Gamesmanship: Expect more entertaining matches
The return of football fans is very much a welcome sight in top flight football across Europe. It means broadcasters can discard those crowd sounds and cheers they used to mask the empty stadiums although some did you give you the option whether you wanted it or not.
There is all sort of financial benefits for the leagues and to a large extent the governments as football is one of the main sources of income for any county’s financial eco-system. The ones who benefit the most however is footballers themselves.
The pressure that comes from a roaring stadium can be so influential on the outcome of some football matches. The absence of fans had a negative impact on how successful the home side were in their matches.
Home advantage is powerful sometimes indescribable, being in familiar surroundings with passionate fans supporting your every action can only strengthen the resolve.
A study by the University of Leeds and Northumbria University used the pandemic as opportunity to explore the impact of home advantage in the absence of fans. Data was gathered from the best ranked divisions in eleven countries across the UEFA confederation.
The data showed that more decisions went in favour of the away teams when it came to decisions coming from match officials as well as how dominance of the home team was affected by specific metrics.
The away teams definitely had some significant advantages according to the data presented in this study. Football without fans in the stadium was starting to feel a little too familiar for my liking.
Even if players are likely to be jeered and harassed by the home support in their large numbers, I’m sure they are all a pleasant site for a majority of professional players who live to entertain fans.
It then brings you around to the importance of the atmosphere as well as psychological impact of some stadiums and do teams factor this in to their tactical approach on away days.
Manchester United have gained a reputation for their late goal scoring and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has often commented on how the Stretford end of Old Trafford ‘’sucks in’’ goals when the team has needed it.
Likewise, the Kop at Anfield produces a roar unlike no other to inspire their Liverpool side to score and pressure their opposition with extreme intensity.
I’ve always wondered how teams would go about ensuring the home support noise are kept to a minimum and that the power of some of these grounds are futile throughout he 90 minutes.
It would have a lot to do with game plan. You could say if the away team plans to begin with a more positive attacking intent and are successful in the coin toss they may decide attack the side with their fans.
Which would then mean bravely defending against home side plus the large amount of pressure that is likely to follow as the clock runs down during the second half.
Personally, if I was a footballer playing against a roaring Stretford End, Holte End or Kop End there is no doubt I’d feel intimidated by the atmosphere. However most away teams will have a player or the manager themselves who play the role of the pantomime villain.
A controversial tackle, a mass gathering between players on the pitch, manager touchline antics can create a new dimension of entertainment factor for the neutral but more importantly for the away team they cause some imbalance in the home team’s emotions.
Likewise, any refereeing decisions that go against the home side whether it be contentious or not certainly intensifies the rest of the match.
Losing control of emotions by extension leads to a lack of concentration and this is likely to cause an unstable rhythm for the home side where the away side can take full advantage and take opportunity to get some form of result from the game.
An example of this could be seen with Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan against Barcelona in the semi-final of the Champions League 2010. Mourinho’s men claimed a 3-1 win at the San Siro in the first leg but it was the second leg at the Camp Nou which really stood out.
Known for his defensive mindset and iron-willed pragmatism Jose Mourinho was eager to stop any sort of ‘’remontada’’ or comeback from Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. They protected a 3-1 lead with a defensive masterclass. Only losing 1-0 in the 2nd leg to the
Jose and his side played the pantomime villain to an extremely loud Camp Nou. Riling up the Barcelona fans and staff with his theatrics on the touchline and the high-pressure tactics on match officials by the Nerazzurri, meant the control of the game was always in their hands.
A more recent example is the Round of 16 tie between Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid versus Liverpool. Atletico Madrid had won the first leg 1-0 over at the Wanda Metropolitano but it’s the 3-2 victory at Anfield that was undoubtedly the spectacle.
Just the year before, with Barcelona in 2019 we saw how a world-class team can crumble under the atmosphere of Anfield. An Atletico Madrid side managed by Simeone however was always going to be built differently.
The game was on a knife edge throughout the regular 90 minutes with the Kop at the very best willing their team to finish 1-0 taking the game to extra time. Atletico love defending and this game showed how much they love to play the villain role as they thrived of the kop.
Atletico scored all 3 of their goals in extra-time with their deadly counter-attacking play to knock the reigning champions out of the competition.
Simeone as always animated on the touchline and similar to Mourinho during his Inter days played on the emotions of the home fans, the Liverpool coaching staff and the match officials.
Simeone and Mourinho are elite coaches and therefore would’ve mastered their psychological approach throughout their careers. These victories aren’t examples for the philosophers to use when talking about the beauty and aesthetics of football.
However, it is an example for those who have an uphill task against a home team who have a raucous intimidating atmosphere. Making the clash more of a show away from the tactical side of things can only produce an entertaining affair for the neutral.
The referee is always going to be affected by the home crowd in some capacity which gives the away team a problem to solve and ultimately it may have to come down to the dark arts of gamesmanship.
It is difficult to maintain his throughout a 90-minute game and we often see the best examples of gamesmanship come in the 2nd half of matches.
Sometimes these are unplanned and away teams simply pick up the momentum and use it to their advantage for the remainder of the game.
I’ve always enjoyed this aspect of football, some stand-out matches often arise from scenarios like these and leave the football community talking long after the match is done.
Although, we did see some good quality football across the leagues in the absence of fans, these types of scenarios in football were taken away. The away team having to almost play a handicap match with the ferocious support of the home crowd.
This of course isn’t just exclusive to the top leagues. The fans returning to non-league grounds will produce many more of these types of gamesmanship moments.
Gamesmanship couldn’t really be applied to a match in an empty stadium, from the matches I’ve seen over the years, the external emotions and pressures a key to an entertaining spectacle.
With the return of fans and most stadiums across the European confederation filling up to full capacity, whichever league you decide to follow and whichever competitions your favourite club are competing in, you should an exciting and memorable moments even if your team aren’t involved in them.