[Bubble_Pop_22]

Modern football is the same as old 60s football: Catenaccio wins you matches and trophies with the minimum effort and minimal financial expense for the board.

"two lines of 5 will always be very hard to penetrate, in prehistoric times, in the middle ages and today"

- Josèp Guardiola -

[sk0g]

Is it? One tactical change I've realised recently is the handoff of goalscoring responsibilities to wide players. This seems driven by defenders getting really good at both organising and one on one situations. The new goalscorers are the players that cut into the space between the wide and central defenders.

Regarding two lines of 5, yes it will be hard to break down. Yet if you don't attack much, you have to defend non-stop. Hard is not impossible, so the numbers start stacking up against you, unless you have _very_ good attacking players the opposition has to fear (and avoid overcommitting themselves in attack).

More than anything, modern football is becoming very programmed. You can see constant triggers for presses, passes, blind switches, and rehearsed team-wide runs from simple passages of play. Coaches seem like programmers for the worst computer of them all - humans.