Incompatibility

I was up last night to catch some Champions League action and i flipped between Celtic vs Manchester United and Real Madrid vs Juventus. I noticed a stark difference between their styles of play and it is this difference that resulted in 3 of the 4 semi-finalists in the same competition last year to be English. The modern game is characterized by pace and the tempo which the team is capable of playing at. The faster and higher tempo u can play in, and the longer you can keep that up, the better team you are.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool were, and still are, capable of playing fast-paced games and can keep the tempo up for long periods in the game. The likes of Real Madrid, Juventus and Milan have been left behind in the wake of this revolution for some years now, and have yet to see continental success in the last 5 years. They are languid and pensive in their approach, patiently probing for openings. Although cautious, it is harder to get a result against swifter opponents.

They may have to rethink their strategy in tactics and player recruitment if they were to stay competitve with not just the clubs from England, but also examples like Inter Milan and to a lesser extent, Lyon.