Football of old days was magic, and I miss it

Has France’s triumph in Russia signalled the beginning of an end to the football of flair and skill? I hope not, but it pained me to see a team of talented forwards depend on a reactive game plan. It’s hard to pinpoint what prompted France’s manager, Didier Deschamps, to embrace such a defensive approach with a team of strong contenders. I would hazard two guesses: one, his team’s defeat to Portugal in the 2016 Euro title clash or two, the early exit for Germany, Spain, and to an extent, Argentina. The Ronaldo-led Portuguese used the counter attacking brand of football with success, but they could be excused, as they were over dependent on the Real Madrid (now Juventus) star, one of the fastest forwards.

Deschamps made optimum use of Kylian Mbappé’s speed in employing the counter attacks while absorbing attacks from the opposite teams. His methods yielded results. But I thought it took away the joy of watching the beautiful game. The French manager admitted, “Are France beautiful champions? Well, we are world champions and will be on top of the world for four years.”

For the French, it mattered little if it was a beautiful or ugly game, as long as the Cup was in their grasp.

Amidst the defensive football, I missed those dazzling runs of yore. It is always a treat to watch skilled footballers weave past a bunch of defenders with fine dribbling. I hope reactive football — as dished out by the world champions, France — will not be a main feature of future World Cups.

I doubt the quick runs down the flank by Kylian Mbappé will linger in memory (at least for me) unlike some dazzling displays still fresh in the mental hard disk. The 1982 six-goal magic of Paolo Rossi is immortal. And who can forget Diego Maradona (1986, 1990) dribbling past a bunch of defenders with the ball glued to his boot, or Ronaldo feigning past rival defences (1998, 2002)? I wouldn’t mind watching on loop Pele’s footwork on YouTube videos (as there was no television when I was young and Pele hit World Cup headlines between 1962-70).

Unfortunately, in Russia, the speed and reactive football successfully took over from the skills and flair as France willingly sacrificed possession. For Deschamps, it was important to hold his fort with tight defensive play and use speed to counter attack. No doubt, the French were precise and made their strategy work for results.

Not only France, throughout the tournament, there were minimal number of open play chances created. Dropping deep without possession seemed to be the order of the day during the tournament. And to their credit, France was streets ahead of the others in that game.

The fall of last two World Cup champions — Spain and Germany — brought a rushed end to whatever little expectation I had nurtured of watching free flowing football. The flair too went out with the exit of the Latin giants, Argentina and Brazil.

While Spain, Brazil and Germany were wasted in holding onto the ball for far too long, in their title win, the French boys underlined that the off-the-ball game was more important than on-the-ball. In all their games throughout the tournament, they had the lesser share of ball possession (only 39 per cent in the final against Croatia) but quickly latched on to counter opportunities, and they cashed in on set pieces.

The main French striker, Olivier Giroud, didn’t score a goal (Rossi had six in three games in 1982) in any of their seven games, but that didn’t worry his manager. Deschamps reposed unwavering faith in him. “It’s true Olivier hasn’t scored. It’s good if he scores, but Olivier is always very generous, the team needs him even if he doesn’t score. His game is in the air and defence. He does many things. It is the players around him that benefit.”

Giroud ran 56.4 kilometres in 546 minutes on the pitch during the seven games that he played. That reflected the very essence of the French style of football. It wasn’t attractive, but it was definitely productive for the team. Giroud would often play deep down in his own half and the selfless — as Deschamps called him — Chelsea star had no qualms about feeding Kylian Mbappé or Antoine Griezmann up front.

France didn’t mind rivals holding the ball because speedy breakaway runs were a key to get goals. More pragmatic teams, like France, that felt comfortable counterattacking and using set pieces, succeeded at this World Cup. These teams had no hesitation in substituting a forward with a defender or defensive midfielder. The emergence of the new order (some like to call it Dark Horses) amidst all that defensive football was good for the game, played by an estimated 250 million players in over 200 countries. Croatia playing France for the title was the best advertisement for the emerging new order. With Luka Modrić’s artistry winning him the Golden Ball, there’s still hope for open and dazzling football.

The quick runs down the flank by Kylian Mbappé may not linger in my memory, unlike some of the earlier, dazzling displays still fresh in the old mental hard disk. The 1982 six-goal magic of Paolo Rossi is immortal, and who can forget Diego Maradona (1986, 1990) dribbling past a bunch of defenders with the ball glued to his boot...