Despite losing to the eventual finalists in the quarter-final, England’s performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup highlighted early signs of a golden generation. With Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, Man City’s Phil Foden, and Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham leading the line, the Three Lions have quality for years to come. Just...
It was raining goals for the visitors as it turned out to be one of the most entertaining games in Serie A in recent times. Sassuolo's energetic play proved to be the decisive factor in their victory against the fourth-place home club, which aims for a spot in the Champions...
William Still, the 30-year-old Belgian Manager, was asked to fill in for Óscar García as interim manager and will now be managing Stade de Reims in the French Ligue 1 until the end of this season. From his first five games as manager, he has taken two wins and drawn...
Who Is Kim Hellberg? In June, we conducted an analysis of a small club in Sweden that had established itself as the most tactically sophisticated team in the Allsvenskan. Despite the lowest budget in the league, IFK Värnamo managed a 10th-place finish a year after earning a promotion to the...
Kaoru Mitoma and Crysencio Summerville are both very new to their clubs. Mitoma arrived at Brighton in the summer, after a year out on loan with Union SG, for a relatively small fee of £3 million. The Japanese winger has earned a call-up to the World Cup due to his...
After a two-and-a-half-year sabbatical from the sport, Ernesto Valverde finally returned to football to take his seat in a dugout when he was appointed as the new manager of Athletic Club in La Liga. The Basque side finished in a respectable eighth place last season under the former Valencia head...
Already one of the top talents worldwide in attacking midfield, Charles De Ketelaere now also plays in a top league. Italian champions AC Milan have signed the 21-year-old Belgian international from Club Brugge. Reigning champions AC Milan have strengthened their squad with a Belgian gem shortly before the start of...
22-year-old João Mário Neto Lopes, known as “João Mário”, is the latest player to establish himself within the first team after coming up through FC Porto's academy. Having left hometown club A.D. Sanjoanense to join the Portuguese champions at the age of nine. João Mário has represented his club and...
After joining Turkish giants Fenerbahçe at the start of the 2021/22 season, Kim Min-jae took his first steps out of Asian football. His first campaign in Europe was impressive, immediately becoming an integral player as he started every Turkish Süper Lig fixture when available alongside six full nineties in the...
After a disappointing 21/22 campaign, VfL Wolfsburg moved quickly to appoint Niko Kovac as the man to take over from Florian Kohfeldt. The Green-and-Whites have appointed the former Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt head coach on a three-year deal until 2025. The Berlin-born manager, who is Croatian through his family,...
Ernesto Valverde is likely to be appointed as manager of Athletic Club Bilbao for the third time. Jon Uriarte won the Basque club’s presidential elections on Friday and, as promised, is looking to re-appoint their former player and manager on a rumoured two-year contract. Valverde began his career as a...
Rayo Vallecano finished their first season back in La Liga in a very respectable 12th position. Their exciting debut campaign back in the top division raised eyebrows with notable performances against the country's big two. Los Franjirrojos ran Real Madrid close at home and away and completed the double over Barcelona, under Ronald Koeman and...
Who Is Jon Dahl Tomasson? Jon Dahl Tomasson has recently been appointed as the new Blackburn Rovers head coach. Following a successful period in Sweden with Malmö FF, winning back-to-back league titles before leaving in December 2021. Tomasson is ready for his next opportunity and has taken the role with the...
We’re living in a golden age for Real Betis. The Seville side finished the 2021/22 season in 5th place, their best campaign in 17 years. They achieved a consecutive Europa League qualification and stormed all the way to the Copa del Rey final to clinch their first trophy since 2004/05....
After sacking both Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney last season, Hibernian announced the appointment of Lee Johnson as their new manager last week. Ross and Maloney both lost their jobs during a disappointing 21/22 campaign for the Edinburgh side, which saw them finish in the bottom six of the Scottish...
When you think of the Dutch midfielders currently mainstays in the national team, names like Gini Wijnaldum at PSG, Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona and Teun Koopmeiners at Atalanta come to mind. One name that has not yet entered the fray but may do soon is Luuk Brouwers at Go...
Having won just one of their last six league games, losing five, SSV Jahn Regensburg now sit in eighth place in 2. Bundesliga on 28 points. However, things are tight at the top of Germany’s second-tier, as Die Jahnelf are just two points away from third place 2. Bundesliga’s promotion...
Sassuolo had been one of the most entertaining teams to watch over the last few years under Roberto De Zerbi, and their displays have been a pleasant surprise in the tactical world. That’s why it was interesting to see whether or not the club’s new coach, Alessio Dionisi, could continue...
There is no single best formation in football. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and coaches must be flexible enough to recognise when and in what context to use a specific one. This tactical analysis will give you the attacking tactics of the 4-2-3-1 system. We will use tactical theory to explain...
The use of the 4-2-3-1 out-of-possession has gained popularity in recent years, with various teams using different systems within this shape. Within any pressing shape, variations can be gained by adjusting the roles of players within the press and the intentions of their movements while pressing. Having previously written about...
