Salida Lavolpiana.

"The objective is to move the opponent not the ball"                                                                                                                      -Pep Guardiola                   In a time where patient build-up from the back is becoming less and less fancied just how important is it to have a detailed first phase of play? With defending teams going in for an aggressive press it would seem like the ideal solution to cut short the build up and keep it simple and direct. The easy way out of this would be to play a long ball aimed at a distant player. Although this relieves pressure temporarily it doesn't give much of an advan...

Attack is the best form of Defense. Why Press? Imagine a team that sits deep in its own half and decides to shut shop from the word go. They are essentially inviting pressure on themselves by allowing the opposition time and space on the ball. And against top quality opposition, if the midfielders (or even defenders in some cases) are allowed the luxury of either time or space they will certainly pick out a killer pass before the defense can react. It essentially means that the opposition has control of the pitch and the ball while the defensive team is restricted to reacting according to the actions of the opposition. This control the opposition enjoys can be taken away by pressing them and forcing them to take decisions they wouldn't want to; purely out of panic.This is even more effective when done in the opposition's first phase of play. It involves trying to win the ball back immediately after losing it and catching the opposition off guard while launching our own a...

Having seen about how effective the inverted full backs can be for an attacking team we'll now have a look at a possible system to counter the same. When a team employs wing backs into midfield numerical superiority can be achieved in every region of the pitch. So it is essential that in order to counter their benefits the defensive team should work as a unit with the forwards also putting in their shift in defense. The 4-3-3 (With a false-9) The 4-3-3 is probably the most stable set-up to face any system. Now, off the three operating central midfielders, a CDM sits back as cover for the backline. This position is crucial in the sense that, should the opposition choose to play its wingers very wide attracting the full backs towards them it leaves the center-backs exposed in the middle. The other two midfielders will have to take up defensive roles in turns to team up with the holding midfielder in order to protect the half spaces that the two opposition attacking midfielders w...

It was almost certain that Pep Guardiola who had earlier stamped his philosophy in Spain and Germany would do the same in England. It's hard to believe that the success of the respective national teams of the countries he's coached in at international tournaments is a coincidence. It was his Barcelona that defined Spain during the 2010 World Cup and tasked with an almost impossible job of bettering a treble winning side his Bayern 2.0 was at the very heart of the current World Champions in 2014. Pep's foray into English football started off with a home fixture against last season's survivors Sunderland. Although many people expected this to be a cakewalk given that Moyes had just taken charge of the Sunderland outfit a couple of weeks back; it was anything but that. Sunderland almost hung on if not for a very late Own Goal from Paddy Mcnair. There was still plenty to talk about in regards to how City played the game. The Catalan reinvigorated the inverted Full Backs ...

Has there been a bigger Manchester Derby? In terms of sheer scale of the personalities involved I think not. Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola will be looking to pick up things right where they left off in Spain. It was an infamous two years in Spain during which it would be fair to say that Guardiola had the upper hand. Jose would be dying to go one better in perhaps the competition he's most comfortable with. Jose would be dying to go one better in perhaps the competition he's most comfortable with. Come Saturday afternoon Pep and his team will definitely be going for the win which is synonymous with his teams irrespective of the opposition. On the other hand the pragmatist would adopt a more cautious approach trying to absorb all the pressure and strike on the counter, a tactic that has worked wonders for him. Mourinho would be glad that City are without suspended striker Sergio Aguero. Definitely one thing lesser to worry about this weekend. Thi...