Football Tactics in Real Time (Paperback)

Paperback. Ideas exist before kick-off. Evidence exists before kick-off. Then the whistle goes, and for ninety minutes somebody has to decide.In the 70th minute of a bad game a manager stops watching the ball and stares at a piece of empty grass. He is checking whether something he was told on Thursday is still true. The previous volume ended on that image. This book begins there.The third volume of The Evolution of Football TacticsVolume 1 told the story of the ideas, from Herrera to Guardiola and Klopp. Volume 2 told the story of the evidence, when expected goals and tracking data made those ideas arguable. This book is about the one thing neither could cover: what happens when ideas and evidence meet a clock, an opponent and eleven tired players.The week before: how a game plan is really built on a Tuesday, why a plan with more than three ideas is not a plan, and what survives the tunnelThe match clock: what the first fifteen minutes reveal, how the score changes the behaviour of both teams, what half-time can fix, and how five substitutions turned the bench into a second elevenThe levers: changing shape without changing players, controlling tempo, the priced tactical foul, the referee and the clock, set pieces in the momentBeyond ninety: how leads are protected and lost, how to chase a deficit without losing by three, extra time and penalties, and why a knockout tie is not one matchThe decision-maker: what a coach's mind actually does under pressure, the staff behind him, and what the match still decides on its ownIstanbul 2005, Conte's Chelsea and the 3-4-3 born from a defeat, the Euro 2020 final and the penalty takers sent on at the last minute, Real Madrid's comebacks: the cases are famous, the question is always the same. Who decided, with what information, in how much time, and what did it change on the pitch?No code. No formulas. No spreadsheets. For anyone who wants to watch a match and understand not just what is happening, but what is being decided. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…