From Bielsa with Uruguay to Simeone at Atlético, managers from the South American nation are everywhere – except BrazilWhen Uruguay appointed Marcelo Bielsa as coach in May, they joined a growing club. Lionel Scaloni led Argentina to glory at the World Cup. Chile are managed by Eduardo Berizzo. Paraguay are managed by Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Bolivia are managed by Gustavo Costas. Colombia are managed by Néstor Lorenzo. Venezuela are managed by Fernando Batista.Seven of the 10 Conmebol nations have Argentinian coaches and although Peru have a Peruvian and Ecuador a Spaniard, both succeeded Argentinians. Argentinian coaches are everywhere in South America; only Brazil stands aloof. Continue reading...
Some tactical tweaks are not overthinking – they’re just thinking, and the Manchester City manager’s decisions paid offNot all tactical tweaks are the result of overthinking. Pep Guardiola did not simply pick the obvious starting XI. He did not pick the starting lineup that had propelled City through the Premier League run-in. He is criticised readily enough when he makes changes and City don’t win; this was an occasion when the change paid off. Guardiola made the necessary adjustment, and was rewarded with his third Champions League.Until mid-February City, by their own remarkable standards, had not had a particularly great season. There were questions – entirely reasonable questions for all the subsequent sneering – about what Erling Haaland did to...
We pick out four important areas, including City’s newfound prowess at crossed set plays and where Stones and Rashford are deployedUnited’s victory in the last derby turned out to be nowhere near as pivotal as it felt at the time. It was a ninth win in a row for Erik ten Hag’s side and took them to within a point of City; approaching the halfway point of the season, they seemed very much part of the title race. A draw at Crystal Palace and defeat at Arsenal in the two games that followed exposed that as fallacy. But that does not mean the game was not meaningful – even if that significance was probably felt more by City than United....
Haaland’s direct play has edged the City manager away from pitfalls of purism – but will it be enough against Real Madrid? It is a little over nine years since Pep Guardiola first took on Carlo Ancelotti as a manager. Guardiola’s Bayern Munich had sealed the Bundesliga title almost a month earlier, often registering 1,000 passes in a game, and his football seemed unstoppable. For 18 minutes in the first leg at the Bernabéu, Bayern continued to seem imperious. Then Ancelotti’s Real Madrid countered and Fábio Coentrão squared for Karim Benzema to score. Bayern continued to dominate the ball; Madrid continued to look dangerous. It finished 1-0.In retrospect, before Guardiola and Ancelotti meet in another semi‑final at the Bernabéu on...
Could Trent Alexander-Arnold’s travails at Liverpool be helped by stepping inside into midfield as the full-back role evolves?One of the easiest and most misleading pieces of footballing received wisdom is that everything is cyclical. Wait long enough, the great drum of history will revolve again and the same ideas will come back round, be that sharp side-partings, the back three, Howard Webb apologising to Brighton or Roy Hodgson managing Crystal Palace. Except time is not a flat circle. Each iteration is different because it comes with knowledge of what went before.Watch Manchester City in possession. They have a centre-forward and two wide men. They have Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva or Ilkay Gündogan as “free 8s”, essentially old-fashioned inside-forwards....