Bundlesliga play and thoughts on total defense!

[Stonigut]

I have been watching a little German ball with my Latino cable package, they really have a nice array of games, Dutch, Brazilian, Mexican, English, Spanish leagues.

Saw a little of hoffenheim versus bayern Munich and was really impressed with hoffenheim's total defensive style, talk about shutting down space off the ball, they were shutting down the guy on the ball if he held it at all while at the same time shutting down his passing options in a most aggressive manner. It was just the first half I can't imagine they could play that way Too long but maybe they were setting the tone early with a superior Bayern team.

Would love to see Jamaican ball get better on the team approach to defending with a vision to developing a yard style process to playing total shutdown ball on defense, we have the speed, we have the strength, we have the aggressiveness and passion if tapped correctly, we don't have the discipline, we don't have the fitness, we don't have the process to develop this kind of mindset as the first and foremost thing we must develop in our football program. The real reason why this will not happen is that culturally we are infatuated with the pretty ball business, we want to be Spain and brasil, well bottom line is that it is always the case that it is much easier to develop a superior defense than it is to develop a skillful superior offense and at the end of the day a superior defense is tougher to beat than a team committed to superior offense which creates a lot of gaps on the counter attack, how many great attack teams we have seen beaten in the World Cup over the years.

[Stonigut]

Food for thought on some German bundesliga teams!

[Sir X]

LOL.....early mawning Joke , suh Jamaica ave a defensive problem ?

[Bruce]

Hoffenheim is in the relegation zone with 24 points. Augsburg (27) would be in a relegation playoff, and Dusseldorf (31) is the last team above the relegation zone.

[Assasin]

yawn. Mi like German football long time. Simple football, build your defense, use your wingers and get some decent strikers and midfielders. Nothing changes from Beckenbar to Rummiege to now, not much.

[Bruce]

Jamaica's defensive problem is a lack of offense.

[Karl]

Jamaica's defensive problem is a lack of offense.

...and the present TEAMs are years faster, stronger and tougher and eons advanced in terms of quality!!! Greater technical skills, stronger tougher players and teams...advanced tactical forte.

Today...it is a different ball game.

[Stonigut]

Massive defensive problem, we are producing a bunch of wanna be Spanish midfielders but in reality we are just producing a bunch of guys with good one on one skill with no real sense of how to play team ball.

Look at the results, the senior team, the cr team dropped two goals on us, that game should have been a draw, in the u20 we looked like amateurs on the main stage and the same with the u17 all defensive lapses. I guess we really know how to fool ourselves, delude ourselves when we can say we are good defensively when we getting beat by our own poor work habits and lack of execution.

Soe people say the best defense is a great offense, total foolishness. Best defense is a great defense, build the house on the rock of defense and all else will follow. 4-5-1 is the base and build all combinations from that base.

[Karl]

The results and the quality of play...mmmm? Return match?

Unlike the Bayern v Barcelona in this match...against Borussia Dortmund, Real got into excellent scoring positions often...and Real also defended poorly too often.

Barcelona has the more difficult task as Bayern is such a good strong team. TEAM Bayern could be said to have no weak parts.

Aside: Confession - Previous to this match I never saw Barcelona's weakness to high balls as so pronounced. Barcelona defended so well as a TEAM that they appeared to me to just about have no weaknesses...previously .

Have to repeat it --- and lick myself upside mi 'ead. Missed it completely that Barcelona's defense couldn't handle/had a weakness against those aerial balls into the box. Guess no one tested them as did Bayern.

That match bears looking at a few more times...have to see how often and when Bayern tested them with such balls?

Also have to go back to the GUNNERS return match against them...have to see if I missed something there...

[Sir X]

So whats the purpose of a midfield and offence , the ability to keep the ball (possesion ) is seen as a defensive move , esp if it results in a transitional attack , that results in a goal.In other words whats the point of scoring.

Like a man said Jamaica defensive problem is its offence , boxing the ball in our defence- defensive midfield will see us end up like Real .Dormund beat real in the midfield , Alonso had a nightmare game , thus putting pressure on the defence , if you care to admit , Real tried to launch its counter attack from a defensive midfield position , it backfired.Dortmund attacking midfield/forward line won.

Real got slaughtered, Dortmund defence started in the attacking midfield and they exploited every inch of the field.

Sorry Stoni , yuh grasping at straws.Jamaicas problem is its attack,midfield /forwards.

[HL]

Every team needs a philosophy of play S-gut. Some call it style.

I guess most folks here have forgotten that the '98 Reggae BoyZ were a highly defensive team. It was their defense that got them to WC . (Check the record).

The thing with this Jamaican team-- is that you cannot attribute a style of pattern to their play. The MexTicans and Americans have a patented style of play. You know how they are going to play.

Tappa has not stamped his philosophy or style on his team. If he has, it is not apparent. The irony is that it was defense that drew the game against Mexico. A good Jamaican defensive team would have produced better results against the following two teams.

So yes Stoni a defensive approach would be good.

Dam-it HL, yu forget dat Jamaicans love "sugar-foot" style football --so some folks here will not like Stonigut's suggestion

[Rockman]

Good points HL, except usual low blow, mischaracterization of we Jamaicans, the sugar foot part.
I agree we lack a true identity.
When Carl Brown was coach, he being a former defender, had great confidence in local defenders.
Judging from Tappa dillydallying around Hue, my guess he would probably bench himself(if he was in 1998 form and eligible) as there is no hint that he thinks a player of his mould has any use to his team.
He tried many options, try Hue too.

[HL]

Heeehehe Rockman, try and convince me that Jamaicans don't like sugar-foot full of frill football.

Even the avarage local defensive player-- wants to bruck one or two players before he lays the ball off. This often-times to the delight of the local crowd.

[Stonigut]

X I see why you cyan follow me, you jumping to conclusions too fast! The defense is the corner stone, the foundation, the midfield is the walls and rooftop is the forwards, no house can stand with excellent midfield and forwards and no defense, but you can continue to build repeatedly, continually with a foundation and walls, just throw on a roof and yuh criss.

Seriously midfield is the real defense, that is what I advocate, dominate possession and if you cyan do that then shut down space and frustrate the opposition into giving up the ball, with space and on the counter you don't have to be the greatest passers of the ball, you just need speed, one on one skill and a little passing and some shooting ability, we have all of that but we cyan seem to understand that we have not done the twenty years of teamwork, process development of our ballers minds and bodies to be a brazil or a Spain but we can play German and Italian style fundamental ball, it Nuh pretty but it effective and we are built for it right now, only thing missing is the hard core team discipline and that is easily acquired by selecting the right players.

That is why certain indisciplined man cyan mek my side, if yuh not disciplined I don't want yuh fighting beside me in my trench, just so. If yuh cyan hold down a job a farin and tolerate some cold winter and work with the team, any team, then yuh cyan mek the side, yuh head not in the right place.

Any way back to the Jamaican problem at all three levels u17, u20 and senior level defensive lapses was the fundamental issue, goals that were scored versus jamaica have no business being scored on serious teams, I don't have a problem giving up screamers from outside the box or excellent multiple touches in small space, that just mean the other team ridiculously good, but when we get beaten by players untouched, unmarked in the box with acres of space around them, that is called indiscipline and total lack of preparation.

[Stonigut]

Hoffenheim may be in relegation but the brand of defense on that day versus bayern was something to behold. Barren eventually won by one, but it was a well contested game.