How To Win Football Matches.

It is now critical than ever to use analytical data and process information that can be easily synthesised and consumed by players to enhance team performance. German PhD research students revealed how Germany humiliated England in the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, 4-1.

Before we dig into that, Brazil. 99 % of Brazilian coaches are Professors themselves, having to attend several University classes over a period of time. Usually it is the less successful or little known players who go this route and finally become coaches. Dunga is an example of those who have it easy getting a short-cut to the top. Brazilians study football the way they do medicine.

Stephan Nopp was leader of a group of 55 students at the German Sports University in Cologne. It took about 1,000 hours analysing the England squad and they gave German coach Joachim Loew the collected data. "The way England played against Germany was like we expected," Nopp said. "The German coaching staff knew what would happen when England got the ball - we got it right. We began analysing all 31 teams after they qualified for the World Cup so, for England, we started nearly one year before the game.

Zimbabwe are said to be looking for a coach with a minimum of 5 "o" Levels. The country has a few leaders with Brazilian qualifications and are probably hoping to land a person who can be given such data, scrutinize and utilise it. It still stands to be seen if they have the money to collect such data, as it is not easy nor cheap. The Brazilians themselves had one Jairo who had done data collection for coaches for over 20 years when the Samba Boys won the World Cup in 1994.

Nopp went on to say, "One of the things we look for is how a team starts their attacks. For England, the ball went very often through the centre of midfield to Lampard, Barry or Gerrard, who had moved in from the left. Gerrard had a lot of action in the centre although he should be the left midfielder."

For individual coaches, data sheets, coaching boards, models, projectors, pie-charts and any visual aids aids, are a must to have. It is another thing to utilise these resources efficiently. Improvisation when these are not available will go a long way driving the point home.

 The students said this was very significant for them as they could predict what would happen when England had the ball and how Wayne Rooney would attack a defender so they could find a way to stop him. The team of students found out that England's previous opponents succeeded with the long ball against them, hence the Germans decided to change their short-passing tactics.

A point to understand is that, it is one thing to gather data, and yet another to use it efficiently. Some coaches become fortunate enough to have what they need, yet they are too dumb to tell a cow from the bull. There is a breed of coaches that deal with little budgets and can not have the luxury of such research. It is African coaches with either club or national duties who suffer from this. They are made to understand that these are the expenses the clubs or Associations cannot afford. When an expat coach comes, suddenly the resources resurface.

An observation of the German group went on thus, "In the group matches, less than 10 per cent of Germany’s passes were what we would call long or uncontrolled. Against Australia, it was just two per cent. However, we upped that ratio to 30 per cent against England." It tells you German coach was smart enough to dissect these bits and integrated the talent and ability of his players to get that far in the World Cup.

It is said the team's assistant manager Oliver Bierhoff publicly thanked the students after their victory over England in Bloemfontein. Further research after the World Cup by the group noted that teams that play a fluid system like a 1-4-2-3-1 (Germans, Spain and Holland) had most success.

They noted also how the top players changed their positions compared to some years ago when these players stayed rigid. Arjen Robben, David Villa and Thomas Muller tended to start from the wing. They are important for assists and for goals. They emphasised the significance of counter attacks. Conversion from defence to offence is getting more and more important. Variance and adaptability were the best.

The students study concluded the outdatedness of a fixed 1-4-4-2 system, like England who used it and had a disappointing tournaments. I must say here that when it comes to formations, a player you know as an attacker should not considered an attacker because he is known to attack. It is their role that counts.

How much do you believe in statistics and data?

How To Win Football Matches.

It is now critical than ever to use analytical data and process information that can be easily synthesised and consumed by players to enhance team performance. German PhD research students revealed how Germany humiliated England in the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, 4-1.

Before we dig into that, Brazil. 99 % of Brazilian coaches are Professors themselves, having to attend several University classes over a period of time. Usually it is the less successful or little known players who go this route and finally become coaches. Dunga is an example of those who have it easy getting a short-cut to the top. Brazilians study football the way they do medicine.

Stephan Nopp was leader of a group of 55 students at the German Sports University in Cologne. It took about 1,000 hours analysing the England squad and they gave German coach Joachim Loew the collected data. "The way England played against Germany was like we expected," Nopp said. "The German coaching staff knew what would happen when England got the ball - we got it right. We began analysing all 31 teams after they qualified for the World Cup so, for England, we started nearly one year before the game.

Zimbabwe are said to be looking for a coach with a minimum of 5 "o" Levels. The country has a few leaders with Brazilian qualifications and are probably hoping to land a person who can be given such data, scrutinize and utilise it. It still stands to be seen if they have the money to collect such data, as it is not easy nor cheap. The Brazilians themselves had one Jairo who had done data collection for coaches for over 20 years when the Samba Boys won the World Cup in 1994.

Nopp went on to say, "One of the things we look for is how a team starts their attacks. For England, the ball went very often through the centre of midfield to Lampard, Barry or Gerrard, who had moved in from the left. Gerrard had a lot of action in the centre although he should be the left midfielder."

For individual coaches, data sheets, coaching boards, models, projectors, pie-charts and any visual aids aids, are a must to have. It is another thing to utilise these resources efficiently. Improvisation when these are not available will go a long way driving the point home.

 The students said this was very significant for them as they could predict what would happen when England had the ball and how Wayne Rooney would attack a defender so they could find a way to stop him. The team of students found out that England's previous opponents succeeded with the long ball against them, hence the Germans decided to change their short-passing tactics.

A point to understand is that, it is one thing to gather data, and yet another to use it efficiently. Some coaches become fortunate enough to have what they need, yet they are too dumb to tell a cow from the bull. There is a breed of coaches that deal with little budgets and can not have the luxury of such research. It is African coaches with either club or national duties who suffer from this. They are made to understand that these are the expenses the clubs or Associations cannot afford. When an expat coach comes, suddenly the resources resurface.

An observation of the German group went on thus, "In the group matches, less than 10 per cent of Germany’s passes were what we would call long or uncontrolled. Against Australia, it was just two per cent. However, we upped that ratio to 30 per cent against England." It tells you German coach was smart enough to dissect these bits and integrated the talent and ability of his players to get that far in the World Cup.

It is said the team's assistant manager Oliver Bierhoff publicly thanked the students after their victory over England in Bloemfontein. Further research after the World Cup by the group noted that teams that play a fluid system like a 1-4-2-3-1 (Germans, Spain and Holland) had most success.

They noted also how the top players changed their positions compared to some years ago when these players stayed rigid. Arjen Robben, David Villa and Thomas Muller tended to start from the wing. They are important for assists and for goals. They emphasised the significance of counter attacks. Conversion from defence to offence is getting more and more important. Variance and adaptability were the best.

The students study concluded the outdatedness of a fixed 1-4-4-2 system, like England who used it and had a disappointing tournaments. I must say here that when it comes to formations, a player you know as an attacker should not considered an attacker because he is known to attack. It is their role that counts.

How much do you believe in statistics and data?

How To Win Football Matches.

It is now critical than ever to use analytical data and process information that can be easily synthesised and consumed by players to enhance team performance. German PhD research students revealed how Germany humiliated England in the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, 4-1.

Before we dig into that, Brazil. 99 % of Brazilian coaches are Professors themselves, having to attend several University classes over a period of time. Usually it is the less successful or little known players who go this route and finally become coaches. Dunga is an example of those who have it easy getting a short-cut to the top. Brazilians study football the way they do medicine.

Stephan Nopp was leader of a group of 55 students at the German Sports University in Cologne. It took about 1,000 hours analysing the England squad and they gave German coach Joachim Loew the collected data. "The way England played against Germany was like we expected," Nopp said. "The German coaching staff knew what would happen when England got the ball - we got it right. We began analysing all 31 teams after they qualified for the World Cup so, for England, we started nearly one year before the game.

Zimbabwe are said to be looking for a coach with a minimum of 5 "o" Levels. The country has a few leaders with Brazilian qualifications and are probably hoping to land a person who can be given such data, scrutinize and utilise it. It still stands to be seen if they have the money to collect such data, as it is not easy nor cheap. The Brazilians themselves had one Jairo who had done data collection for coaches for over 20 years when the Samba Boys won the World Cup in 1994.

Nopp went on to say, "One of the things we look for is how a team starts their attacks. For England, the ball went very often through the centre of midfield to Lampard, Barry or Gerrard, who had moved in from the left. Gerrard had a lot of action in the centre although he should be the left midfielder."

For individual coaches, data sheets, coaching boards, models, projectors, pie-charts and any visual aids aids, are a must to have. It is another thing to utilise these resources efficiently. Improvisation when these are not available will go a long way driving the point home.

 The students said this was very significant for them as they could predict what would happen when England had the ball and how Wayne Rooney would attack a defender so they could find a way to stop him. The team of students found out that England's previous opponents succeeded with the long ball against them, hence the Germans decided to change their short-passing tactics.

A point to understand is that, it is one thing to gather data, and yet another to use it efficiently. Some coaches become fortunate enough to have what they need, yet they are too dumb to tell a cow from the bull. There is a breed of coaches that deal with little budgets and can not have the luxury of such research. It is African coaches with either club or national duties who suffer from this. They are made to understand that these are the expenses the clubs or Associations cannot afford. When an expat coach comes, suddenly the resources resurface.

An observation of the German group went on thus, "In the group matches, less than 10 per cent of Germany’s passes were what we would call long or uncontrolled. Against Australia, it was just two per cent. However, we upped that ratio to 30 per cent against England." It tells you German coach was smart enough to dissect these bits and integrated the talent and ability of his players to get that far in the World Cup.

It is said the team's assistant manager Oliver Bierhoff publicly thanked the students after their victory over England in Bloemfontein. Further research after the World Cup by the group noted that teams that play a fluid system like a 1-4-2-3-1 (Germans, Spain and Holland) had most success.

They noted also how the top players changed their positions compared to some years ago when these players stayed rigid. Arjen Robben, David Villa and Thomas Muller tended to start from the wing. They are important for assists and for goals. They emphasised the significance of counter attacks. Conversion from defence to offence is getting more and more important. Variance and adaptability were the best.

The students study concluded the outdatedness of a fixed 1-4-4-2 system, like England who used it and had a disappointing tournaments. I must say here that when it comes to formations, a player you know as an attacker should not considered an attacker because he is known to attack. It is their role that counts.

How much do you believe in statistics and data?

Capello for City or Maradona for Villa? This is Interesting!

I told you so. Manchester City are flirting with Fabio Capello. I think David Beckham has the news. I will be tracking this guy all over LA until he opens his mouth. You will remember he snubbed Capello's call to resign from international football.

The Abu Dhabi Man City owners are trying to seduce Capello with "an England escape route if Roberto Mancini does not get off to a Premier League flier". How do you arrange a date with some else's wife on the assumption they may be divorced by the said day? Juicy stuff.

How long has Roberto Mancini been at City? Less than a year or something like that. Any way, his £106 million summer spending will be enjoyed by a fellow Italiano, so no sweat. By now, Tevez and Adebayour can sing a few Luciano Pavarotti and the 3 Tenors songs, so Capello won't struggle as he did with David Beckham, who didn't want to let go of the Spicy Girls' dancing style.



More weird and frightening is Diego Maradona's desire to succeed Martin O’Neill who resigned as Aston Villa manager just a few days back. Like a monkey that plays up in trees with its back exposed, Maradona was due for a deserved holiday after a dismal World Cup failure and unwanted exposure of his inability.

Diego's coaching qualities came under scrutiny when he froze when Argentina were being fried 0-4 by the Germans in a World Cup quarter-final. He can function well in the Argentinian league were sentiment will keep him buoyed until he moves on just because of the weight of his name. He has more chance with the Manchester City job than Aston Villa. At City, it's always stunt after stunt.

Villa must be waiting on Bob Bradley's divorce settlement with USA football authorities over his departure. He is looking for new challenges and there is no better destination. While there is a mention of Martin Jol of Ajax, who almost ended at Fulham, Villa's American shareholders may prefer their own.

I am a great fan of this guy. Bradley comes to me as very raw and shrewd. He is so much aware and focused. He loves detail. He likes fair play and is committed to the game. He reminds of one coach I used to know a very long time ago. This French guy's name was Arsene Wenger. The English game will benefit from his services. 

Meanwhile, Diego is said to be sending his CV all over Europe and the World. It is not clear he has applied for the advertised vacancy in Zimbabwe for the Warriors' job.

Do you suppose David Beckham can be a better coach than Diego Maradona?

Capello for City or Maradona for Villa? This is Interesting!

I told you so. Manchester City are flirting with Fabio Capello. I think David Beckham has the news. I will be tracking this guy all over LA until he opens his mouth. You will remember he snubbed Capello's call to resign from international football.

The Abu Dhabi Man City owners are trying to seduce Capello with "an England escape route if Roberto Mancini does not get off to a Premier League flier". How do you arrange a date with some else's wife on the assumption they may be divorced by the said day? Juicy stuff.

How long has Roberto Mancini been at City? Less than a year or something like that. Any way, his £106 million summer spending will be enjoyed by a fellow Italiano, so no sweat. By now, Tevez and Adebayour can sing a few Luciano Pavarotti and the 3 Tenors songs, so Capello won't struggle as he did with David Beckham, who didn't want to let go of the Spicy Girls' dancing style.



More weird and frightening is Diego Maradona's desire to succeed Martin O’Neill who resigned as Aston Villa manager just a few days back. Like a monkey that plays up in trees with its back exposed, Maradona was due for a deserved holiday after a dismal World Cup failure and unwanted exposure of his inability.

Diego's coaching qualities came under scrutiny when he froze when Argentina were being fried 0-4 by the Germans in a World Cup quarter-final. He can function well in the Argentinian league were sentiment will keep him buoyed until he moves on just because of the weight of his name. He has more chance with the Manchester City job than Aston Villa. At City, it's always stunt after stunt.

Villa must be waiting on Bob Bradley's divorce settlement with USA football authorities over his departure. He is looking for new challenges and there is no better destination. While there is a mention of Martin Jol of Ajax, who almost ended at Fulham, Villa's American shareholders may prefer their own.

I am a great fan of this guy. Bradley comes to me as very raw and shrewd. He is so much aware and focused. He loves detail. He likes fair play and is committed to the game. He reminds of one coach I used to know a very long time ago. This French guy's name was Arsene Wenger. The English game will benefit from his services. 

Meanwhile, Diego is said to be sending his CV all over Europe and the World. It is not clear he has applied for the advertised vacancy in Zimbabwe for the Warriors' job.

Do you suppose David Beckham can be a better coach than Diego Maradona?

Capello for City or Maradona for Villa? This is Interesting!

I told you so. Manchester City are flirting with Fabio Capello. I think David Beckham has the news. I will be tracking this guy all over LA until he opens his mouth. You will remember he snubbed Capello's call to resign from international football.

The Abu Dhabi Man City owners are trying to seduce Capello with "an England escape route if Roberto Mancini does not get off to a Premier League flier". How do you arrange a date with some else's wife on the assumption they may be divorced by the said day? Juicy stuff.

How long has Roberto Mancini been at City? Less than a year or something like that. Any way, his £106 million summer spending will be enjoyed by a fellow Italiano, so no sweat. By now, Tevez and Adebayour can sing a few Luciano Pavarotti and the 3 Tenors songs, so Capello won't struggle as he did with David Beckham, who didn't want to let go of the Spicy Girls' dancing style.



More weird and frightening is Diego Maradona's desire to succeed Martin O’Neill who resigned as Aston Villa manager just a few days back. Like a monkey that plays up in trees with its back exposed, Maradona was due for a deserved holiday after a dismal World Cup failure and unwanted exposure of his inability.

Diego's coaching qualities came under scrutiny when he froze when Argentina were being fried 0-4 by the Germans in a World Cup quarter-final. He can function well in the Argentinian league were sentiment will keep him buoyed until he moves on just because of the weight of his name. He has more chance with the Manchester City job than Aston Villa. At City, it's always stunt after stunt.

Villa must be waiting on Bob Bradley's divorce settlement with USA football authorities over his departure. He is looking for new challenges and there is no better destination. While there is a mention of Martin Jol of Ajax, who almost ended at Fulham, Villa's American shareholders may prefer their own.

I am a great fan of this guy. Bradley comes to me as very raw and shrewd. He is so much aware and focused. He loves detail. He likes fair play and is committed to the game. He reminds of one coach I used to know a very long time ago. This French guy's name was Arsene Wenger. The English game will benefit from his services. 

Meanwhile, Diego is said to be sending his CV all over Europe and the World. It is not clear he has applied for the advertised vacancy in Zimbabwe for the Warriors' job.

Do you suppose David Beckham can be a better coach than Diego Maradona?

Systems and Formations.

The availability and quality of personnel determines a system or a formation. It is usually a fan's concern to ponder on what the system of play is or was at any given time.

Usually the concerns are misplaced as the understanding is usually wrong. The questioning the fan wants to know the answer to is, who was playing. The distribution of personnel on the field of play is very vital in determining a system. It is easier for anybody to understand this.

Tactically speaking, it is rather the functions of these people who are distributed on the field of play. A player will usually play one position in general and then be asked to perform a certain role in particular in a certain match.

Team tactics, after considering the material at hand, will dictate what roles are the players going to be engaged in. Playing Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba in a team with a goalkeeper and 6 defenders does not necessarily mean you are playing a 1-6-1-3 formation. 

In the above scenario, the intentions may be that Torres plays a lone striker role, Rooney and Drogba playing a supporting role from midfield. Two of the 6 defenders will be winning balls in midfield but retracting to defensive positions when possession is lost.

Teams prefer to utilise a single conventional striker these days, ie known individuals like say Asamoah Gyan. He endeavours to stay with the last defender and both flanks on his right and left are void of anyone. This creates space for him to run into, or in the case of Brazil, for Robinho and Fabiano to exploit when Kaka or Lucio surges forward with the ball.

Systems and formations will manifest better when the team is not in possession of the ball. At this moment you see the shape and behaviour that will tell you the system. Romario used to be exempt from any defensive duties at all for both Brazil and the teams he played for.

The great Marco van Bastern was known to defend and attack in one swift movement. In these days of having a packed midfield it is not necessary, but it depends entirely on the coach.

People always want to know which systems rocks. None, It is only a question of philosophy of the coach. Coaches do the football according to their selfish taste. Strong coaches will create systems in a stubborn manner to yield the results they want. In other words they prefer to create problems for others. The other part prefers to solve these problems.

Some of the rigid type of coaches will play the same formation day in day out. They will usually force system they believe in on the players. The other part will depend on the teams they play and are adaptive within certain parameters.

Team chemistry, personal relationships, team maturity level and type of competition are some of the things that will determine the type of system to be implemented.

What is your observation of South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup systems and formations or your take on the subject in general?

Systems and Formations.

The availability and quality of personnel determines a system or a formation. It is usually a fan's concern to ponder on what the system of play is or was at any given time.

Usually the concerns are misplaced as the understanding is usually wrong. The questioning the fan wants to know the answer to is, who was playing. The distribution of personnel on the field of play is very vital in determining a system. It is easier for anybody to understand this.

Tactically speaking, it is rather the functions of these people who are distributed on the field of play. A player will usually play one position in general and then be asked to perform a certain role in particular in a certain match.

Team tactics, after considering the material at hand, will dictate what roles are the players going to be engaged in. Playing Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba in a team with a goalkeeper and 6 defenders does not necessarily mean you are playing a 1-6-1-3 formation. 

In the above scenario, the intentions may be that Torres plays a lone striker role, Rooney and Drogba playing a supporting role from midfield. Two of the 6 defenders will be winning balls in midfield but retracting to defensive positions when possession is lost.

Teams prefer to utilise a single conventional striker these days, ie known individuals like say Asamoah Gyan. He endeavours to stay with the last defender and both flanks on his right and left are void of anyone. This creates space for him to run into, or in the case of Brazil, for Robinho and Fabiano to exploit when Kaka or Lucio surges forward with the ball.

Systems and formations will manifest better when the team is not in possession of the ball. At this moment you see the shape and behaviour that will tell you the system. Romario used to be exempt from any defensive duties at all for both Brazil and the teams he played for.

The great Marco van Bastern was known to defend and attack in one swift movement. In these days of having a packed midfield it is not necessary, but it depends entirely on the coach.

People always want to know which systems rocks. None, It is only a question of philosophy of the coach. Coaches do the football according to their selfish taste. Strong coaches will create systems in a stubborn manner to yield the results they want. In other words they prefer to create problems for others. The other part prefers to solve these problems.

Some of the rigid type of coaches will play the same formation day in day out. They will usually force system they believe in on the players. The other part will depend on the teams they play and are adaptive within certain parameters.

Team chemistry, personal relationships, team maturity level and type of competition are some of the things that will determine the type of system to be implemented.

What is your observation of South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup systems and formations or your take on the subject in general?