“Futbol is in decline” - Marcelo Bielsa

Marcelo Bielsa says that futbol today is in decline. Is he correct? If so why? And what exactly is in de line with the sport?

[@saginskimedia7610]

Bielsa talking about passion, it has become more for the money. It use to be a working class event and little by little is only for the elite.

[@brettmiller3246]

👆This. Especially in the US. It’s basically a mortgage payment to attend a game in the US. I’ve actually found it to be a smarter spend to fly to Europe for a week and see a bunch of games rather than spend the same money to see two games in the US. It’s not just soccer either. We are flying to Hungary for F1. All in and we will still come out cheaper than going to Vegas.

[@tsmay4598]

I don't think most people understand the point Bielsa was trying to make. He wasn't talking about entertainment, he was talking about cultural identification. About football's place in the community.

[@tornaperinso1484]

The only one who got it.

[@lugarci1]

I agree. The thing is, now kids have technology to keep them entertained, so they play a lot less compared to previous generations. I remember, as a kid, growing up in Argentina, in the 90's, we would play a lot, even since we were less than 7 years old, and the ones that went to a club, would still play a lot after their training sessions, and different kind of games with the ball with their friends. Now, that doesn't happen. Here, the "football culture" is dead (and maybe for the good), long ago. I guess, the same happened in other countries with "football culture". I'm not saying this is bad, societies change over time, that's something natural.

[@marcteenhc9793]

exactly, but try to explain that to the 4 clowns in this TV show.

[@Wicked_R]

Exactly Marcello Is a purest..

[@marcteenhc9793]

@@Wicked_R MARCELO...not MarceLLO!!!! It is a Spanish name, not an Italian name!! God, the guys was there for almost 4 years and people did not even learned his name!!

[@RC-zu8to]

Bielsa doesn’t prioritize money. While he does charge market rates, he has shown his commitment by donating $3M to his club, Newell’s, to improve infrastructure for younger players and divisions. He truly walks the talk! It’s unfortunate that these two commentators, who know nothing about Bielsa or his style of football, dare to criticize him. Bielsa’s mindset is always about winning, regardless of the team’s limitations. Some games might not be thrilling for all viewers, but true fans appreciate their team’s relentless effort and hard work.

[@Wicked_R]

Payed his own Spygate fine at Leeds.

[@Johnnybgood76]

How exactly do you know that "the two commentators... know nothing about Bielsa or his style of football"?

[@RC-zu8to]

@@Wicked_R spyware my ass! yes, he did… because the “open to public” trainings means public can watch the trainings but it looks like “open to public”means something different in England. Btw.. you forgot to mention que paid the res gym at Leeds from his pocket!

[@Wicked_R]

@RC-zu8to I don't know what the heck you are trying to say..sorry haha

[@Wicked_R]

@@RC-zu8to that is exactly what I said..are you high?

[@davidfelipe13]

Bielsa is right. just look recently most games decided by penalties, VAR and referees having too much impact and making too many stoppages in play, the amount of own goals in the Euro, or teams unable to score. I have noticed too many players these days fail at creating creative plays, just keep forcing passes from the left or right side hoping something happens, or getting fouled/looking for foul. The fact that most of the best players in the Copa America are the older ones even proves it more. hard to sit through a match these days

[@chrisgray2824]

There's no Ronaldinho in football... no prime Jose...no personality....

[@PersonaPodcast]

I blame the teams playing not to lose instead of playing to win, and ofocurse WAAAAYY TOO MUCH FLOPPING

[@mem5860]

What casey keller basically is saying winning is more important than entertaining, ok. Then football will die. Champions in empty seats

[@limmoblack]

problem is theres too many subs allowed, so they bring them on for fresh fortification.

[@pablodebella7695]

Keller doesnt know what he is talking about, Messi is one of those that "dont defend" and he just became a world champion, for some reason Keller seems to be in a constant state of butthurt against southamerican teams, you can almost see the stick up his a$$ when he speaks

[@lennyjenkins9931]

​@@limmoblackMore subs have actually made the game much more entertaining

[@lugarci1]

And he is saying it like the talented players of the past didn't win...Riquelme, for example, won a lot in all his career. The Brazilian team of early 2000's was unstoppable. Football isn't as played as before, so we don't get these type of players as often as we did, that's is my opinion.

[@zandoleemedia9272]

US mindset regarding soccer. They intentionally throw away skillful players for runners.

[@QPRTokyo]

The problem is the lack of physical contact. Too much diving, too many substitutions, too many games. Go back to the 1970’s handball rules.

[@lennyjenkins9931]

Too much substitutions? 5 Subs has been amazing.

[@ghiulaidani9873]

The main man to blame is Guardiola and his "pass your opponents to death" tactics

[@daniaaal]

such a convenient excuse, when ironically tactics of today has already moved past pep's philosophy. Blame german's gegenpressing for the state of the game today. Every team is now trying to press from the front and have quick counter like Klopp's Liverpool.

[@chriskey7440]

​@@daniaaalgegenpressing is actually fun to watch, as it leads to exciting football. But I'm sorry, which teams do gegenpressing nowadays, give me some examples? Not Arsenal, not MU, not City, not Barcelona, not Madrid, not Inter, not PSV, not Atalanta, not Leverkusen, not PSG, shoot not even DORTMUND do it anymore. Maybe Liverpool, but they do it to a much lesser extent than Dortmund when they had Lewandowski and Aubameyang. So since it's such an influential style of play, you should have no difficulty in naming the multiple teams that play that way.

[@monwabisinondyola7476]

​@@chriskey7440 If you think Atalanta don't gengenpress, you don't watch enough football😂

[@chriskey7440]

@@monwabisinondyola7476 Atalanta don't do it every game, but I can see your point. Lookman and Scamaca don't press but their midfield and defense do play a high line. For Dortmund, EVERYONE pressed, for most of the match, that's what I'm referring too; nonstop pressure from all over the field, not just the midfield and defense.

[@SW-fn7cl]

Guardiolas football is great to watch imo, the problem is everyone else trying to copy his style

[@LAND-ROVER-DEFENDER]

Agree with him 100% I remember when he coached Argentina, Days of Riquelma, Argentina was playing the best football they ever played. And wherever he goes he lets them play football. Imagine from that days if he did not leave Argentina national team. Argentina would play better and better.

[@pablodebella7695]

since Keller was never a special player himself he hates on the ones that are trying to dismiss them as "ineffective", so petty.

[@Oher58]

Kasey is wrong, Riquelme won 🏆 so many in Boca. Btw the US has been more successful when they have been pragmatic and played defensive counter attacking ⚽️. Now with Berhalter they’re trying to be offensive and look 👀 at the caos it has been

[@gemreviews2840]

No idea who the bold guy is. Someone please tell him what Bielsa did with Leeds, what he did with Chile. Bielsa doesnt win often but when he does he does it with teams that arent supposed to win, with underdogs, and he does it in epic fashion.

[@Johnnybgood76]

Which bald guy? (They were both professional players by the way.)

[@annadavies8867]

Does Kasey Keller ever shut up? Typical american stick to basketball and stop talking about what you dont know. Football is in decline because FIFA and the confederations make it all about money. The working class who created the game are being priced out of buying tickets to see matches live, matches are no longer free to air so alot of people cant afford to watch the games live on tv, merchandise like jerseys are extortionately priced and unaffordable. Football is becoming solely for the rich 1% of the world. More games is also causing more injuries and poor quality. It will only increase because again it is only about money

[@DarthVader-gs9hj]

Football used to be tactical with very talented players, now it’s all about speed with more athleticism, Bielsa is correct

[@pascho1057]

Nobody deserves a balondor

[@ftwsam2246]

It's a popularity contest, if it was actually about playing, Dovbyk would be in the race because he's the highest scorer in La Liga.

[@pablodebella7695]

@@ftwsam2246 Yeah or somebody from Leverkusen that had an amazing championship run

[@Kyleterp1]

Coaches don’t let players be creative and take on risks. It’s too tactical and too many managers are more afraid to lose than they want to win.

[@LHBH8]

No 10’s and 9’s are dead. In the 90’s England and Italy for example had a dozen guys scoring goals. Now they have a few at best.

[@ShilohBoca]

I kinda agree with him. Bad defending, and the offside rule and hand rules must change. The ball changing all the time must take part in this too but no one ever mentions it.

[@ShilohBoca]

Yes, diving too with zero consequences

[@mikuel25]

Change some of the rules to reflect hockey. Every foul is a 2 minute penalty where the penalized player has to get off the field and cannot come back until the time has expired and his team has possession. Yellow cards are 5 minutes. Have a stop clock. Every time the ball is off the field, the clock stops. This sport needs more shots on net and higher scoring. You should be able to sub in more players. That's why hockey is so exciting to watch. A goalie has to make 30 or so shots a game. That's why it so dramatic. Just my two cents.

[@ktm4042]

Ale is incorrect- Barcelonas sryle of play, tiki taka, did not become obsolete as much as the caliber of player that could execute the style successfully started retiring one by one. Styles sometimes change specifically because of the talent and ability of players, and what they can execute.

[@coreydon7097]

Spain are playing the most entertaining futbol of the big nations because of their 2 dynamic wingers Nico and Lamine. They can still pass the ball around like the Spain teams of old but now they have 2 guys who attack their defenders and it's been enjoyable to watch.

[@tsmay4598]

While I agree with you, their most entertaining player was on the bench for most of the time. Dani Olmo is a true playmaker.

[@jeanjacqueslundi3502]

Meh. Football these days is all about the pacey winger. For me, that is certainly get boring. It's the only profile of player people even appreciate these days.

[@coreydon7097]

@@jeanjacqueslundi3502 Yeah, the number 10 player is pretty much extinct nowadays.

[@sidbiggs8687]

The thing that needs to change is all of the player flopping and the injury dramatics. I went to the US v Uruguay match and all of the players falling down and rolling on the ground made the game super slow, frustrating and almost unwatchable.

[@markwilson5967]

I've been complaining about the flopping for years majority of people seemed ok with it. Everyone still loves Neymar. A little too late to complain about it. It's baked into the game.

[@LuckyStriker10]

@@markwilson5967MLS is actually starting to address the flopping by having players come out of the game for a few minutes if they don’t get up quickly enough after a foul.

[@markwilson5967]

@@LuckyStriker10 not good enough. They should get a red card. It's ruined the game.

[@LuckyStriker10]

@@markwilson5967 For obvious flipping yes they should but most of the time there is contact and hard to tell how hurt the guy is. So if he's really hurting, forcing him to come off does no harm and if he's exaggerating then he won't stay down.

[@markwilson5967]

@@LuckyStriker10 your part of the problem.

[@MAP07070]

Get rid of the bs offside VAR rulings that say “ an attacker is off-side if his/her pinky is beyond the last defender “ .

[@maxinquaye3191]

Europe (Pep Guardiola) is killing the sport. Clubs and national teams need to get away from the tactical system that is discouraging and stifling individual creative type players. Brazil has done away with developing individualism and creative players. They are only interested in developing boring tactical players to sell to European clubs. Marcelo Bielsa is 100% correct. Capitalism is also to be blamed for the decline as well.

[@battistimo]

Communism isn’t going to save it either.

[@ac14cmpunk25]

As great as Pep Guardiola is, his philosphy has brought this decline Look at Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund and then look at him at ManCity

[@QuincyJamesMusic]

THIS, players aren’t allowed to be themselves anymore and instead are stripped of their identities to fit a team and structure smh.

[@gokupepper]

The most entertaining game was Canada vs. Venezuela. They just went at it

[@leChandler24]

It is not about the manager! It is about players playing lot of games, don’t care getting injured for the national team and loosing millions of dollars for the club, and the pressure of playing at the end of the season knowing that after few weeks they need to start their leagues!

[@WhackMcStuff]

Hard to take these dudes opinions seriously when they can't even spell Bielsa correctly. Just embarrassing.

[@richardventimilla4143]

It’s getting old seeing players where no contact was made acting like they broke a leg. Some referees are starting to figure that out but some are still easily swayed.

[@tornaperinso1484]

That's not at all what Bielsa was talking about. He was talking about the identity that the public has with the team that they are rooting for, and that's it's being lost. He didn't say that the players were not as good or better than before, or the highlights were not great, he talked about brand of football that a fan used to root for, it's now being lost, (my take) probably in a kind of soccer globalization where players, tactics, teams, seem similar to each other and loose their own homegrown essence.

[@manmy016]

There are too many Kellers that are all physical and no real talent that kill the game… it’s easier to be physical than have talent so most people hate on the genius players because these people are rubbish themselves

[@kirkwoodbharris5110]

Dramatizing fouls and other silly gamesmanship acts are much more detrimental to the game than anything else Agree though, the game also needs to see the average goals/ game near 4+

[@MrBongobongbongo]

Nike predicted all of this is the short film, the last game. Pep is perfect inc. We are at the part where the crowd says "boring".

[@south1228]

Also he talked about the 22 minutes lost in the second half by Colombia players and Ref, and at the end they only added 7 extra minutes. That has to change stopping the time when game is not on.

[@Norbworthy]

This guy came to England, acted like the second coming of Pep Guardiola and proceeded to have one of the worst defences in Premier League history. Always, always, always take substance over style. Offence wins games, defence wins championships, attractive football wins fuck all

[@mikuel25]

Hockey is more exciting because the play area is small. The players give maximum effort for 45 seconds and then are off for a two to three minute rest. And there are twenty players that actually play. More rest time = more exciting action. Why can't soccer do something like this?

[@victorcaraveo4997]

I'm from Mexico and beisbol and American Football have a big impact in my country, Beisbol in the North of Mexico specially the working class, and Football everywhere even the women get involved in fact they won a world tournament in 2022 (touch football). Soccer is not dead but mostly the professionist play the game and is just to pass the time, but not to create passion. Why? I do not have the answer, beisbol is not cheap to play, and football is very physical and requires big bodies.

[@mannytuzo]

I disagree in terms of the international level. I have been enjoying games such as Canada vs Venezuela, Turkey’s games have been incredible because it could’ve been anyone’s game! Club football has become SO robotic especially with City, Bayern prior to the last season, Juventus, etc. Real Madrid has been magical because they have those special moments that leave you in awe, better than watching City pass 1,000 passes to get a single goal.

[@totalbodyperformancefitnes4813]

I disagree with you- England and France against anyone has been dreadful. And they are thought of being the best teams in the world.

[@kattphatt]

City vs Real Madrid game and you enjoyed watching Real Madrid in that game? Gimme a break bro.

[@mannytuzo]

@@totalbodyperformancefitnes4813 you’re talking about England bro, ENGLAND! C’mon… france has been utterly disappointed I must say tho

[@mannytuzo]

@@kattphatt sorry you don’t know ball mijo

[@kattphatt]

@@mannytuzo seems we both don't

[@kiroolioneaver8532]

The problem is soccer is too stubborn to alter the game to make it more entertaining/attractive. North American sports (notably in recent years baseball) are willing to make changes to make the product more entertaining. Making the goals bigger, playing 60 minutes (while stopping the clock if the ball goes out of bounds, when there's a foul, etc.) are non-starters for a lot of people in the sport.

[@LHBH8]

It’s the American influence that’s made it not entertaining.

[@ricomajestic]

I agree but there are better ways to make the game way more exciting and it doesnt require making the goals bigger or changing the duration of the game. Ive talked about these ideas for decades and Fifa has implemented some of them.

[@ricomajestic]

​​@@LHBH8Not true. US has little influence on Fifa. In the USA all sports evolve to make it as entertaining as possible but the rest of the world (europe especially)does not do that

[@rmv9194]

@@LHBH8 That's BS. Is the idea that "result is the only thing that matter" mentality. Teams like Real Madrid, Chelsea, France, Atlético winning knockout tournaments by any means, playing conservative, no risk involved, boring (anti)football is what is killing this sport. Analysts and commenters supporting this same idea has helped too.

[@TheChefTiger]

Some context probably is helpful. I feel that was a shot at US and Mexican soccer. I dunno the extent of USSF considering him to coaching the team but I do know to accept the Mexican job he demanded full autonomy of the program to make decisions impacting the early development of players similar to challenging P2P in the US (a different problem but same vibe). He was told no and he rejected the job. Soccer people -including Fifa’s president Infantino- are at a loss of words describing soccer in America, especially P2P. He was also critical of Brazil letting their talent go way too early.

[@kirkwoodbharris5110]

For league play, awarding teams a point for scoring 3 goals, win or lose, will get teams in an attacking mindset...

[@MrACenteno1]

Lets be blunt - The Premier League is better than most international competitions.

[@boxbury]

Just my opinion as a newer soccer fan. I find the last 20-30 minutes of the game pitiful to watch. Time wasting by rolling around on the ground, constant substitutions, etc. there is no flow to the game. I wish the clock would just stop so players can’t waste time when they are ahead.

[@marcteenhc9793]

This is not the first time Marcelo Bielsa makes claims like this one, and these clowns have not been able to do a 5 minutes search on google to try to understand what he said. Bielsa is against the status quo in world football, in which small teams lose their players at very young ages because of the massive difference in resources that they have when compared with larger -mostly European- teams. Allowing corporations or even countries (Qatar, United Arab Emirates, etc) to inject billions in a couple of teams and concentrating all the talent in only a couple of competitions is killing football at its base.

[@-jamie-9896]

The term "game-breaker" is a great term, and its what I miss from seeing in matches, taking people on.

[@coachgiovannifuentes6975]

Let's start with the subjective argument of what "decline" in football is. There is an art to "defending well" and some may appreciate a team that defends well just like there are people who love to watch a team that treats the ball like a teddy bear and doesn't want to share it. To each his own. The fact that soccer has changed is in response to US the fans. The fans hold the power, as soon as "we" as fans chose to support teams that prioritize winning above "playing well" (whatever that means), we have spoken and federations listen. Team A wins and gets support, (viewership, ticket sales, product sales, sponsorships) by playing in this style so now "we" must play in this style. If we, the fans want to see a certain type of football, let's support the teams that play that way and stop rewarding teams that don't. Its that simple. Golden goal was a magnificent rule, but you have managers who are more afraid of losing than going for the win. We rewarded that by supporting the teams who did that and so it did not work.

[@ScrewyDriverTheMan]

Football has been murdered by the Americanisation of the game.

[@ferrantepallas]

I think the International game is far better than club football. The Qatar World Cup trumped everything.

[@totalbodyperformancefitnes4813]

These guys make it seem like teams who take defensive priority first only occurs in international play. It's literally the basis of every modern day system- the world of footballs tactics have been dumbed down to 2 aspects: the press and how to counter press. That's pretty much it- you go to any MLS pro academy and they focus on those two aspects and when recruiting their players they focus on the physical aspect more than than the technical aspect. Kasey the issue is the teams who risk and try to win are the teams that lose because the opposition wants to go pks and OTs. Jude's bike literally the only thing from that game. One play doesn't mean the game was decent. International football. Real Madrid doesn't play beautifully. They are a team who has always bff. Attacking until the focus on counterattacking. That's the way teams win. When someone like pep comes out then everyone is jizzing their pants. The biggest issue is teams lack identity. Everyone looks the same especially the bigger teams. If you love aesthetics I would recommend not watching soccer.

[@zandoleemedia9272]

If you send all your great players to Euro clubs it will become unattractive because everyone is attempting to play the same way. No inspiration, no flare.

[@ferrantepallas]

Great commentary from Ale about the void of creative players willing to take on defenders.Think of the style of play in the 1982 World Cup match between Italy and Brazil!

[@mervyncharter]

Yes many believe that was the day football died.

[@ferrantepallas]

@@mervyncharter because Paolo Rossi had a hat trick? lol Italy was great that year

[@mervyncharter]

@@ferrantepallas Yes agree Italy rose to the occasion for sure. Brazil just needed a draw but only knew one way of playing. Shows what a task my team Aston Villa had in the European Cup quarter Final 9 months against a Juventus team that included 7 members of that Italy team, plus arguably the 2 best players in Europe of the time( possible exception of Karl heinz rummenigge) Michel Platini and Zbigniew Boniek

[@southernman523]

The popularity masks its true nature, absolutely boring watching 22 headless chicken passing the ball sideways and backward and sometimes deciding to score a goal. 99 percent of players having no real skills or tricks, poor refereeing, nobody knows what is offside, often good goals disallowed,a handball, teams given penalty for ridiculous handball call ,a foul or dive, sorry football is overrated overhyped spectacle. Then crybaby players when losing, not seen in other sports.

[@nb9797]

South Americans have made faking injuries the norm. Dishonest unwatchable game now

[@MrLuvFishing]

Too much allowable contact is taking away from the beauty of the game. This is why the MLS is becoming so attractive. DP rule allows very good strikers to play against subpar defensive. People want to see the final third scoring offense. NBA had the same problem about 2 decades ago. Dennis Rodman could never play in today's NBA with being ejected every other game.

[@maudalmusicalmachines3541]

Seriously, if we're going to bemoan the decline of attacking front foot football, or as Ale says encourage players who take on players 1 v 1, then refs need to add a level of cost to cynical fouling. I think there's a culprit to this "decline" and that is the prevalence of tactical fouling. There is *supposed* to be a further cost to persistent fouling with yellow cards but that has all but disappeared in the international game. Everybody snorted at the idea of orange cards, but at least they were trying to address the issue. And Everybody may snort now at *this* comment - Christian Pulisic and the USMNT *tried* to play attacking positive football against Panama and Uruguay but were hacked down repeatedly in both matches with *very* few yellow cards being produced. I'd bet Bielsa wasn't thinking of *us* when he made those comments 😉 But if Ale's going to back him [it was Ale who celebrated Uruguay's ability to "grind it out"], he should go back and watch those 2 games and tell me Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna wouldn't have toasted players on both those teams if they hadn't been cynically hacked down every time they turned on them. *Every. Chance. to Break.* that we had was killed with a cynical foul.

[@Hussein_Nur]

Typo on Bielsa's name 🤣

[@kattphatt]

The problem with taking on Players is when Doku does it every game the media find a way to talk about his stats instead. So what is the point? Lol.

[@roserincon]

All of this is coming from Bielsa who, let us remember, left Juan Román Riquelme!!, OUT of the Argentinian national team ; AND it was probably the first head coach who tried to convert football into chess by mechanizing all players movement in the pitch.....

[@sparkyAR]

Exactly. But he was also talking about the cultural aspect of the game, and I agree with him, it´s just a business nowadays

[@MrFjcn]

I agree because they don't use the classic #10 they provided the magic

[@power279]

No.10 died because of no.8, no.6 and false no.9

[@trorisk]

I agree that there is a negative impact of "pragmatism", which is amplified with data and statistics. Especially in national team competitions which do not have much time to train and play between games. But look at Spain's play during this Euro, they offer a "Spanish style" of play which is very pleasant for the fans to watch. If what we want is to have a better show with the national teams we have to give them time to train and play matches. And that will inevitably take time away from the clubs.

[@hap1n355]

The great Brazilian Ronaldo said the soccer fields he played on as a kid are longer there. They built apartments building.

[@agent109g8]

Athleticism and running....sounds like North American and European soccer. This is what teams do to make up for lack of talent.

[@max2strong]

The game is gotten comercial so players are getting big contracts then before. they use to play for free went they where playing for their nacional team . But the talent of young players is at all time high that’s just at every sport ..

[@ChrisE-iy7ok]

imo football has been forced to become boring because everyone is only focused on tactics and results today and not about winning in a respectable way. today i see only colombia playing really beautiful football. but argentina is only relying on 1 player to create beautiful things but that player is today old and close to retirement, brazil, uruguay, france, portugal, england etc all play boring football only european team play somewhat great is spain now, but colombia is no doubt the best

[@jlalamo213]

We need a remake of Captain Tsubasa and build that passion back up. Lol

[@realgems24]

Pep and Rant N Bants is ruining football

[@albertorosas3694]

🇺🇲 knows what its doing! We pay to play here starting from the ground up! so get in line to slide and pass! Whats scoring and winning?? We play to draw

[@TheFatGandalf]

Barcelona has changed? Thanks, Capt. Obvious. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that their best player is now in Miami and they don’t have a unicorn to replace him, as good as their academy is.

[@LuckyStriker10]

Current day Messi is no where near as good as Yamal or Pedri or Kounde or…….

[@RC-zu8to]

As a spectator Uruguay vs Brasil maybe it was not an exciting game , but for fans it was a great exciting game! It looks like you get excited only about goals like spectators, but if you are a fan and understand the game beyond goals, this game was great!

[@mem5860]

I understand the Game beyond goals and that was boring. I have seen very entertaing 0-0.

[@tsmay4598]

@@mem5860 I got up at 3 am and thought it was great. Obviously I would have preferred to see a few goals. But both teams were constantly going forward. It was a lot better than France vs Portugal or any of England's games.

[@mem5860]

@@tsmay4598 well all those Games were boring, the Best of the worse

[@RC-zu8to]

Well, if you like plenty of lateral passes and players dragging their feet to attack, watch England and most of the euros games

[@RC-zu8to]

@@mem5860I doubt you understand it. Btw… English fans didn’t know anything about bielsa until he coached in England and Guardiola says Bielsa is the best coach he knows. , that tells a lot about the english people “knowing” about football, they live in a box or limbo! And if you are American, you are completely ignorant about football for sure , you may think you know, but not. Look at these commentators, for example. It is a fact and I’m not going to even argue with you. Watching football and even playing in the US still keeps you ignorant. You don’t know what you don’t know!!

[@joshuarichardson6854]

I don’t agree with Casey. It’s a small sample, but take Eden Hazard at Chelsea. The players around him were not game breakers and typically played their roles well. He wasn’t going to defend like crazy, but Hazard could break the game open with flair and individual talent. Other managers knew it was coming and rarely accounted for it. It’s possible to win that way, but it’s true: managers see pep winning a different way and want to duplicate it

[@mdhindley]

I think this has a lot to do with making coaches celebrities. They are important but not as important as we give them credit for. We need more play and less execution of a game plan Of course the sp Stupid amounts of money in the game doesn't help.

[@leandronovaes3836]

What is not thereis the working class in the stadius. Football is more and more elitist.

[@gondazbandaz4540]

Juan Roman Riquelme is on the level of Messi, Maradona, Zidane, Ronaldinho, R9, Rivaldo etc... Do not compare him to footballers of today, as they lack the intelligence, footballing ability/technical aspects of the game and natural talent. Please keep pressing and passing the ball backwards and sideways and blame the manager when you lose.. Bielsa is not wrong. Football is in a process of decline.

[@spacecamel2501]

Among the very best! Getting the ball from him was next to impossible. He would create what he desired

[@leedsunited.2020]

Marcelo is fantastic guy and all leeds fans luv the guy 1000% he probably saying too much money involved it's not for the love of football it's a wage marcelo old school he could gone top team in uk premier league club European club he pic leeds and that was about the luv of football

[@alaalespaul]

It should be a balance, a little bit of Bielsa and a little pragmatism. BALANCE PEOPLE! Also give coaches and teams some time before smothering them in hate and rejection.

[@DwightCrichton-yg6wh]

Rubbish! Tactical literacy can resolve these problems. The ones crying are tactically inept and need to exit the game. There are infinite strategies that can be employed by active minds.

[@ftwsam2246]

I disagree Herc, the Euros have brought a surprisingly good number of games, specifically from the dark horses (Austria, Turkiye, Switzerland, Georgia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czechia, Albania and Serbia) Austria's philosophy of attack won them the group, of course it was weakness against Turkiye in the end. But most of these teams have been high powered offense, or hard-nosed defense with quick and decisive counters.

[@legionnairegonk4425]

And also large number of awful ones involving the big powerful nations. It's widely accepted that this Euro's hasn't been very good compared to previous tournaments.

[@ftwsam2246]

@@legionnairegonk4425 yeah the big teams haven't looked dominant, and their still in the tournament, that's been the worst result. If the semi finals had just dark horses /underdogs it would be more exciting to watch.

[@xaymacaxaymaca]

​@@ftwsam2246Well said. England and France have been absolutely atrocious!

[@battistimo]

Yeah but the dark horses always fail at the end. This always happens.

[@nwupdates9767]

@@legionnairegonk4425 It is now official the Euro Championship and Copa America 2024 are inferior to the African Cup (AFCON) 2024

[@maxinquaye3191]

The reason why pragmatism is winning is because the greedy club owners coupled with the media as their mouth piece have made the sport just about winning and NOT how the game is played. When was the last time a midfield general won a balon d'or? Only attackers are considered the best players. They keep telling people that scoring goals is the most difficult part of the sport. So, when media darlings like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo score bags of goals, then it justifies their hype and propaganda. The media's slogan should be, if it isn't already: trust what we are telling you, NOT what you are seeing.

[@abim7349]

People are losing interest because of tiki Taka type of football😊

[@luniz4209]

I would rather watch a team that can pass and move than 8 guys standing around watching 1 or 2 geniuses try to win on their own. So don't blame Spain. They had guys that could win one on one anyway, they just had more than that on top of it. It has more to do with being willing to go to penalty shots and it's not like that's new. They should do like hockey and go 10 v 10. Also they need to change the offsides back so that leaning forward doesn't cost you a goal, it should be the offenses player entire body offsides.

[@darrenmcclellan9869]

Blah blah blah….. the USL now has a TV contract for all the high end connoisseurs that can’t stand what the game has become. Also it’s because they changed the ball weight and have developed perfect pitches for exactly this play to develop. In the past having the ball because of its weight and pitch conditions were almost a liability. Now the ball can be controlled indefinitely by the best teams. That is the play style we see today.

[@borisnegrarosa9113]

Is this an American show or Hispanic? I can't figure it out.

[@HammersWalls]

Hispanic American

[@maudalmusicalmachines3541]

Says the guy coaching the ugliest football of any national team in either competition 😏 #Berhalterout, #BerhalterOut

[@benjamingarza9486]

Pay to play had done in the game

[@battistimo]

The way to fix the game is to stop watching

[@lomalindasmogcheck1]

There are no more easy national teams. Furthermore ask Croatia what it takes to defeat a BRASIL. Do we want ballerinas or roughnecks? How many Champions League finals were 0 0 at halftime? Good games are also boring. Evenly matched technically or brutally. Imo blame Morocco: good for them and Canada...

[@frederickgramcko5758]

Welcome to sports. . . The NBA is a shell of its self, the NFL keeps shooting itself in the foot, per an awful commissioner. . . The USMNT & their brass have the chance to make a real change, similarly the WNBA and the women's national team, as they left their golden goose & clearly one of their best players off the team (Catlin Clark), ..... This guy is just pissed his overrated, over hyped, immature selfish players are out of the tournament. BYE Brasil, LET the door hit you on the way out.

[@vikranthaldankar4910]

I think they not watched spain in euros

[@leemunoz9617]

Games ending 0-0, 1-0. Good players but no megastars.

[@ishrendon6435]

Guy mentioned spain to make a point lmao they're quite boring at times lol

[@Coach_pena]

Easier to destroy than create.

[@carlosgonzalez-sg4yb]

These guys don't know Bielsa

[@HammersWalls]

They don't even spell his name right bro.

[@Mike-px8rc]

Organized Defense and Set Plays!

[@StarboundUK]

Brazil 2002 was beautifully balanced.... Even with the 3Rs & 2 best full backs in the worldin Roberto Carlos & Cafu... The other 5 outfield players were great defensively.. starting with Gilberto Silva

[@nwupdates9767]

It is now official the Euro Championship and Copa America 2024 are inferior to the African Cup 2024

[@TheWordTheWay]

Ali is right

[@greatestsportslegends]

Boomer chatter. Ignore.

[@joseph-fernando-piano]

"Football is becoming less and less attractive" says the guy who had his team kick and foul Brazil for 90 minutes and then scrape through on penalties... worst football match I've ever watched, and I'm including those coached by Gareth Southgate and Didier Deschamps...

[@power279]

Papa perez forgot to protect his madrid players in brasil shirt😂

[@mariedelores-ek1ty]

the number 10 in football has died

[@power279]

Talking bout brasil..they also have mediocre fullbacks nowadays

[@totalbodyperformancefitnes4813]

So has the 9

[@Cyril_Sneer]

What is "Futbol"? 👀

[@tripperdelaluna1]

Spanish for football a synonym of soccer in English.

[@HammersWalls]

Not just that. Who is Biesla???