Zeman’s system at work
4 of the 7 Roma players camped at the edge of the box combine for a great team goal, evidence of exactly the system that vintage Roma boss Zdenek Zeman has tried to install. If you want to learn more about Zeman’s attacking system this Wall Street Journal article is more or less required reading.
Here are some choice quotes:
“Do you enjoy watching soccer?” he asked in a low monotone.
“I rarely do anymore,” he said. “I still watch because I can’t help it. I’m addicted… but it’s not the same.” Another drag. ”It’s not my world anymore.”
Zeman’s philosophy is predicated on a high-energy 4-3-3 system that’s unlike anything you’re bound to see today, mainly because it is played at a breakneck pace with wave after wave of attackers streaming forward.
“Whenever we attack, all three forwards have to be in the penalty area while two of the three midfielders come forward as well. That way the opponent is pinned back. Then you put the ball in the box, and because you have more men, you have more chances of scoring. It’s not rocket science. It’s simple math.”
“But playing for results is not the same as playing soccer—my teams play soccer,” he said in 2009. “The way some so-called winning teams play today, it’s all about the players. The managers just focus on not conceding and leave everything up to the players. Guys like [Fabio] Capello and [Jose] Mourinho are hailed as geniuses because they win. Well, they win because they have the best players, not because of what they do. I could put my dead grandfather in charge of their teams and they would still win.”
Exciting times in the Eternal City
Being: Liverpool: Football’s first foray into “full access” programming
On September 16th the first of six episodes in the miniseries “Being: Liverpool” will air on Fox Soccer Channel in the US and Channel 5 in the UK. My only reaction after watching this trailer was jealousy. I’ve long been a fan of the similarly designed “Hard Knocks” and “24/7” HBO series that attempt to give the viewer an inside look in NFL team mini-camps (the Cowboys and Jets have both been featured in the past) and Boxing preparation (specifically Mayweather/De La Hoya which was brilliant) and have been saying that Villa should do one for years now. These programs succeed because they elucidate the hidden minutiae of backroom operations and also provide a humanistic portrayal of people’s heroes. “Being: Liverpool” looks to take this to the next level. The focus isn’t only going to be on day-to-day operations of a “timeline” perspective, but will also delve into specific external stories (i.e. the team historian) and club lore to attempt encapsulating the aura around the club. This has been a narrative sorely lacking in the other programming in this genre and promises to take the quality of this program to the next level. Nothing of this magnitude has been done before and, if the trailer is any indication, the 6-hours should be packed with great overarching stories and amusing and illuminating details.
“Being Liverpool” should be suggested viewing for any football fan and is a much watch for all Premier League supporters, we have never gotten this much access into a premier league club. There was the QPR documentary “The Four Year Plan”, but that was more of a look into what a big twat Flavio Briatore is and the drama at the club not an honest portrayal of what was really happening. This level of honesty should solve age old puzzles: Is Andy Carroll really that daft? Does Charlie Adam really grunt like that every time he does a pull-up? Is Kenny Dalglish senile?. As a Villa fan I just want one of my own. Do the players not utterly bollocks Stephen Ireland every time that he cruises in in that fucking pink Range Rover? What is Lambert already doing to change the club? I must know. Speaking of new managers, that also looks like a great angle here. The filming took place during the managerial change from Dalglish to Rodgers and should give one of the better looks at what actually takes place during a “regime change” at a club. I’m assuming that it will be like the transition to Marlon in “The Wire”, with the newer players adapting first and the more senior members at the club being more reticent and guarded, but who knows? This program promises to provide us with real life answers to complement the assumptions that we already make about football clubs and the players and managers that populate them. I am obviously really excited for this and you should be too.
