5 key ingredients for a title-winning team in Europe
The summer is an agonising time to be a football fan. Incessant transfer gossip is about the only thing for a deprived enthusiast, a steady drip into their right arm that ensures they continue to exist until the new season begins.And here we are on the threshold of one. The wait is only a little longer before ‘they’ invade our living rooms and induce gasps of astonishment and howls of frustration in equal measure. For a title winning team, it is important to get a winning formula – the right components, both physical and mental - in the right proportions. Here’s what needs to be done.
#1 Balancing the midfield dynamic
The midfield is perhaps the most crucial third of the pitch – an area the control for which is tussled out by the technicians and human shields alike. While in England, a football culture that often supports bypassing the midfield in favour of a penalty box fracas, the importance is slightly overstated. In Italy, it is the exact opposite.
The Serie A is played at a much slower pace, often with greater emphasis on the tactical and cerebral side of the game making it imperative to solidify the grasp of the centre. The Inter Milan side of 2010 was spoilt for choice in this regard, but they rotated effectively, usually employing a double pivot at the base of midfield (Javier Zanetti, Thiago Motta, Esteban Cambiasso) with the creative duties thrust upon a willing Wesley Sneijder.
The Milan side that followed them had a solid base as well, Genaro Gattuso and later Mark van Bommel providing the steel to the silk of Clarence Seedorf and Kevin-Prince Boateng, and, every now and again, Andrea Pirlo.
Juventus have swept all before them since 2012 and have fielded a fairly similar midfield for most of that time. The midfield boasts a hard working ethic, with Andrea Pirlo deployed as a deep playmaker to make the best use of his vision and passing abilities.
Around him, Paul Pogba, Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal have taken turns to do the heavy lifting. These players are often packed into a three, with Pogba and Vidal given licence to attack as they see fit.
The formula clearly works, as Inter secured a historic treble while The Old Lady made it four consecutive Scudetti earlier this year.