And so, with the proliferation of this defensive concept, today we dive into just how we might beat it. I'll propose three, maybe ~four~ methods.
Stop Romanticizing Rectangles: Why Euclid (and I) Would Object to the ‘Gamelike’ Obsession
Flooding in, came a deluge of defensive arguments, most to the tone of, "Are you serious?", "Soccer isn't played in those shapes so why would you practice that?", and "How does changing the sport make it more difficult? It just makes it irrelevant." My eyebrows were curiously raised.
Why The Hail Mary Fails in Our Football
When we think of tense, last-gasp minutes of soccer, the incredulous victories are always those that come to mind. Not the strong-willed efforts, nor the held-down forts, no--the attack-minded miracles that prevailed over all odds. These are frantic finales: last-attempt rolls of the sporting dice that hit the jackpot--but they're not as glamorous as they might look.
Why a Stalemate at the Mendizorroza Announced the Arrival of The Koeman Boys
In a match that was followed by an overwhelming degree of scorn from club fans, FC Barcelona's weekend tie against a 10-man Deportivo Alaves was amongst their best games of the year.
Why Inequality is the Key to Unlocking Football
Think of it this way: if we go shopping for a new car, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by how many fish are in the sea. If we enter a dealership without any tools to compare the various vehicles, we’ll feel like deer in the headlights. Thus, we create a framework beforehand.
It all Starts with Hopping the Fence: How to Disrupt a 4-4-2 with a 3-2-5
"Football is a game where you're always desperately trying to bring order to disorder, and to bring chaos under control, even though that's impossible." -- Wolfram Eilenberger
How to Make your Strikers Play Like Erling Haaland: Part One
It feels like just yesterday that a certain young Norwegian striker was making waves after his international triple hat-trick against Honduras. Well, that's because it practically was.
Top 25 World Rankings: Best Net Transfer Balances in 2019/2020, and Why They Might Mislead Us
Today, as I sat in my family's jacuzzi for the first time in several years, toes bubbling in a eucalyptus baby bath that must've been going on its second decade in the depths of our bathroom cabinet, I came across a simple but intriguing idea.
PSG’s French Cup Final Performance and What it Means for Upcoming Atalanta
This past week we saw PSG and St. Etienne return to action as they played 90 minutes of schoolyard scrap football. Les Parisiens predictably emerged victorious, but my focus today is not so much on the French Cup trophy--but on its implications for their upcoming Italian fixture against Atalanta.
Barcelona vs. Osasuna, La Liga Matchday 37: A Fort and Stubborn Soldiers
I’ll begin by thanking you for experimenting with this blog. Touchline Theory is a concept that I’ve considered spearheading for months, and I’m delighted to be assembling our first match analysis, ever. I certainly hope that there will be many more to come.