Liverpool FC Forum

5 stars wrote:I believe that there are a lot of parallels between what is Rafa has done with us, and what Phil Jackson has done with the Chicago Bulls. 

Rafa tactic's if you like, are based around playing in a formation that best brings out an indviduals qualities. He always talks about players interms what they can do for the team. He is big on the word "team", with saying like "I always say it's like having a table with three legs and you need to get the other one to fit properly".

It's interesting that Rafa has been a very good chess player since he was a child,  ever since he was young he has seemed to have an eye tactics and strategy. Chess strategy is about how to set and achieve long-term goals during the game, e.g. where to place different pieces, while tactics concentrates on immediate manoeuvres. It's comparable to using the wing as a starting point from where Gerrard can seek out space behind the strikers, so he can receive the ball in dangerous areas.

He sees his players as cogs in a machine, he moves his players if they are chess pieces. 

Phil Jackson used a system called Triangle offence or also known as Triple-post offence, it motion offence created by legendary University of Southern California coach Sam Barry in the 1940s. The Chicago Bulls enjoyed great success using triangle offence, winning six championships in the 1900s.

In triangle offence players must recognize mismatches of size and/or quickness between the offensive player and the defensive player. It was designed to bring out the best skills and talents of an individual player within the framework of a team offence. Essentially, the main philosophy behind the offence is to pursue the path of least resistance.  It is as much of tactic, but rather an offensive strategy. Here's a link if you're interested;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_offense

Rafa may not have used Triangle Offence like Phil Jackson did with the Chicago Bulls, but a lot of his ideas and aspects to play are very similar to it. You often will often hear Rafa talking about players in terms of their best qualities and what they can offer the team. Crouch is a good example, you will often hear him talking about how important he is to our team, because of his ability to hold up the ball and bring others into play.

As you said, the same as what he has done with Steven Gerrard and the role that he plays within the team. He seems to have identified his best qualities, and used them within the framework of the teams attacking play. Which is very similar to Triangle Offence, it's designed to bring out the best skills and talents of an individual player within the framework of a team offence.

Considering that he hasn't significant amounts of money to spend in the transfer market, he has been able to build a very good squad. We are a lot more organised, this is especially true with our defence.

We are at that stage that we only need 2-3 world-class players, because he has created a very good squad and has a framework in place, hopefully this means that Rafa really knows what he needs. Hopefully this takeover bid by DIC will go through, it be very interesting to see what Rafa will do if given some serious money.

WTF............ I posted similarities between Rafa and Phil Jackson and their approach to their respective games in a thread ages ago.  I even sourced Wiki.............

I tried to find the thread but failed.

Bizzare....


p.s.  I agree with you