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The Champions League is back! We’ve got a style guide for you.
Coming up:
📈 Euro leagues and tactical trends
👔 Introducing Man City’s new chief
🇺🇸 Barca vs Atletico in USA?
😥 Kroos opens up on retirement
Four Play: Champions League is back so how do top divisions compare?
(Design: Eamonn Dalton; photos: Getty Images)
Across the past 20 years, every Champions League trophy has been won by a side from England, Italy, Germany or Spain. We have traditionally spoken about Europe’s top five leagues, including France’s Ligue 1, but maybe it’s time to rethink.
Despite the dominance of these four divisions, there are stylistic differences, many of which will be on show in Europe’s premier competition tonight. Think of when a player shines in one league but struggles elsewhere (former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca springs to mind) — this can sometimes be down to how the teams set up, rather than individual quality.
There are stereotypes to support and shut down too. Mark Carey and Thom Harris’ data backs up the notion that Serie A is defensively focused — compared to, say, Bundesliga sides, Italian teams look different when they do not have the ball. Lazio and Roma love a mid-block — not sitting too deep or pressing too aggressively, but packing the middle of the pitch to control the space.
One consequence? Italian clubs don’t need sweeper-keepers. In Germany, where teams love to press high, goalkeepers are expected to sprint forward to stop balls over the top, but that space simply does not exist in Serie A; the graphics below offer a closer look at the differences in where goalkeepers perform their actions.
Are Spanish clubs more direct than we thought?
Time for some myth-busting. Spanish football is known for patience and short passing — but that’s not the full picture. Possession may be king for La Liga’s giants — Barcelona are a prime example — but why would smaller teams who cannot afford players of the same quality compete on their terms?
Six years ago, Getafe began a trend of physical, direct football and other teams, including Mallorca and Osasuna, are following their lead. Despite what you might expect, La Liga teams go long from goal kicks more than their Serie A, Bundesliga or Premier League counterparts. Tiki-taka-whacka.
Heavy metal on Premier League playlist
Finally, to the Bundesliga. Part of the German league’s appeal has always been its energetic style; teams swap possession more than 200 times a game. Counter-attacking is in its DNA. But with coaches such as Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso preferring a more patient approach, the Premier League is quickly closing in as Europe’s most transitional elite league.
Last season, English teams produced their highest number of ‘direct attacks’ (moves that start in a team’s half and result in either a shot or a touch inside the opposition penalty area within 15 seconds) in five years, with Liverpool, Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea all noticeably aggressive. Jurgen Klopp took German heavy metal football to the Premier League — but the English version may soon be louder.
News round-up
‘Superstar’ Viana: Man City’s incoming sporting director, the ‘killer’ negotiator
(Jan Kruger/Getty Images/Design: Dan Goldfarb)
Leading Manchester City is like leading an international conglomerate. So when City sporting director Txiki Begiristain announced his upcoming departure, Newcastle United fans of a certain age were confused to see that former will-o’-the-wisp playmaker Hugo Viana was his anointed replacement.
This is what they might have missed: Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon have been a club transformed under the 41-year-old’s stewardship. Before his arrival, Sporting had won just four trophies in 16 seasons. They now have six in the last six years, including two league titles.
Much of that is down to manager Ruben Amorim, who could just be top of the hitlist should Pep Guardiola leave City next summer, but Viana’s recruitment record is equally relevant. He brought in Manuel Ugarte, Matheus Nunes and Pedro Porro, who have all been sold for big money. Striker Viktor Gyokeres, with 40 goals from 41 league games, is the latest standout signing.
Jack Lang and Sam Lee explain why Viana has been so central to Sporting’s success — and why the killer negotiator could conquer the Premier League at the second attempt.
Retirement Kroos
“Carlo knows why I retired,” says Toni Kroos. “An important part of it is the amount of travel, hotels. It’s never been the 90 minutes on the pitch. If that’s all it was, I could play until I don’t know when…”
Kroos has spoken candidly to The Athletic’s Mario Cortegana about ending his 16-year professional career this summer. He is one of the 21st century’s greatest midfielders but, despite numerous offers, football’s daily grind is why he does not want to go into coaching. He has, however, left the door open on becoming a sporting director.
“Maybe then you’re a bit freer, you work more with your mobile phone, but it’s impossible to be a coach,” he says, before referencing his new academy in Madrid. “I’m a coach, but in another way, of many children.”
Liga Match In Miami? Speculation intensifies over Barca vs Atletico clash in December
La Liga president Javier Tebas has wanted to bring a game to the United States for years — and he may have got his wish.
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid is scheduled for December 22, but with the hosts playing at the smaller Montjuic during the Camp Nou’s redevelopment, Tebas is thinking supersized.
The idea of playing a regular-season game in the United States has been met with fury by Premier League fans, but La Liga has been more open to the idea. Why?
Money and power. Tebas wants to counteract the Premier League’s commercial appeal in the U.S, taking advantage of their reticence to play abroad. The participating clubs would be handsomely rewarded — and considering their financial issues, Barcelona will consider any way to increase revenue.
However, despite legal hurdles largely being cleared over staging La Liga matches outside Spain, the logistical issues of arranging this match in two months remain immense. Watch this space.
Around The Athletic FC
Catch A Match (Times ET/UK) 📺
Champions League ‘league phase’
(Both 12.45pm/5.45pm)
AC Milan vs Club Bruges — Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports, Monaco vs Red Star Belgrade — Paramount+, ViX/TNT Sports
(All 3pm/8pm)
Girona vs Slovan Bratislava — Paramount+, ViX/TNT Sports; Juventus vs Stuttgart — Paramount+, ViX/TNT Sports; Aston Villa vs Bologna — Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports; Paris Saint-Germain vs PSV Eindhoven — Paramount+, ViX/TNT Sports; Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund — Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports; Sturm Graz vs Sporting Lisbon — Paramount+, ViX/TNT Sports; Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk — Paramount+, ViX/Amazon Prime.
MLS Cup: Montreal vs Atlanta United FC, 12.30am/7.30pm — Apple TV.
And finally…
(Getty Images; design: Kelsea Petersen)
Phil Hay is away for the rest of the week but has been reading about Spanish scran — I believe that is some sort of northern word for food? — and sent me this dispatch:
“It’s a hard life being a football writer, not least when you’re Guillermo Rai and The Athletic asks you to swan around Spain, reviewing the best food on every La Liga patch.
“Never mind Lonely Planet: if you find yourself in the vicinity of a Spanish game, Guillermo’s served up your perfect gastronomic guide. I can vouch for Seville and its ‘montaditos’ — top-notch sandwich-style snacks. I’d be all over the ‘mantecaito’, a combination of sirloin steak and whisky sauce. You can take the Scotsman out of Scotland, etc.”
(Julian Finney – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Read the full article here