Many will say Arsenal and Barca has this beautiful football - always on attacking mode with short pass while every players running all over the pitch non stop. It nice to see them playing and entertaining. But, do you all want your team to be like them? I mean becomes an entertaining side but failed to win any titles? Or maybe only target for one or two title only per season?

Why teams like Liverpool, Chelsea (not MU maybe because their fans claimed that they're entertaining too) can't produce beautiful football? Is Rafa or AG (or Jose Mourinho before) don't know how to produce entertaining football?

no. i think most fans will prefer trophy rather then entertaiment football. Just like liverpool in 2005, people will remember they win the UCL, but wont give a damn they play boring or defensive football as trophy still matter the most. In fact most managers will do this ... same to those minor teams in epl when travel to the big 4. defend deeply to at least get a point.

if Man U play attacking football during the 1st leg i think Barca already booted them out with 2 to 3 goals ...

It's about different people with different taste. Some may care less on how the game is played as long as trophies won, regardless playing negatively or even unprofessionally (if you get what I mean).

Also, never label some teams (eg Liverpool, Chelsea etc) as teams that do no play beautiful football. I did see these team played good football in some matches (eg. Chelsea vs MU). It's just that they have different strategy for different games and apparently, most of these are not towards to beautiful football.


Back to Arsenal and Barca etc... to be said playing beautiful football. As an Arsenal fans, I have to admit that we do not play beautiful football most of the some time.

Anyway, please define what beautiful football is.

I agree that Arsenal did play beautiful football during our invincible season (long time ago). We played fluid, fast, attacking football that saw us scoring goals in split seconds.. Then, we were in a few transition seasons when players in those good seasons are either leaving us or phasing out. Finally, in these two seasons, we start playing different type of football, which is the multi-short-passes with the intention of controlling the game and possession. We are once again claimed as playing beautiful football. Yes, I enjoy watching it but I wonder if it's the same case for non-Arsenal fans.

This post has been edited by kimhoong: May 2 2008, 09:24 AM

First of all, playing entertaining eye-candy football does not mean a team can never win, Arsenal did and won as did Barca a couple of seasons back... I guess football goes in phases, sometimes, a tight disciplined unit wins while free-flowing teams can also win, as exemplified by Barca and Chelsea (and various others)...

No doubt, everyone wants to see a team that plays entertaining football, but at top clubs nowadays, the pressure to win is so incredible, making attractive football difficult... Arsenal have come under the microscope this season after the failure to win anything for 3 seasons now? But they are certainly entertaining...

Another point is the culture of a particular club...like any companies or organizations, if the culture is to play attractive football, then the fans have come to expect it... like Real Madrid, they won the La Liga with Capello last season, but it wasn't enough to keep him on the job, his football isn't attractive enough (or so we are told anyway)...

So I guess it boils down to a few factors; is winning the overriding objective? culture? as well as a massive dose of luck sometimes...

Individual preference as well, some people enjoy the Serie A, some people can't...

For me, winning is important but not everything, if the players that put on the jersey have shown pride and gave their all, even defeat can be fulfilling as a fan... showing pride in wearing the jersey is more important than playing good football...

Well, what made you watch football in the first place? The love of the beautiful game? Peer pressure? The marketing?

I for one think that if all teams played like the modern day Liverpool and Chelsea or even Greece for that matter, football will be terribly boring. Most of us support Liverpool not for the way we play, but for the traditions and ideals personified by our club. Given a choice, I'd want us to revert back to 'pass and move' anyday!

Most fans will want throphies at the end of the day. That matters most. Of course, the perfect senario is entertaining games plus throphies but this is not always a perfect world. It is all about strategies.

I thought I rememberd Ruud Van Nistelrooy used to say. He tried to produce to produce some beautiful goals back in his early days. The coach, if I am not mistaken is Marco Van Basten. So in order to produce some beautiful goals, he failed many times and when he scored, he pointed it out "See, how I put the balls in?" Then the coach said to him that, u don't have to produce beautiful goals. Just put the balls in. And the rest is history.

For me, "Beautiful football vs Result-Orientated Football", we have to get to basic. I think, back in our young days, when we still doesn't know about clubs, we watch football because we want to see goals. So, if the result is always 4-0 for Man Utd vs Name-Any-Club, I think I'll be satisfied, doesn't matter it is beautiful game or not. What I wouldn't want to see is, if Man Utd vs Small-Clubs, we score 1 against them in some unimportant game and we play negatively.

This post has been edited by DarkWan: May 2 2008, 09:27 AM

IMO,people are just whining about the team playing defensive football. But that's the way how they succeeded. No point in changing the way of playing if it goes on well.

football has changed alot , nowadays all the chairman or owner of the club need results n trophy , i m sure everyone love entertaining football , n i believe all the managers love it as well. The problem is u hav no idea how much the pressure they hav everyday, so some of them or in some big games they will choose to be more tactical than anything else, cause as i said, at the end of the day results is wat u looking for , unfortunately.

This post has been edited by heavenhell: May 2 2008, 09:29 AM

I agree with this.

No doubt fans would like to see their clubs pound their opponents into submission but in the end, it's the three points that count above all else. If you only support your club for the way they play, I can give you my assurance you'll switch teams the moment you change managers and your style of play changes. Fans today want to be entertained above all else.

I don't believe that playing entertaining football and winning titles are exclusive to each other. And to just give examples of Barcelona and Arsenal is just showing one side of the coin. Man Utd and Real Madrid are currently top of their respective leagues and they both have played entertaining football this season. It is possible to play good football and be effective at the same time.

i love beautiful football. i love to see goals. but most importantly, i love to see the spirit of the players. back to old days, Chelsea did play beatifully but they failed to win big thropy. but i still love them. why? bcoz they play with determination in each game (that i watch). and now, their playing style not that attractive but they already won EPL and can challenge the big teams in Europe. and i still love them bcoz now as i'am growing up, i see football more in strategy. not juz the entertainment or the goals. even in a bore 0-0 game, i still feel enjoyable while most of my friends that watch it with me keep complaining abt how boring it was.

so the conclusion is: enjoy the game

beautiful football is needed for sum excitement...
imagine every team not playing it, then football can b quite boring to watch...
then, we would hv less things to cheer on or clap our hands for...

I agree that current football scenario has force most of the clubs to play tactical football. It's a multi-million business and they cannot afford to lose.

I don't think anyone is saying that it cannot be done but question is, for clubs like Bolton and Wigan who do not have the resources to play beautiful football, do you still go out and try and play that way, get hammered 0-5 or play Route 1 football and nick a 1-0 win? I am all for the results. If United play every match like they did against Barca (first leg)but ended up with a quadruple, I'd be the happiest man alive.

Ya, exactly, I want that happen too. An entertaining football would produce good outcome, because you play for the win not for draw. Maybe exception, the like of Netherlands under Johan Cryuff time, developed total football and entertaining match but never win World Cup. The thing is we always remember they are still one of the great until now.

This post has been edited by killingspree: May 2 2008, 11:03 AM

But we're talking about winning titles here so I think we can safely discount Bolton and Wigan out of it
If United played like they did against Barca every match, chances are they probably wouldn't win anything
But that doesn't mean they were wrong in playing like that. You have to vary you tactics according to the opposition sometimes. To win titles you need quality. And quality players can play entertaining football. Whether they are given the liberty to do so depends on the coach in charge.

Does the italian play "beautiful" football?
What I wanted to point out is that not everyone has the same opinion on a beautiful game.
It could be boring to some but might turns out to be entertaining to others.

Anyway, like what was mentioned like others; beautiful play doesn't guarantee trophies or success which is the main purpose of footie matches these days.

sometime "boring football" can give u a cup/title like Greece do in 2004
but i prefer "joga football",i satisfied when watch Barca playing against MU even Barca lost
better win in style than win with negative football

i'm second that. .