General Football Discussion

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Real v Bayern

Bayern lost  

[Victor 11,021]

Good. Down with the possession obsession.

[Guest]

Possession is how you win, they ain't used to that in Arsenal or any place like that, but then again those teams aren't in the Champions league any more.

[AwfulHomesick 148]

I've been slowly getting back into soccer. Everton has won my heart. Did I make a good choice?

[Victor 11,021]

There's possession and there's obsession with it. Pep is obsessed. Barca are obsessed.

 

I've been slowly getting back into soccer. Everton has won my heart. Did I make a good choice?

Decent but I wouldn't expect any trophies.

[Guest]

And guess what, Pep has been pretty successful so I'd say it works. If you've ever watched Bundesliga, Bayern ruins teams with it.

[Victor 11,021]

Not denying it. My personal opinion is down with it. Nothing against Bayern btw, I was totally on their side with Heynckes.

[Guest]

Not denying it. My personal opinion is down with it. Nothing against Bayern btw, I was totally on their side with Heynckes.

See the argument with possession is a strange one. The game is built around it, if you watch teams who don't play it, they are all over the place. Bayern has been exciting to watch with it.

[Victor 11,021]

Yeah there is definitely no way possession isn't the surest way to win (or not lose). But it slows things down. Fast-paces counter-attacks are my jam and some mix of that and possession based would be utopia. I mean, you see it sometimes and it's just awesome to watch. Tiki-taka, on the other hand, can be tedious. Lots of sideways passing I find. Alas, I know I'm in the minority.

[Victor 11,021]

Tito Vilanova, Barcelona's manager for some of last season (not all because of his cancer) has died aged 45. RIP.

[Guest]

Far, far too young! RIP

[Victor 11,021]

Lol tiki taka.

[Guest]

You laugh now, but I seem to remember your team not making it?

[Victor 11,021]

Chelsea?

[Guest]

Thought you were a flip flopper. A Madrid final is coming.

[Victor 11,021]

What? Ask Jason, I've always been a Chelsea fan.

[Guest]

Well you can't really look past the possession, attempts and corners in this game though. Bayern despite the score, has had the run of play just hasn't scored. Out set pieces are horrible because our CB's have no clue what they are doing. However anyone that says possession means nothing, is kidding themselves.

[Victor 11,021]

Possession doesn't mean nothing, but penetrating passes, like come on. Any Real attack was more threatening than anything Bayern created.

You can't argue that Heynckes' team played worse than Pep's.

[Guest]

Possession doesn't mean nothing, but penetrating passes, like come on. Any Real attack was more threatening than anything Bayern created.

You can't argue that Heynckes' team played worse than Pep's.

Two different styles, two different lineups. It's rather hard to compare the two realistically. Have you ever played the game? Possession is something teams dream of having. Real's attack was just transition, there was no real build up at all. If anyone argues that Bayern's style is unsuccessful, we do have several trophies to show to you.

[stevo 795]

And Bayern has the former president in jail.

[Victor 11,021]

Hardly different lineups. Thiago joined but he's injured anyway. And I haven't seen much of Gotze (which annoys me, though less so than Lewandowski signing on a free). Different styles, yes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

Give me transition play over possession any day. As a viewer, in any case.

 

That said, I'm sure Bayern will be back next season. I wish I could see their Bundesliga dominance, but unlike Spain and Italy, German matches coincide with the Premier League's so I never get the chance. So, from the admittedly small sample size I have, the only Bayern match I enjoyed Bayern's plan in was the first Man City game. That was possession not being sterile and boring.

[Guest]

Hardly different lineups. Thiago joined but he's injured anyway. And I haven't seen much of Gotze (which annoys me, though less so than Lewandowski signing on a free). Different styles, yes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

Give me transition play over possession any day. As a viewer, in any case.

 

That said, I'm sure Bayern will be back next season. I wish I could see their Bundesliga dominance, but unlike Spain and Italy, German matches coincide with the Premier League's so I never get the chance. So, from the admittedly small sample size I have, the only Bayern match I enjoyed Bayern's plan in was the first Man City game. That was possession not being sterile and boring.

Their style is hardly boring, the adapt to their opponent and sometimes that comes back to bite them like today. Critics are really on Pep right now cause he doesn't have a Plan B or Plan C when facing someone. However their complete dominance in Germany has been just short of amazing. Keep in mind Champions League is nice but for German squads the real huge thing is dominating in the Bundesliga.

 

Transition play over possession may be fun to watch, but weren't talking about watching, we were talking playing. I still play and transition has come back to bit teams we face as they give up that big goal and unravel. 

 

The lineups are fairly different. The argument over "If it ain't broke don't fix it" doesn't work here. Jepp retired, we can't really have Pep come in and run the same style as thats not what he has coached players to do, so he'd be spoken below players who have been their before. Pep's systems do work, and in that both the players and fans back him.

[Victor 11,021]

We're going to have to agree to disagree.

[Guest]

Of course, but if you feel a manager change means the team plays the same style, you aren't thinking 2014.

[Victor 11,021]

No, there was no way Pep was going to play Jupp's style. I think Pep wasn't the right choice for Bayern. The two are (well, were) just too different. Of course, I don't know who else, if anyone, was available and/or under consideration.