The result was important, but most of all, the play reflected a nostalgia and familiarity of past sides. Can Barcelona play like this against Napoli in the Champions League? That question is beside the main point, for now. Read more »

Barcelona managers must speak two languages, one of exterior results and the other of upholding an interior identity. Ernesto Valverde could never shake that ambivalent feeling, coming to embody the stasis of a club that had lost its academy-driven innovations within a possession-based framework. Read more »

The Barcelona board are a capricious, and, going by recent evidence, not particularly competent bunch. They belong to a uniquely sociopathic rich guy strain, one concerned only with revenue retrieval, status, and success. Read more »

Athletic feats aside, Adama Traore's potential is being actualized in real time. The mixtape dribbles and bursts of pace are turning into real assists and goals. Read more »

Liverpool aren't attempting to submit opponents through passing, but through an exertion of physicality and energy. The combination of high-tempo, pressing, attacking fullbacks, and a fluid front-three makes them a "distillation of the modern game." Read more »

Paul Pogba is 26 years old and should be in his prime. Yet what he is, at present, and what he still could be, in the future, remains hazy. Read more »

A concoction of pressing, modern branding principles, and an emphasis on winning the Champions League created the modern game over the decade. Read more »

The match was always going to end 0-0 considering both a cautious nature and lack of penalty box quality from both sides. There were no real clearcut chances or intricate buildup play. Read more »

There is an aspirational element to Gladbach this season, in how they've translated written theory into play. Their on-field success resonates in the digital world, that there are real world test cases. Read more »

If English managers are suffering from a problem of fashion, then Chris Wilder could actually benefit from today's age. Like Guardiola's "tiki-taka" and Klopp's "gegenpressing", Wilder does have a brand with his "overlapping centerbacks." Read more »

The spectacle, the documentary and purpose as Jose Mourinho returns to the Premier League, this time as manager of Tottenham. Read more »

Whether this feeling lines up with reality or not, Jose Mourinho's hiring is the opposite of capitulation, a bet that the past year under Mauricio Pochettino has represented a step backward rather than the beginning of a protracted decline. Read more »

Going hand in hand with a lack of high-end superstar power, an equally symbolic number as Real Madrid's attendance is 73: the projected point total of this year's La Liga champion. Read more »

The Sounders displayed an effective MLS formula of not making mistakes in possession, a bend but don't break defense, and quick switches of play in transition to isolate speedy attackers 1 v 1 against defenders. Read more »

Despite the numbers, it still feels as if Robert Lewandowski is overlooked on the European football consciousness. That oversight is exemplified by his fraught relationship with the Ballon d’Or. Read more »

AC Milan's struggles aren't necessarily from a lack of talent, but something lacking in the underlying emotion and personality. What's needed from a manager is more chemist than tactician. Read more »

A triumph of Germany's 2014 World Cup title was in its validation of a long-term approach to player development. In hindsight, that success also emboldened a structure grasping at techniques that were successful in the past, despite the footballing world moving on. Read more »

At some point, there was no turning back as Maradona took control over Diego, with the armor of a persona shielding the person from a combination of idolatry, crippling addiction, and the hostility of Italy at the time. Read more »

One could boil this match down to Sarri being able to bring in a Higuain-type of striker late into the match and Conte lacking that option. The more things change with a new style of Serie A, the more they stay the same. Read more »

Analytics could further change the perception of a captain's importance. Granit Xhaka was bought by Arsenal partly due to his underlying statistics, especially with a high "packing" metric. Read more »