- Anti-football
"Anti-football" is a term used to describe a particularly defensive or robust style of play of
association football .History and usage
The phrase has been in use in English since at least 2001, where Gary Armstrong and Richard Giulianotti used the phrase to describe the tactics of Argentine team
Estudiantes de La Plata in the 1968Copa Intercontinental game againstManchester United in their book "Fear and Loathing in World Football", citing usage of the phrase in a 1968 editorial in the Argentine newspaper "El Gráfico ". [cite booktitle=Fear and Loathing in World Football
author=Gary Armstrong & Richard Giulianotti
pages=p. 242
id=ISBN 978-1859734636
date=2001
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=HKAeC-Zpw9YC&pg=RA6-PA242&lpg=RA6-PA242&dq=%22anti+football%22+2001&source=web&ots=ZeAryTSMiH&sig=8PPltStbPw0SXPXNKESfbKMapGE]
The phrase was used by
Johan Cruyff in 2002 to criticise the tactics that helped Brazil to win the World Cup, stating: "Brazil deserved their win but they aren’t a team. They play anti-football and only took advantage of the mistakes of their opponents." [cite newsurl=http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_2-7-2002_pg2_18
title=Cruyff slams World Cup, accuses Brazil of wrecking football
work=Daily Times
date=2002-07-02 ]
In November 2006 Arsenal's
Cesc Fabregas used the term to describe the style of play in the EnglishPremier League , stating: "Teams just defend, defend and defend, they try to waste time. I call it 'anti-football' - but we have to accept this happens and break teams down." [cite newsurl=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=390941&campaign=rss&source=soccernet&&cc=3888
title=Fabregas slates the 'anti-football' of Premiership rivals
author=David Sheppard
work=Soccernet
date=2006-11-10 ]
In 2007 the phrase was used in "
The Daily Telegraph " to describe the Chelsea style of play under former managerJose Mourinho [cite newsurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/09/22/do2205.xml
title=Roman Abramovich stealing football's soul
author=Michael Henderson
work=The Daily Telegraph
date=2007-09-22 ] and on "
Guardian Unlimited "'s sportsblog onReal Madrid 's style of play under managerFabio Capello . [cite newsurl=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/06/09/forget_beckham_van_nistelrooy.html
title=Forget Beckham, Van Nistelrooy is the Real deal
author=Sid Lowe
work=Guardian Unlimited Sport blog
date=2007-06-09 ] Barcelona coach
Frank Rijkaard said Celtic played "anti-football" following a 1-1 Champions League draw between the sides onNovember 24 2004 . [cite news
url=http://www.wldcup.com/news/2004Nov/20041124_27436_world_soccer.html
title=Rijkaard criticises Celtic for 'anti-football' as Barca held
work=World Soccer News
date=2004-11-24 ] Barcelona striker
Lionel Messi referred to Rangers style of play as "anti-football" after Rangers held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw atIbrox onOctober 23 2007 . [cite newsurl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2007/10/24/ufnmessi124.xml
title=Barcelona's Lionel Messi hits out at Rangers
work=The Daily Telegraph
author=Patrick Nathanson
date=2007-10-24 ] Rangers were also accused of playing anti-football by
Alain Perrin after their 3-0 win over Perrin'sOlympique Lyonnais a few weeks before the Barcelona match. [cite newsurl=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football-news/scottish-football/scottish-football/2007/10/09/lyon-boss-attacks-rangers-style-of-play-86908-19918674/
title=Lyon Boss Attacks Rangers' Style Of Play
work=Daily Record
date=2007-10-09
author=Ray Wilson]
In other languages
In the Lionel Messi case, the actual phrase used was "anti-futbol", which is a commonly occurring phrase in Spanish used to describe any extremely defensive or robust style of play. In
Spain and many Latin American countries the term has been used to deride the ItalianCatenaccio system.Fact|date=November 2007Rafael Benítez accused Italian teamInter Milan of playing "anti-futbol" after his Valencia team were beaten in the quarter-finals of theUEFA Champions League in 2003. [cite newsurl=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030504/ai_n12739176
title=Team ethic can lead Italians into a new era
author=Alex Hayes
date=2003-05-04
work=Independent on Sunday]
ee also
*
Catenaccio
*Football tactics and skills
*Total Football References
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