Shinji Kagawa Leading the Resurgence of the Trequartista |
| Shinji Kagawa Leading the Resurgence of the Trequartista Posted: 09 Sep 2012 08:58 AM PDT  (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) When broken down to its simplest dynamics, the art of positional tactics in football are quite rudimentary, with the most base positions being forwards, midfielders, defenders and a goalkeeper. However, when you delve into the inner complexities of the game, it's here that some players thrive. It's here that you'll find Shinji Kagawa. The Italians gave birth to the role of the 'Trequartista' in the 1960s, as a way of developing a counter-attack against the Brazilians who were, at the time, offensively unplayable. Whomever does assume the role of the trequartista makes their camp behind the striker(s) in the third quarter of the pitch, hence the name. In the last decade or so, the use of such a player has gone slightly out of fashion in large parts of the world. Instead, the more conventional 4-4-2 formation became the norm, a tactic that leaves 'The Hole' free of occupation. That isn't to say the trequartista dies out entirely as some teams undoubtedly kept faith in the method. Some examples of great players in the position would be Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Alfredo Di Stefano, Valentino Mazzola and Francesco Totti as well as others. With a trequartista in play, a side has a catalyst between midfield and attack, a player that can orchestrate the attack whilst holding the ability to devastate defenses themselves. Sound familiar? In two seasons with Borussia Dortmund, Shinji Kagawa made 71 appearances for the Yellow and Blacks, scoring 29 goals and making 16 assists in the process. With Robert Lewandowski or Lucas Barrios operating as a lone striker and either Kevin Großkreutz, Jakub Błaszczykowski or Mario Goetze offering options to the wings, Kagawa was permitted to play the role of puppeteer while posing a threat himself. At Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson appears to be using the Japanese international in a very similar fashion. With Wayne Rooney now out of action due to a gashed thigh, it seems likely that Robin van Persie will act as a lone striker, or the Red Devils' answer to Lewandowski. That said, Kagawa is no longer the only one of his kind as the trequartista makes a terrific comeback. In the modern game, the likes of David Silva, Santi Cazorla, Christian Eriksen and of course versatile greats such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, have all shown capability in the role. With the standard 4-4-2 slowly dying away, the use of a man behind the attacking line appears to be 'the new black', and Shinji Kagawa is merely the tip of the oncoming iceberg. |
| The Rubio Ramble: Taking In US v. Jamaica From The Pubs Of New York City Posted: 08 Sep 2012 12:10 PM PDT  (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) When beIN SPORT announced that it had secured the rights to televise the USMNT World Cup Qualifying away matches, there were definitely some groans among my fellow Yank brethren. The displeasure was firmly rooted in the fact that only DIRECTV and DISH had agreements to distribute the beIN SPORT channel (the network has since added Comcast as a provider). As fans of The Stars and Stripes we want the option to see our team play from the comfort of our own homes – but since many of us are forced to subscribe to other cable distributors, we can’t do that. So for last night’s match between the US and Jamaica, I left the comforts of my Lower East Side footie-love-nest and headed to the nearest bar likely to be showing the match: Dempsey’s Pub on 4th St. and 2nd Avenue. I say “likely” because I’ve been skunked by bars in the past who say they’re going to show a match but when you arrive they suddenly realize that they don’t have the right cable package and won’t be showing the match. To a man wearing a Dempsey jersey, stars and stripes bandana, fake Ed Hardy sleeve-tattoos and a flag tied around his neck – these situations can be a bit disconcerting. So, I spent most of the day on Friday reminding myself that I wasn’t going to be that dude at the end of the cliched ‘Fool Me Once…’ saying. And, after three emails and one phone conversation with the good folks at Dempsey’s, I was reassured that they (A) had DIRECTV, and (B) were definitely showing the match. So I called up two of my buddies from Manhattan Celtic F.C., Eric and Rob, and we rolled into Dempsey’s about 10 minutes before the 8:00 pm kickoff. When I walked in the joint there was only baseball on the 10 different flat screens and no US soccer fans to be seen. Not a good sign. I must have had a rabid look in my eye because two bartenders quickly came to my aid. They eventually passed me over to the decision maker, a nice Irish guy, who grabbed the remote and turned to me.
That is EXACTLY the mentality I want in a sports bar! Within a few seconds the feed was up on over half of the bar’s flat-screens. So we grabbed a pitcher and sat down for a match that I had pinned as being a mouth-watering affair. Unfortunately, it played out as a tear-jerking loss. Before kickoff beIN SPORT had a few interesting shots of the fans around the stadium but nothing revolutionary. For some reason – perhaps the feed or the cameras – the channel didn’t look like HD, although it said it was. Nevertheless, I was PUMPED for the match. And – when Clint Dempsey (Tottenham) scored 36 seconds into the match – EVERYONE in Dempsey’s knew I was really PUMPED for the match. “Deeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuucccceeeee!!!!” I roared, much to the shock of the patrons around me.  (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) Yes, I like to celebrate. I especially like to celebrate early goals when we’re playing in Jamaica at a stadium known hauntingly as “The Office.” It wasn’t a great goal – but it gave us a lovely little cushion to sit on. So the US sat on the cushion. And sat. And sat on it some more. Until the 22nd minute when Rodolph Austin (Leeds United) blew it up with a deflected free-kick golazo from 30 yards out. The kick was the result of a negligent foul by Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), who also ended up providing the deflection on Austin’s goal. Beckerman looked out-of-sorts throughout the entire night, but no man deserves that kind of cruel karma. With the league squandered our boys then did something that I will apprehensively classify as being “un-American.” Allow me to explain. When Jamaica leveled, we got scared. Instead of using it as motivation, we let it get to us. Rather than fighting harder, we backed off. And we stopped trying to outwit our opponent. To me, this felt very un-American of us. I don’t recall us ever doing this before in a game of importance. I realize the term “un-American” is not a very technical assessment of our play, but the one thing we have never done as a footballing nation is cower in the face of adversity. After Austin’s goal, we cowered. Dempsey managed another decent goal-scoring opportunity in the 43rd minute when right-back Michael Parkhurst (F.C. Nordsjælland) swung the ball in from just outside the right side of the penalty box. Clint timed his run to near perfection and in one movement pulled off a deft slide-shot that Jamaican keeper, Dwayne Miller (Syrianska), did well to save. At halftime my stress was relieved by some good banter with my Celtic pals and some fantastic adverts and teasers being shown by bein SPORT. For a guy who produces football related content like myself, this was heaven. I didn’t hear any of the content (Dempsey’s had music playing) but visually, it was STUNNING. From Serie A plugs with AC Milan – to insider’s interviews with Lionel Messi – to ridiculously slick montages of football goal celebrations being paralleled with celebratory moments in other sports, the content was fantastic. After already having secured the rights to Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga, the Al Jazeera owned 24 hour international sports network looks like poised to dominate. (Stay tuned to see whether they manage to snap up the rights to the Premier League when bidding goes down this November). The second half was much of the same as the US continually backed off and allowed the Reggae Boyz to take it to us. It didn’t help that Jurgen Klinsmann had chosen to go with three defensive center midfielders in Maurice Edu (Stoke City), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04) and Beckerman. Each is obviously a very good player in his own right but all of them MUST be paired with a creative player. With Michael Bradley (AS Roma) out injured, I would have gotten a player like José Torres (Pachuca) involved. Didn’t happen.  Image via USAToday & Getty Images The game was essentially over in the 62nd minute, when Edu committed a daft foul 25 yards from goal and Luton Shelton (Karabükspor) curled a beautiful effort around the wall and off the inside of the post. If Tim Howard (Everton) had not gotten crushed 10 minutes earlier in a 50/50 challenge outside the box, I’m sure he would’ve made the save. But it wasn’t to be. Another half-chance by Deuce was headed over and in the 80th minute we had a brief spell of probing possession but it lead to nothing. When the final whistle blew, Jamaica was the deserved victor at 2-1. I was deflated. Following the match, my buddy Eric urged us to head to a new spot that he was a fan of, Kingston Bar, which, of course, happens to be a Jamaican watering hole. With friends like these, who needs enemies? But it actually turned out quite well as we ran into the talented and chill James Ransone (The Wire, Treme, How To Make It In America). After a few Red Stripes, I pulled up anchor and headed home, realizing that the loss to Jamaica wasn’t such a big deal after all. Was it a poor showing by the US? Yes. But we learn from our experiences and we live to fight another day. As long as the USMNT puts in the work, we’ll definitely secure our advancement to the Fourth Round of World Cup Qualifying. And by the time that rolls around, my cable company will probably be offering beIN SPORT, although I suppose it won’t really matter. I’ll be at the pubs anyway. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from SWOL To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment