Barcelona's system and style is being emulated all over the world by teams at all levels. As
accomplished as Barcelona's fluidity and control on both sides of the ball can be, it also appears
that they have copied a page out of Marcelo Bielsa's playbook in regards to his high pressing and
back 3.
From Rinus Michels' "Team Building":
BARCELONA -- Sometimes you have to eat ... so you can gain strength ... to watch more
futbol!
I am in Barcelona for a few days, checking out Antoni Gaudi's architectural curves, hopping up
and down on the most efficient Metro I have ever ridden, sampling the amazing little tapa plates
and watching as my girlfriend tries to put her own personal dent in the Spanish olive and cava
trades.
It was a goal that ran out of superlatives as quickly as it happened. Time was motionless. To a
degree it was unexpected, though there was no shock factor. The date: Saturday 22, March, 2003.
Manchester United were 1-0 up against Fulham at Old Trafford, the protagonist of the piece putting
them ahead from the penalty spot; his second should have won goal of the season.
By Neil Blackmon
Calls for "Cleetus 2.0" just got louder.
For sixty minutes, the United States plodded along like a side still lost in the wilderness, no
matter what name was spelled out in the press guide next to "Manager."
There was little in the way of attack, save an early cross just past a leaping Edson Buddle's
head and a late arriving Jermaine Jones' outsretched right leg.
In football there are two types of great coaches. There are those, such as Sir Alex Ferguson or
Guy Roux, who construct a club in their image and remain there for a decade or four. Then there are
those like Bela Guttmann who opt for the short sharp shock approach – instilling their beliefs,
ensuring an upturn in fortunes and then moving on.
Nickspinkboots' Note: Readers, please welcome Kiran
Vr, a United fan who takes his football very seriously. He's the editor-in-chief of Inside
Manchester United, a blog for all things United and more. This is his first guest post here, and if
you critters behave yourselves then it won't be his last.
The Laszlo Kubala Influence, Part One, 1951-58
On June 15, 1950, two Hungarians joined Barcelona to signify the beginning of yet another
transformation: Laszlo Kubala and new manager Ferdinand Daucik. They were the masterminds of the
success to come.
In 1951, Kubala scored 26 goals in 19 games, breaking the La Liga's record for most scored in a
single match with seven against Sporting de Gijon.
I've always found personally, that knee jerk reactions to attitude changing events are
usually counter productive so I have delayed writing a post on Saturday's Champions League Final
between Barcelona and Man Utd at Wembley Stadium in an attempt to try to digest what happened and
come up with some kind of intelligent explanation of what the future holds at Old Trafford, and in
many respects, where football in Europe goes from here, because trust me, there will be some
sweeping changes going forward.
Man Utd were the real caricatures in the final
In a nod to the Guardian one will attempt five things we learned from the Man Utd vs Barca
Champions League final which will for obvious reasons not go down as a classic. It takes two teams
to make one. And I will clench my fists a la Sir Alex and resist the urge for redundancies
like, " Messi is a genius.
In general, the phrase "total football" rolls off the tongue as easily as "fiery Welshman Craig
Bellamy" and often conjures images of marauding fullbacks flying to spaces ludicrously-high up the
pitch in an orange blur, engaging in a intricately-woven passing game wearing spiked wooden clogs.
Holland's approach to the game, crafted on the Ajax training grounds beginning in the mid 1950s
and played to perfection on European stages in the 1970s, remains an innovation of admiration to
football aficionados of the beautiful game.
Rinus Michels. Guus Hiddink. Louis van Gaal. Bert van Marwijk. Frank Rijkaard. Johan Cruyff.
Successful Dutch coaches. Some people will offer "Leo Beenhakker!". Others will add "Martin
Jol". Or "Co Adriaanse"!
But hardly ever will you hear people discuss "Wiel Coerver". Although the Limburg born former
player and coach was Feyenoord's [read more]
Football's Greatest Managers: #3 Rinus Michels "The Dutch are at their best when they combine the
system with individual creativity." –...
Robin Fraser ... now in charge at Chivas USA
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Major League Soccer just toughened up.
