🇭🇰 ⚽️ analyst
Hong Kong
Joined May 2019
- Tweets1.1K
- Following726
- Followers1K
- Likes6.1K
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Reflecting on worldviews and their legacy in shaping sports training
footblogball.wordpress.com/2…
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
🚨بيلد: كانت هناك مخاوف داخل بايرن منذ أسابيع بشأن التوازن بين العمل والحياة الشخصية لدى فينسنت كومباني. فقد أشار اللاعبون وأعضاء الجهاز الفني مرارًا إلى أنه لا ينام بما يكفي، ونادرًا ما يمارس الرياضة بنفسه، ويأكل كثيرًا وبشكل غير منتظم، ويشرب كميات كبيرة من القهوة، ويتحمّل أعباء عمل تفوق طاقته. ويربط بعض الأشخاص داخل بايرن الآن مشكلاته الصحية بهذه العوامل.
لم يمنح فينسنت كومباني نفسه قسطًا كافيًا من الراحة خلال الأسابيع الأخيرة. فبعد التعادل 2-2 أمام أوغسبورغ، أمضى الفريق ثلاثة أيام في ستافانغر بالنرويج، قبل بدء التحضيرات لمباراة لايبزيغ التي انتهت بفوز بايرن 6-1. ويوم السبت، لم يتمكن كومباني من الجلوس سوى على مقاعد البدلاء، إذ تسببت العدوى الفيروسية أيضًا في مشكلات بالورك، جعلت الوقوف لفترات طويلة وصعود السلالم أمرًا صعبًا عليه. وبعد المباراة مباشرة، اضطر إلى الاستلقاء على الأريكة في مكتبه.
عاد كومباني إلى مقر النادي في يوم الأحد، لكنه غاب يومي الاثنين والثلاثاء لإجراء فحوصات طبية شاملة. وبعد 19 ساعة فقط، عاد إلى العمل مجددًا: حصة تدريبية صباح الأربعاء، ورحلة بالحافلة إلى فندق الفريق، واجتماع مع اللاعبين، وتوجيهات من خط التماس، ومقابلات تلفزيونية، ومؤتمر صحفي، وكل ذلك تولّاه كومباني بنفسه.
يتولى المدرب مسؤولية كل شيء تقريبًا، بدءًا من توسيع مرافق التدريب، مرورًا بالتخطيط لتشكيلة الفريق وسوق الانتقالات، وصولًا إلى التحضير المكثف للتدريبات يوميًا، والذي يتضمن أحيانًا تحليل المباريات على حاسوبه المحمول في المنزل حتى ساعات متأخرة من الليل.
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Alonso referred to this decision-making process about risking when the opposition are pressing man-man to engage in 1v1s and playing it differently (retaining) when they keep a +1 at the back. Therefore, being "more efficient" with the decisions.
Chelsea's decision-making quality on when to 'risk' and 'retain' during possession phases has been well balanced mostly in the first half versus Bournemouth. It's a crucial factor to why Chelsea have managed to control Bournemouth so far. To change this, I think Rose needs to adapt the press. In the second half, they have to start triggering a man-man press often and change the tempo of the game. You're not going to trouble Chelsea much by keeping a slow to medium tempo.
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Asked Xabi Alonso about 4-4-2 off the ball against Bournemouth and his view on formations @premierleague
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Olympiacos 1-1 Wolves. Round of 16.
After the game, I got on the bus and the Portuguese players were talking. Rúben Neves said, “Não tava à espera, eles jogam bem pra caraças” (“I wasn’t expecting that, they play really well”).
I wasn’t surprised at all. I knew who I was playing against.
But none of my teammates were aware of it. Maybe that’s the advantage you have when you play for such a big team that is always expected to win.
It played out badly for a British team some years later. Fortunately, I was on the winning side both times
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
• Is there a German player you would like to have in your Spain team?
Luis de la Fuente: "Florian Wirtz - he is fantastic. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a Spanish passport [laughs]. I really like the way he plays."
[@SPORTBILD]
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
🚨 Rodri: "Pep Guardiola and Hansi Flick aren't alike at all. When I arrived at Barcelona, I thought I was stepping into the philosophy of rondo and possession, and the truth is that the first four days they gave me such a physical beating that I said. 'What have I gotten myself into?'" [@partidazocope] 🎙️
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Former #CFC manager Andre Villas Boas: “The purpose of my arrival at Chelsea was to kick you all out. Roman asked me to do it. To make a full change, a generational change” (🎥 via @obionepodcast)
Drogba/Lampard/Terry/Cech/Cole may NEVER have won the CL together.
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
This is a good example of how physical data can be often misused in football.
This post has 1.1m views and tentatively insinuates that because Manchester United don’t sprint much out of possession, that’s a bad thing.
Under Michael Carrick, United generally defend in a mid-block.
They will naturally accumulate less OOP sprint distance than a Bournemouth side whose defensive model involves pressing much more aggressively.
Look at the bottom-left quadrant. Many of those teams use structures designed to control space rather than constantly press at high intensity. It’s about running at the right moments.
Physical output is generally a consequence of how you play. Or at least, how you want to play.
Additionally, after the longest World Cup in history, it's another long season ahead for clubs and players in European competitions, and who go deep in domestic cups.
Managing the season physically will be key.
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Does running more actually win football matches?
A research study over nine seasons and 3,379 Premier League games suggests it’s more complicated than that.
Total distance had NO significant relationship with league position.
Sprint distance showed the strongest relationship with success.
Winning teams averaged just 91m more sprinting than losing teams.
Teams who run less than others can still be successful. Aston Villa were bottom three for distance covered and sprint distance last season - they finished fourth.
The real question isn’t how much you run. It’s when, where and why you run. Context is key.
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
🚨 Fabian Hürzeler reveals Brighton’s gameplan against Arsenal:
🗣️ Fabian Hürzeler: “It was actually quite simple, intensity, intensity, intensity.
After the Manchester United game, I told the boys to believe. If you can come back from 2-0 down at Old Trafford and win, then you have to believe you can compete against anyone.
Against Arsenal, we knew they would try to control the game. They are excellent at keeping possession, protecting the middle and making it difficult to create chances. So we didn’t want to spend 90 minutes trying to play perfect football.
We wanted to make them uncomfortable.
First pass, we press. Second pass, we press again. If they lose the ball, we attack immediately. If we lose it, we chase it immediately.
I kept telling the players, ‘Don’t give Arsenal time to breathe.’
And when the opportunity came outside the box, I wanted them to shoot. Pascal did it. Kostoulas did it. We didn’t need ten passes around the penalty area searching for the perfect opening.
Sometimes against a team like Arsenal, you have to trust your instincts.
The most important thing was the mentality. I wanted every player to walk onto that pitch believing they could hurt Arsenal.
They didn’t just believe it.
They made Arsenal feel it.”
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
🚨🎙️Pascal Groß on his coach’s message before facing Arsenal:
🗣️“We did a lot of shooting training this week, mostly from outside the box. We knew the defense was going to be a problem, so we had to learn to score without having to pass through the defense.”
“We knew exactly what we had to do, and I’m glad it worked out well for us.”
“He just said what he’d been saying all week: ‘Shoot the ball when you get it. Strike it.’
“And honestly, that was the whole idea. Don’t overcomplicate things. If you see the space, take the shot.”
“We trusted the plan, we kept going, and eventually the chances started falling our way. That’s what makes a coach’s message special when you see it working on the pitch.
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
🚨 Kostoulas on Brighton’s approach against Arsenal:
“All week the manager kept telling us how difficult Arsenal are to break down. He showed us the numbers, the defensive structure, how little they concede.
At one point I remember thinking, ‘Okay, so why are we trying to go through all of that?’
We spoke about it. If the space opens outside the box, shoot. Don’t take another touch because you’re looking for the perfect chance. Against Arsenal, sometimes the perfect chance disappears while you’re looking for it.
Pascal understood it immediately. He gets the ball outside the box and scores. Then later I get mine and I’m thinking exactly the same thing.
We didn’t need to go inside the penalty area and start negotiating with Gabriel, Konsa, Rice and everybody else. That sounded like a very long afternoon.
If the goal is behind the defence but you can shoot from in front of the defence, then shoot from there.
It sounds stupid when I explain it like that, but we scored twice, so maybe don’t tell the manager I said that.”
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
If you want to go from obsessed football fan to understanding the game at a deeper level, here’s how I did it.
Go on spielverlagerung.com and read in this order:
1. spielverlagerung.com/2016/03…
2. spielverlagerung.com/2021/07…
3. spielverlagerung.com/2020/05…
4. spielverlagerung.com/2021/11…
5. spielverlagerung.com/2014/12…
You will need to re read these as some of them are quite dense and you will pick different things up each pass. Pro tip: if you’re struggling for time you can paste the link into Eleven Labs and listen as audio.
Whilst doing this I was also reading posts on here , watching games and videos on YouTube etc which resulted in a deep dive that went over 100hrs in 1 week. I presume this isn’t normal however.
I also feel it’s right to give recognition when it’s due and these 3 people are incredible for building football knowledge:
@MeiaArmador__
@Jon_Mackenzie
@rajsinghchohan
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Argentina rompe una presión de Austria con "lo que no se debe hacer".
Atraigo, rompo con una conducción hacia adentro del lateral derecho y asocio.
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Juan Mata was an unused sub more than 200 times in his career. Mo Salah wasn't making the bench at 22 years old. Vitinha was an unused sub, not selected in the Wolves squad many times.
“Serge has come here to play games but he just hasn’t been for me, at the moment, at that level to play the games.” - Tony Pullis on Serge Gnabry at West Brom.
A gentle reminder for all players who have convinced themselves they can't pursue the next level if they "can't even play at this level".
Mak Pakhei Matthew retweeted
Essay: Escape
A few thoughts and reflections on the analysis bubble.
"My concern is less about what is objectively right or wrong in football, and more about how we, as analysts and coaches, sometimes present our ideas as universal truths."
spielverlagerung.com/2026/02…
