I am currently taking this course in Soccer Scouting and Operations. One of my assignments was to discussion in detail two clubs from different countries. Compare and Contrast the teams, the leagues, and what would you do to change teams without making any transfers.
"I chose to describe the English Premier League's Manchester City and the Spanish La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Manchester City was founded in 1880. They currently play their football in the English Premier League. City is in third place behind Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. Their manager is Roberto Mancini, an Italian coach who formely managed Inter Milan. Their history is not the greatest. Their last trophy came in the League Cup in 1976.
However with the new ownership of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and their influx of money. The Citizens have been able to buy top players like Carlos Tevez, Yaya and Kolo Toure, David Silva, and Mario Balotelli among others. Their aims are to qualify for the Champions League and eventually win the English Premier League.
Their main rival is Manchester United. In recent history, United has gotten on the better end of these derby matches but City has closed the gap competitively against them.
Barcelona is currently leading the Spanish La Liga. They are currently seven points ahead of Real Madrid. They are coached by Barca legend, Pep Guardiola. Barca is lead by some of the best players in the game with Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, and David Villa. They have a high powered offense that could score in the drop of a dime.
Their recenty history has been good. Winning the La Liga several of times and also winning the Champions League twice in the last decade. They also have legendary players like Johan Cruyff, Romario, Ronaldo, Hristo Stoickhov, and Ronaldinho.
Comparing Styles of Play
Manchester City uses a combination of English football and Italian football due to their manager Roberto Mancini. They sometimes boom the ball up field to their tall striker, Edin Dzeko. When they get into big games, they crawl into a defensive shell and pin all their hopes on Carlos Tevez, he is one of the best lone-wolf strikers in the game today.
Barcelona on the other hand, plays free-flowing attacking style of football. They pass and move until they are able to unlock the opposition defence. Barca makes the matches look like practice with their constant movement. They also smother teams when the they have the ball. They pressure all over the field so they can get the ball in a better position so they can score more goals.
The Leagues.
The EPL is a rough and tough league. It is very rapid fire. Most of the better teams are able to get the ball on the ground and start passing around. The worse off teams often try to boom the ball forward and hope for the best. They often bully teams rather than play football.
The La Liga is a bit more calm and relaxed. Most if not all of the teams like playing the ball short and keep it on the ground. That is why Barca and Real Madrid are so good because they have better players that play that high quality football.
Weather.
In England, the weather is often cold in the winter and mild in the late summer and early spring months. That is why brute force is used because playing short in sometmies icy pitches aren't helpful for the leading clubs.
Spain is a much more Mediterranean climate which is much more warmer than in England. So they can play their brand of passing football and individual players can shine in that style.
What I would change:
What I would do for Manchester City is play with a 4-3-3 formation that would have two defensive midfielders and David Silva has the playmaker who is a part of that three man midfielder. I would like my chances with a Tevez, Dzeko, Balotelli three man attack, when healthy. Balotelli is experienced at playing on the wing and him and Tevez would be comfortable cutting the ball inside and getting their own shots.
What can you really change from this Barcelona lineup? They are almost perfect. The only thing I would change is shelf the 3-5-2 lineup for good. They played this lineup against Valencia on Wednesday and almost got punished for it in the first 25 minutes of that game. The three back was never comfortable, so if I could change anything on that team is that I'd never play that lineup ever again."
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