Tactics

The Johan Cruijff Foundation: Introduction (Part I)

Ever since I was a little boy, there was this admiration of Johan Cruijff all around me. Who else was, as a Dutch guy, we’re all injected with the Cruijff-virus at a young age. For some the best football player ever, for others the person who gave FC Barcelona the status they have today, and for another person, it’s merely a man who doesn’t make any logical sentences when he was analysing a game of football. But what we can’t disagree on is that he was mainly responsible for putting the Netherlands on the world map of football.

By Dave Valkenburg, ago

Urban Warriors – The Tactic

Tactic Construction
When i start to put together a tactic I always start with the bookends of the formation – defenders & strikers. Once I’ve decided on the number of players I want in these 2 zones then I structure the rest of the team to both protect & feed these key roles. In this series I have also introduced another factor into my tactic construction process – the logo challenge.

By Mark Rennolds, ago

The Gaucho Tactical Setup; Introduction

Over the past few years, I have written numerous tactical articles. Most of these articles finished on the end product, the downloadable tactic. Some of these tactical articles focussed on specific aspects of the tactic. I even had a brief series of articles on how to edit and tweak them. While I am still content with the quality of the material, the nagging feeling that I could have done better still remains. This series of articles is my attempt to do better, to show you how I created the tactic, what I had in mind and how I tweaked it to work as intended.

By Guido, ago

Urban Warriors – Part 5

Off We Go!!
So after all the discussions and planning stages, it’s time to put it all into action. The main goals were to get promotion out of the 2nd tier at the first attempt whilst stabilising the club financially. Squad wise we were very heavy which meant we were haemorrhaging money, so the first thing to do was pass the reins to Guido to be ruthless and sort the squad out.

By Mark Rennolds, ago

The Accidental Set Piece Routine

Some scientific discoveries come about after painstaking, goal-oriented lab work finally yields the result that a researcher is trying to find. But many of the most incredible discoveries in the world came about when someone found something they were not looking for. In some cases, these are the result of a true accident. Lucky accidents have allowed people to discover unexpected but useful side effects. That is certainly the case for my new corner routine.

By Guido, ago