Champions League 23/24

[Birdy]

Birdy's hate rage boner for LL is shocking.

No one is saying this is prime LL, but this man is on a mission to make it seem like the league is Portuguese Liga

Never claimed that dude.
But firmly behind EPL (much distance), and currently lower than Serie A.
Questionable about the Bundesliga

 

[Porque]

Pep is so good at getting his City players to position and control his opposition. To be honest in that regard, Ancelotti is understandably a bit dated.

Still he has a slightly more physical team this time around, so if they don't get blitzed early then they can and will create on the counter.

Id say they don't challenge for the CL until Lenny Kooperling and Donatello arrive next year though.

City should take this now and be on their way to a second CL. Ironically the best chance of stopping them should they proceed, is probably Arsenal.

 

[serghei]

La liga adjusted to bellingham same way they did to lewandowski. Undoubtedly class player. Needs to be marked properly otherwise will hurt you. Today was a disasterclass and some of worst theater we have had to witness

True. His influence has been declining in the last months compared to his great start. It's not only this game.

 

[Temptation]

RL9 clearly living rent free in the minds of certain "Barca fans".


Hilarious stuff.

 

[Birdy]

Pep is so good at getting his City players to position and control his opposition. To be honest in that regard, Ancelotti is understandably a bit dated.

Still he has a slightly more physical team this time around, so if they don't get blitzed early then they can and will create on the counter.

Id say they don't challenge for the CL until Lenny Kooperling and Donatello arrive next year though.

'OUTdated' at best

I always laugh when people give credit to Ancelotti these days for this or that choice.
Having Vinicius Rodrygo and Bellingham to play on the counter is something someone with elementary football tactical knowledge would have thought as well. Playing low block always against even med to decent sides, and hoping for top players to find each other on the break hardly deserves any credit

All the rest about his man-managements skills are valid, but hardly sufficient

 

[serghei]

Lol. There's so much more to football beyond "improvising" tactics. Ancelotti is a master at commanding a locker-room full of stars for example. So what if he is not a revolutionary tactician? He is world class in other key areas of management.

 

[Porque]

'OUTdated' at best

I always laugh when people give credit to Ancelotti these days for this or that choice.
Having Vinicius Rodrygo and Bellingham to play on the counter is something someone with elementary football tactical knowledge would have thought as well. Playing low block always against even med to decent sides, and hoping for top players to find each other on the break hardly deserves any credit

All the rest about his man-managements skills are valid, but hardly sufficient

Yeah but this is very much the Madrid way. They go for mentality managers who know how to win and stand above the pressure (I guess having the refs and the press in your pocket helps with that though!).

Zidane and Ancelotti are very similar in that regard.

 

[Birdy]

Lol. There's so much more to football beyond "improvising" tactics. Ancelotti is a master at commanding a locker-room full of stars for example. So what if he is not a revolutionary tactician? He is world class in other key areas of management.

I mentioned that. But you chose to overlook it. Classic stuff

 

[mc_lovin]

Never claimed that dude.
But firmly behind EPL (much distance), and currently lower than Serie A.
Questionable about the Bundesliga

Thats already a classic

What an idiot

 

[Birdy]

Yeah but this is very much the Madrid way. They go for mentality managers who know how to win and stand above the pressure (I guess having the refs and the press in your pocket helps with that though!).

Zidane and Ancelotti are very similar in that regard.

Honestly, Zidane deserves more credit than Ancelotti.
I can't believe I am defending the voodoo merchant, who was tactically levels below the likes of Pep Klopp Tuchel etc,
but honestly his setup wasn't as childish as Ancelotti's. There were some even rudimentary tactical tweaks there

 

[serghei]

I mentioned that. But you chose to overlook it. Classic stuff

You need to get past the idea that the top 20-30 managers in the game are not all very good tacticians. Sure, some select 3-4 are more revolutionary in this area and improvise more, but this doesn't mean that the others are bad or not prepared in this zone.

The difference is made in other areas. Man management is probably most important, leadership qualities, charisma, your staff, and so on. Every good manager is at least very competent tactically. Especially a quadruple CL winner like Ancelotti.

 

[Birdy]

Thats already a classic

What an idiot

Says the guy who wrote some hours ago that City is a good fit for Barca in a CL final

yes, you are an utter idiot

 

[Birdy]

You need to get past the idea that the top 20-30 managers in the game are not all very good tacticians. Sure, some select 3-4 are more revolutionary in this area and improvise more, but this doesn't mean that the others are bad or not prepared in this zone.

Ancelotti was tactically bad today and unprepared as well. explained why. Feel free to prove me wrong.
All the fluff about his locker-room skills is irrelevant to the very precise point I am making

 

[Birdy]

The difference is made in other areas. Man management is probably most important, leadership qualities, charisma, your staff, and so on. Every good manager is at least very competent tactically. Especially a quadruple CL winner like Ancelotti.

Xavi has good man-management skills, and great aura/leadership.
Yet, he is a very bad coach

 

[serghei]

He was not ... Game was played pretty much as everybody knew it would be played. Reminded me of the 4-3 for a few years ago, except with a bit less intensity.