"Anti-football" is a playing style in association football that emphasizes a highly defensive and aggressive approach, relying mainly on passing and involving the deployment of all team members except the striker behind the ball. The goal of the tactic is to prevent the opposing team from scoring, rather than pursuing an offensive strategy to win the game.
The term is also used to describe teams that intentionally prevent the game from progressing by kicking the ball forward without attempting to reach any players, engaging in acts of diving and time-wasting, and kicking the ball away during free kicks. Such actions often result in a yellow card.
UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, offers a fair play prize to teams that prioritize fair play, including avoiding anti-football tactics. Teams that seek to "unlock" the game by playing offensively, taking risks, retaining possession, and avoiding fouls, receive higher fair play scores. The three highest-rated teams in Europe automatically qualified for the Europa League from 1995 to the 2014-15 season. They continue to receive a monetary reward for their fair play.
The term "anti-football" has been used in English since at least 2001, when Gary Armstrong and Richard Giulianotti used it in their book Fear and Loathing in World Football to describe the tactics of Argentine club Estudiantes de La Plata during the 1968 Copa Intercontinental. They cited a 1968 editorial in the Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico that had used the phrase. [1]
Arsenal's Cesc Fàbregas used the phrase to describe the style of play in the English Premier League after a frustrating 1-0 defeat to West Ham United. [2] In 2007, Fàbregas had a heated exchange with fellow ex-Barcelona player, Blackburn Rovers manager Mark Hughes, who defended his team's style of play. [3]
During their run to the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, Rangers manager Walter Smith deployed an ultra-defensive strategy dubbed "Watenaccio" (a reference to the defensive system Catenaccio, which was popularised in the 1960s in Italian football). [4] [5] The tactics drew criticism from opposition players, including Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who described them as "anti-football" after failing to score against Rangers in a 0-0 draw. [6] [7]
In 2010, Johan Cruyff applied the term "anti-football" to the style of play used by the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup final against Spain. He criticized the Dutch team for renouncing their commitment to attacking and entertaining football and for playing "dirty". Other commentators had already described the Dutch style of play during the tournament as "anti-football". [8]
Vietnam manager Henrique Calisto used the phrase "anti-football" after his team's defeat to the Philippines at the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup group stage in Vietnam. [9]
After Belgium's defeat to France in the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois accused the French team of playing "anti-football" for their defensive tactics despite having significantly more shots on goal and less possession than Belgium. [10] [11] He later apologized for the comments. [12]
In the 2020's the phrase "Haram ball" became popular on twitter as an alternative name for anti-football.
Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
In the sport of association football, a forward is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on being able to create space for attack. Their advanced position and limited defensive responsibilities mean forwards normally score more goals on behalf of their team than other players.
Marinus Jacobus Hendricus "Rinus" Michels was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team for four spells. Throughout his career, he played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
Francesc Fàbregas Soler is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the head coach of Serie A club Como.
Xavier Hernández Creus, commonly known as XaviHernández or simply Xavi, is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed La Liga club Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi is renowned for his exceptional passing, vision, and positioning.
Josep Guardiola Sala, commonly known as Pep Guardiola, is a Catalan professional football manager and former player from Spain who is the manager of Premier League club Manchester City. Guardiola is the only manager to win the continental treble twice, and he holds the record for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Premier League. He is considered to be one of the greatest managers of all time.
The 1994 UEFA Champions League final was a football match between Italian club Milan and Spanish club Barcelona, played on 18 May 1994 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.
In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity and passing ability.
Thomas Vermaelen is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Being left-footed, he usually played as a left-sided centre-back and could play at left-back as well. His key attributes included aerial ability, leadership skills, and his quickness with the ball at his feet. He was also known for his goalscoring ability as a defender.
Michael Emenalo is a Nigerian sports director and former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He is sports director of the Saudi Pro League.
El Clásico or El Clàssic, both meaning "The Classic", is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every match between the clubs, such as those in the UEFA Champions League, Supercopa de España and Copa del Rey. It is considered one of sport's fiercest rivalries, and its matches have a global audience of hundreds of millions. A fixture known for its intensity, it has featured memorable goal celebrations from both teams, often involving mockery from both sides.
The 2009 UEFA Champions League final was played on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match determined the winners of the 2008–09 season of the UEFA Champions League, a tournament for the top football clubs in Europe. The match was won by Barcelona of Spain, who beat England's Manchester United 2–0. Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Lionel Messi added another goal 20 minutes from the end to earn Barcelona a historic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, a feat never before achieved by a Spanish club. The match was refereed by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca.
Sergio "Sergi" Busquets Burgos is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. A deep-lying playmaker capable of directing gameplay through short and calm passes and his singular reading of the game, he is considered one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all time.
The 2009–10 season was Arsenal Football Club's 18th season in the Premier League and their 84th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. It began on 1 July 2009 and concluded on 30 June 2010, with competitive matches played between August and May. The club ended the Premier League campaign in third position, 11 points behind champions Chelsea. In the domestic cup competitions, Arsenal were knocked out in the fourth round of the FA Cup to Stoke City and the fifth round of the League Cup against Manchester City. They failed to progress past the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, losing to reigning champions Barcelona in a two-legged tie.
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff, commonly known as Johan Cruyff, was a Dutch professional football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest players in history and as the greatest Dutch footballer ever, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Cruyff was a proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football developed by Rinus Michels, which Cruyff also employed as a manager. Because of the far-reaching impact of his playing style and his coaching ideas, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern football, and he is also regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.
Tiki-taka is a style of play in football characterised by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels, and maintaining possession. The style is primarily associated with the Spain national team since 2006 by the managers Luis Aragonés and Vicente del Bosque. Tiki-taka methods were eventually embraced by the La Liga club Barcelona from 2009, especially during the era of manager Pep Guardiola; however, Guardiola distanced himself and the club from the style: "I loathe all that passing for the sake of it", stating, "Barça didn't do tiki-taka!", adding, "You have to pass the ball with a clear intention, with the aim of making it into the opposition's goal." Its development and influence goes back to Johan Cruyff's tenure as manager in the early 1990s all the way to the present. The first goal using this system is considered to be the Sergio Ramos goal in the qualifying match for UEFA Euro 2008, played in Aarhus (Denmark) on October 13, 2007. The play involved 9 players making 28 passes with 65 touches over 75 seconds. Spain went on to win the competition.
Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, he is known for his reflexes, acrobatic saves, and command of the penalty area.
The 2011–12 season was FC Barcelona's 112th in existence and the club's 81st consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. Barcelona debuted their new and first paid shirt sponsor Qatar Foundation after an agreement was reached in 2010 with the non-profit organization for a five-and-a-half-year, €170 million deal. The agreement with UNICEF continued and their name had been moved to the lower back portion of the shirt. This season also introduced a new away kit in black while the third kit was retained from last season.
The 2012–13 season was Futbol Club Barcelona's 113th in existence and the club's 82nd consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. The season marked the managerial debut of Tito Vilanova, who served as Pep Guardiola's longtime assistant. Vilanova assumed management of the club after Guardiola, who had managed Barcelona for the prior four seasons, declined to renew his contract.
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|---|---|
| Philosophy | |
| Offensive tactics | |
| Defensive tactics | |
| Basic skills | |
| Advanced skills | |
