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Originally Posted by h8kurdt
I was never in the slightest knowledgeable about tactics in teams. Who is at 10?
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I don't think anyone in England was then. I'd say there's a cult of tactics now which probably started with the classicos between Mourinho and Pep, and their almost purist adoption of opposing styles. I don't remember a time when there's been so much interest in managers. People were always interested in managers but more as personality types (I'm thinking about Ramsey, Clough, Fergie, etc). Either way, I definitely think this cult of tactics has created an equivalent cult of the manager, especially online, in threads like this: it being easier to discuss their rational tactical decisions than trying to understand and explain what great players do. Obviously all this coincides with the rise of Messi and Ronaldo but there's really very little to say about them without falling back on words like 'brilliant' or 'incredible'. So in that sense, it's perhaps no coincidence that this new fascination with discussing tactics also created a cult around more cerebral players like Xavi and Pirlo. In an era of Keegan, Fowler, etc, I'm not sure this thread would've lasted as long as it did, and certainly wouldn't have been anywhere as interesting.