Day -456 WorldCup2018
What did I enjoy most today? Was it reminding myself that I enjoy the thrill of reading about football as an extremely close second to watching it? Or was it watching Monaco, and remembering how much enjoyment I get out of watching a team that plays football as beautifully as a good football book is written?
Monaco dumped a Pep Guardiola team out of the Champions' League last sixteen for the first time in his career. For the first half of today's win over Manchester City, Monaco played in a way that was so easy to watch, like 11 boys playing in the school field, as though there was no strategy other than having fun. The apparent simplicity of the tactics, run with the ball past defenders, pass, move, receive, all in one touch, was so wonderful because it seemed that when players can play that freely there is no need for any tactics. But that was all part of the plan: to not play like they were bogged down by limiting game plans. There was a happiness amongst the players; even the subs were smiling and enjoying themselves on the bench. It was like watching eleven young Thierry Henry's in full flow.
Monaco were conditioned by the need to score at least two goals. So, of course, they had to attack. But, rather than playing like a team under pressure of having to score, they played as though they purposely conceded five goals two weeks ago just so they would have to attack. And when City did finally score after a much better second half from them, Monaco immediately came back and scored the decisive third as if to say, "no problem, we can score whenever we need to and if you do score again we'll probably score a couple more. So go on."
Monaco were also helped by the fact that City, in the first half, looked like they, in contrast to their opponents, had no game plan, no Plan A, or Plan B after the first goal or Plan C after the second. Pep must have lost his folders of notes and diagrams. He may even have been so confused that he forgot to tell his players to pass the ball to the other players wearing the same coloured shirts. And without basic instructions, the players were lost. Ah well, it's only Year 1 of "the project". I'm sure Pep will remind us that he needs time to bring in "his players" and have the team playing "his way".
Later in the day I picked up a book that attracted my attention because it combined football and the history of a country and how the two influenced each other. Jonathan Wilson's "Angels with Dirty Faces" is the story of Argentinian football and it's parallels with the country's history. "How Argentinian Soccer Defined a Nation and Changed the Game Forever," is the book's byline. And there is a fascination in there, how football can shape a country's character and personality. I'm still in the opening minutes of the match, probably more like the warm-up but it promises to be a good one.
It reminded me of two other similar books that I always recommend: Brilliant Orange: "The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football" (David Winner) and " Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football" (Phil Ball). Get reading, everybody.
In the past I wished that I could play football like Zico and Platini. Now, reading books like this I get the same thrill as watching Zico and Platini, and wish I could write with the same clarity and emotion as Wison, Winner and Ball.
What did I enjoy most today? Was it reminding myself that I enjoy the thrill of reading about football as an extremely close second to watching it? Or was it watching Monaco, and remembering how much enjoyment I get out of watching a team that plays football as beautifully as a good football book is written?
Monaco dumped a Pep Guardiola team out of the Champions' League last sixteen for the first time in his career. For the first half of today's win over Manchester City, Monaco played in a way that was so easy to watch, like 11 boys playing in the school field, as though there was no strategy other than having fun. The apparent simplicity of the tactics, run with the ball past defenders, pass, move, receive, all in one touch, was so wonderful because it seemed that when players can play that freely there is no need for any tactics. But that was all part of the plan: to not play like they were bogged down by limiting game plans. There was a happiness amongst the players; even the subs were smiling and enjoying themselves on the bench. It was like watching eleven young Thierry Henry's in full flow.
Monaco were conditioned by the need to score at least two goals. So, of course, they had to attack. But, rather than playing like a team under pressure of having to score, they played as though they purposely conceded five goals two weeks ago just so they would have to attack. And when City did finally score after a much better second half from them, Monaco immediately came back and scored the decisive third as if to say, "no problem, we can score whenever we need to and if you do score again we'll probably score a couple more. So go on."
Monaco were also helped by the fact that City, in the first half, looked like they, in contrast to their opponents, had no game plan, no Plan A, or Plan B after the first goal or Plan C after the second. Pep must have lost his folders of notes and diagrams. He may even have been so confused that he forgot to tell his players to pass the ball to the other players wearing the same coloured shirts. And without basic instructions, the players were lost. Ah well, it's only Year 1 of "the project". I'm sure Pep will remind us that he needs time to bring in "his players" and have the team playing "his way".
Later in the day I picked up a book that attracted my attention because it combined football and the history of a country and how the two influenced each other. Jonathan Wilson's "Angels with Dirty Faces" is the story of Argentinian football and it's parallels with the country's history. "How Argentinian Soccer Defined a Nation and Changed the Game Forever," is the book's byline. And there is a fascination in there, how football can shape a country's character and personality. I'm still in the opening minutes of the match, probably more like the warm-up but it promises to be a good one.
It reminded me of two other similar books that I always recommend: Brilliant Orange: "The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football" (David Winner) and " Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football" (Phil Ball). Get reading, everybody.
In the past I wished that I could play football like Zico and Platini. Now, reading books like this I get the same thrill as watching Zico and Platini, and wish I could write with the same clarity and emotion as Wison, Winner and Ball.
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