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El Tel, Alonso and woebegone Bagan
Terry Venables, Xabi Alonso and Juan Fernando (Source: File Photo)
So used we are to seeing him nattily dressed living every second of a Manchester City game on the touchline that when the internet threw up a less grizzled, more grinning version of Pep Guardiola it felt refreshingly different. Far from being the cynosure he would now be, Guardiola is on the edge of the frame, just a Barcelona ball boy visibly happy at his club’s rare European Cup final appearance. Hands raised, Guardiola is applauding the man who made it possible.
Terry ‘El Tel’ Venables, who died on Saturday, meant a lot of things to a lot of people. Gary Lineker spoke of a friendship players didn’t have with managers, then and now. Gareth Southgate called him an outstanding manager as videos of Venables commiserating with Southgate after his missed penalty in the 1996 Euro semi-final flooded X. Gary Neville recalled how Venables’ England could change formations during Euro 96. “It blew my mind,” he said. “How fun was my club then, winning games, winning La Liga,” said Guardiola.
A young Pep Guardiola (left) looking up at Barcelona manager Terry Venables after their European Cup semi-final triumph against IFK Gothenburg in 1986. (Source: The Guardian)
To Arsene Wenger goes a large slice of credit for changing the English football landscape. To Bob Houghton and Roy Hodgson the 1970s revolution in Sweden. Some share of the credit to how Barcelona, and Spain, play should go to Venables, who loved to sing Frank Sinatra songs, wrote whodunits, and a football book that looked at 50 years of the game till the 1996 European championship, tried different lines of business, failed and tried again. ‘Adios Mister’ is how Mundo Deportivo told its readers of Venables’ death.
He also coached and played some. Venables made Barcelona strong, literally. He worked on set-pieces and in his team, defenders could carry the ball upfield. And they pressed. “He introduced some things that had never been (there) before,” said Guardiola. Speaking on Match of The Day, Lineker said Venables once asked him what would happen if Barcelona had only three players defending a corner-kick. “What would they (the opposition) do,” Lineker recalled Venables as saying. They trained on it for a week before abandoning the idea as too risky but it showed how innovative he was, said Lineker.
The Bayer revolution
Xabi Alonso hasn’t done anything as dramatic, football is far too structured now for something like defending a corner-kick with three. But when he took over in October 2022, Bayer Leverkusen were 17th. They ended the season sixth and are now on top of the Bundesliga standings, two points above serial champions Bayern Munich with over a third of the games done. As this post on X points out, going into the Europa League game against Haecken, Bayer have won 17 of their 18 games in all competitions this term and are yet to lose. Only Bayern have let in fewer goals (9 to Bayer’s 10). Unlike Venables, Alonso is not known to change personnel or formation – 3-4-2-1 is his preferred way of lining up –but there is a lot of focus on set-piece routines. Expected, given Alonso’s proficiency in that department.
New arrivals Granit Xhaka, Alex Grimaldo, Victor Boniface and Jonas Hoffman have settled down. They work the wide areas but pack the middle when they don’t have the ball and though Boniface is in form, they have 11 scorers in 12 Bundesliga games.
A Super Giant fall
Odisha FC thrashed Mohun Bagan Super Giant 5-2 in the AFC Cup (Source: HT)
Like Bayer, Mohun Bagan Super Giant prefer three centre-backs and a double pivot in midfield. Juan Ferrando’s team often uses attacking players as wing backs or defenders who can help up the park. So far, so modern, maybe even radical given that Manvir Singh or Liston Colaco are not known for defensive chops. Though on Thursday, they gave a walkover to East Bengal in the Calcutta league citing fixture congestion, Mohun Bagan also have strength in depth meaning Kiyan Nassiri and Sumit Rathi rarely get starts. And Anirudh Thapa can start on the bench in a must-win AFC Cup home game.
None of this has prevented an earlier-than-usual exit from AFC Cup for a team that wants to win the competition and has never let money come in the way of building a star-spangled roster.
There could be many reasons for this but the thing that stood out in the 5-2 defeat to Odisha FC, the draw and the loss to Bashundhara Kings – results that ruined a campaign that had been on a roll – was how easily Mohun Bagan were carved open in the middle. Check the goals Bashundhara Kings scored barring the penalty. Odisha FC’s third goal also happened because of that and the fact that Mohun Bagan were too leaden-footed to defend the counter-attack.
Mohun Bagan’s problem in the heart of the midfield stems from three players who love moving up often used in that position. Glan Martins and Deepak Tangri are available as defensive midfielders but Mohun Bagan usually start neither to accommodate Sahal Abdul Samad and Hugo Boumous. Anirudh Thapa, used in a more advanced role at Chennaiyin FC and for India (this column has dealt with it in the issue on September 8), is a compromise candidate as defensive midfielder. The quality in Mohun Bagan’s roster means it will work against most ISL teams till it won’t against Odisha or in Asia.
The ACL injury to Joni Kauko is a problem Mohun Bagan have to live with but the decision to sacrifice Carl McHugh, who could have provided cover in midfield, for the attacking abilities of Jason Cummings and Armando Sadiku may have hampered squad balance.
From the time of Borja Fernandez to McHugh and Kauko, whenever ATK or ATK Mohun Bagan have done well, it was because they had central mids who could run the game. Anwar Ali’s injury too has hurt the club but neither Brendan Hamill nor Hector Yuste has shown the leadership qualities of Sandesh Jhingan, Tiri or Josemi. Or even Slavko Damjanovic. That Mohun Bagan have two clean sheets in 11 games this term and have let in two or more in four games tells its own story. On Monday, Mohun Bagan needed to win somehow (like they did in the semi-final and final or against FC Goa in 2022-23). They couldn’t.
This time for Odisha?
That means it could be Odisha FC’s time to make history. The club from the state that invests in sport like no other in India can make the AFC Cup inter-zonal playoff. They have shown character, as coach Sergio Lobera has said. In a short time, Lobera has got the team to believe and has built on the platform created by Josep Gambau in 2022-23. “We are confident and excited about the new challenge,” said Lobera. A must-win game is the right fit for a team that loves to score and would prefer a 5-4 win over 1-0. Bashundhara Kings, beware.
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