In the soccer world, there is much emphasis on players and how they score goals, create assists, defend properly and keep goals out. Even more attention is on those star players who can create magic with their skills or single-handedly turn games around. We see fans chanting their names, creating songs for them and praising them for their commitment.
Only occasionally is an accolade reserved for the manager who makes everything work behind the scenes. Usually, it’s the manager who develops tactics, trains with the players and manages in-game decisions. This article highlights some of football’s greatest moments when managers have gone head-to-head tactically to outshine one another.
How Do Tactics Influence Soccer Matches?
A team’s tactical setup is the bedrock of its performance in a football game. Tactics create the system for players to find a style of play and learn how to adapt to specific situations during the match. For instance, a coach may have a particular tactical approach before a game starts but have an alternative tactic for defending under certain circumstances.
Moreover, tactics help football managers play to their players’ strengths and weaknesses for balance. Without tactics, there are no game plans or strategies. It would also be difficult to determine what works or what doesn’t in the team’s setup.
So, when it comes down to a match on the field, tactics can be the difference between a strong and a weak team. There is no doubt that players can contribute to game results. However, football has shown us that a team without the biggest names can shock high-profile teams if its tactics are more effective.
Notable Games Where Managers Outplayed Each Other
Every game requires tactics. No football coach sets up his team against another without a tactical approach. However, some tactically exciting games between master tacticians often have one team outdoing the other by a fine margin.
Nothing can be sweeter for a fan than their team overcoming a dangerous opponent, especially for an underdog up against long odds. It’s why betting fans not only pay close attention to the form of players but the current decision-making from managers. Here are some noteworthy games that showcase master tacticians at work:
1. Inter Milan vs Barcelona – 2010 UCL Semi-final
One of the biggest coaching rivalries in modern football is between Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho. Their battle goes back to over a decade ago, and they have faced off multiple times across various competitions.
However, one game that stands out tactically between both coaching greats is the Inter Milan vs Barcelona match in the 2009/2010 UEFA Champions League. The game showcased two football managers with directly opposite philosophies: Mourinho’s “pragmatic” football was put to the test by Pep’s possession-based “tiki-taka” philosophy.
Pep’s Barcelona had won the treble the previous season, and they were the defending champions, having won the previous year’s UCL title. But Mou’s Inter was certainly not a small team. Though they were underdogs, they were the reigning Serie A champions.
On match day, Inter lined up with a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Eto’o and Milito leading the line. Sneijder played as a number 10 of sorts, while Cambiasso, Pandev and Motta were the midfield three. The back four were Maicon, Lúcio, Samuel and the legendary Zanetti.
Conversely, Pep stuck with the 4-3-3 formation that had Messi as a false-9 alongside Pedro and Ibrahimović on the flanks. Iniesta was out due to injury, so the midfield consisted of Xavi, Busquets and Seydou Keita. The defense line had the typical Alves, Piqué, Puyol and Maxwell.
Once the game began, Inter’s game plan was evident. The 4-3-1-2 formation switched to 4-2-3-1 when they were off the ball, with everyone falling back to defend, except Milito, who acted as a lone striker.
However, he used pressing traps to control the game. Whenever the ball was with Barca’s goalie or center half, they didn’t press. But once it got to a full-back, the wingers or closest midfielders would press at the wing.
They also didn’t press high up from the center of the pitch, and Sneidjer man-marked Xavi to cut down Barca’s creativity. Eto’o and Milito ran behind the defense in anticipation of long balls, and the combined move nullified Barca’s attack for almost the first 20 minutes of the game.
Barca would later score with their first real attack, but Inter didn’t change their game plan. In the 26th minute, Inter got the ball high up the pitch, and Sneijder scored. But in the second half, Mou’s in-game management showed, as Inter started pressing high. This resulted in a counterattack, and Milito linked up with Maicon, who got the second goal,
From there, Inter maintained the intensity. After a couple of attacks, Motta won the ball from the middle of the pitch and Milito got the third goal. Afterward, Inter eased off the press and started defending. Inter saw off the game at 3-1. The Special One’s pragmatic football won the tie and would later go on to win the tournament, despite being called “ugly.” Virtually all of these football stars have retired today, but their legacies live on.
2. Aston Villa vs Manchester City – 2023/2024 EPL game
Younger football lovers who are about all things soccer may not have watched the epic 2010 UCL game live, but Aston Villa’s 1-0 win against Manchester City in December 2023 is much more recent. Though the match ended with a lone goal, it was an epic battle of tacticians.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa thoroughly outplayed the defending Premier League Champions at Villa Park, with a total of 22 shots compared to City’s two throughout the game. Here’s how it unfolded:
Emery set up a 4-4-1-1 mid-block formation, with a strong midfield comprising Douglas Luiz and Youri Tielemans in a supporting striker role. Ollie Watkins led the line, and Emiliano Martínez was in goal. The midfield combination overpowered City’s, which was missing Rodri and De Bruyne. So, Villa dictated the game with their energy-intensive, high-press gameplay.
Whenever Martinez was in possession, the defenders stayed wide to receive the ball, and when they went forward, the full-backs acted as inverted wingers. This helped them support the natural wingers in the final third, who congested the midfield and created spaces behind City’s defense.
The pace of Watkins and Bailey also troubled City’s defense, as Tielemans created spaces for them to dash forward. Ultimately, their vertical runs punished City. Bailey found the chance to run through a star-studded defense that had Akanji and Gvardiol, and scored the winning goal.
3. Juventus vs Real Madrid – 2015 UCL Semi-final
Real Madrid crashed out of the 2015 UCL tournament after losing 2-3 to Juventus on aggregate, but the Old Lady didn’t win by chance. It was another tactical masterplan that saw them defeat a better Madrid side that included Ronaldo and Marcelo.
Juventus went with a 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Morata and Tevez up front and Vidal operating in the space behind them. Real Madrid also played the 4-4-2 formation, with Ronaldo and Bale up front.
Madrid relied on their wide players to create chances, as full-backs pushed high up to consolidate their efforts. Juve also understood this and had its midfield four go into a 3-1 shape to allow the outside CMs to spread and block spaces in the middle of the park. Vidal, who was playing as a 10, harassed Madrid’s deep-lying midfielder, preventing ball rotation. That left Madrid no choice but to play to the wings.
As Madrid got open with their full-back presses, Juventus countered and finally got a goal. Even when Madrid was forced to go direct with long balls, they had a diamond of four midfielders pressing against their own two.
Massimiliano Allegri switched to a 3-5-2 after 60 minutes to solidify the midfield hold, and the game ended 2-1 in favor of Juve.
