Football has always been an ever-evolving sport. Not just in terms of the players, but also in terms of the Styles of Play, the formations used, and also with regards to the rules of the sport. Recently, there has also been a growing notion that the sport has become very tactical and boring. But is it really the case? And if it is, what’s the real reason behind it?
Nowadays, you don’t often see long-range bangers, across-the-pitch crosses and long balls from the defence to attack, fast counterattacks, magic dribbles and flair. While there are still some teams who play the counter-attacking way and experiment with long balls to switch play quicker, most teams play a possession-based style. This type of play focuses on NOT losing the ball, and giving priority to safety with a low risk-low reward kind of philosophy rather than a high risk-high reward type of mentality.
Teams tend to “Build-up Play from the Back”, but that was not the case primarily before 2019. In just the last 5 years, Football has suddenly become more and more tactical in terms of gameplay. And all of it is because of a simple rule change introduced in 2019.
How has the 2019 Goal Kick Rule changed Football?
Before 2019, Goal Kicks were mostly taken to find the man responsible for hold-up play in either the midfield or the attack, with those big-burly players chesting the ball down and keeping possession higher up the pitch. Playing out from the break was a big risk, as it would mean that the defender who gets the ball from the keeper could be cornered with relative ease.
This was because the old rule stated that the Play starts from a goal kick only when the ball exits the Penalty area. This would mean that the Centre-backs would have to stand out of the Penalty area to receive the ball from the keeper. This would give ample time for the attackers to press the defensive line and try and corner them to win possession back. Hence, teams would often use the aerial route for Goal Kicks in trying to not lose possession so close to their own goal.
In 2019 a minor tweak was made to this rule. A tweak that would go on to change the way Football is played drastically. According to the new rule, the Play starts as soon as the ball is kicked during a Goal Kick. This new rule allows defenders to come close to the ball in order to get a short pass from the keeper, while at the same time not allowing the opposition to close in quickly.
Many teams have started building out from the back since this rule was first introduced. In fact, one can see a gradual increase in the number of short passes that have been played from the back. This has made the opposition team come up with newer strategies to press the ball by adopting various pressing lanes to do so.
The new rule opened up a whole new world of tactics which weren’t discovered until then. To now play tactical football became a necessity as building out from the back meant that after getting through the initial wave of pressure, teams could launch an incisive attack with half of the opposition out of the equation. If the Opposition doesn’t press as much, teams would then try and slowly make their way up the pitch with the ball in possession circulating play within their backline with no real rush. The best example of such is Manchester City.
This style is based on short passes and movement of players and a possession-based style of Football. Which many a time can kill the fun of watching the beautiful game. To the untrained eye, and those who watch Football to feel that adrenaline rush the sport has to offer, hence have started finding the game more and more boring. But in reality, it has just become more tactical than ever before!
