Out of all the managers in European football, few have had a more improbable, unexpected rise to the top than Maurizio Sarri. He never played at the professional level, he split his time between working as a banker and playing and managing an amateur side, but in 1999, he quit his day job and dedicated…

Three years after winning the DFB-Pokal and finishing second in the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg found themselves in the relegation play-offs at the end of the 2016/17 season. They defeated Eintracht Braunschweig to retain their place in Germany’s top flight, but despite bringing in the likes of Divock Origi, Ignacio Camacho and John Brooks, they found…

Three weeks after grabbing a commanding 3-0 victory at the San Siro, Christophe Galtier’s Lille welcomed Milan to the Stade Pierre-Maupoy for Matchday Four of the UEFA Europa League group stage. Despite recording 13 shots in comparison to their Italian opponents’s four shots, Les Dogues were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw that saw them…

On November 20, Monaco welcomed Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Louis II, in search of a victory to continue their two-match winning streak. Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel’s side looked to build on their impressive form prior to the international break and add onto their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table.   With star…

Out of all the 20 teams in La Liga, José Bordalás’s Getafe are the most antithetical to the possession-heavy style of play that has encompassed Spanish football over the past decade. Their extremely direct play in possession combined with their high intensity, physical pressing off the ball has been a constant menace for most sides…

The most cited quotation in tactical theory can be attributed to Johan Cruyff, who once said, “If you have the ball you must make the field as big as possible, and if you don’t have the ball you must make it as small as possible.”   This is for good reason, as it encapsulates a…

“Just over a year since their lowest point, Southampton reach their highest point”, said Sky Sports commentator Rob Hawthorne as Southampton, albeit temporarily, rose to the top of the Premier League for the first time in their history after a comfortable 2-0 win over Newcastle on the most recent Friday Night Football.   Southampton sat…

Before taking charge of Stade de Reims, Olivier Guégan took a tour across Europe to observe several training sessions and matches and get a glimpse of their respective managers’s patterns and tactics. He went to Rome to study Rudi Garcia’s Roma side, he went to Madrid to analyze Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid, and he even…

Since taking charge of Manchester United in December 2018, Ole Gunnar Solskjær has proven time and time again his ability to grind out a victory against top opposition. He demonstrated his tactical nous in his fifth Premier League match, which saw United muster a 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur. A month later, Solskjær sealed a…

Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta side bounced back from a thumping 5-0 defeat to Liverpool in the midweek as they hosted Antonio Conte’s Inter to a 1-1 draw on Sunday. Gasperini’s side looked sharp and a far more organised outfit than they did in midweek.   Inter will also take encouragement from the result as they…