It is one of the great clichés of soccer strategy. The goalkeeper is the first attacker; the strikers the first line of defense. But for a phrase to join the…
Those were the days. The keeper hoofs it forward – long, hard and high. The big center forward, nudging and blocking, sets himself and judges the perfect flick on. In…
Mental toughness – the capacity to perform consistently and the high end of a players talent and skill, irrespective of competitive circumstances. There is such a narrow line between sporting…
Messi vs Ronaldo? That the argument has raged for more than a decade offers an insight into the astonishing levels of skill, commitment, longevity and, it has to be said,…
One of the game’s attributes that made a winger great was that they could focus on their attacking responsibilities. Even the most recent of those players, Pires and (until the…
Getting the best out of kids has always been a challenge. Most readers of this blog will, if they are honest, admit that maybe they didn’t always try their hardest…
Here’s an interesting statistic. Teams are more than half as likely again to score from a counter attack than a standard, positional attack. Of course, we can deduce anything from…
It’s that bit of magic. The ability to create the space in midfield to score a goal. It adds $15 million, $20 million to the price of a top player.…
Every coach and every player has experienced this. The best laid out plans; the team set up to play, to exploit our strengths and negate those of our opponents. Then,…
The Christmas tree; the coat hanger; Alf’s wingless wonders. 4 4 2, 4 5 1, 5 3 1…soccer formations sound like the names of science fiction B movies or telephone…