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How the Brazil 2014 World Cup Will Be Ruled by All-Action Midfielders
Published: July 12, 2013
The era of possession-based tiki-taka football is coming to an end, as evidenced by Barcelona's hiding at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals and Spain's capitulation to Brazil in the final of the Confederations Cup.
No longer is it enough to load a team with players who can pass exceptionally well. The most effective midfields will be packed with powerful footballers who can do many things very well.
The supreme midfielder in modern football has physical presence and can run non-stop for ninety minutes, but also has excellent close control and an educated passing game.
Jonathan Wilson, discussing the tactical trends of 2012/13 in The Guardian, points out that bigger is usually better:
But just because small players can do something, it does not mean that that same thing isn't better done with big players, if they are capable of the same levels of technical expertise. Bayern perhaps haven't hit quite the same levels of filigree passing as Barça at their peak, but they are not far off, and what was striking in the Champions League semi-final was how tired—how weak—Barcelona looked.
Wilson goes on to argue that creative midfielders who operate from deep continue to play an important role in the functionality of the major teams, using Andrea Pirlo, Sergio Busquets and Darren Fletcher as examples.
Even those players, as brilliant as they are at what they do, are rendered ineffective if they're not accompanied by a lung-buster or two.
When Italy won the World Cup in 2006, Pirlo was protected by Gennaro Gattuso and he had the creative talents of Francesco Totti ahead of him.
In Cesare Prandelli's current Italy side, Pirlo is flanked by two prime examples of the modern universal mid...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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