MAN CITY , REAL AND MUNICH.

 from last tuesday there were three big matches . wouldnt call them good matches because the level of play was very bad . i had not been writing and there is reason to that . i had posted a clip by michael owen as to how these modern footballers are not proper ballers . to be honest after doing this analyzing things for the last 15 years ( 10 years of blogging ) . when you watch the game it becomes so frustrating because so silly mistakes are made by the players and these players stand on the sidelines and dont do anything about it because i had been watching week after week . football is technical and tactical . if you not technically proficient the tactical sides makes no sense . as i had said that these players make mistakes and these so called coaches big coaches dont even try to correct it . had i been on the touch line i would be in fight every week if they made the mistake or that they would be straightened out . as i was saying if you are not technically proficient then the so called shape and combination make little sense . the most important thing is coaches take practice on how they will hold the team shape and what movement they will make but i had seen little effort being made as to how they will open up opposition defenses . i had heard from news that coaches have met with Grand masters to study tactics as to how they thing and what they do to unlock defense  . while watching the game the teams bring the ball in the final third and they just dont know on how to work and put it in the net . 

the first game i watched was the game between city and madrid . now in the first game city had everybody they wanted in their lineup . the first goal was grealish and most importantly gvardiol was amazing . he made the run and none of the two real midfielders who were in defensive positions tracked him . most importantly he used common sense which is rarely seen in footballers nowadays . i am not going to analysis of the game but talk what i feel . madrid has the front three of which vinicius operates on the left while rodrygo is on right . madrid's front three are not in cohesion . ancelotti had taught them the positional game but he hasnt fully orchestrated then offense so they have they have to improvise onfield . now gaurdiola should had looked at the game between barca and real madrid . where barca just isolated the individual player and shut him off . madrid's front three dont play off each other . let me give an example . whenever vinicius has the ball which he like to receives on the left flank. he like to run with ball and then try to find somebody in the box or do it himself . 

let me explain fully . defense is not a single person's game cause for one mistake can make the difference between winning and losing . on offense you are afforded the mistake atleast you dont loose . i was talking about vinicius . when you defend you want the opposition to cordoned and given minimum of space to work the ball ( unless they are very good at moving the ball and can play one touch football which is taught and played ). when you want to win the possession back or want to deny space to opposition then you need to make them get the ball on the flanks cause on the flanks there is little space compared than in the middle . so first make sure that the ball gets to flank and then just defend properly. in the first game city were up two goals to one and they should had killed the game but instead they  let vinicius scott free and paid the price . he had akanje against him who i rate one of the best defender in last 5 years .  

in the second game city were just poor . they didnt have a play . if you had read my earlier post then i had criticized gaurdiola . gaurdiola knows how to move the ball . he knows how to move the ball  but its the final third where he lacks the necessary creativity or say imagination because you need that . you need to analyse the players position their movement their reach. the space between the lines plus your players strength and weakness and then you have to take drills as to how what they will do when they are facing different scenario's . what i am saying about gaurdiola is also true about vincent company and every other coach .  

let me give you an example as to what i was saying . in the second game the CB asencio played a long ball to kylian mbappe . now how do you prepare for this because . if gaurdiola had prepared his players better then this would hadnt happened . when i used to play i could read the player . first thing when the player is going to pass . he has to make long pass then his body position and his posturing changes . it can be half second or less but then it is enough for me to read and correct my position as well as my team mates positions  around me . i should be able to call the play and read as to what the opposition is going and try to take measures correctly . get my team in formation and press them when the opportunity arises . i dont see that happening . there are times when i am frustrated by the lack of commitment by players and their failure to read the play . now just as you need practice about defense you need to drills about offense . you need to coach players as to what they need to do when they take the ball in the final third and how they move the ball as well as their positions . its not simple but then nothing is simple but practice makes it simple . last but not the least is the selfishness of the players is what makes me angry . when players are selfish then it teaches the younger players to be that which is not a good sign . 

JUST SOME THOUGHT.

 first off let me congratulate  my bahrat chess teams for winning the chess olympiad . both the mens and womans team did us proud and it was very warming to see the legend vishy to present the award himself . now football is known as beautiful game but let me tell you the beauty is all lost . let me talk in terms of chess them the coaches are not thinking beyond 2 moves in the game . the game is beautiful because of you want to see crisp passing ,dribbling and some amazing shots but nowadays i dont recall that i am glued to the matches anymore . there are so many mistakes made in the game that i get frustrated watching . i was reading news the other day and i was seeing  luis enrique teaching or coaching mbappe his tactical position . he had a big screen in the background just like the ones that they use in american football . to be honest had enrique been that good tactically and created a better then he wont be losing matches . 

first off bayern appointed vincent company as their manager . just as i am writing the article i think his honeymoon period is over . he has a very talented squad and he just has to get it working . there are one or two things that i want to get off the chest . first off in this world of football stupid statistics is given very much importance . secondly the term dominating possession is stupid . you dominate the possession but you are not able to make it count the what is the use of that . that means that your manager or the coach whoever he is is useless and has no footballing brain. let me tell you this at the end of the day what matters is no. of goals that you score and that wins you the game not the amount to time you keep the ball or pass the ball or how accurately you pass the ball . the first thing i think that when he was appointed bayern manager then i think he needs to dominate teams . not only does he needs to score goals but also to play dominating possession game .i think i would praise a manager if he knows as to how he can open up opposition defenses. 

let us take the game between bayern and leverkusen . leverkusen has studied bayern and they just sat back and invited bayern to open them up . there are many a lacuna in bayern's offense . your offense works when all the players are working in tandem. kane was hardly seeing the ball was not involved in the build up or i can even say that his role on offense  is just not defined properly . you need to define role of each and every player on offense. i think kompany has a lot of work to do or else just like oliver kahn the current ceo too has to resign with kompany. 

i had been reading about man utd . the managerial situation is up for debate now since the results havent come the way as expected . i think there are idiots who are working in the sports media because the way they attach these names to the managers position is just idiocracy . let me tell you some names . first off touchel . touchel had been nuisance to every club which he managed always fighting just short of ideas and always unsatisfied by the transfers . second is southgate who in the sane world would ever think about southgate as man utd manager . i mean there are idiots there who write articles about that . to be honest for me the person who should had succeded fergusson should had been carlos queiroz . utd played there best football under him in 2007-08 season  . 

MY TAKE ON THE UEFA S/F .

 semifinals were played in the euro 24 . in the first game france played spain . france played 4-3-3 while spain too started with the same formation . france brought in dembele in place of griezman . the thinking about bringing dembele in the squad was to use his pace and most importantly he is good in one on one situations but hopeless in positional reading and most importantly is extremly one dimensional . spain brought in olmo in place of pedri ( how many times had i recommended this kid ) . the game started with spain dominating the possession and france trying to break on the counter . the trouble was with the midfield and the no. 10 position . first off france's midfield three were not able to compete against the spain middle three . the reason being that there was no cohesion in the team . france is the team of superstars but there is no cohesion in the team. they play like individuals and i am sorry to say but they had been carried by mbappe's brilliance ( the reason i am calling him brilliant is because he is just not good running with the ball but very good technically ) he needs a proper no. 9 in the form of giroud  who is severly missed by france . the tr4ouble with france was that they couldnt compete with the spain's midfield . the cohesion that the middle three of spain ( rodri,fabian and olmo ) was way better than france's middle three . still france took the lead . now i had been telling this in past posts as the body position that the centre backs take when they defend and thats what happened there. laporte lost kolomuani because his body position wasnt correct . mbappe showed that he is just not a good dribbler but also very crosser of the ball . 

the trouble for france was that they just couldnt compete with spain the midfield most importantly they were just not able to pick up runs from olmo . there was always a question as to whom will pick him whether the centre backs or the midfielders picked him . i think it was tchoumeni's job but he failed miserably in that . spain had flat two in front of the back four but france had kante and rabiot high up the pitch and not along side tchoumeni and that was causing a lot of trouble . i think deschamps should had put on midfielder besides his holding man for cover . secondly he should had just started griezman instead of demebele who is wastes chances .

spain responded very nicely . yamal equalized for spain . now just look at the way spain were  defending against  mbappe . as soon as mbappe received the ball there would be the right back  navas and luiz who would drop on mbappe helping navas to deal with mbappe . now i dont know why france didnt use mendi who is much better defender compared to hernandez who is good at going forward but cant say that about his defense . now the second goal .everybody is talking about the second goal as to how he fooled tchoumeni but still in the that half just look at the the flick that olmo did to put ball at morata's feet . i had said that the striker should be always ready to pull the trigger . he didnt expect the ball but that just shows olmo's reading of the game and his ability . france chased the game in second half but since there was no game plan and cohesion spain were just comfortable . he brought giroud but it was little too late . i think its time france bid goodbye to deschamps it would be stupidity  to waste such talents cause a good coach can gel them together and can create a very good winning team 

england started the game with 4-3-3 while netherlands started with 4-2-1-3 . many call saka and watkins the hero of the game but for me the kid mainoo was the hero of the game. england started the game better the reason being that england had 3 against 2 in the middle of the park and the were able to defend very nicely the reason why england dominated is because simmons who was suppose to playing no.10 was very poor . dutch took the lead when simmons who was just hopeless ( i wonder how he is 50 mil player) dislodged rice another hopeless england player off the ball and had a shot which he will remember for the lifetime . on the other hand mainoo was just dominating the england midfield the kid was running the game and very good on the ball . had there been a better coach then he would had asked him to play him no.10 atleast no.8 and asked others to play around him . his passing ability and game reading ability is very good and will only improve . 

i think that palmer should had been brought earlier his passing ability is similar to me . seeing the angles and most importantly passing the ball right to the feet with proper weight . watking just finished what palmer served him i think he should start in the final game . last but not the least if tripper keep his place for the finals then we will see a drubbing by spain . 

last but not the least but the game has got ugly and to be honest coaches just dont think about the offensive game anymore they are just concerned of not conceding rahter than scoring . 

snippet.

 euro's had started from 14th of june but there hadnt been a single game that was a standout who deserves mention . yesteday england played slovakia and got lucky . let me tell you you play the same game in the match as to what you practice on the field . the coaches thinking is seen through the way team plays .

one thing that i want to write is that if you had seen the swiss goal then you would had seen that konsa failed to close down ndoye where on he should had closed down and got much closer that he did . if you watch the play closely then ndoye had a losse touch before the cross and he ball was slightly away from him . that is the moment that konsa should had seized and closed him down  and get much tighter . this is what is taught on the field and not on the board . 

FIRST LEG MATCHES .

 two semifinals were played this week but to be honest i am frustrated about the way game is played . let me just put my point there is book called similarities between chess and football . yes definitely there are similarities but football i think has many a way to catch . in chess we analyze the game from start to finish but most importantly in chess we analyze every position and try every iteration in every direction . to be honest i am not very pleased with the way coaching is done . you know of the strength and weakness of your and the opposition . you have to devise a plan and improvise it but most importantly you have to look at the smallest of the details because in the first game  between  bayern and madrid i dont think that none of the coaches took it under consideration . the reason why i say that football needs to have proper analysis is becasue when these guys dribble then you need to have proper analysis of the play . there are players who have started to be over smart air has gone in their head and coaches need to bring them on the ground and tell as to where they need to use there ability and where not . players like 

first off  bayern vs madrid . madrid started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation while bayern too started with the same formation .before the game started  i was apprehensive of kim's pace and i thought that he could be the weak link in the bayern's defense and i was not wrong . bayern won the initial exchanges and put madrid on the back foot and i think ancelotti was just guaging his opponent and was happy sit back and defend . after the first 15 min madrid took control of the game and scored first . the way madrid scored should had be an awakening to touchel because madrid carved them open through the middle and i think for that particular goal touchel held groetzka responsible because he was the left sided midfielder and it should had been his job to close down kroos but to be honest the way madrid were operating and changing positions . valverde was coming inside and kross was going made closing more difficult but then the way kim cam out was disastarous . while coming out he should had realized the space he was leaving behind and others not closing down that space leaving him exposed .  while madrid closed bayern were just too poor .their whole offense was based on solo dribble by sane and musiala . there was lack of cohesion in the bayern team in the first half . they were kept at bay by madrid and were made to shoot in and around the box . this is where coaching seen because he can tell the players to slow down the game or can change the movement of the players but touchel was just hopeless and if any man utd are thinking of appointing him then there is nobody stupid than them . 

bayern changed groetzka in the second half and bought guerrero in the second half . bayern immediately came in the game not because they made the substitution but because their fullbacks the most common mistakes . for the first goal the ball was switched from left to right . the ball ended at sane's feet . now the madrid's fullback should had known that he just needed to show him on his weaker foot and let him get down the line instead of letting him  cut inside . the second goal was nothing but the same mistake was done again . instead of letting him tumble with his own dribble he stuck his own foot which cost the goal . bayern were gifted two goals madrid because of their simple mistakes . 

to be honest i am not very impressed by ancelotti . he should had got much better cohesion in the madrid ranks . most importantly he needs to get player like vinicius on the feet because he seems to be floating in air . air has gone in his head . he is decent but his ability to read the game and most importantly his choice of shots is questionable . the other thing is that the offense is just constituted of three players namely vinicius , bellingham and rodrygo but i think he need to bring valverde in the offense . 

i cannot write anything about psg vs dortmund because for me luis enrique is a stupid coach . he won the league because he had the best player at his disposal . there is no cohesion in his team . to be honest i would be surprized if he is kept in the psg job but then he may win the ucl cause stranger things have happened in football . 

MY TAKE ON REAL MADRID VS MAN CITY.

 man city played real madrid in the return leg of the ucl q/f .man city did everything right in terms of defense and offense but they just didnt do one thing right and that caused them the tie . this is the game that you can show to anybody as to how you press the opposition but not in terms of offense . i am not impressed with real madrid they knew that they were going to press back and will have to play on the counter so they should had been better prepared . they should had devised a plan to counter the man city press because man city really did their job when they lost the ball . they pressed real madrid very well . 

man city started the game with 4-3-3 formation while real madrid started the game with 4-2-3-1 formation . vinicius started the game upfront . he led the line beautifully but he never really got the support that was wanted by him. man city started the game with 4-3-3 . they brought in walker to deal with either vinicius or rodrygo whoever tries to use the right hand side. both of them like to use that same flank . the game started with similar note with man city dominating the possession and real madrid sitting back and hitting on the counter . here bellingham was used more deeper and behind vinicius rather than with him . he had the had in the first goal where on he released vinicius behind the back four which eventually led to the goal . it was the only shot real had on the goal. man city played a perfect game after that . they just real madrid back . they pressed madrid very well .when real madrid beat the press they just denied the press upfront and made them move the ball back or loose possession . what i was unimpressed by real was that when they were trying to counter they were just one dimensional . they should had tried different ways on trying to open man city defense . it was always vinicius who was always upfront trying to take on the man city defenders instead it could had been rodygo or valverde or even bellingham who could bomb beyond vinicius . secondly some of the players were just not aware of the man city's press and how good they were pressing and denying space to madrid . they kept the ball when they should had passed it . vinicius and rodrygo keep hold of the ball and dont pass the ball when they should do . they try to overdo and lose the possession . i would say that ancelotti is guilty for that because that is what training is that for to explain as to when they should pass the ball and when they try to go solo . the inverse is also true for defense as to when to press and when to hold back . 

man city played the perfect game at least on defense . this game is the perfect example as to how they should defend and then use the ball . man city did very well but they lacked one thing . while opening up opposition defense you had to find the weak spot and then improvise it because once you make the move for that the opposition closes that zone and you need to improvise on your plan . man city were very good with their positioning and even on offense but they just did one thing less i would say . i would try to explain that with the graphic . man city pass the ball but they didnt move with the ball . when you play on offense you need to do something special . either you beat the defender in one on one situation or beat them with your passing . man city passed well but then in the final third they were just not having proper ideas to open real's defense . when the ball is passed to you the others surrounding you need to the cue to make themselves open or have that eye where on the ball needs to passed . i will shot that in pics. i think man city lacked that necessary cohesion around the box and for that they paid . most of the players dont have that necessary sense as to whether they can take a touch and try to do things as the ball arrives at their feet . they should try to coach themselves as to when they can take a touch so that they can have better chance of passing or shooting the ball . 

MY TAKE ON REAL MADRID VS MAN CITY.

 real madrid played man city in the q/f of the champions league . real madrid started the game with 4-4-2 formation . real madrid had vinicius and bellingham in the false no.9 role . man city started the game with 4-2-3-1 . why i would say 4 at back even though stones would play as a midfielder while man city had the ball was because that when on defense he would slot back besides dias as the centre back . gaurdiola will always try to put the opposition in quandary. he will try to put something new but still i am not so impressed with him. stones movement will always try to create some chaos in the oppostion ranks most importantly he gives one option in the middle which make the ball movement very easy . even though he has moved stones in the middle pep is still not able to exploit or say exploit the advantage that stones creates in the middle of the park he is just there to help move the ball and press the opposition higher up the pitch but his role still needs to be refined which i hope he will . 

whether it be attack or defense it has to be like a well oiled machine where on all the parts are working in tandem with each other then only can perform to the maximum can cause the maximum effect . i remember one famous quote from johan cryuff" playing football the easy way is the most hard way . the other thing is that i often wonder as to why the coach cannot look at what is lacking in terms of the shape or what is the trouble with the formation and what is lacking . madrid were playing with bellingham in no.9 role . the trouble with madrid was that whenever he was coming deep to come help move the ball there was nobody who would bomb beyond him. madrid had rodrygo and valverde as wide players while vinicius likes to operate from the left . he was linking up with rodrygo but they too had a shortcoming which i will discuss later . ancelotti being a veteran tactician that he is could see that there was nobody in the no.9 position and that was hampering his attack . there was nobody around whom they could play or who would be at the end of the crosses or passes in the box . vinicius like to operate from the left and he and rodrygo were combining very nicely . they exploited the space behind the back four for the second goal . but after that they were not that effective . ancelotti too much time to introduce a no.9 in the attack which he should had done very early . 

why was i not happy with vinicius and rodrygo's movement . they were combining beautifully to take the ball deep but they were not doing that in the final third . i am presenting some pics with that . first off when rodrygo or vinicius would combine with each other on the left flank but whenever one would pass the ball the other one would stop . what i would like is i would like him to continue with this movement because his movement would create flutter in the opposition flank . his movement distracts the opposition and i think that this where they lacked . had they done that then their pace and ability on the ball can create a lot of problems and most importantly they can take the ball deep and can really a problem for opposition . 

man city like to keep the ball and pass it around and just mask their offense as to when they will try to pierce opposition defense . they would push the opposition back so that even when they loose the ball they could press the opposition and win the ball back . in the first half both the team were patient and tried to build up the play and pushed each other back . most importantly the second real goal made gaurdiola think because he had to get his back line a little deep . he moved the back four 10 yards back . in the first half when both teams were patient with their offense . 

in the second hand man city were able to press madrid better and were able to pin them back in their half or around their box . they just kept on passing the ball and made madrid lose concentration and that is why both foden and gvardiol got the space at the edge of the box and could punish madrid . kross is very good at distribution of the ball but is not very mobile . he should had been substituted earlier and tchoumeni or modric should had taken his position his position earlier . most importantly i failed to understand as to why ancelotti didnt lash at bellingham as he was slowing down the game . he needed to much more mobile and not walking pace . he should had realized that man city were never going to give him time and space on the ball so he should had just increased the tempo of his game which would had benifited his team . in the second phase ancelotti has to do some major work and if needs to win this tie then he needs to change the players and bring joselu in the team or atleast make bellingham play better .