Keepball

Cruyff on busy, long ball United

2008-04-24T03:36:00.000-07:00

Johan Cruyff is now special assistant to Barcelona president Juan Laporta and spoke about Manchester United's style of play ahead of their Champions League semi-final at the Nou Camp:

"That's because despite having a majority of foreigners in their squads they maintain the philosophy of long-ball football and sprinting 60 yards...That is how they exploit spaces in front of the midfield. If they played in the other team's half more often those spaces wouldn't exist...Despite recognising their effort, you can disarm an English side that presses and looks for the long ball by keeping possession and moving the ball around quickly...And if you know they will expend all their energy on closing down and chasing long balls, then you know where to beat them: by playing the ball horizontally...However badly Barca is doing we have at least the same chance of progressing to the final as United...They are very good, that's true. Of the three English teams in the semis, for me Manchester is the best...But I'm absolutely convinced that they're thinking exactly the same about Barca. That of all the semi-finalists, the Blaugranes are the strongest."

Source >

Hleb's ability to keep the ball

2008-03-05T03:44:00.000-08:00

"On the roll call of great performances, Hleb comes next – the Belarusian took a battering at times but he was a puzzle to the Italians for most of the game and one they never came close to solving. His ability to keep the ball and distribute it in the most unpromising situations rendered the Milan midfield of Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Ambrosini peripheral characters. Mathieu Flamini was no slouch either but the queue for man of the match was more crowded than ever."

Source > 05.03.2008

Lyon held the ball and looked more dangerous than United

2008-03-05T03:42:00.000-08:00

"Where the United deficit was becoming progressively more evident was in the department of creation, where Lyons were especially well served by the Brazilian Juninho, whose promptings gave his team a shape and a steady supply of possession in potentially dangerous areas. Indeed, such was the French ability to hold the ball, you had to wonder why Paul Scholes' recent revival in form had not earned a call from the bench. Ferguson had, after all, made the extraordinary statement that if United reach the final Scholes would be the one player who would get the vote on pure sentiment."

Source > 05.03.2008

Celtic were not keeping the ball

2008-02-20T17:38:00.001-08:00

Manager Gordon Strachan gave full marks to Barcelona and explained why Celtic could not beat their Spanish visitors in the first leg of their Champions League tie:

"We're playing against one of the best teams in the world, and when we had the ball, we were not keeping it...At any level the team that passes the ball well usually wins, but we were up against the best squad in the world."

Strachan knows good football then. Barcelona use their technical abilities to enhance a tactic that often wins: keeping the ball.

Source > 20.02.2008

Benjani Kept The Ball

2008-02-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

After his side's shocking away win at Old Trafford, Man City manager Sven Goran Eriksson was very happy with newly acquired Striker Benjani Mwaruwari:

"Benjani was absolutely brilliant. He scored a goal, kept the ball and when United had the ball he worked and worked. He's strong and quick and I'm very happy to have got him."

It appears that Eriksson is like Capello: he wants his players keeping the ball instead of giving it to the opposition.

Source > 10.02.2008

England Give The Ball Away

2008-02-10T05:21:00.000-08:00

Paul Wilson of the Guardian Unlimited examines Fabio Capello's threshold for poor football:

"In the first half especially, England's lack of composure when in possession was enough to make any self-respecting Italian blush. Capello laughed when he was asked if he had ever been in charge of a side that gave the ball away so often, but did not dispute the allegation. 'Everyone makes mistakes, I prefer to focus on the positives...I think we were nervous for some reason.' "

Nervous for some reason? Perhaps the reason they were shaky is that the players were being asked to keep the ball and it's clearly not something they are accustomed to.

Source > 10.02.2008

Arsenal played keep-ball against Burnley

2008-01-08T04:31:00.000-08:00

"And after the 2-0 win over West Ham I found myself thinking that Arsenal would now be winning more games by 2-0. Two goals is enough, if you don't concede. And Arsenal are not conceding many at the moment. Score two, play keep-ball, save something for the next game. Champions have done that quite a lot over the last 20 years."

Source > 08.01.2008

Liverpool didn't keep the ball

2007-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

Rafa Benitez on why Liverpool struggled to beat Derby on the weekend:

"...we put ourselves under pressure by giving the ball away too often."

Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso supported his manager's view:

"We should have kept the ball better and not let them have so many chances... We were in control in the first half, then we had a few injured players and we were struggling and we were not in control of the situation."

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Keeping the Ball Versus Getting Stuck In

2007-12-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

Dhruv Tikka comments on the proposed cap on foreigners in the EPL and ends up with an indictment of English football. He praises the art of keeping the ball and disparages the English belief in "getting stuck in":

"England does have great players but they seriously lack the most important aspect in the most successful teams: the ability to keep the ball. The best teams in international football - the likes of Italy, Argentina, Brazil etc. are masters in keeping the ball. There is the long ball game and the emphasis from coaches at youth level of "getting stuck in". It’s so important to have good passers of the ball in central midfield."

"Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have admirable qualities but keeping the ball with slick, controlled passing that we see every week from Manchester United and Arsenal, is certainly not what we get from them. They're no Maradona's or Zidane's either. If you have the ball then you have the opposition do the chasing. Argentina rip teams apart with their passing, as have the great Brazil sides over the years. The only surprise exception to this is the master under-achievers Spain..."

"It was Roy Keane's autobiography where he was talking about Brian Clough's view that "you can over-complicate things with tactics. You just need to pass to the nearest red shirt (Forest)."
Look at the two best teams in England right now: United and Arsenal. There's nothing too complicated about the way both sides play. It’s just beautiful football, the way it should be played - more emphasis on beating the opposition rather than stopping them. The shackles really are off with both these sides, it’s enjoyable to play and watch."

Source >

Keepingtheball.com >

Gettingstuckin.com >

Arsenal kept the ball well

2007-12-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

Chelsea's Salmon Kalou on why Arsenal beat them 1-Nil on Sunday:

"They deserved the result. We didn't set out to play defensively. We played the formation we always play but maybe they were too quick and kept the ball well. It was difficult to take the ball from them."

Source >

Keep Ball

2007-12-15T11:16:00.001-08:00

Definition...

The commentator for the Man City-Bolton match kept referring to the fact that City often play keep-ball in training just as they did in today's match...