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The Optical Delusion of Arsenal’s Arsène
New career need: Reality Translators.
Leaders in the modern world continue to view black and white situations in clouds of utter disbelief. From business leaders to politicians to presidential wannabes to ship captains to sports figures to members of the media to celebrities and so on and so forth, far too many people in positions of power and influence just cannot admit failure and concede defeat. There’s always a caveat and the end result can never make that individual look poorly, entitled or (dare it be written), wrong. To say it’s frustrating to watch this continuous spectacle would be a massive understatement.
It would be like trying to claim victory after a loss.
The latest example of this impenetrable manager in today’s society is Arsenal’s head coach Arsène Wenger. The Gunners’ UEFA Champions League woes during the past several seasons (as predictable as rain in England) continued yesterday after the underdog squad from Monaco advanced to the quarterfinals of the most prestigious club tournament in the world. Scoring 3 away goals in a shocking 3-1 victory at Emirates Stadium in London a couple weeks ago was enough padding to advance following a 2-nil loss at home against the relentlessly firing Arsenal.
Make no mistake about it, this was a spectacular upset. David v. Goliath. Even with Arsenal’s recent troubles in Champions League play, losing to Monaco was never supposed to happen…and this includes on PlayStation and Xbox.
And what was Arsène Wenger’s reaction after suffering a major upset against the club he managed more than 20 years ago? BBC Sport got the most telling reaction.
Asked if Monaco deserved to progress, Wenger said: “I don’t believe so.”
“If you look at the number of shots on target they had you will be surprised. Every defeat hurts but we didn’t lose.”
Yes, you did.
(FYI – Mr. Wenger: In soccer, it doesn’t matter how many shots are on target, it matters how many goals go in the net).
In a word, the Frenchman is delusional. Let’s add a couple more words: discourteous and unprofessional. Soccer is fluid, unpredictable and ripe for the unthinkable to happen and this tie (soccer slang for 2-game series) proved why games need to played and not predetermined on television. His team lost and Monaco won, pure and simple. It’s long past the point where listening to these sincerely unbelievable explanations by leaders in power who fail or mislead people is genuinely dispiriting.
Just ask fans of Arsenal and Monaco.
The Beautiful Touch
There are a variety of reasons why MLS differs from top European soccer leagues. Culture, tactics, skill, speed, salaries and a business-like approach to playing soccer results in the beautiful game being played on (and in) a perfect pitch. In Europe especially, possession is an important asset. Subsequently, the skill and intelligence to translate continuously fluid ball movement into dangerous attacks in bursts of offensive virtuosity is simply spectacular.
Many players in leagues all around the world at various levels struggle with passing to their teammates with an unrestricted number of touches. It seems simple enough, but there is far too much evidence of the contrary at the professional level. Mastering the fundamentals of passing, shooting, running/conditioning, positioning and familiarity are the overarching keys of great soccer players and teams. It’s only after these elements are achieved that sustained creativity can be implemented.
Bayern Munich expertly demonstrates in the video below one reason why they are the best German club with the best players, but also why they are truly one of the best soccer teams in the world. In a close game, one touch can literally make all the difference.
“Pep’s Boys” in Munich have been known to finish a game with 60-70+% of possession. It’s become the status quo. In January of this year, Bayern Munich had the highest average percentage of possession in Europe at 71.1% (101 Great Goals online). Second was Barcelona, Pep Guardiola’s former squad.
If your opponents don’t have the ball, it’s usually pretty difficult for them to score…
Jimmy's Daily Planet 