World Soccer - October 2016

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TACTICS Innovators...Queens Park in the 1890s with a 3-4-2-1 in which the “free eights”, if that’s what we’re calling them, naturally gravitate into the awkward pockets left in a 4-2-3-1, wide of the holding midfielders but in front of and inside the full-backs. Even Jose Mourinho could argue that when he used Cesc Fabregas and Oscar in advance of Nemanja Matic at Chelsea in 2014-15 he was, in a slightly more reserved way, doing something similar. For City, with Raheem Sterling and Nolito wide, that created a W-shape – and the structure does map that of the W-Ms that became the default in England between the late 1920s and the late 1950s. Although in England the wingers ended up dropping deeper as time went by, with one of the inside-forwards falling right back to become a bona fide midfielder, it’s the structure that underpinned the pattern-weaving approach of the Scottish passing game, of which tradition Guardiola is the leading modern avatar. There’s something almost unnerving about the thought that, physical development aside, the front end of Guardiola’s City closely resembles the shape of Queen’s Park in the 1890s. The danger with committing two Role...Kevin De Bruyne says his position is as a “free eight” creators plus two wingers is the defensive deficit it could leave in midfield given the preference of modern full-backs for getting forward to support their winger. What Guardiola did at Bayern, and what he seems to be trying to do with City, is to cover that shortfall by having his fullbacks play in an entirely different way. Without the ball this season, City have operated a fairly orthodox back four, with the use of Aleksandar Kolarov as a central defender ahead of Eliaquim Mangala against Sunderland suggesting Guardiola’s insistence on the capacity to pass. With the ball, though, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy have drifted infield into holding midfield roles – as Philipp Lahm and David Alaba often did with Bayern – with Fernandinho falling back to a position just in front of the two central defenders. The shape then becomes something akin to the W-M. No system is perfect, of course, and the instinctive reaction is to wonder if there are sufficient players wide, whether City will be able to stretch the play against a side that sits deep and packs the centre against them, and whether they will be vulnerable to counter-attacks down the flanks. Less significantly, there’s the issue of whether Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho will be able to play together when the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder has recovered from his knee injury. There’s something almost unnerving about the thought that, physical development aside, the front end of Guardiola’s City closely resembles the shape of Queen’s Park in the 1890s CITY’S “FREE EIGHTS” COPY QUEENS PARK’S SUCCESSFUL CUP SIDE Caballero But already, Guardiola has had an impact. Already he is introducing shapes and patterns to the Premier League that, if they have been seen before, have not been for half a century or more. There will be cynics who point out just how much City have spent this summer, but whatever their investment, the freshness of his imagination is clear. A Baird Stones Kolarov D Sillars R Smellie Sagna Fernandinho Clichy De Bruyne Silva J Gillespie R McFarlane A Stewart TS Waddell W Seller Sterling Aguero Nolito W Gilliland J Hamilton WA Lambie Wide...Raheem Sterling started the season well Manchester City, away to Sunderland, 21.08.<strong>2016</strong> Queens Park, v Celtic, 11.03.1893 WORLD SOCCER 41
Henrikh Mkhitaryan 42 WORLD SOCCER
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World Soccer - October 2016

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