I think the headline is a bit more sarcastic than serious tbh, Liu’s articles are often smattered with tongue in cheek comments. I doubt he’s genuinely presenting dribbling as a new tactic or what have you.
It was clear when the fixation on possession started (about ten years ago) that some teams were passing for the sake of passing.
Playing in “U” shape without ever penetrating, having 65% of the ball but losing 3-0. United under Van Gaal springs to mind…
Dribblers were almost a dying breed but people realised you needed them to take a player out of the game and another would have to engage with you, freeing up space elsewhere. This has been known for decades.
Guardiola invented dribblers at Man City now, eh.
It’s not even new for Guardiola. Ever heard of Messi?
Guardiola invented dribblers at Man City now, eh.
Where did the article say this?
It’s not even new for Guardiola. Ever heard of Messi?
“And for a coach often characterised as a control-obsessed micromanager, Guardiola has always got this. His teams have always possessed brilliant dribblers, from Lionel Messi to Arjen Robben to Leroy Sané.”
Don’t forget Bernado Silva.
‘of course it would be ridiculous to describe something as natural and elemental and ubiquitous as dribbling as a lost skill.’
At least read the fucking article before chiming in
I don’t think it’s that. Pep has a very clear philosophy and he builds his teams to play that way. He eschewed dribblers previously because he only wanted passers. He eschewed traditional centre forwards because he wanted more players in midfield and between the lines. Now he’s changing his philosophy again and having success and people are talking about it.
Jesus H Christ, here comes the media with this month’s new “tactical innovation” which isn’t just the basics of football and something which we did 10-15 years ago.
I look forward to next week’s article introducing the 4-4-2 formation as the next great invention which we’ve totally never seen before, complete with TWO strikers who play as ACTUAL strikers!
I’ve heard some clubs are even looking at a revolutionary shift in goalkeeping, where players prioritise shot-stopping and catching the ball instead of passing and ball control.
Honestly, this article makes it sound like nobody’s dribbled a ball in decades - are we really pretending that dribbling is some lost art and not a common feature in every fucking game that’s played at every level?
You joke but tifo did a video a year or two ago about how pep was playing a revolutionary new formation, the 4-4-2. Of course pep’s 4-4-2 was different to a classic 4-4-2 but then again very few teams ever played a classic 4-4-2 anyway.
It really doesn’t. If you read to para 2 you’ll see this: ‘of course it would be ridiculous to describe something as natural and elemental and ubiquitous as dribbling as a lost skill.’
If you read to para 2 you’ll see this
You ask for too much.
Wow Pep invented passing, formations, shooting and dribbling now?
I think he invented the art of using the foot in this sport even
I think this guy is completely overhyped. I think Salah is by far a better dribbler than him. Same for Maximan who was at Newcastle.
All he does is wiggle his leg and use speed to cut in. He is far from the best dribblers like Neymar was. That is dribbling.
I even think Bernado Silva is a better dribbler than him.
Whatever guardiola does becomes how football is played.
Doku hasn’t impressed me against any of the better fullbacks he’s faced tbh. He got completely pocketed by James a few games ago and even struggled against TAA.
Blud he destroyed Trent so hard Trent had to run away from defence to attack and then happened to get a goal
Pep’s obviously an excellent manager, but it’s slightly boring and more than a slight stretch to suggest signing Doku represents a major tactical shift in the sport because he’s good at dribbling.
We don’t have to pretend the wheel is being reinvented every time slightly different tactics are being employed. It’s fawning and largely false.
So he dribbled past a few players then passed it back. Wow how revolutionary, the Premier League has had headless chicken wingers since the start.
I’m pretty sure Pep has talked on multiple occasions about why having talented dribblers is as important to his setup as many other attacking strengths.
IIRC one of the major reasons for buying Grealish at a time when Sterling was amongst the goals quite a lot was because he was the better dribbler and more successful against more defensive teams.
You need someone to break that low block sometimes. If your players aren’t moving the ball quick enough you need something else
He saw how much Saint Max rinsed them last year and clocked it’s the way forwards
Always was surely. Or at least, was previously.New thing becomes the old thing, becomes the new thing etc. We’re one step away from the glorious 4 4 facking 2 being back in vogue again.
I’m actually surprised city haven’t tried it with them having 2 great young strikers, hypermobile dm that is somehow also great going forward, and having versatile wingers.
Yeah! Hell, even Van Gaal’s Ajax, maybe the most rigidly tactical team ever, relied on wingers dribbling in 1v1s.
one of the joys of the 4-3-3 that Liverpool played with Mané-Firmino-Salah front 3 was that you could very easily switch it up to a 4-4-2 diamond midfield if you wanted to
these two formations have always been my personal favorite
When City first got Haaland they mostly played 442 out of possession lol. 442 as an out of possession shape never seems to go out of fashion
Sean Dyche fans arise
Leicester won the league with 442 in 2016
Next step is the 2 defenders 5 attackers imo.
Look at pep at the moment with city. Basically has a goalkeeper, centre backs, 10’s and haaland.
Wow a player that can dribble past other elite players must be good for your team@ such analysis such wow
It is deeper that that. The threat of a dribbler in your team forces the defence to position in a different way to handle it.
That can open up space that otherwise wouldnt be there, even if the dribbler isn’t actually dribbling at that moment. The threat of having strong dribblers is therefore important to force low block teams to be proactive and more aggressive rather than just sitting back.
It’s not just about «having players with better skills is better».
When the league started adapting to inverted fullbacks and started getting their own inverted fullbacks, Pep brings back a pure winger who can put the hardiest of defenders on ice skates with his dribbling. Doku, in his element, is a treat to watch, albeit a bit predictable.
Except he got completely pocketed by James, who is probably the toughest fullback he has met so far.
Tbf it’s not much of a criticism to get pocketed by James. The guy’s done the same to Sterling, Vini and Leao in big games in recent seasons.
He shook James mentally who had to give everything in his soul to stop Doku, which is why he had an absolute nightmare the game after and got himself sent off.
You forgot /s right?
But frustrating as he has spent the last two years crushing Englands best dribbler. Grealish is no longer the exciting player to watch.
Can this false narrative stop lol? Grealish can only dribble with space, which is why he excelled at a low table team where they play on the counter. At City he’s always up against parked buses which has showed he’s not that great a dribbler. A player is a top class dribbler when they can do it in tight spaces and from standing still.
Where do you get this bullshit from? There are plenty of media sources that says one of Grealish’ best traits is dribbling in tight spaces, loads of videos showing him do it, etc. Grealish was/is a top class dribbler.
So you actually didn’t watch him play but depend on “media sources”
No clue why you’re blaming Pep for this lol.
Englands best dribbler is grealish? i like his style with the shin guards and hair but are we saying grealish is better than sterling ? he cant even get on the bench for the england team at the euros
He is miles ahead as the better dribbler compared to Sterling.
Bother quality players with different styles of dribbling, but Grealish takes it for me personally
Foden is the best in the england squad
He’s not better than Sterling or Saka at dribbling
Also, Martinelli was probably a CB last season lmao
Yes I agree. I love Jack. Doku seems to make him redundant at the moment.
Grealish is the best foul winner nowt else
Considering he had Mahrez who made a name for himself doing exactly that and adding a ton of end product to his game as well as sane. Not really that ground breaking tbh. There’s not many teams that deploy inverted fullbacks in the league as well tbh.
Nothing on Saint Maximin
Both have an eerily similar dribbling style, I remember when Doku was coming on as a sub in the Euros and being amazed that there was another player like this. Imagine both of them in the same side? Would be so exciting to watch
Spent his time well at rennais I guess haha