MY TAKE ON ATH MAD VS LIVERPOOL

ath mad played liverpool in the first leg of ucl round of 16 . i was reading the headlines and the news and i was not surprised . before writing this article i was watching bhau torsekar's video on journalism and when i was reading the news about this game i can see as to why the journalist are sold out . did the journalist saw the same game  saw . every other journalist had lauded ath mad and sort of criticized liverpool . well if i am jurgen kloop then i would be holding my head high after this performance .this match showed as to why liverpool are the best team in europe and how they outplayed,outclassed and totally dominated one of the best team in the europe . if i am jurgen klopp then i will show this game as a case study of how you play and dominate your opponents . now about simeone if i am simeone then i will not cherish this win instead i will do a brain storming as to why was i outclassed and outplayed and what should i do so that this will not happen again . i will not criticize him for his tactics but then when you deploy them then you have see that they are effectively deployed . most importantly when you see that your tactics are working then you need to tweak them . the fact about coaches like simeone , mouriniho that they are so rigid that just dont change .
liverpool started the game with their usual 4-3-3 system while ath mad started with their patented 4-4-2 formation . the game started with the usual story like . the players are fresh especially ath mad's who like press francitcally at start of each half . in this frantic pressing liverpool conceded a goal . but after the chaotic 10 min the game settled to its real script . ath mad started to sit back and absorb the pressure and hit liverpool on the counter . ath mad play a very narrow defense so liverpool moved the ball from flank to flank and trying to gauge the response and the movement of the players as well trying to see the opening in the ath mad' defense . although liverpool dont need it since liverpool with their ball movement can create that space . most importantly liverpool dominated the who half . they just knew when to up the tempo and when to slow the game down .most importantly they just strangled ath mad in their own  half and there is a reason for that . most importantly liverpool a little impatient with their shooting and taking shots . i am delighted by liverpool's performance and if they remain patient with their shooting and try to take their shots just a bit deeper in opposition half then they can be more potent . 
ath mad like to play on the counter attack . i wont criticize them for that . even liverpool like to play on the counter attack . now when you play on the counter all the components in the system need to work in tandem . ath mad for the major part of the match were poor on their execution of counter to liverpool's offense. first off i disagree with the shape that ath mad adopted . ath mad like to have all players behind the ball so the ath mad's front two will be in front of the opposition back four . so if the ball is passed they likely to be pressed and no opposition will give time and space on the ball and give the chance to have the counter on them . so ath mad had to move the ball very crisply . the forwards needs to understand that any time spent on the ball gives defense an edge in pressing them . most importantly the forwards that they have the responsibility of not only starting the counter but also of keeping the possession . they first need to keep the possession and then try to start to counter because both the ath mad forwards were not in tandem . they were flat . secondly i was disappointed by ath mad's midfielder's . the decision making by these midfielders was poor . they were trying to release the forwards or pass it to them where they were better off keeping the ball and passing it around trying to beat the press and then see the opening and make  a move . whenever ath mad moved the ball and made more than 3 passes in a move they pushed liverpool back and had they had a better coaching they  could had done something better with the ball .
 i am disappointed in simeone and his style of coaching . i think with time he hasnt evolved just like mouriniho who just struggle with the offense . if i was the ath mad coach then i would have had lost my voice after the match for the mistakes that his players were making . he removed lamar at half time and i dont know why but moratta stayed on . to be honest i would be  shouting my lungs out for his misadventures . most importantly when you are playing on the counter attack then the forwards should be ready to receive the ball and start rolling . i found and moratta and correa wanting . also the midfield they should be supporting the front players and only feeding them when it is possible . the reason why i said then is flat is because they were standing like midfielders while they need to be taking where on one is ready to make run behind the back which keeps their attention getting the other forward the time and space on the ball . they were just flat . when simeone will see the tapes i hope he corrects his mistakes . but all and all i would be disappointed if liverpool dont reach the next round .

MY TAKE ON GETAFE VS BARCELONA

barcelona played getafe at getafe's home .getafe had been high flying in the league and they had been playing some good football . spanish press love for high line continues because getafe's high line is the highest in the la liga and it is widely reported . while writing about getafe i am going to take their two matches into consideration .  getafe 's game against barcelona and valencia . getafe like's press high up and it looks like they have barrowed a page out of ariggo sacchi's tactical book . they play a 4-4-2 system but it more like 4-6 since all the men get behind the ball and try to help press . getafe played two different teams and two different tactically team's . most importantly they like to play on the counter just like liverpool where on they like to take advantage of the spreaded team .
the reason that getafe's plan worked against valencia was that valencia play similar to getafe . they too play a 4-4-2 system . so getafe could read as to what valencia were going to do when they have the ball and take proper actions . they limited valencia's ball movement in one zone and they successfully could strangle them in that zone . most importantly valencia's midfield just couldnt support their front players and parejo just couldnt cope with the pace of the game . barcelona's coach must had watched this  game and he knew what he needed to do . he knew that he needed to break that strangle hold that getafe applies in the midfield . getafe first bring all the players behind the ball .secondly they play shape in the middle of the park denying the space for the opposition so they have to go wide to move the ball . now it even more easier for getafe to press because on the flanks they cannot use the whole pitch and the number of players that get  imvolved in the play are limited so you can successfully press .against valencia this startergy worked .most importantly valencia played a very bad game and their player's just couldnt show their quality their on the ball . now barcelona knew what they needed to do .
  most importantly the system that barcelona deploy's makes it difficult to press . plus most important thing is the quality of players that barcelona  have got which are extremely important and the most important thing that nobody bother's to give credit is the quality that ter stegen possess . first bacelona's system they have three in the midfield plus messi too drops deep to get involved in the build up . most importantly once the ball gets to messi it gets very difficult to press because there is only one winner in one on one with him and once he beats his marker the defense had scramble to stop . so when this happens the whole defense can fall apart . still what getafe tried to do was they tried to make it difficult to get the ball to messi .they really worked hard and tried to press high up the pitch .but in this barcelona had one ace who deserve equal praise like the rest of the team and that is ter stegen . 
when you are pressed at that time the back four's distribution becomes   very important and there ability to pick  pass to a player who had time and space on the ball and can relive some pressure on the press . but when even the back four is pressed then at that time the goal keepers ability to  pass the ball and pick out of the back and pass perfectly becomes a very rare commodity . ter stegen has that i dont have the stats to show but he was absolutely hit .his ability to pick out a guy upfield is a very handsome quality he possess . his ability makes barcelona playing with 12 man on the field because the opposition cannot over commit for the fear of being hit back and ter stegens ability to pass is just the most important thing in that barcelona team .
getafe just couldnt over commit .first they couldnt bring the back four out of position because that would had let been disastrous . the other thing that barcelona did very good was barcelona pressed hard as soon they lost the ball they pressed getafe which was not what getafe expected and because of this getafe conceded possession many times . the thing is when you are so compact to press it is a boon as well as a curse because the opposition can give the same medicine to you which are trying to give it to them . most importantly i was not impressed by arrambari and maximovic who gave the possession cheaply many times . they should had the confidence and move the ball quickly cause they should read as to what barcelona were doing and should had tried to evade the press .  getafe's coach likes jurgen style of football but then kloop's team has a very distinct style of playing football and there offense is one of the most perfectly coreographed thing . each and every player in the play knows his role and they play to perfection so if getafe are to go anywhere it is the offense which has to be bettered that what is . barcelona just stopped them in the first half and only in the second half because of pique's idiocracy that getafe could have had a chance .
last but not the least but i am disappointed in barca coach's tactics . the team is not playing the flowing football that barca known for and most importantly there is over dependency on messi . i think that after 15 min once he guages the opponents as to what they are doing and their players he should try to improvise . they still are playing slow offense where on they are confused as to what to do next . most importantly if setien is a man's coach then he should tell messi that he needs to share more of the ball with other team members .for his team's sake and even for messi who would want to more of a threat the the other players need to combine because messi will always be a ace on the field but when others will combine then he will have that time and space on the ball and then he can do what he does best .

MY TAKE ON THE MADRID DERBY .

real madrid played ath mad in the madrid derby . when two big teams play then you need to some great intricate play's .great understanding of the situation and most importantly very good technical ability . even though there was a result the game was a stale one . how many clear chances did both teams created . it is expected that when two big team play then they try not to over commit . real started the game with 4-5-1 while ath mad started the game with their usual 4-4-2 formation . the game wasnt that great it was an ordinary affair .
i think its time ath mad need to find somebody and simieone's should move on . while i am critical of simeone i dont think very great about zidane . the reason being just look at the number of chances created by real in open play . while playing the game there are small things that make a lot of difference . like when should go solo or when should pass  .the commentators used a good phrase for it going down the blind alley and at times morrata and certain ath mad players were doing that and that needs to change. now ath mad like to sit back and hit on the counter . they like to play deep and this invites a lot of trouble because when you are playing deep and compact you can be conceding the possession as well as corners . thats what happened in the first 20min . real started the game with isco and valverde in the wide positions . real especially on the right side were doing good progress in taking the ball upfield but there are small things that need to be corrected . first thing when you had play then you need to have a good reading of your position(i.e you need to know whether you can have time on the ball ,can you do a half turn , which player is guarding you and many things .) there were two instances in particular where on i felt that the players made the wrong decisions . first off ramos who missed a shot in the box on real's corner. he should had known that he had time and space on the ball and should had taken a touch and then shot the ball .a touch makes a world of difference in football . secondly when modric ,valverde and casmeiro were moving the ball from right modric had taken the position between lines and there was no direct opponent who was guarding him . he had the time and space to make a half turn and  pass the ball.most importantly the reason i am saying this is that modric passed the ball outside to valverde but he could had passed it inside and taken the defense by surprise because that is what the team tries to do when they have the ball . another thing is real were moving the ball from wing to wing in a bid trying to find the space but how can you find the space if you dont work out a single wing . most importantly real players were trying to move ball from one flank to another in between a move and that is stupid and in that process they were conceding the possession . in the first half real were just poor they couldnt penetrate . their best chances came of corner's which they should had taken. 
ath mad likes to play on the counter and the reason i am critical of simeone is because  real were trying to press up  .but while doing so they were not that tight and  ath mad could pass the ball around . if you had seen real madrid matches then both varane and ramos dont get tight  on opposition and they were sitting allowing the opposition forward time and space on the ball. both vitolo and moratta were guilty of spending time on the ball and making poor decisions .while playing on the counter you have to seize the moment . you need to be aware at what time you need to release the ball and when to keep it . ath mad created good chances in the first half but poor decision making and solo ventures couldnt bring the chances to frutition .most importantly in football your chances double up for scoring when you keep the opposition guessing . if you go single minded that you are just going to just shoot or pass then it gets easy for the opposition to read you . the reason for this is most of the players are single minded but great players are hard to read because they can disguise their shot or pass which makes them more threatning . in the first half correa had the chance to pass the ball instead of taking shot then he would had made  himself more threatning and that would the team  overall .
the game changed in the second half .zidane made two substitutions he bought two wide players thinking that he didnt had speed on the wings . now you are lauded if you win and you are criticized ifyour move fail . in the whole match madrid created one good move when vinicius and mendy combined on the left wing and  vinicius released mendy behind the back four  . before that substitution had happened and lamar was drafted on the left wing while correa was sent forward to partner vitolo . untill that moment mendy had crossed some good balls in the first half . most importantly ath were caught napping and they didnt thought that real could muster that move . most importantly the back four fell asleep . since Vrsaljko was played out in the move felipe had to move to cover Vrsaljko's space . this led to entire defense moving and in that they lost benzema . the other thing was compared to other times ath mad were playing with a high defensive line which gave mendy the space between back four and the goalkeeper to cross the ball which led to real's goal .
the one player that impressed me the most was casmeiro . he performed his defensive role astutely and didnt let that ath mad work those traingles and his defensive work was the result that real dominated in the second half . he is not known for his offensive role but let me tell you he has a good reading of the game on that as well . in the first half he crossed a peach of a ball . he absolutely produced a great ball which should had  been read by benzema . a striker should a read as to where his team mates can cross the ball and should try to get there . casmeiro crossed the ball where the goal couldnt come and the back four couldnt  get there . benzema had the chance had he read casmeiro's intentions and tried to get there . this is what is called jellying where on teammates read other and it produces great football .
my criticism of simeone's is because when you make the adjustment then you should try play a different game . he replaced moratta trying to match real man for man . lemar is not correa who can run behind defense .he plays different game .so he has to make adjustments to the game plan as to how will now operate when they have the ball . most importantly even when real made the changes they didnt change the shape and had simeone tried to calm his troops he could have had something from the game . ath mad's offense just fell apart in the second half and simeone has to be held for the loss .