Archive — Why is Modern Football so Boring?
[From April 2022]
Since it’s been too long since I’ve written anything, rather than just a generic breakdown or team analysis I figured it would be better to make a more substantial piece chronicling the modern ‘death of tactics’. In actually for most the modern game represents ‘all tactics’ and no room for freedom. Either way, there is a certain blandness to football which I do not think is solely from elders clamouring about glory days and youth dismissing it as nostalgia. There is a true lack of innovativeness — or rather the innovativeness has at least shifted to off-field changes. From a philosophical point, there is certainly a difference in the 100+ years history of football, and the last 10 or so years which in many ways is something totally different.
The political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote in 1992 that there was an “end of history”. To simplify his ideas, he ventured that the fall of the Soviet Union and grande finale to the ideological battle of communism and capitalism eroded the need for new ideologies to come forth. That humanity had in a way reached its last destination wherein (more or less) countries would adopt a form of liberal democracy — some better and some worse and so on but that even if countries did change their government it would be a rehashing of an old system and nothing new would erupt. Just as Fukuyama spoke naively in 1992, where the next decades would lead to new levels of financial turbulence, a rise in Islamic fundamentalism, a whole slew of micro-ideologies and the Chinese State-Capital system which all were new forms and distinct from their past ideals, the same thing is currently happening in modern football. The majority of fans think the game is gone when in reality, the new era is waiting to begin.
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Easily the most well-known tactical system in the world is the Tiki-Taka from Barcelona. In the 2000’s culminating in about 2012 the Spanish system which ordained countless great managers and players reached its climax. Pep Guardiola and the Spanish National Team furthered the traditions of TotalFootball and Tiki-Taka to a new level of dominance. Ironically, it was in the 2010 World Cup Final where the greatest glory of all came against the Netherlands who all Spanish football fans *really* owe everything. The Ajax-Barcelona connection is an article in itself but the lineage of Rinus Michels to Cruyff to Frank Rijkaard and Louis Van Gaal all lead to Pep Guardiola’s radicalism of the Total Football that would indirectly (through Vicente Del Bosque who was inspired by Pep) bring defeat to the Netherlands. For some, seeing Cesc Fabergas as striker and Iniesta and David Silva as “wingers” was atrocious, the system of 4 defenders, 1 holding midfielder and 5 other midfielders represented the playground’s keep-away more than football. At the same time, it was also the climax of ideology running football. Before the game became more corporate and more decisions came by committee and data… It was the last time ‘football intellectuals’ were in charge. The nail in the coffin came shortly after in club football with the Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich Champions League Final in 2013. The aspect of pressing required in many forms of Tiki-Taka had become the focus rather than the possession and German managers brought the perceived “end of history” for tactics.
Jurgen Klopp, Jupp Heynckes, Julian Naglessman and of course the hipster’s messiah Ralf Ragnick ushered in various forms of gengen-pressing that essentially mechanized the game. People talk of Riquelme as the last great authentic number 10, but certainly, players like Ozil and Iniesta had a uniqueness to their game that still advocated creativity. If the Riquelme’s weren’t dead then they certainly are now. Besides Ajax’s Dusan Tadic and Atalanta’s Josip Ilicic I struggle to find any good forwards who lack extreme athletic ability and aren’t hold-up strikers. Especially in Italy now, there aren’t any trequatista’s like a Totti or Baggio, Platini… and the most common formations today are 4–2–3–1 and 3–5–2’s — formations built for pressing and counter-attacking not for retaining possession and certainly not to highlight individual skill or hold possession. The German managers stole the romance of football. Even in 2008, Mancini (Italy manager) ahead of his time said “future advances in soccer would not come in tactics but in the physical preparation of players”. On the field the gengen-pressing reinforces simple direct and vertical play offensively and defensively leaves little time on the ball. A player’s time on the ball is where most of the magic in football comes from and one does not need to be Mancini to know that. The extreme physicality of the game (in terms of fitness and stamina not duels) has made squad depth more crucial and the philosophy of suffocating the opposition with pressing has made it even easier for large teams to dominante. A recent NPR article highlights how games have become predictable and the financial gaps are too large for big teams to fail. In the 1980s and 90s there were plenty of different teams in European finals, especially Eastern European which now can barely compete in the Europa League. With all due respect, the domestic leagues in South America are a shell of their former selves and most teams cannot even hold star talents until they’re not teenagers. Furthermore, almost all the big teams play a high-press and utilize the same type of athletic all-around but great at nothing specific type. I mean of course Coman and Gortezka and Kimmich are great players but watch a Bayern game and there is simply nothing distinct about them. It is the Robben and Ribery compared to Coman/Sane and Gnabry…Watch Manchester City a few times and you’ll notice that their creativity is largely from a set of predetermined attack points in the game and not ingenious acts of individuality (well besides Joao Cancelo). And even if people disagree with me and point to their goals per game and how Pep is still the same from before just with little tweaks I have to retort but what is the joy in watching him smash Norwich 5–0 with transfers paid for by a state. It is not only the football but the context that makes it magical. At least in the past UEFA and FIFA tried to hide the blood money in the game now it’s advertised everywhere, the investors are the stars on all the kits. The German 50+1 rule which is a relic in the modern day is under pressure every season and was made a mockery of by Red Bull, and the next World Cup is being played in Qatar. If the Spanish National Team was the climax of intellectuals running the game, the Super League proposal was the climax of capital running it.
At this point it may come across that if Fukayama was a football journalist and not a political scientist he would’ve been correct but my point is the opposite. Yes, the truth is that football is overwhelmingly more boring than ever and distorted by questionable investors and a governing body that couldn’t manage a child’s lemonade stand. At the same time, the accelerationism in the transfer market and unbelievable sums of money being thrown around are not just unsustainable but so damaging, the very structures of leagues and European competitions could see massive upheaval in the coming years. Whether that is a Super League or a Benelux league or something positive like a fairer distribution of TV revenue or a salary cap (although I don’t love them) there is likely change on the horizon and this past decade of gengen-pressing and sponsors-first attitude will follow suit. The future of the game is uncertain and one can be an optimist or a pessimist about it, but again unlike Fukuyama’s prediction the current state will not hold and there is definitely no end to history. I would love to see a cap on agent’s commissions on large transfers, meanwhile the limiting of loan players FIFA currently passed is a decent start to stop the hoarding of players from larger sides.
In the meantime I encourage fans to support local and find a variety of leagues and matches to consume. SC Freiburg are amazingly 5th this season in the Bundesliga and they play a modern catenaccio system in the German league dominated by high-pressing. MK Dons play in the English 3rd Division and use a possession-based system that sees them next to PSG and Man City in the stat! Atalanta plays a unique 3–4–2–1 with two diamonds in a constant rotation that is novel and unique. Ajax and PSV still play illustrious Dutch football. When it comes to individual players there are some that still shine. Allan Saint-Maximin, Antony, and Raphinha are greatly skilled soloists. De Paul last season at Udinese was probably the most I’ve seen an individual carry a team. Jorginho, Pogba, Kroos and Luis Alberto are all amazing creators capable of making inconceivable passes who for better or for worse do not fit the modern game. And I’l say that leagues like MLS and the J-League who have massive skill gaps with global stars next to NCAA-quality makes a unique dynamic more representative of an older game where defenders stood little chance against great attackers. Find a variety and don’t be consumed by SuperLeague rhetoric and the unwavering flows of capital injected into the sport, support those who actually represent their community and those who push for needed financial changes to the game.
Also let us all hope Villarreal will do the unthinkable and win the Champions League…
European football matches have become more predictable, scientists say : NPR
