By www.zonalmarking.net. Interesting read, for those interested.
And there you have it. Sorry for such a long post. Enjoy reading.
Here’s the first in a four-part series reviewing the matches of the year.
As ever, the focus is upon tactics rather than entertainment or importance, though naturally the ‘bigger’ games are featured prominently. It’s also limited to games that were covered on ZM, though that includes most of the contenders for the game of the year.
40. Chile 1-0 Honduras
A game of little relevance in the grand scheme of things, but a good encounter nevertheless. After a slow, defensive start to the tournament, Marcelo Bielsa’s side were the only ones looking to do something different in their opening match. They pressed high up the pitch, sent an incredible number of players forward into attack, and should have scored far more than one goal. Bielsa also maintained a strict policy of having a spare man at the back, resulting in three separate formations, always after Honduras had just changed their shape.
39. Barcelona 5-0 Sevilla
The interesting point here was how high up the pitch Daniel Alves played. Usually, he is an attack-minded right-back, but in this game he practically played as a right-winger, forcing back Diego Capel into his own third, and pushing Sevilla so far towards their own goal that they were unable to play out from the back. The usual heavy pressing (and a Sevilla red card) helped, but what was essentially a routine hinted at another subtle change of system for Barca.
38. Brazil 2-1 North Korea
There was a tremendous amount of excitement about seeing North Korea in this tournament. Their overwhelmingly defensive system (which was broadly a 5-3-2 but more specifically a 3-3-2-1-1) was nothing if not original, and shut out a clearly superior Brazil side for the opening half. The Korean side’s weakness was that it wasn’t able to track the Brazilian full-backs well, and Maicon surged forward to open the scoring with a superb swerving strike.
37. Chelsea 0-3 Sunderland
Chelsea haven’t won since this game, which either indicates that it wasn’t as much of a shock result as we initially thought, or that it was such a big blow that they’ve been unable to recover. Steve Bruce ordered his midfielders to close down relentlessly, whilst using Kieran Richardson on the right flank to man Ashley Cole. Two strikers were used to put pressure upon Chelsea’s makeshift backline, and Sunderland ran riot.
36. Cesena 2-0 Milan
Cesena have now faded and find themselves in the relegation zone, but the newly-promoted club’s first two games this season were remarkable. First they claimed a 0-0 away at Roma, then took on Milan and deservedly triumphed 2-0. Massimo Ficcadenti knew how to get at Milan in their 4-3-3 shape – Milan’s wingers didn’t track full-backs, and the defence was vulnerable to counter-attacks. The two goals summed this up perfectly in one of the finest tactical victories of the year, and showed that Milan had to move away from 4-3-3 to compete in Serie A this season.
35. Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal were 2-0 up at the break, before an astonishing comeback. Harry Redknapp switched from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2 at half-time, introducing Jermain Defoe to provide pace upfront and ‘narrowing it up’, to use his words. Arsenal’s charitable defending played a part and there were inevitable questions about whether Arsenal switched off at 2-0 up, but Redknapp deserves credit for being brave enough to change things.
34. Germany 4-0 Australia
Germany hit four goals three times in the tournament. This was the least memorable of the three, but it was a superb opening to their tournament. Pim Verbeek got his tactics completely wrong – he fielded two midfielders upfront in a 4-4-2 / 4-6-0 formation and ordered his side to press all over the pitch. Unfortunately, Germany had a numerical advantage in midfield and therefore Mesut Ozil was free to wander between the lines and cause mayhem.
33. Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea
The scoreline doesn’t reflect the overall dominance Spurs had here, and how well they played their 4-4-2 against Chelsea’s 4-3-3. Redknapp wanted to play direct, to get the ball out to the wingers as quickly as possible. Chelsea’s full-backs’ response was to stick tight to them, but they ended up playing too far up the pitch, leaving John Terry and Alex exposed to the pace of Jermain Defoe. Add in another great Gareth Bale performance, and Spurs were fantastic.
32. Barcelona 0-2 Hercules
The shock of the year. Hercules came and sat back very, very deep, making it impossible for Barcelona to play through balls, and made it difficult for Barcelona forwards to create space by dropping deep. The diamond midfield closed down in the centre whilst shuttling from side to side to close down the full-backs, whilst Nelson Valdez played just off David Trezeguet and grabbed both goals.
31. Tottenham 3-1 Inter
It’s not like Inter didn’t have warning about Gareth Bale – he’d scored a second half hat-trick in the first game between the sides. Therefore, Rafael Benitez’s failure to prepare here was somewhat surprising, and Bale took full advantage – giving Maicon the most torrid game of his career to claim two assists. It was a superb all-round performance from Spurs, though, with Luka Modric the other standout player.
30. Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham
Effectively a Champions League playoff. Both sides used 4-4-2, but the difference was in the use of wingers. City’s were inverted – coming into the centre of the pitch – and they also tracked back less, leaving their immobile full-backs exposed. Spurs’ wingers stayed stayed wide, stretching the play and providing a constant stream of crosses for Peter Crouch, one of which was converted.
29. Atletico 2-1 Fulham (AET)
Not a fascinating game tactically, but it did demonstrate the tactical trend of 2009/10 – inverted wingers. Simao Sabrosa, Jose Antonio Reyes, Damien Duff and Simon Davies were all used on their ‘wrong’ sides, all moving into the centre of the pitch which created a narrow game. The deciding factor was fitness – Fulham’s gameplan fell apart when Bobby Zamora had to leave the action, and their wingers were too tired to support his replacement, Clint Dempsey.
28. Manchester United 7-2 Milan (agg)
Ferguson used Park Ji-Sung in a central position in both games, playing a defensive role high up the pitch on Andrea Pirlo. Pirlo wasn’t given time to create and therefore Milan simply couldn’t get the ball forward. Milan’s midfield three played very deep in the first leg and gave Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes time on the ball to dominate the play, whilst in the second leg, the United full-backs scampered forward untracked to provide width and drag the Milan midfield out of place.
27. Tottenham 7-3 Young Boys (agg)
In the end, Spurs were comfortable, but at 3-0 down after half an hour of this tie, they looked like crashing out. Young Boys pressed relentlessly in the first leg and Spurs couldn’t cope. Redknapp introduced Tom Huddlestone as a second holding midfielder to give Spurs control of the centre of the pitch, and they fought back to 3-2. The second leg was a 4-0 formality.
26. Italy 1-1 New Zealand
New Zealand’s defensive-minded 3-4-3 formation caused all three of their more established opponents problems, and they amazingly finished the competition as the only unbeaten side. This was their proudest moment, a draw with the then-World Champions. Marcello Lippi got his tactics wrong – his 4-4-2 played perfectly into the hands of Ricki Herbert’s shape – New Zealand had a spare man at the back, matched Italy in midfield, and the wide forwards pinned back Italy’s full-backs.
25. Roma 3-2 Bayern
Claudio Ranieri found himself 2-0 down at half-time, after his 4-3-1-2 was outplayed by Bayern’s 4-2-3-1. His response was to move to a 4-3-3, which pinned back the Bayern full-backs and gave his side width and variation in their attacking play. Jeremy Menez was the star man in the second half, thriving in his right-sided position having been suffocated in the trequartista role in the opening period, but Francesco Totti managed to find himself as the match-winner with a late penalty.
24. Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal
Danny Rose’s wondergoal set Tottenham on their way, and from then on they produced one of the finest defensive displays of the year. Their approach was the ’standard’ strategy against Arsenal – sitting deep, playing narrow, two solid banks of four – but the executed it brilliantly and deserved the win despite playing poorly when they had the ball themselves.
23. Schalke 1-2 Bayern
This was 1st v 2nd going into the game, but 2nd v 1st after it, as Bayern took the initiative in the Bundesliga and never gave up the lead. All the goals came in the first half hour, before Hamit Altintop’s sending-off forced Bayern into a defensive-minded 4-4-1 shape that they played very well. Felix Magath made three attack-minded changes but still couldn’t break down Bayern.
22. Barcelona 3-0 Valencia
Barca were terrible in the first half, completely unable to break Valencia down. With Pep Guardiola serving a touchline ban, assistant Tito Vilanova was the man who changed things around in the dressing room. Barcelona switched from 4-3-3 to 4-2-4, using Thierry Henry as the attacking pivot, with Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Pedro playing off him. Messi got the hattrick and was the name in the headlines, but the brilliance was with the half-time switch which completely turned the game.
21. Roma 2-1 Inter
This was one game where no change of formation seemed to work for Jose Mourinho. Amazingly, he used four separate shapes – a 4-2-3-1, a 4-4-2 diamond, a 4-2-1-3 and a 4-1-1-4. It was a quick switch from Claudio Ranieri that produced the game’s crucial goal, however – in the five minutes he played with two strikers, Luca Toni poked in the winner.
20. Juventus 1-2 Roma
This game feels like an age ago, but it was crucial in both Ciro Ferrara’s demise, and Roma launching themselves towards a Scudetto challenge. The first half was a terrible match, but it opened out in the second period. Ferrara wanted the win at 1-1 and made an attacking change on his right-hand side, moving Hasan Salihamidzic to right-back, but it ended up costing Juve defensively, when John Arne Riise stormed forward unchecked to nod in a superb David Pizarro ball.
19. Inter 2-0 Bayern
A relatively low-key final. Bayern dominated possession of the ball as Inter sat back with what often looked like a 4-4-1-1, but the German side were unable to take the half-chances they created, most notably with three missed opportunities from Thomas Muller. At the other end, Wesley Sneijder played very high up the pitch, almost as a forward, and drifted between the lines in a position Bayern had problems with. Diego Milito grabbed both goals following direct Inter attacks down the centre of the pitch.
18. Holland 2-1 Brazil
The first half of this game was all Brazil, to the point where it was difficult to imagine how Holland could get back into it. The Dutch had created little, found themselves unable to win the ball, and were having particular problems with the space afforded to Robinho, partly a consequence of how high up the pitch Arjen Robben was playing. In the second half, Holland focused their attacking play down their right-hand side – and both goals came following corners from that flank. Wesley Sneijder was credited with both, though the first was really an own goal from Felipe Melo, and Melo’s nightmare continued when he was sent off for a stamp. Ultimately, Brazil failed because they had no plan B – their system was based around sitting back and counter-attacking, but when you need a goal, that approach is not particularly helpful.
17. Porto 5-0 Benfica
Jorge Jesus was well aware of the threat Hulk offered – indeed, the Brazilian right-sided forward was the reason Jesus changed his usual line-up, playing centre-back David Luiz at left-back and left-back Fabio Coentrao on the left of midfield, to give more protection down that side. Luiz was unable to cope with the pace and power of Hulk in wide areas, however, and close support from Fernando Belluschi outfought Benfica down the right. All five goals came from that wing, in one of the best team performances of the year.
16. Spain 1-0 Holland (AET)
The most notable aspect of the World Cup Final its sheer physicality, particularly from the Dutch – but after the game settled down it was a good tactical battle. Indeed, watch the game without the first 45 minutes and it’s a decent spectacle – it was tight, cagey and nervous, of course, but both managers made attacking substitutions as the match went on – Rafael van der Vaart on for Nigel de Jong, Cesc Fabregas on for Xabi Alonso – which opened things out. Spain were the more positive side but Holland probably had the best chances at 0-0 through Arjen Robben. In the end, Spain only made the breakthrough after Holland went down to ten men – it’s a shame when such a big match is settled like that, but by turning up with such an aggressive approach, the Dutch could hardly complain when one of their players was eventually dismissed.
15. Bayern 5-5 Manchester United (agg)
Bayern had done exactly the same to Fiorentina in the previous round – a late 2-1 win at home, before being outplayed in the away leg, and Arjen Robben coming up with a superb ‘winner’ to make it 5-5 and send Bayern through on away goals. The first leg was notable for a rare tactical mistake from Sir Alex Ferguson – playing 4-5-1 and concerned about Martin Demichelis’ runs forward from centre-back, he brought on Dimitar Berbatov for Michael Carrick to try and subdue the Argentine. This basically worked, but had the knock-on effect of opening out the midfield and therefore Bayern dominated the final 15 minutes, when they grabbed their two goals. The first was fortunate and the second was from an individual error, but Bayern’s pressure after the switch should not be ignored. United were far superior in the second leg – Ferguson dropped Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs for the younger legs of Rafael, Darron Gibson and Nani, and the home side pressed relentlessly. Rafael picked up two bookings, however, and Robben’s superb volley from a corner actually went in next to the near post that Rafael had been marking.
14. Lazio 1-2 Roma
Considering that Roma’s good run of form had been based around a clearly-defined, lopsided 4-2-3-1 formation, Claudio Ranieri’s decision to switch to an old-fashioned 4-3-3 (or 4-3-1-2 when Francesco Totti dropped deeper) formation was strange. It was downright stupid when considering that Lazio were playing with a back three that was vulnerable when playing against width – Roma offered no width in the first half, and Lazio were entirely comfortable. A change was inevitable, but it took some guts for Ranieri to remove Roma’s two golden boys, Totti and Daniele de Rossi, and bring on Rodrigo Taddei and Jeremy Menez instead. The two substitutions paid off brilliantly, though – Taddei won a penalty, Menez won a free-kick, and both were smashed into the net by Mirko Vucinic.
13. Real 0-2 Barcelona
The less memorable of the two Clasicos, but a very interesting game nevertheless. Pep Guardiola started with a surprise line-up, with Dani Alves in a right-wing position and Carles Puyol at right-back, playing Pedro on the left and Lionel Messi as a false nine. Real used a flat diamond in midfield which provided some attacking threat, but left them vulnerable defensively, and completely failed to take care of Xavi. He pulled the strings and dominated the game to a ridiculous extent – he set up both goals for Messi and Pedro, and could have had two more assists but for Iker Casillas getting the better of Messi in one-on-ones.
12. Inter 2-0 Milan
Inter started with a 4-3-1-2 and went 1-0 up, but Wesley Sneijder was dismissed on 30 minutes for dissent, forcing them back. Jose Mourinho’s response was to keep essentially the same shape versus Milan’s 4-2-1-3 – he had 4 v 3 at the back, 3 v 3 in midfield, and dealt with the opposition full-backs by telling Goran Pandev and Diego Milito to stay in wide positions when they didn’t have the ball, pinning Ignazio Abate and Luca Antonini back. Inter didn’t just protect their lead, they extended it.
11. Barcelona 3-1 Villarreal
Simply a superb game of football from two positive, technically brilliant teams. The pressing from both sides made for a high-tempo, exciting battle – Villarreal’s 4-2-2-2 gave Barcelona a challenge they weren’t used to, especially when Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar moved wide and meant Barca’s full-backs struggled to scamper forward. Villarreal’s numerical disadvantage did mean they struggled to pick up Sergio Busquets, though, and Barcelona were the better side overall. Lionel Messi’s strike was an excellent goal to cap possibly the most attractive game of football of the year.
10. Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United
As strange as it might seem now, less than 12 months ago Wayne Rooney was playing superb football. Having spent the last couple of seasons playing second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo, in 2009/10 he was the man United based their team around, and he took full advantage.
For much of the season he played as a classic number nine – a pure poacher who stationed himself in the penalty area and waited for service – but in this game he was a false nine, dropping deep into midfield, drawing Arsenal’s centre-backs out of position, and using Nani and Park Ji-Sung to hit Arsenal on the break. The second and third goals both came because of Arsenal’s inability to cope with Rooney’s reverse runs, whilst the first came from Nani, who put in the best performance of his United career to date.
9. Inter 3-1 Chelsea (agg)
Did Mourinho put some kind of curse upon his former club? No, he simply out-thought Carlo Ancelotti with one of the finest tactical victories of the year. He started the game at the San Siro with a 4-3-1-2 shape which dominated the midfield and overran Chelsea, but when Inter went 2-1 up, he switched to 4-2-3-1 to pin the Chelsea full-backs back, and shut out the game. The defensive move was bafflingly described as an ‘attacking gamble that didn’t come off’ by one British pundit, a recent Premier League manager.
At Stamford Bridge Inter were not particularly attacking nor particularly defensive, but they controlled the game excellently – Wesley Sneijder’s influence grew and grew as the game went on, and he assisted Samuel Eto’o’s brilliant strike to send Inter through.
8. Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea
It’s a pretty brave move to leave your star striker out for your biggest game of the season, but that’s what Carlo Ancelotti did when he figured that Nicolas Anelka playing a false nine role would be the best way of unsettling Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. Didier Drogba had to settle for the bench.
Chelsea came to Old Trafford and dominated possession in the first half – Anelka dropped deep into space and linked up with the two wingers, Florent Malouda and Joe Cole, who moved high up the pitch between full-back and centre-back and provided a goal threat – Cole scored a clever opener.
In the second half United’s approach changed drastically – they pressed higher up the pitch and Chelsea couldn’t get into the same passing rhythm, meaning Anelka’s ability to link up was not needed. Instead, Ancelotti replaced the Frenchman with Didier Drogba, who held the ball up and waited for support, and then went on to score the crucial second goal.
7. Barcelona 6-3 Arsenal
A brilliant two-legged tie that had been hyped as the game between the two most attractive sides in Europe. The battle in the first leg was not about what the two teams did with the ball, however, it was what they did without it – Barca came to the Emirates and pressed relentlessly on the front, with Seydou Keita pushed up to a left-wing position and Pep Guardiola’s side closing down Arsenal’s defence to a quite terrifying extent, to the point where Arsenal simply couldn’t get the ball forward into the midfield.
That opening blitz could have seen Barcelona 5-0 up by half-time, but Manuel Almunia had a blinding first half to keep it 0-0. The second half saw Arsenal concede two almost identical goals – Thomas Vermaelen moved up the pitch, and two balls over the top for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to cooly finish put Barca into a commanding lead. Their heavy pressing early on had a clear negative effect towards the end of the game, though, when Barcelona clearly tired and the defence became exposed to the sheer pace of Theo Walcott, and Arsenal battled back to 2-2.
The second leg was a Lionel Messi masterclass – Arsenal couldn’t defend against him and he played all over the pitch, contributing all four goals in a superb performance.
6. Germany 4-0 Argentina
Germany had already flattened England, and this was a very similar performance – an early goal and therefore the license to sit back and play on the counter-attack.
The key to the victory was in Argentina’s full-back areas – Gabriel Heinze and Nicolas Otamendi didn’t look to get forward and support Argentina’s attackers, so Argentina’s diamond shape against Germany’s two banks of four was simply 5 v 8, all very narrow, all very easy to defend against (even with the presence of Lionel Messi, since Germany had spare man). Equally, the full-backs didn’t defend well either – their complete lack of pace was shown up time and time again as Germany’s strategy was to get the ball into wide areas on the counter, then centre the ball into the box.
Germany used the ball wisely – not countering when there was no need to and instead retaining the ball, and Argentina’s disjointed pressing opened up space for Mesut Oezil and Bastian Schweinsteiger to oull the strings.
5. Brazil 3-0 Chile
ZM had hyped up these as the two most interesting sides tactically before the competition – Dunga had Brazil playing a counter-attacking, lopsided 4-2-3-1 shape that opponents struggled to deal with, whilst Marcelo Bielsa had transformed Chile from no-hopers to the most exciting, attacking side in world football – playing 3-3-1-3, pressing relentlessly in the opposition half, playing with width, pace and no fear.
The clash between the two was excellent, despite being over in the first half – Brazil’s tendency to sit back before breaking was contrasted with Chile playing high up the pitch, and the entire game was a complicated (speed) chess match that effectively came down to one question – would Gonzalo Jara move up the pitch to close down Robinho? He did, and Brazil countered brilliantly to record a comfortable victory.
4. Germany 4-1 England
Considering Fabio Capello’s side had a clearly legitimate goal disallowed at 2-1, there really hasn’t been too much whining in England. There’s been the odd reference, of course, but in contrast to disallowed goals in previous tournaments – 1998 against Argentina, 2004 against Portugal – it’s been fairly muted.
The reason? England were completely outplayed by a side that was technically and tactically embarrassingly superior to them. Fabio Capello’s 4-4-2 offered no movement and no creativity, but on top of that the defending was atrocious – the first goal was like something out of a Sunday League game, the second saw the defence dragged all over the shop by some good German movement, whilst the third and the fourth were excellent counter-attacking goals from Germany.
Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney wandered around aimlessly whilst Mesit Oezil, Thomas Muller and Bastian Schweinsteiger combined attacking flair with the old cliched German efficiency – it was overrated individualists up against intelligent, cohesive team players.
3. Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid
The most memorable team performance of the year – maybe the only game in this list that will truly go down in history as one of the great football matches.
In a game hyped up so much that many expected only disappointment, Barcelona’s passing, pressing and patience completely stumped Jose Mourinho, who resorted to what looked like a damage limitation substitution at half time, removing Mesut Oezil for Lassana Diarra.
Lionel Messi played as a false nine which caused Real’s centre-backs problems in the main tactical point from the game, but the cohesiveness and understanding between Barcelona’s players was the main difference between the two teams.
2. Spain 1-0 Germany
We tend to remember only the goalfests as being brilliant games, but this (much like Germany’s defeat to Italy at the same stage four years previously) had the tension and technical quality that makes a truly great contest.
Spain were considered the best side in the competition, but Germany were the side who had hit the true heights with the huge wins over England and Australia. The passing quality on show here was wonderful, thanks to a midfield zone featuring Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira.
The difference, though, was pressing. Germany had spent the tournament sitting back and counter-attacking – the games against England and Argentina allowed them to play this way thanks to an early goal in each – but Spain were much better at shutting down Germany moves before they’d crossed the halfway line, meaning Spain dominated possession and eventually went 1-0 up from a set-piece.
From there, Germany had to try and win the ball more quickly but having been outpassed throughout, they were now so tired (and so unused to pressing) that they found it impossible, and Spain passed their way to victory.
1. Inter 3-2 Barcelona (agg)
In any sport, you tend to find brilliant contests between two teams or players that are well-matched in terms of ability, but completely different in terms of style. This tie, particularly the second leg at the Nou Camp, was a great demonstration of that – Barcelona attacked non-stop whilst Inter sat back inside their own third and simply tried to hang on.
The Clasico was a fantastic display of football, but it was utterly one-sided and was over after 45 minutes. This game was literally not truly decided until the last kick – Barca had a goal disallowed in the final seconds that would have sent them through on away goals.
First, though, we must not forget the game at the San Siro – Mourinho was criticized for his defensive tactics in the second leg, but then he did arrive with a two-goal head start, and quickly found himself a man down. In the first leg there was no sign of defensive play from Inter – they attacked Barca so much it actually seemed to take the Spanish champions by surprise – Maicon bombed on down the left which Seydou Keita couldn’t quite cope with, whilst on the other side Goran Pandev came inside and dragged Dani Alves narrow, opening up space for Wesley Sneijder who moved left.
Inter were aided by a rare tactical error from Pep Guardiola in both fixtures – he started Zlatan Ibrahimovic when (a) the Swede was not fully fit, (b) Barca had been playing very well without him at that point and (c) Inter’s centre-backs were always going to be more vulnerable to an approach based around small, tricky players who link up well and offer good movement. Ibrahimovic gave Barca a different option when he was at the club, but it wasn’t one required at the start of these games.
The second leg was extraordinary – Inter produced one of the most defensive performances in recent football history after going down to ten men. Mourinho, remarkably, was so confident that this was the right approach that he didn’t even want his side to have possession, saying after the game, “We didn’t want the ball because when Barcelona press and win the ball back, we lose our position – I never want to lose position on the pitch so I didn’t want us to have the ball. We gave it away.”
In that sense, it was a brilliant battle of footballing ideology. Barca, having received rave reviews for their focus upon passing and pressing, were suddenly beaten by a side that didn’t press, didn’t attack, didn’t even look to have the ball. Joga Bonito advocates will look upon Inter’s performance at the Nou Camp with disgust, but tactically this two-legged tie was a truly epic contest.
And there you have it. Sorry for such a long post. Enjoy reading.
