More than just goals
26/11/2021 | Isaque Argolo

I:This one is interesting and it's one of the most memorable paragraphs I've ever read. I don't remember for sure the year or who wrote it, but it was in the 20s. An English columnist traveled to Central Europe to note the evolution of football there. At the beginning of his paragraph, he comments on the characteristics of that football and mentions that the shot of the players from Central Europe was not comparable to that of the English, as it was a shot without so much strength, technique and much less applicable. He, however, ends the paragraph with an unexpected line.

Concluding the text, he comments that their gane is so artistic, elegant and intelligent, he says that it takes a few minutes for you to realize that a goal is just a shot that crossed the goal line.


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Ballon d'Or 2021
01/12/2021 | Isaque Argolo

II:Some friends and website followers asked me if I had watched the France Football Ballon d'Or ceremony and what conclusion I had come to from the awards. Yes, because I had more free time, I watched the ceremony. I, however, do not tend to give it too much credibility. I mean, not in the same way as the vast majority of people, I believe. Somehow — and even fanatically — I see people taking this award very seriously, when in fact, traditional as it is, it's just another award.

I received messages asking about the criterion, but which criterion? There is no universal criterion. There are nearly 200 journalists who vote based on their own criteria. The award is democratic, therefore the end result is a cluster of criteria and opinions from each journalist. It's simple.


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The result did not reflect both matches
26/11/2021 | Isaque Argolo

III:Watching the first match between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, at Parc des Princes, I noticed a discrepancy between the team's performance, mainly a completely abused play, but not stopped by the opposing team. The Manchester City team's collective game was much better than that of the Paris team. I see PSG play, and thus I realize that there is no notorious tactic to follow, rather a defensive system with 7 players and a forward line composed of three stars. The tactic is this: defend as much as possible with few players and throw the ball to the offensive trident. It's pathetic, simple and easy to handle.

Yes, PSG won the first match 2-0; the viewer, however, realizes that the result was not consistent with what the match was: Manchester City playing better and reading the tactical flaws of the PSG team. But since football is football, unexpected things can happen — and this, like it or not, was one of them.

Both in the first game and in the second, it is widely noticeable that Manchester City sought the game inversion to the left side of the PSG team, thus placing the right wingers almost always in a favorable situation in front of the left flank. Due to a spectacular performance by Gianluigi Donnarumma, PSG ended the match without conceding goals and with Lionel Messi & Kylian Mbappé scoring for the French team.

The second game was almost a reflection of the first match, as soon scoring the first goal, through a combination of the attacking trio, there was a perception that PSG would win again, but with a performance again inferior to Manchester City. Nevertheless, Manchester City sought the comeback, therefore managing to consecrate their team.

Neymar               Mbappé               Messi  

As much as, currently, this offensive trio is of the high class of world football, defending themselves with only 7 players will make the Paris team take goals even from so-called very inferior teams. For sure, at the moment PSG are neglecting the tactical side, therefore if they continue as they are, they will not achieve the main objective of the season: the UEFA Champions League. It is more than necessary the participation of the attack in the defensive composition — closing spaces, following opponents or even marking the opponent.


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Goodall & Cruijff
30/11/2021 | Isaque Argolo

IV:Reviewing Cruijff playing, John Goodall comes to mind, as I perceive a characteristic more notorious than the others: the understanding of the opponent's defensive flaws. Yes, Goodall was a master at this point. He would look at the opposing defense and try to find loopholes that could be exploited. With his commands inherent to his personality, Goodall, like Cruijff, tactically read the situation and conducted his attacks. It's an interesting similarity between these two genius players.