How important is philosophy in football? Is it even worth considering at all?
Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg between Barcelona and Internazionale will be compelling, but why? Because we can expect to enjoy a kind of philosophical battle of beautiful, expansive Total Football against restrictive, conservative Catenaccio as Inter prepare to defend their impressive lead from the first leg? Are we fascinated by the story, the dramatic narrative of a game which pits Eto’o and Ibrahimovic against their former clubs. Do we just want to know which team is better? Or do we want to know who the greater manager is – Mourinho or Guardiola? Will it be interesting because of the superb individual players on show, such as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Lucio, Sneijder, Cambiasso. In truth, what interests most of us is a combination of all of these.
There are already plenty of decent media sources which focus on personality and, normally, events in football. And for in depth tactical analysis you need look no further than zonalmarking.net or Jonathan Wilson’s excellent “The Question” pieces for The Guardian. So this blog will devote itself to the philosophy of football – the belief systems and the normative assumptions that affect the game, both on the pitch and off it.
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