As a man who lives for football and also doesn’t get all that much sleep, it’s been a joy having the Copa America on the Beeb over the past few weeks. Has anyone else been enjoying it?
I’ve watched about ten matches in total (watching the final right now!) and having mainly seen South American teams pretty much only in the World Cup format, it’s been an education to see these countries and their particular style played out in a different setting.
The main thing that’s stuck with me is that whilst these teams like to play a passing game, they don’t play it anywhere near the European style. Thanks to Pep Guardiola, the most free flowing short game in our continent is all based around short passes in triangles. In South America they’re just always running into space, it may not be as pretty but it’s so much more entertaining. But it also exposes the frailty of the back line; in Italy defending is an art, in Brazil it’s an occupational hazard with worrying consequences.
I’ve watched about ten matches in total (watching the final right now!) and having mainly seen South American teams pretty much only in the World Cup format, it’s been an education to see these countries and their particular style played out in a different setting.
The main thing that’s stuck with me is that whilst these teams like to play a passing game, they don’t play it anywhere near the European style. Thanks to Pep Guardiola, the most free flowing short game in our continent is all based around short passes in triangles. In South America they’re just always running into space, it may not be as pretty but it’s so much more entertaining. But it also exposes the frailty of the back line; in Italy defending is an art, in Brazil it’s an occupational hazard with worrying consequences.