With just over 35% of the vote, the winner of our Best Article of 2019 competition is Counter Attacking and the Death of Tiki-Taka Football. Runner-up Why a Women’s Canadian Premier League Should be the Next Step for Canada Soccer received just over 30% of the votes to finish in second place. Thanks for being part of a great year! See the below excerpts for all of the nominees and be sure to be back for more in 2020.
With over 100 articles written this year across The Mastermind Site and its affiliated enterprises, it’s time we look back at some of the very best of the year. Here are the nominees for Best Article of 2019 on The Mastermind Site. Make sure to go all the way to the bottom to vote and have your say on which is the best of all.
COUNTER ATTACKING AND THE DEATH OF TIKI TAKA FOOTBALL
Date: September 21, 2019
Categories: Tactics, Coaching, Managers
Excerpt: Counter attacking is one of the most deployed tactics in the modern game. Nearly every team uses some form of a counter-attacking approach after regaining possession. Some teams specifically implement this tactic in a more systematic, rigorous manner; while others simply set up with the type of players, formation or style of play that is conducive to quick attacking transitions. What cannot be understated however, is how modern-day versions of counter-attacking could not have evolved to such a great extent, without the maturation and long-standing success of tiki-taka football and the countless hours managers like Jose Mourinho would have spent scrutinizing over how to stop it from becoming the most prevalent method of playing in world football.
Full post -> Counter Attacking and the Death of Tiki-Taka Football
Why a Women’s Canadian Premier League Should be the Next Step for Canada Soccer
Date: May 1, 2019
Categories: Canadian Premier League, Women’s Football
Excerpt: This past weekend, the newly formed Canadian Premier League, Canada’s first ever top-flight league, got underway. It was a monumental occasion for soccer in Canada and kicked off the path to better times for our nation’s Men’s National Team. One of the major hopes behind the Canadian Premier League was that it would present young Canadian players with more opportunities to play at the highest level and make it into John Herdman’s national team plans, making Canada a stronger team, capable of competing at an international level. Top flight leagues exist around the world and Canada was virtually the only developed nation to not have a top flight league up until this point. The Canadian Premier League has been a success so far and that is in large part down to the investment and attention the league has been given. Moving forward, Canada Soccer should do the exact same thing for the Women’s game, where Canada has been successfully competing with the best nations in the world for decades.
Full post -> Why a Women’s Canadian Premier League Should be the Next Step for Canada Soccer
BRENDAN RODGERS – LEICESTER CITY – TACTICAL ANALYSIS
Date: September 29, 2019
Categories: Tactics, Managers, Premier League
Excerpt: Leicester City have had an exceptional start to the 2019-20 Premier League season, losing just 1 of their opening 7 matches. If it weren’t for the all-star cast and crew of England’s top two teams, the Foxes could very well have found themselves in a similar position to where they were at this time back in 2015-16 when Claudio Ranieri led Leicester to a league title. Brendan Rodgers has done an incredible job since taking over as Leicester manager for Claude Puel back in late February and has turned the Foxes back into one of England’s top sides after a couple of years of nothing more than mid-table success.
Full post -> Brendan Rodgers – Leicester City – Tactical Analysis
How the Best Managers in the World Used Formations to Gain an Advantage
Date: April 21, 2019
Categories: Formations, Coaching, Managers
Excerpt: Although we live in a highly tactical, analytical age with more variety in formations than ever before, at the end of the day, a team can win playing any formation. There isn’t necessarily any formation that is superior to another and any time someone seems to have broken the system and revolutionized the game with a formation, someone else will come along and counter-act it in a completely new way. That being said, some of the best teams in the modern era have perfected certain systems of play and utilized their formation in a way that led to their success. Here is an examination of some of the best teams in the past few years and how their formation led to their success.
Full post -> How the Best Managers in the World Used Formations to Gain an Advantage
4-3-3 vs. 4-1-4-1: Tactical Flexibility
Date: April 10, 2019
Categories: Formations, Coaching, Managers
Excerpt: In the post 4-4-2 era, teams all over the world play a variety of different formations. These formations change game by game or even within games, so it is becomingly increasingly difficult to nail professional teams down to just one single formation. That being said, two of the most popular formations in the world right now are the tactically flexible 4-3-3 and 4-1-4-1, both of which have been used heavily by Pep Guardiola throughout his career. Ultimately the formation has to suit the players that you have and their developmental, psychological and physiological characteristics. But the 4-3-3 and 4-1-4-1 are two very similar formations. The 4-1-4-1 is perhaps a little more physically demanding and tactically complex, while the 4-3-3 is perhaps more rooted in wing-play and the collaboration of the midfield triangle. Although these formations are very similar, they can offer a team a completely different dynamic, depending on how a manger or coach wants to implement them.
Full post -> 4-3-3 vs. 4-1-4-1: Tactical Flexibility
So there it is! The best articles from The Mastermind Site this year. Thanks for reading and see you soon!
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