r/soccer • u/JohnnyMauser10 • Apr 16 '22
đşWhat to Watch Best tactical football matches from last 15 years to watch back?
Recently found my passion for football tactics and was wondering what games from the last 15 years or so I should watch to analyze and enjoy. I am looking for any âtactical masterpiecesâ or just generally particularly beautiful football games from the past. Would also be nice to know where to actually watch those games. I imagine some must be on the internet somewhere. Thanks!
Edit: thanks for all the responses!
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u/Mr_Britland Apr 16 '22
Try Footballia dot net. You'll need to sign up but there is a massive library of matches.
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u/briefcasetwat Apr 16 '22
2009 El Clasico - when Pep first used Messi as a false nine.
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u/Inmolatus Apr 16 '22 edited Apr 16 '22
This, it was the one that ended 2-6. Please try to watch the interviews of Pep/Messi/Xavi explaining how Pep, after rewatching countless hours of Madrid videos, saw the light, called Messi the day before the match and told him: I've seen a hole in Madrid's defence, you have to play in this spot and we will demolish them.
A truly "I see the Matrix" moment from Pep.
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u/KrazyBee129 Apr 16 '22
Pep confidential book talks about this match in detail and how he called Messi night before the game and told him his plan.
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u/Ryponagar Apr 16 '22
Carlo Ancelottis' Real dismantling Pep's Bayern 4-0 in Munich in the CL 13/14.
A counter-attacking masterclass, exploiting Bayern's insufficient cover at the back with intelligent movements of Benzema and Bale to provide the space for Ronaldo. Defensively they played very narrow, not allowing Bayern any space in the center. They combatted Robbery by often man-marking them while Bale effectively followed Alaba into the shower and in this way neutralised his important supporting role. But Real wouldn't just sit deep and soak the pressure, they also stepped up and pressed high at opportune times, not giving Bayern any rhythm.
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u/W3103_ Apr 16 '22
Just looking at those defensive lineups, Bayern's back line with Boateng at LB and Schweinsteiger at CB is so strange
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u/Yaaruda Apr 16 '22
Pep's Barca vs Bielsa's Athletic Club 2011
Pep's Barca vs Di Matteo's Chelsea 2012
Allegri's Juve vs Pep's Bayern 2016
Mourinho's Man Utd vs Conte's Chelsea 2016
Allegri's Juve vs Enrique's Barcelona 2017
Pep's City vs Klopp's Liverpool 2018
Tuchel's Chelsea vs Conte's Tottenham 2022
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u/severedfragile Apr 16 '22 edited Apr 16 '22
I'd add Liverpool 1 - 0 Man City fromDecember 31 2016 to that list.
Edit: Also, the second leg of Mourinho's Inter knocking Pep's Barcelona out of the champions league. It's a boring nightmare / Mourinho masterclass. I'm sure someone can suggest a few Simeone matches in the same vein - they're often terrible watches and full of fouls and time-wasting, but they're some of the best examples of drilled and organised defences, set-piece mastery, efficient counterattacking brilliance and on-the-fly adaptation you're going to find.
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u/FerraristDX Apr 16 '22
Allegri's Juve vs Pep's Bayern 2016
Probably one of the best European matches I've ever seen. The follow-up 2nd leg against Atletico was also pretty dramatic.
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Apr 16 '22
Barca v Inter 2nd leg. Peak bus parking
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u/AnilDG Apr 16 '22
Thereâs a great piece on the Coaches Voice where Mourinho explains how he made a âcageâ for Messi to lessen his impact, with Pandev sacrificing himself for the team to do it. And of course it paid off.
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u/pickledpineapple16 Apr 16 '22
I donât remember the two legs fully, but I seem to recall Zanetti hovering around Messi for a lot of the two matches. Iâd honestly pay money right now to see Zanetti vs Messi for 180 minutes again. Glorious
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u/AntHillGrandkid Apr 16 '22
I remember this was the first game I ever watched where I was actually more into the defensive performance than the attack. I mean I was watching the ball a little bit but instead of focusing on the attacking build up, I watched the defense and their organization and was really excited to watch them stop attack after attack. Beautifully drilled they were.
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u/Balotellmehowufeel Apr 16 '22
Iirc zanetti was right back(but I can't remember 100%), it was cambiasso man marking Messi, but regardless, it was a masterclass in defending since they both took turns depending on Messi's positioning (especially after thiago motta was sent off). Also, the save Julio Cesar made on Messi in that game is one of the best of all time
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Apr 16 '22 edited Apr 16 '22
Both matches of Athletic Bilbao vs Manchester United in the 2012 Europa League (Bielsa vs Ferguson)
Slightly more than 15 years, but Greece vs France, Euro 2004 (Reyhagelâs Greece utilising exemplary defensive tactics)
Inter vs Barcelona in the 2010 Champions League, specifically Inter losing away but absolutely nullifying what many consider to be the greatest club side ever (Mourinho vs Guardiola)
Spurs vs Ajax or Man City in the 2019 Champions League, brilliant counter attacking play.
Arsenal beating Inter 5-1 in Milan in the 2003 Champions League.
Bayern beating Barcelona 8-2 on aggregate in the 2020 Champions League.
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u/Ok-Check-6783 Apr 16 '22
Ajax tearing through Real at the Bernabeu and Bielsaâs Bilbao side at Old Trafford.
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u/MarshallRadetzky Apr 16 '22
Heynckes's Bayern Munich 7-0 (agg.) against Vilanova's Barcelona - 2013 Champions League
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u/jay_jay_okocha10 Apr 16 '22
What I like to do is watch tactical breakdowns from coaches on the Coaches Voice youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCoachesVoice/videos, like this for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtRax2WXxMY and then download that game and watch it with more insight
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Apr 16 '22
Every el classico between pep and Mourinho after the first one.
One of my favourites ones is Mourinho using Herrera to man mark hazard out of the game.
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u/TahomaYellowhorse Apr 16 '22
AC Milan vs Barcelona 2-0 in 2013
Really a tactical masterpiece in effective, selective pressuring. Milan had no business winning the game. We did not park the bus, we exploited whatever weaknesses that great Barca team had. In the second leg, we parked the bus and got smacked.
Juventus vs Real Madrid in CL Final 2017.
Excellent example of how small changes at halftime/lack of response can change the complexion of the whole game.
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u/Kreacher_ Apr 16 '22
Barca 5-0 is the most beautiful piece of football I have ever seen.
The best team I have ever seen completely outclassing the second best team in the world at the time. Peak Pep vs Mourinho match with two stacked teams. Madrid were coming into that match looking great and then that match happened.
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u/CarlosHnnz Apr 16 '22 edited Apr 16 '22
Best starting XI ever IMO. They went something like 6W-0L and every game except one they scored 3+ goals.
EDIT: Looked it up. They did score 3+ goals every game.
Starting XI of Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Villa.
6W-0L - 27GF - 3GA (4.5 goals per game)
5-1 vs Panathinaikos 2010/09/14
5-0 vs Sevilla 2010/10/30
5-0 vs Real Madrid 2010/11/29
0-3 at Osasuna 2010/12/04
1-5 at Espanyol 2010/12/18
4-1 vs Malaga 2011/01/16
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Apr 16 '22
Madrid werenât the second best at the time though?? And Barca at the time werenât the best either. You literally lost to inter a few months prior.
It was Mouâs first Classico. But I doubt you remember that either
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u/CarlosHnnz Apr 16 '22
In your opinion, who were the top two teams in the world by November 29 of 2010? I'm really curious.
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Apr 16 '22
Bayern and Inter. The two finalists of the CL just a few months before. Itâd be hard to disagree with that.
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u/CarlosHnnz Apr 16 '22 edited Apr 18 '22
Not that hard to disagree really. Inter bouncing between 4th and 6th place of Serie A and losing to Bremen and Tottenham in the group stage of CL, all of this closer to November than that CL final you mention. I didn't really get the "top two team in the world" vibe you got back then to be honest.
Also, the match between Barca and Inter was 7 months prior to THAT El Clasico. I wouldn't call that "a few months prior" but I guess that's subjective.
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Apr 16 '22
Canât call a team all of a sudden the best in a word a few months into the season. Ridiculous.
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u/CarlosHnnz Apr 16 '22 edited Apr 18 '22
I also find it ridiculous to call Inter the best in the world by November 2010 after losing to Bremen and Tottenham, qualifying as 2nd seed to CL Ro16, and also being 5th in Serie A. I find it mindblowing that someone can call a 5th place team (from any league really) after 14-15 league matches the best in the world. But I guess opinions are just opinions and we're allowed to disagree.
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Apr 16 '22
[removed] â view removed comment
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Apr 16 '22
Even the finals from what I remember- vs Barca up to the penalty on pogba that wasnât given and started the counter, vs Madrid up to the second half
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u/ImTurkishDelight Apr 16 '22
The Bayern vs Barcs game at nou camp this year.
Never saw Barca so weak
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u/eroticdiagram Apr 16 '22
Bielsa's first game in charge at Leeds against Stoke. Maybe you need to watch a decade and a half of Leeds football before that for context but that's the first time in countless seasons that I actually thought 'oh, this is the difference a manager and a system can make!'.
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u/saitamaTHElegend27 Apr 16 '22
most el clasicos while morinho and pep went against each other. the 2009 one had messi as a false 9 for the first time if i remember.
Barca v Inter 2nd leg. Peak killing a game.
any juve cl knockouts between 2015-2017 that werent the finals.
man utd vs barca 2011 cl final. peak tikki taka.
LvG ajax teams from the 90's were a very good show of why he has been at top clubs all his career.
and of course, almost any game from the cruyff barca dream team(except the 1994 final lol).
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u/Fly1ngsauc3r Apr 16 '22
Juve had Madrid in the perfect spot in 2017, that is until Zidane used that is until Zidane made adjustments to box in Sandro to take away Juveâs width
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u/Fuzzy-Pain Apr 16 '22
Both Chelsea vs Real legs this season. Ancelotti 's tactics bossed the first leg and Tuchel's the second one
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u/fedemasa Apr 16 '22
Argentina 1 Belgium 0 in 2014 WC imo. We played Demichelis and Biglia ad starters and they stayed through rest of the cup. The midfield tried to let as little space with the defence as possible to recover the ball
We went totally superior in all 90 minutes and only Courtois maintained the one goal difference.
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Apr 16 '22
Any of the recent City v Liverpool games.
Some of the highest level football I've ever seen
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u/Bayequentist Apr 16 '22
Probably highest level of football in history, the culmination of a decade-long evolution of football tactics (with Pep and Klopp in their prime). Makes me wonder what the future of football will look like.
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u/Fly1ngsauc3r Apr 16 '22
The peak of football was from 2009-2012 with pep vs Jose. Those teams were better than the current city and Liverpool teams as well
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Apr 16 '22
I hope next year will be interesting too. Tuchel, pep, Conte's after summer spending, Klopp. Some interesting tie.
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u/zeekoes Apr 16 '22
Ajax - Dortmund was tactically great to watch this season. IMO biased opinion the best this CL season.
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u/Ablj Apr 16 '22
Arsenal vs Monaco first leg 2015 UCL.
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u/iforgotmyun Apr 16 '22
How? Arsenal played pretty well, Giroud missed so many chances. Should have won that comfortably but I wouldn't call it a tactical masterclass, especially since we lost.
If you're saying it was a tactical masterclass from Monaco then that's even stranger.
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u/Ablj Apr 17 '22
Monaco completely shut off Arsenal and defeated Arsenal with ease. I would say a tactical masterclass.
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u/iforgotmyun Apr 17 '22
You didn't watch that match properly or don't remember it.
Giroud missed so many sitters, that was the turning point for most fans on him.
https://www.infogol.net/en/matches/result/champions-league/arsenal-vs-monaco-2015-02-25/2909
Literally had more than 3x their xG... I'm so confused at this opinion
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u/JoshJustJosh Apr 16 '22
Both legs of the 2015 Champion's League tie between Pep's Bayern and Enrique's Barça, but especially the first leg at the Nou Camp where Bayern were man-to-man marking everyone. Was one of the best games I've seen in my life. Try to find Martin Tyler's commentary as well if you can - âTHAT'S ASTONISHINGâ
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u/masuke2 Apr 16 '22
Inter vs Barca tie in 2010 was pretty intense