In an article I wrote earlier this season, I discussed some comments put forward by Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda (at a time when Chelsea were absolutely destroying every team that came before them). In short, Malouda expressed dismay at the fact that his side weren’t receiving sufficient praise for their style of football at the time, with commentators and pundits instead choosing to shower Arsenal (and to a lesser extent, Manchester United) with adulation.
Before I go any further, I would like to stress and underline a few important points:
1) I enjoy watching Barcelona, Arsenal and Spain as much as the next person.
2) I am not a close-minded xenophobe who refuses to accept other football cultures or styles.
The proliferation of internet live streaming sites, in conjunction with the growth of the blogosphere, means that access to football and football opinion is greater than ever.
However, this increased access means that theories propounded gain greater currency and become more widespread.
One prominent opinion that is commonly espoused amongst commentators and fans is that a combination of short passing and attacking football is synonymous with purism, and that other styles or brands of football are lesser or not the ‘right way’ to play the game.
In some cases, styles of football preferred and employed by figures such Jose Mourinho and Tony Pulis are mockingly derided as ‘anti-football’.
After losing to Ipswich Town in January, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas expressed dismay at the way his opponents had played.
“I don’t know if it is long ball or it is a rugby kick but it worked for them,” he said.
“In England, a lot of teams play like that and it works for them, they create chances like that and it is their football. We just have to put the ball on the floor and try to play football.
“Credit to them because they played well but Arsenal played the football, the other team refused to play football, they were lucky to score with a long ball.”
This snobbery is not limited to figures within the domestic game. Speaking to The Guardian earlier this year, Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi discussed his thoughts on the English game.
He said: “You watch Liverpool and Carragher wins the ball and boots it into the stands and the fans applaud. There’s a roar! They’d never applaud that here.”
Xavi is a clearly an exemplary footballer, and comes across as a thoughtful and articulate man. However, comments such as these serve to reinforce foreign stereotypes of ‘the English game’ and add further credibility to the notion that short-passing-based, ‘tiki-taka’-style football is the ‘right way’ to play the game.
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This denigration is also extended to managers who eschew a tactics-heavy approach too. Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp is frequently belittled for his approach to management and coaching.
Prior to the start of their inaugural Champions League campaign, many had predicted that Redknapp’s side would face several humiliations at the hands of ‘tactically-superior’ teams. However, Tottenham defied the naysayers and produced a string of superb performances, including a 3-1 victory over Inter Milan, a side then managed by celebrated tactician Rafael Benitez.
Describing his approach, Redknapp stressed the importance of the players, not the system or tactics used.
“Whether it is 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, the numbers game is not the beautiful game in my opinion,” he said in his column.
“It’s 10 per cent about the formation and 90 per cent about the players. If you have the best ones and they do their jobs, then they can pretty much play any way you want them to.”
At the end of the day the object of professional football is to win; trophies are not handed out for aesthetics or for the use of meticulous tactics. Managers and players are not obliged to entertain spectators.
Winning is the ultimate aim, and it doesn’t really matter how this is achieved. There are of course, many ways to skin a cat, and each one is as valid and acceptable as the other. After all, how many Chelsea fans were complaining about aesthetics after 2004/05 and 2005/06, and how many Inter Milan fans were miffed with Mourinho after their treble-winning season of 2009/10?
Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul
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Listen to the third episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. – Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin, who performs a live version of his cult tribute to Mark Viduka, with Razor on backing vocals!