling, Hudson-Odoi, Sancho, Loftus-Cheek, Zaha, Smith Rowe, and Abraham.

And Harry Hudson, former Crystal Palace academy coach, is right. Almost all of the graduates of South London’s school of concrete mentioned above are players that have been recipients of vast criticism, branded silly or wasteful, frowned upon for not matching up to the traditional archetype expected of England internationals. It’s the Antony conversation but on a national scale.

Cage footballers, dressed up in flair, are players that, at their core, possess incredible strength, in build and in mentality. The environment, in all its variety, requires the best of players to a develop a creativity that is novel and magical in terms of solution-finding.

England have failed to best utilise their flair (creative) players. Raheem Sterling is the talisman for the art form and even he adapted his game into a less expressive, more choreographed one for the sake of traditional effectiveness in Guardiola’s vision. The heroic Euro 2020 campaign and his more expressive game of unique solutions pre-Manchester City is film to watch fondly. England can make better use of this special quality, whether in Raheem, Hudson-Odoi, Sancho or others.

Returning to the crossroads we stand at, England now have an opportunity to build a side in the image of this newer, diverse England or remain rigid to its traditional image, closer to the deep 5 at the back, defence-first, battling system exercised in the Euro 2020 final.

England’s melting pot contains the same ingredients France’s side did before both their World Cup wins were achieved. And like France, abiding by that recipe of a multi-cultural footballing identity, may not create perfect, tolerant harmony at the level of society, but football can be a good starting point.

Why shouldn’t we seek to best use the unique talents of South London? Is it out of fear of change, and an unfamiliarity in profile? Progression comes with change.

England is a new home to introduced cultures, religions, and races with football being a stage for the aforementioned to be displayed. An acceptance of flair, art, showmanship, and expression in Antony’s spin is to accept and appreciate the upbringing and story of players like Antony of Brazil, of players like Dembele of France and of players like Jadon Sancho of Manchester United.

I say, let the children play.

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This Friday gone, on San Siro’s carpet, England ultimately displayed a dismal, grey and uninspired performance that reflected its country’s shifting climate. Italy had got the better of the English again as ‘why did I tune into that game…’ complaints littered social media.

The following afternoon, The Valley hosted a game, this time on home turf, that boasted over 2,000,000 concurrent viewers.

The stadium itself was a sold out affair. The 27,000 fans in attendance sat to watch influencers, YouTubers, friends and novices play in a 90 minute charity game — players that were the antithesis of those an international football match between England and Italy would field.

Sidemen FC’s game against the YouTube All-Stars was indeed a far cry from the Italy and England matchup that came a day earlier, though not due to a lack of the YouTubers’ footballing ability. The difference instead was that the influencer charity game was far greater in its story, entertainment and human emotion — unifying in the ways the national team at its best would be.

As the first whistle blew, Mark Clattenburg looked on as streamer Speed leapt, full-fledged, into a slide tackle, flattening KSI. What an utterly insane sentence, by the way.

The (‘excessive force’) tackle was called but not carded in the good-humoured spirit of the occasion.

You often hear generations of old complain about how soft the sport has become, longing for a return to the ‘good, old days.’ The professional game is too far gone to ever return to anything that resembles the physicality of the early 2000s and all the entertainment it brought.

There’s many complex reasons for that but I suppose the refereeing judgments in such charity games reintroduce some of those storylines into football — the comedy, pantomime, and ‘rivalries’ as seen above.

Football was a sport founded upon physicality that transitioned into a technical game but there was a period in the middle that balanced the most entertaining mix of both.

Physicality reminds us of the duelling football games we’ve played with friends going back to when we were in school. Yesterday’s reintroduced physicality was a welcomed means of entertainment that compensated for some of the non-Premier League quality, although through periods, the technical quality remained impressive enough to provide its own entertainment.

Both parts, technical ability and physicality, did their part in elevating the occasion.

Such technical ability was displayed by a considerable few including YouTube All-Stars’ mesmerising pivot of Noah Beck and Yung Filly. In fact, the rotating quartet completed by Theo Baker and Chunkz, deserve a mention in the same breath.

Speed’s technical ability absolutely does not deserve a mention in that same breath, however I do feel the need to give him an honourable mention in his role as a genuinely useful outlet.

The outlet being an under-appreciated profile combined with his front-footed, duelling temperament, Speed impressed as well as somebody unfamiliar with the off-side rule’s existence could do.

Beck’s assuredness and technical base unsurprisingly shone through given his history as a previous Real Salt Lake academy player. The proficiency by which the midfielder manipulated the ball, whether through close dribbles, powerful ball-carrying or punching passes, allowed him to dominate between the boxes.

Beck’s spry partner at the heart of the game moved the needle with boyish enthusiasm and accomplished technical execution. Body feint followed by burst left the Sidemen’s side unable to contain Filly, who played with intuition and expression that got fans off their seat.

The most impressive action of the game was Filly’s wonder strike — a goal that wouldn’t look out of place in a Premier League Goal of the Month nomination’s list highlighting some of that technical quality that accompanied the aforementioned physical game.

Harry Pinero’s imperious defending, whether sweeping or hunkering down, was a sight to behold and I had him as a Man of the Match candidate if not for Tobi Brown or Simon Minter, the stars of most of these charity matches.

6 goal contributions, evenly split by the way of 3 goals and 3 assists…at this point, it would be foolish to bring up new names when predicting who the star of the next game will be. As the final whistle goes each year, Simon remains the difference maker.

Ignoring the moments of magic, the technical and physical game, the well-matched sides and the storylines of KSI vs Speed, Noah vs Chris and Vikkstar vs a clean strike — there were footballing reasons as to why the game was a refreshing change compared to the monotonous chess matches we see week-in, week-out in the Premier League.

Yes, the Premier League plays at a quality higher now than we’ve ever seen before but there’s a debate that can be had as to whether it is at its most entertaining.

Yesterday was unlike what we see in the league in 2022 in two primary ways — spacing and philosophy.

Both teams played to attack and score often. That’s always a great start.

Attacking intention paired with sub-professional defensive training and fitness allowed attacking players time and space we rarely see in the Premier League anymore.

In international football, we get a glimpse of this entertaining alternative. International sides aren’t as compact; they coordinate a press less effectively and often opt to simply block space, deep instead.

That approach in defence gives the team in possession extra time on the ball to express greater creativity. It’s why international tournaments are exciting output-wise, think France vs Switzerland’s 3-3 at Euro 2020.

Yesterday’s game was this but turned all the way up.

Alongside increasingly compact defensive shapes, the use of advanced analytics (models of expected goals, for example) have discouraged the frequent use of long shots, in favour of taking high-percentage shots close to goal.

The questionable keepers (apologies Pieface and Cal) and the increased time and space available to attacking players meant there was no real need to care for high probability tap-ins.

Instead, there was a willingness to have game highlights that attempted to look like the Premier League goals from December 2006.

Positional freedom allowed the likes of Filly, Chunkz, Chris and Theo to roam the field and play freely outside of the confines of staying in one area and playing predictable, choreographed passes you’d find in the ever-present positional play systems.

Ultimately, the freedom and expression in style on display was akin to the sport that we as fans play. It was more relatable than the game at the highest level, which exists as a product casual fans don’t always understand. And that enjoyable display was played by entertainers we’ve grown with over the years, as the cast.

“The guys are like brothers, they know each other inside out. That’s got to help them on the pitch.

My instruction is just…play like brothers when you get out there. I’m sure you guys will fight for each other and want to win for each other.”

These passing words from Wingrove, Sidemen FC’s manager, pre-game were resonant as I watched the game.

In football you can gain the advantage in a multitude ways — positionally, numerically and in quality. The fourth way to gain an advantage is often less appreciated but it goes by the term ‘socio-affection.’ Simply put, this is developing an understanding and chemistry between players — players who ‘speak the same language.’ It is when we connect those who identify and understand each other well.

Think Messi to Alba. Think Ancelotti allowing Vinicius and Benzema to play between themselves, without much strict instruction, other than facilitating their natural connection.

The Sidemen as friends who have known each other for years hold a chemistry day to day that translates onto the field. The best example of this though requires a reference to (for me) the game’s best player.

Simon played the assist for Tobi’s first with an automatic proactivity and Tobi Brown’s combination with his brother Manny was the most magic. Both siblings interacted knowing where the other would be and when — space, timing and chemistry. A Tobi trivela cross met by the late-run and header of Manny was the culmination of years experienced, a beautiful goal and a lovely human moment.

It’s unlikely many, if any of these decisions were taken deliberately but the aforementioned footballing concepts are what made the spectacle so enjoyable against what we are now used to at the highest level of the sport. It was human, it was authentic, it was natural and it was fun.

Chelsea’s new co-owner, Todd Boehly’s suggestion of a Premier League All-Star game was met with disdain by loud footballing voices but after seeing the success of something like the Sidemen’s game from a pure entertainment and footballing perspective, it’s hard to think a one-off pre-season friendly would be a bad idea.

To see some of the Premier League’s finest players, play with additional space and reduced defensive intensity, taking risky long-range strikes and attempting skills they’d never try in a league game, in a crossover side with players they’d never pair up with? That creates an engaging and desired spectacle, I’m sure.

The Sidemen charity game was a footballing success but it was also wonderful for the money it raised for CALM, Teenage Cancer Trust, Rays of Sunshine and M7 Education, a tally that surpassed a million pounds.

The Sidemen with their fellow UK creators, and the ultra-famous celebrities from across the continent, unifying for a greater cause would’ve been more than admirable but putting on a genuinely engaging sports event in the meantime typifies the consistent and ever-elevating levels the Sidemen seem to achieve.

The 7 members of the Sidemen have grown over the last decade whilst holding the attention of a generation of the UK. There’s an unprecedented longevity as well as a re-imagination and domination of multiple fields, without any sign of decline. The Sidemen have a serious hold on the culture and despite their unrelenting fame and influence, have remained fairly grounded and true to their roots.

As the final whistle went, there was a moment of exhalation, a brief mindful reflection on where the online scene had ended up. For the Sidemen and their success, I couldn’t do any better than reiterating the fitting, improvised words of Drake, after a prior sporting success close to his heart: the Toronto Raptors’ game 5 win in 2019.

Look around. Look at this, we created this. This didn’t exist before we were here. I swear I promise you right now, we did this.

Yesterday was the Sidemen’s we created this moment and football was the means by which they unified millions irrespective of age, gender or ethnicity, for a cause bigger than themselves.

The universal nature of the sport is its most beautiful feature and to those who hold the game as sacred, you shouldn't view the Sidemen's influencer charity match with any elitism or arrogance.

It was football.

There is a tendency for tactics talk in 2022 to be seen firstly through a Guardiolan lens. It’s one of the biggest compliments you could pay the Catalonian. For all his successes in the game, one that sits close to the top is his undeniable influence on the sport and an acceptance of his supremacy in the game that strengthens year on year.

For coaches that exist alongside Pep, there will always be comparisons.

X and Y is the next Guardiola is the topic of conversation every year, with a new name filling in the initial blank. This season, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is next up in the casting carousel for the role of new Pep.

Ten Hag did, after all, accompany the ex-Bayern Münich coach in Germany for 3 years, observing him with an astute and learning eye. Ten Hag’s stint as head of Bayern Munich’s second team would’ve undoubtedly left a mark on his managerial career but it hasn’t produced a Guardiola clone.

Admittedly, both coaches share some of the same values. At their essence, a ten Hag side and a Guardiola side have been uncompromising in their need to play a brand of football they deem attractive, enjoyable and in their or their club’s image. Both coaches deploy sides that are ball dominant, possession heavy and attacking in intent. Both are obsessive and committed in their training ground application and hold the highest of expectations from the club, top down.

Both coaches also hold some base tactical principles in common, such as the need for a player to stay wide on the non-ball side, in order to stretch and occupy the opposition defence, a principle that goes back over a decade to Guardiola’s earliest season as Barcelona manager.

“He had a plan. If you don’t actually do what he’s asking you to do, you’re going to be in trouble. Me being me, I went [to the right wing] to play with Leo [Messi] and I could hear Guardiola being upset because I wasn’t on the side of the dugout. I didn’t really care, you know. I scored a goal, 1-0 up against Sporting Lisbon at half-time, all nice and everything, and he took me off. When Pep had a plan - respect his plan.” - Thierry Henry.

In a similar vein to the aforementioned Henry anecdote, ten Hag reviews a beautiful Ajax move, highlighting the purpose and necessity of Donny’s width.

This is an example of focusing on controlling space (or a zone) first, a hallmark of positional football. Donny van de Beek, Thierry Henry or whoever, are told to occupy an area and remain in it, acting once they’ve received the ball. Once they receive the ball, the players are then given the opportunity to play and become involved.

All tactical philosophy can be demarcated by how the system interprets both space and time/game-state. Now forgive me for the next paragraph or two, I know it sounds like I’m walking into writing a thesis centred around the works of Einstein right about now but briefly mentioning some theory here will help the rest of the piece make more sense.

A positional philosophy seeks to dominate space first through the occupation of individuals in specific zones, in a relatively rigid structure and acting only once the player has received the ball in their zone.

This graphic illustrating a Guardiola practice outlines 20 zones on the field. The idea here is that no more than three zones in the same horizontal line should be occupied by individuals and no more than two zones in the same vertical line should be occupied by individuals. Stay in your zone, stagger lines, create a strong structure, maximise passing options, width and breadth.

Positional play, here and always, doesn’t want the individual to go seeking the ball, it wants the individual to wait for the ball to arrive in their zone.

Juanma Lillo, a pioneer in the world of tactical development (and Manchester City’s former assistant coach to Guardiola) summarises the idea sweetly, saying, “the ball goes to the positions, not the positions to the ball''.

As we move our attention towards the anti-positional game, it takes the opposite approach in theory:

Time or game-state informs player actions which then leads to domination of parts of the field (spaces).

Players are allowed to and encouraged to leave their marker, move freely and go towards the ball. The individual can and will vacate whatever zone us English league fans might expect them to be occupying.

Nice. Theory talk, over.

Despite some of the Pep and ten Hag similarities, a particular philosophical difference comes to light when analysing ten Hag’s game with a closer eye, being ten Hag’s more readily applied anti-position concepts.

A ten Hag side, thus far, has expressed an intuition and liberty whilst birthing novel attacking solutions, with these changes notably seen from his midfield.

Now this isn’t to say Guardiola doesn’t implement some of these ideas in his own game, he has done, particularly with Kevin De Bruyne, at times Bernardo Silva and (this is a prediction) soon to be Jack Grealish. Rather my point is that it is simply more common in ten Hag’s philosophy. The ten Hag philosophy deviates from the stricter position philosophy championed by the likes of Cruyff — not entirely, but more so than one might first expect.

Ten Hag appreciates football through a lens of player roles rather than overt positions, whilst championing a style that too allows for asymmetry, in a way that would be classed as ‘wrong’, ‘unbalanced’ and ‘wonky’ if it were to arise in a strict JDP or positional side.

All of these quirks combine to form a footballing system that bakes a myriad of influences together that include the School of Rinus Michels and the School of Tele Santana, whether intentional or not.

The Guardiola similarities have been regurgitated mindlessly in conversation about the Dutchman but ten Hag’s philosophy also shares many similarities to the opposing school of thought in anti-position (and maybe it deserves a better name). Regardless, reflection of these traits and their similarities with someone like Carlo Ancelotti is in order.

“Time or the game-state informs player actions which then leads to domination of parts (spaces) of the field.”

Ancelotti speaks about this concept of time and its importance in a book he authored ‘The Christmas Tree’ — essentially iterating the need to be wary of the ‘time of the game’ or game-state as I’d word it. Ancelotti talks about dominating space secondarily, doing so by the combined movements of offensive players, off the ball.

This principle of acting first can be executed through various mechanisms, including numerical advantages via overloading the ball side, individuals playing in free roles and the encouragement of intuition.

During his Ajax tenure, ten Hag explicitly spoke on these various mechanisms:

“Both Dusan and Hakim are at their best when they can play freely and on intuition. So they are allowed to do this, and from the wings,” couldn’t be a clearer admission of the freedom from positional strictness given to certain ten Hag players.

The 21/22 version of Karim Benzema under Ancelotti’s reign takes up a similarly free-role; his constant movement deep into midfield or into the flanks created overloads and a ‘strong’ flank. Real Madrid dominate that space now through Benzema’s movement into it and Real Madrid can exploit that area through numerical and qualitative advantage.

Real Madrid could also choose to exploit the opposition via switching the ball to the opposition’s weakened and emptied side (to Asensio in this image).

Benzema, as a result of this concept, formed a combinational relationship with Vinicius Jr. on that side that was central to their trophy success last season, a relationship that may not have worked as well as it did if Benzema was instructed to remain ‘in his zone’.

The Ajax goal above follows a sequences in which the right side of the field is occupied by 5, maybe 6 Ajax players something that would be a rarity in the symmetrical, positional systems we know today that instead typically deploy three players towards each side (ie. Arsenal’s Zinchenko, Xhaka and Martinelli on the left and Tomiyasu, Odegaard and Saka on the right).

This asymmetry leads to Ajax dominating the space on the right hand side of the field, not through strict positional play but instead through the collaborative movements of several players Ancelotti was describing.

The final ideal I’ll touch upon shared both by Ancelotti and ten Hag is their ability to formulate a plan that is informed by the quality of the individuals at their disposal. For some coaches, there is a rigidity, a blueprint that exists in their mind and the team, its players and the inevitable transfers have to bend to that will.

Van Gaal and Maurizio Sarri’s sides come to mind here. Jorginho’s transfer from Napoli to Chelsea made perfect sense because he was the cog for the Sarri system. Sarri was less interested in looking at the squad at his disposal and adapting a midfield to suit their strengths first, it was a system-first approach.

Guardiola, a coach of positional play like Sarri, however is less rigid. Even though Pep has held positional play as a system unwavering through his career, he has demonstrated an ability to look at the strengths of his individuals to then make adaptations within that system that better suit those individuals. (He is so good).

Both ten Hag and Ancelotti also take the player-first approach, possibly at a greater degree to Guardiola, letting it inform the shape and system at times. This is certainly true of Ancelotti and is probably most evident for ten Hag when reviewing his Utretch managerial career.

In a 2019 interview, Erik ten Hag was questioned on his transition from his 4-3-3 of old towards his newer 4-2-3-1 to which he replied: “the qualities of the players determine the system, not the other way around”.

Ten Hag recognised Frenkie De Jong’s skillset was a distinctive but special one and postulated on how best to utilise the player’s traits:

“We have really been looking to find ways to use his skills in the best manner. Where can he play best, for the team and to showcase his talent. Everyone was screaming: Frenkie is the biggest talent, etc etc. Well yes. But, where? In midfield? Ok, but which role?”

Ten Hag subsequently profiled Frenkie with astuteness and accuracy, before tweaking the system to accomodate the Dutch midfielder, which worked superbly.

“His quality is that he makes the forwards perform better. He is a wanderer, an adventurer, he’s always on the move, like a shark. With the ball, often, but also without the ball. So if you put him on 6, he’s away too often.

But you need to give him freedom, otherwise you can’t the best out of him. It wasn’t an easy puzzle, so I decided to play with two number 6s and only one attacking mid.”

I have to thank whoever from MARCA interviewed Ancelotti in 2013, as they simply asked the veteran the incredibly relevant question of ‘What came first, the system or the players?’ and his answer echoed ten Hag’s sentiment.

“The players come first and foremost. I spent a long time working with Sacchi and back then there was only one formation for me, 4-4-2, which was easy to explain.

But things changed at Juve. I didn't like having to take Zidane out of his natural position by shunting him to the left or right, so I started looking at the players' attributes and designing a system that suited them.”

I find Ancelotti’s quote on his refusal to sign Baggio at Parma for systematic reasons particularly amusing. It illustrates his development, growth and learned adaptability.

“Before [Juventus and Zidane], I had the chance to sign Baggio [at Parma].

When I spoke to him, he said he wanted to play as an attacking midfielder and I told him I couldn't play him there because it didn't fit into our system. When I look back I think 'no way, how on earth did I turn down Baggio, a 20-25 goal-a-season player?”

A non-position game has for some years now, been dismissed, with the latest rebuttal coming in the form of the nonchalant dismissal of managers as ‘vibes coaches’.

It has been levelled at Ancelotti over the last few years, for sure, but it would be disingenuous not to give credit to the results Ancelotti and co. have garnered.

Could the Real Madrid side of 2022 have played a more dominant game against some of their Champions League opposition, if they were being steered by a position play coach? Perhaps but with two potential Ballon d’Or podium finishes in Benzema and Vinicius Jr, a La Liga title and the Champions League title, it would be impossible to say the approach didn’t work.

Ancelotti’s ability to facilitate and nurture the magic of the individual in a way that benefits the team should be commended too. The quality both Vinicius and Benzema have shown occurred given the optimum conditions Ancelotti curated for them.

Frenkie De Jong and Hakim Ziyech in similar ways have struggled under coaches post-ten Hag and it may be down to a reduced understanding by their newer coaches of their profile, strengths and how best to allow them to express their qualities.

In a sport that people often view in black and white concepts, ten Hag is a fascinating case study who seems to more clearly marry both opposing schools of thought.

Subjectively, I would be inclined to think he lies towards Klopp and Ancelotti a little more than he does Pep, Lillo and Cruyff. I would with confidence suggest he lies closer to Klopp and Ancelotti than he does van Gaal and Sarri.

All of this only adds to the myth of ten Hag given his supposed reputation as the latest graduate from Ajax and Bayern and thus Cruyff and Pep’s heritage.

Is there a right way to play the sport is a question with an answer that will change depending on who you ask.

Are the players cattle, as Alfred Hitchcock described his actors, or artists?

Are cogs that may suppress themselves at an individual level for the greater good of a more successful and unrelenting winning machine a sign of a better coach than a coach who affords the magicians freedom to play as best suits them at an individual level?

Ten Hag isn’t the next Guardiola — ten Hag isn’t the next Jose, van Gaal, or Ole. Ten Hag is one of one, an unassuming man in the press conferences who through his successes leaves behind a series of questions unanswered.

Understanding ten Hag is a more complicated task than some have branded it. Understanding most coaches and philosophies remains complex given coaches arrive at their philosophy after a lifetime of lived experiences. With ten Hag in particular though, I think there has been an oversimplification by the narrative-makers covering the sport so far, at least in the English world.

Between the two poles of position and anti-position mentioned throughout this piece, a scale exists and a coach’s team could lie anywhere in between.

Lying in the hues of grey, exists ten Hag and watching what shade he eventually paints this Manchester United picture is an endeavour we welcome.

Exciting.

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