Coaching

Changing the starting lineup between matches to manage player workloads or adapt to opponents. Guardiola rotates heavily and takes criticism when it backfires in big games. Other managers stick with their best eleven until players drop from exhaustion. The packed modern calendar means rotation is necessary, but fans hate seeing their favourites benched for important matches.

"Juego de posición" in Spanish. Players occupy zones rather than fixed positions, maintain good spacing, and create overloads in key areas. Cruyff developed it, Guardiola refined it. The idea is structure over improvisation - everyone knows where they should be relative to the ball and teammates. Unlike total football's constant position-swapping, it stays organized while allowing creativity within that framework.

The moment a team loses the ball and has to shift from attacking to defending. The first few seconds are critical - either you press immediately to win it back, or you sprint back to reorganize. Teams that handle defensive transitions badly get picked apart on the counter. It's tracked analytically now and coaches drill it constantly.

The cue that tells a team to immediately press after losing the ball rather than drop back. Common triggers: a heavy touch by the opponent, the ball going to a player facing their own goal, or a bouncing loose ball. The whole team has to recognize the trigger and react together within seconds. Get it right and you win the ball back in a dangerous area. Miss it and you're scrambling.

A club's identity, philosophy, and style that's supposed to survive manager and player changes. It covers tactics, values, youth development, and how the club wants to play. Barcelona's possession game, Athletic Bilbao's Basque-only policy, and Ajax's technical youth focus are classic examples. Clubs now talk about DNA constantly when hiring managers. Critics say it can become an excuse for refusing to adapt.