Cruyff on busy, long ball United

Johan Cruyff is now special assistant to Barcelona president Juan Laporta and spoke about Manchester United's style of play ahead of their Champions League semi-final at the Nou Camp:

"That's because despite having a majority of foreigners in their squads they maintain the philosophy of long-ball football and sprinting 60 yards...That is how they exploit spaces in front of the midfield. If they played in the other team's half more often those spaces wouldn't exist...Despite recognising their effort, you can disarm an English side that presses and looks for the long ball by keeping possession and moving the ball around quickly...And if you know they will expend all their energy on closing down and chasing long balls, then you know where to beat them: by playing the ball horizontally...However badly Barca is doing we have at least the same chance of progressing to the final as United...They are very good, that's true. Of the three English teams in the semis, for me Manchester is the best...But I'm absolutely convinced that they're thinking exactly the same about Barca. That of all the semi-finalists, the Blaugranes are the strongest."

Source >

Hleb's ability to keep the ball

"On the roll call of great performances, Hleb comes next – the Belarusian took a battering at times but he was a puzzle to the Italians for most of the game and one they never came close to solving. His ability to keep the ball and distribute it in the most unpromising situations rendered the Milan midfield of Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini peripheral characters. Mathieu Flamini was no slouch either but the queue for man of the match was more crowded than ever."

Source > 05.03.2008

Lyon held the ball and looked more dangerous than United

"Where the United deficit was becoming progressively more evident was in the department of creation, where Lyons were especially well served by the Brazilian Juninho, whose promptings gave his team a shape and a steady supply of possession in potentially dangerous areas. Indeed, such was the French ability to hold the ball, you had to wonder why Paul Scholes' recent revival in form had not earned a call from the bench. Ferguson had, after all, made the extraordinary statement that if United reach the final Scholes would be the one player who would get the vote on pure sentiment."

Source > 05.03.2008

Celtic were not keeping the ball

Manager Gordon Strachan gave full marks to Barcelona and explained why Celtic could not beat their Spanish visitors in the first leg of their Champions League tie:

"We're playing against one of the best teams in the world, and when we had the ball, we were not keeping it...At any level the team that passes the ball well usually wins, but we were up against the best squad in the world."

Strachan knows good football then. Barcelona use their technical abilities to enhance a tactic that often wins: keeping the ball.

Source > 20.02.2008

Benjani Kept The Ball

After his side's shocking away win at Old Trafford, Man City manager Sven Goran Eriksson was very happy with newly acquired Striker Benjani Mwaruwari:

"Benjani was absolutely brilliant. He scored a goal, kept the ball and when United had the ball he worked and worked. He's strong and quick and I'm very happy to have got him."

It appears that Eriksson is like Capello: he wants his players keeping the ball instead of giving it to the opposition.

Source > 10.02.2008

England Give The Ball Away

Paul Wilson of the Guardian Unlimited examines Fabio Capello's threshold for poor football:

"In the first half especially, England's lack of composure when in possession was enough to make any self-respecting Italian blush. Capello laughed when he was asked if he had ever been in charge of a side that gave the ball away so often, but did not dispute the allegation. 'Everyone makes mistakes, I prefer to focus on the positives...I think we were nervous for some reason.' "

Nervous for some reason? Perhaps the reason they were shaky is that the players were being asked to keep the ball and it's clearly not something they are accustomed to.

Source > 10.02.2008

Arsenal played keep-ball against Burnley

"And after the 2-0 win over West Ham I found myself thinking that Arsenal would now be winning more games by 2-0. Two goals is enough, if you don't concede. And Arsenal are not conceding many at the moment. Score two, play keep-ball, save something for the next game. Champions have done that quite a lot over the last 20 years."

Source > 08.01.2008