Since defending is easier than attacking due to limited movements, I’d say that what makes a difference is how well you attack, so it is essentially an offensive game, one in which only the most excellent offensive techniques succeed.
That’s the opposite of basketball. Since scoring is so abundant in a basketball game, the key to winning lies on how well you defend, how many times you stop the opponent from scoring. In a basketball game, it is more or less expected that every ball possession will result in a field goal. It’s up to the defenders to provoke the turnover and the counter-attack. A basketball player who can thrown, but not tackle, will not play top level, but a footballer who can kick well, but not defend, might be able to even play a World Cup.
What makes the difference is the size of the playing area.
A basketball court is quite small, which means that it is possible for every player to be both a defender and an attacker.
A football field is quite large, requiring players to specialise. No one can run over the entire field for 90 minutes. In football lingo, the good player must know “the shortcuts” of the field, i.e. the places where he can position himself most effectively to either attack or defend.
But, why is defending easier? Because there’s no limit to fouling and no penalty for kicking the ball out of the field. It is possible to force-stop the match frequently using “tactical fouls” (many of which the referees turn a blind eye to) and to kill time kicking the ball wide. You can also kick the ball high so it drops on the opponent’s field and battle it there. What you are seeing all the time is defense, but when a team succeeds in an attack it makes the opponent crumble like a card castle. Two or three successful attacks can make a sturdy team go bonkers. A textbook case for this is the famous “Mineiraço”, in which Germany soundly beat Brazil after successfully puncturing our defense in an early attack that caught us off guard.
If Brazil was cowardly, it could have regrouped behind the midfield and waited for the final whistle, losing 1–0, but, even aimlessly, the players wanted to attack, to reverse their fate. That’s how they conceded so many goals.
In football, every one knows how to defend. That’s the “bread-and-butter” of football. If you can’t defend you are not even a team. Learning to defend allows you to play level against most opponents and hope for a miracle chance (and they often happen).
What makes a great team is that it knows how to unravel defenses and attack effectively, even if the opponent defends well.
And what makes a really, really great team is that it is courageous enough to attack even knowing that the opponent can attack well too.
One of the reasons why Brazil vs Netherlands are always great matches to watch is that both schools are courageous. Both strike bravely, knowing that they will be stricken back. That’s what makes the great ones. That’s why both Brazil and the Netherlands are so well-respected in soccer.
Take for instance Brazil vs Netherlands at the 1994 World Cup. The weather was terrible (too hot and dry) and both teams knew that the other had excellent strikers (Bergkamp for the Netherlands and Romário for Brazil), both knew that the other team had excellent wingers (Bebeto for Brazil, Overmars for Netherlands). Netherlands had a better midfield and better tactics, but Brazil had a better goalie (the mythical Claudio Taffarel) and the advantage that its best players were better than the best players of Netherlands, though the average Dutch players were better than the average Brazilians.
In that match both teams attacked like two swordsmen without shields or armor, touching it other all the time. Both keepers had excellent days and both crowds went from Heaven to Hell many times. The match was decided on a detail: the extraordinary freek kick taken by Branco and Romário’s body movement to dodge the ball in the nick of time, fooling Ed de Goey. That’s what good football is about: fearless attack, but with a solid backing.
Another example of that was the 1986 final. Every German player knew without a shadow of doubt that Argentina was a better team than them and that Maradona, with or without God’s hand, was a genius. But that didn’t stop the Germans from boldly attacking. They couldn’t do beautiful plays, and they often kicked the ball hopelessly or crossed it above the goal area hoping for the best, but they attacked bravely. Had Argentina played a normal team, they’d have won 1–0 or 2–0, but against Germany they won 3–2 and there was a moment when it seemed possible that Germany would draw the match to extra time, possibly winning.
Todo grande time começa com um grande goleiro we say. “Every great team begins with a great goal-keeper”. Defense is essential, but it’s attacking that tells the men from the boys.
There’s a reason why Brazil, Argentina, Germany and The Netherlands are so respected as football schools. That reason is that these schools are courageous. They have “blood in their eyes”, they want to win. They don’t think a mere 1–0 is a good outcome for an easy match.
Perdido por um, perdido por mil we say. “Lost for one, lost for one thousand”. It’s all the same.
That’s the opposite of basketball. Since scoring is so abundant in a basketball game, the key to winning lies on how well you defend, how many times you stop the opponent from scoring. In a basketball game, it is more or less expected that every ball possession will result in a field goal. It’s up to the defenders to provoke the turnover and the counter-attack. A basketball player who can thrown, but not tackle, will not play top level, but a footballer who can kick well, but not defend, might be able to even play a World Cup.
What makes the difference is the size of the playing area.
A basketball court is quite small, which means that it is possible for every player to be both a defender and an attacker.
A football field is quite large, requiring players to specialise. No one can run over the entire field for 90 minutes. In football lingo, the good player must know “the shortcuts” of the field, i.e. the places where he can position himself most effectively to either attack or defend.
But, why is defending easier? Because there’s no limit to fouling and no penalty for kicking the ball out of the field. It is possible to force-stop the match frequently using “tactical fouls” (many of which the referees turn a blind eye to) and to kill time kicking the ball wide. You can also kick the ball high so it drops on the opponent’s field and battle it there. What you are seeing all the time is defense, but when a team succeeds in an attack it makes the opponent crumble like a card castle. Two or three successful attacks can make a sturdy team go bonkers. A textbook case for this is the famous “Mineiraço”, in which Germany soundly beat Brazil after successfully puncturing our defense in an early attack that caught us off guard.
If Brazil was cowardly, it could have regrouped behind the midfield and waited for the final whistle, losing 1–0, but, even aimlessly, the players wanted to attack, to reverse their fate. That’s how they conceded so many goals.
In football, every one knows how to defend. That’s the “bread-and-butter” of football. If you can’t defend you are not even a team. Learning to defend allows you to play level against most opponents and hope for a miracle chance (and they often happen).
What makes a great team is that it knows how to unravel defenses and attack effectively, even if the opponent defends well.
And what makes a really, really great team is that it is courageous enough to attack even knowing that the opponent can attack well too.
One of the reasons why Brazil vs Netherlands are always great matches to watch is that both schools are courageous. Both strike bravely, knowing that they will be stricken back. That’s what makes the great ones. That’s why both Brazil and the Netherlands are so well-respected in soccer.
Take for instance Brazil vs Netherlands at the 1994 World Cup. The weather was terrible (too hot and dry) and both teams knew that the other had excellent strikers (Bergkamp for the Netherlands and Romário for Brazil), both knew that the other team had excellent wingers (Bebeto for Brazil, Overmars for Netherlands). Netherlands had a better midfield and better tactics, but Brazil had a better goalie (the mythical Claudio Taffarel) and the advantage that its best players were better than the best players of Netherlands, though the average Dutch players were better than the average Brazilians.
In that match both teams attacked like two swordsmen without shields or armor, touching it other all the time. Both keepers had excellent days and both crowds went from Heaven to Hell many times. The match was decided on a detail: the extraordinary freek kick taken by Branco and Romário’s body movement to dodge the ball in the nick of time, fooling Ed de Goey. That’s what good football is about: fearless attack, but with a solid backing.
Another example of that was the 1986 final. Every German player knew without a shadow of doubt that Argentina was a better team than them and that Maradona, with or without God’s hand, was a genius. But that didn’t stop the Germans from boldly attacking. They couldn’t do beautiful plays, and they often kicked the ball hopelessly or crossed it above the goal area hoping for the best, but they attacked bravely. Had Argentina played a normal team, they’d have won 1–0 or 2–0, but against Germany they won 3–2 and there was a moment when it seemed possible that Germany would draw the match to extra time, possibly winning.
Todo grande time começa com um grande goleiro we say. “Every great team begins with a great goal-keeper”. Defense is essential, but it’s attacking that tells the men from the boys.
There’s a reason why Brazil, Argentina, Germany and The Netherlands are so respected as football schools. That reason is that these schools are courageous. They have “blood in their eyes”, they want to win. They don’t think a mere 1–0 is a good outcome for an easy match.
Perdido por um, perdido por mil we say. “Lost for one, lost for one thousand”. It’s all the same.
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