Just fill in the blanks and you’ll fit right in with the American soccer incumbents.
_______________ (Possession/4-3-3/Passing out of the back) like __________________ (F.C. Barcelona/Spain/Ajax) would never work for a __________________ (Mid-low table Premier League/Major League Soccer/NCAA Division I) team. The __________________ (British/American/American College) game is too ____________ (Fast/Physical/Aggressive) for a ________________ (British/MLS/College) team to play like that. The only reason ______________ (F.C. Barcelona/Spain/Ajax) can play like that is because all of their players were ______________ (impoverished street kids/sons of former professionals/one-of-a kind phenoms) who spent thousands of hours playing ______________ (street football in Brazilian slums/at an inhumane brainwashing academy like La Masia/Ajax Academy). That’s how they all learn to ____________ (dive/cheat/properly control a 15 yard pass). And besides, in ____________ (British/American) culture, we value ________________ (hard work/impatience/violent mediocrity) way too much to ever teach our teams to play like that so that we could actually ____________________ (win a World Cup/win a European Championship/not struggle against third world Central American national teams).
This was an excerpt from an article at recently launched blog, Football Garden, by 3four3 contributor Jacques Pelham.
!!! Love it
This site is fantastic! If someone goes there they need to click the “Archive” for the first 3 entries. There is a video of Barca that identifies the various tactics utilized by them — all in game situations. Music is awful though !!
I just finished reading the first three articles on the Football Garden website, and I must say that the writing is brilliant, bloody fucking brilliant.
It’s the first soccer site I’ve linked to in a post, encouraging readers to go check it out.