What does a central midfielder do in 2010?

[Mike.]

zeb, considering what you just said about fergusons possible path on andersons development, do you think the same could happen to lucas?

 

[Zebedee]

zeb, considering what you just said about fergusons possible path on andersons development, do you think the same could happen to lucas?

Aye. Said it for while that they look like they'll turn out to be very similar in how they play. Not quite ye olde box-to-box midfielder, but something quite close. Almost like a floating link man between attack and defence - versatile players though who'll do a tactical job when required. Worrying thing for Anderson is that whenever he's been up against Lucas, Lucas has bossed him.

 

[Mike.]

Aye. Said it for while that they look like they'll turn out to be very similar in how they play. Not quite ye olde box-to-box midfielder, but something quite close. Almost like a floating link man between attack and defence - versatile players though who'll do a tactical job when required. Worrying thing for Anderson is that whenever he's been up against Lucas, Lucas has bossed him.

lol you just had to remind us....
the arrival of the more intelligent box to box mid?

 

[Zebedee]

lol you just had to remind us....
the arrival of the more intelligent box to box mid?

Maybe - Brazil has had a form of it for a while, but what seems to have happened is that managers of English teams are taking the pick of those players and trying to drill into them the defensive skills to go with their natural inclination to control play and move forward as well as bulk them up physically. You get the feeling that if Barca wanted they could use Busquets in the same way. Return back to the idea of multi-faceted football players - think Keane or Souness rather than Makele or Scholes?

Sacchi quote:

“When I was director of football at Real Madrid I had to evaluate the players coming through the youth ranks. We had some who were very good footballers. They had technique, they had athleticism, they had drive, they were hungry.

"But they lacked what I call knowing-how-to-play-football. They lacked decision making. They lacked positioning. They didn't have the subtle sensitivity of football: how a player should move within the collective. And for many, I wasn't sure they were going to learn".

“You see, strength, passion, technique, athleticism, all of these are very important. But they are a means to an end, not an end in itself. They help you reach your goal, which is putting your talent at the service of the team and, by doing this, making both of you and the team greater.

"In situations like that, I just have to say, Gerrard's a great footballer, but perhaps not a great player."

 

[Mike.]

Maybe - Brazil has had a form of it for a while, but what seems to have happened is that managers of English teams are taking the pick of those players and trying to drill into them the defensive skills to go with their natural inclination to control play and move forward as well as bulk them up physically. You get the feeling that if Barca wanted they could use Busquets in the same way. Return back to the idea of multi-faceted football players - think Keane or Souness rather than Makele or Scholes?

Sacchi quote:

interesting you should say that. its my opinion that the two forwards system is going to make a comeback, against the1 man system in the net 4-5 years, since offset 4-4-2 like zona mista are the best way to overpower the box of the 4-2-3-1 and offset 4-2-3-1, but the difficulty of that is that it requires the exact kind of multi faceted player you talk about, of which there are currently few in number

 

[Zebedee]

interesting you should say that. its my opinion that the two forwards system is going to make a comeback, against the1 man system in the net 4-5 years, since offset 4-4-2 like zona mista are the best way to overpower the box of the 4-2-3-1 and offset 4-2-3-1, but the difficulty of that is that it requires the exact kind of multi faceted player you talk about, of which there are currently few in number

I'm not convinced by zona mista. Sacchi and Capello both dominated a league of teams playing it. The redundancy of the 'sweeper' is another issue against one man up front and the gap behind the nominal winger effectively forces it into a 5-3-2 far too regularly. A hard working winger (Kuyt or Park are good examples) absolutely kill the width expected on the left and actually make the entire system really vulnerable. It's effective in the sense of killing football against an equally matched or better team but that's Mourinho's school of football and not one I want anything to do with.

 

[Mike.]

I'm not convinced by zona mista. Sacchi and Capello both dominated a league of teams playing it. The redundancy of the 'sweeper' is another issue against one man up front and the gap behind the nominal winger effectively forces it into a 5-3-2 far too regularly. A hard working winger (Kuyt or Park are good examples) absolutely kill the width expected on the left and actually make the entire system really vulnerable. It's effective in the sense of killing football against an equally matched or better team but that's Mourinho's school of football and not one I want anything to do with.

its certainly not pretty football, but cant see how else you can break down the box unless you can pick teams apart like spain

 

[5ICK]

Great article, as usual for zonal marking.

Still embarrasing to read those Florentino Perez's words. Typical coming from him. That's how Real Madrid goes when he is on charge.

 

[CorvetteC3]

I had just signed David Pizarro before reading this And it's why I've always liked CMs and DMs who barely get mentioned but are of huge importance to their team.

 

[GodCubed]

I had just signed David Pizarro before reading this And it's why I've always liked CMs and DMs who barely get mentioned but are of huge importance to their team.

Yeah, always loved Pizarro. Combines the lovely touch and vision of a playmaker with the tackling of a bona fida defensive mid. :wub: