1
Two-face
When Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday evening in London, it seemed to put a bow on the end of the Mourinho era - with another coach in the extraordinary line of the Ralf Rangnick school of management, Thomas Tuchel, making an immediate and impressive impact on the Premier League.
But despite the vast differences in style, Miguel Delaney argues that there’s a modern-era thread that does connect the Mourinho and Tuchel approaches, “practitioners of ‘Differential Learning’.”
“It’s a really modern and dynamic coaching method that encourages players to think within a system,” Calvin Betton, a sports coach who works in talent development, explains. “It basically means you set a task – say, to penetrate a low block – and let them figure it out, but skilfully, and this is the important part because it is a skill of a very good coach, ask effective questions and occasionally suggest what ‘might be worth trying’ rather than telling them exactly what to do. It’s a holistic method, and takes in both techniques and tactics. Tuchel making players practice set pieces with everybody holding tennis balls in both hands, so they couldn’t grab shirts, that’s a genius example.”
2
Cultural capital
We’ll stay in London for a minute: the perfect place for a culturally interesting art+sport collaboration. Such ventures need to be done very well, true to both the artist’s style and relevant to the sporting subject. Chelsea and Copa 90 have nailed this with Alva Skog, whose illustrations adorn the landmark’s of England’s capital with the club’s stars. Watch this lovely video where she explains her inspiration to see Alva at work.
3
Dudes!
Just love this factoid.
4
Capital investment
It’s almost a cliche at this point to look back at the golden era of Italian football, when Baresi, Baggio and the stars of the world competed on a stage that seemed incomparably challenging and glamorous, and wonder when - indeed, if, - Serie A will return to those heights.
Is an infusion of capital part of the answer? If so, in keeping with the league’s travails in the 21st century, it’s not proving to be easy getting there. Bloomberg reports that Serie A’s efforts to sell a $2B stake has hit a major snag:
Serie A’s board adjourned without taking final action on an agreement letting CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and Italy’s FSI fund buy a 10% stake valued at 1.7 billion euros ($2.03 billion) in a new company that will manage the league’s TV rights, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
Some of Serie A’s 20 clubs raised concerns about the terms of the deal, especially legal ones, after their initial approval last November, the people added. Another meeting has been scheduled for Feb. 11, according to a league statement. A spokesman for Serie A declined to comment on specifics of the meeting Thursday, as did officials with Advent, CVC and FSI.
5
Further adventures
CONCACAF competition consistently leads to some of the most unexpected, madcap adventures in world football. We’re going to get a lot more of it at the club level, as SBJ reports:
Starting in the fall of '23, Concacaf will be expanding the Champions League format from currently 30 matches to more than 140 matches per iteration. In total, 20 teams across Mexico, Canada and the U.S. will qualify for the Champions League, including one spot being reserved through the Leagues Cup. Regionalized group stage competition in the fall of each year will be part of the new format, which will include four groups of both North American clubs and Central American clubs, in addition to two groups of Caribbean clubs.
A 16-team knockout stage will then be played in the spring before a regional club winner is determined. The champion will then qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup.
6
Unexpected
Who says you can’t have interesting kit design in MLS? The Philadelphia Union swing back to some of their Sons of Ben roots with a fan-designed beauty for their 2021 second kit.
7
First
A perfect Black History Month nugget for you:
8
Real talk
If you’re ever lucky enough to meet Emma Hayes, you’ll be immediately impressed by her forthright, straight-shooting approach. British football received a solid does of her wisdom this week, after the Chelsea boss was linked to the manager role at AFC Wimbledon.
Hayes said the “world of football needs to wake up and recognise that, while the game is played by a different gender, it is exactly the same sport, and the qualities involved with having to manage that are exactly the same as they would be in a men’s team”.
The 44-year-old manager said: “I just don’t know why anyone would ever think that women’s football is a step down and that coaching World Cup champions, winners, players that have represented their countries in the Olympics or European championships is a step down from anything.”
9
Pieces of a man
I’ve long been fascinated by the story of Gil Heron, the “Black Arrow” who blazed a goalscoring trail from Detroit to Glasgow - and who was also, of course, the father of Gil Scott-Heron. This web comic from The Protaganist by @raptorjules captures his story in lovely fashion.
10
It takes a village
Density of clubs is an underrated aspect of a how a true soccer culture develops and feeds an ecosystem for the sport regionally. This wonderful map of Buenos Aires, showing 42 clubs spaced out around the city, illustrates that perfectly.
Illustration by Ignacio Sánchez / @Staantribune via Tears at La Bombonera
11
Degrees of development
The debate about the value of college soccer in developing American soccer is often fierce: it’s a system that’s simply so different to the rest of the world. It’s thus often blamed for stymying young talent. Maybe so: what the system does do, though, is provide a solid platform for athletic development and education that the harsh lottery of the path to pro soccer presents globally lacks.
Even as much American talent now jumps to MLS or Europe earlier than ever before, a solid pipeline of quality talent is still coming through. Stu Holden points this out with the graphic below; even if not the “A” list superstars when the USMNT is at its strongest, it’s a system that still fulfills its purpose.