Football Philosopher
FA Cup semi-final, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium

April 17, 2005 FA Cup semi-final match between Newcastle United vs Manchester United will take place at the Millennium stadium, Cardiff. James and David watched the game together. The stadium, which can accommodate 74,500 spectators, is almost full of fans from both teams.

The Newcastle United line-up is, Goalkeeper Given, and uses 4 defenders namely Carr, Boumsong, Taylor, Babayaro, 4 midfielders namely Milner, Faye, Butt, Robert, and, and 2 attackers are Ameobi and Newcastle United legend and also the top scorer in the premier league Alan Shearer. A classic 4-4-2 formation.

While the squad revealed by Manchester United is, Goalkeeper Tim Howard, Right-back Gary Neville, 2 Central Defender Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand, Left-back Gabriel Heinze, Right Wing Midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo, 2 Central Midfielders Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, Left Wing Midfielder Fortune, as well as 2 Strippers Rooney and Van Nistelrooy.

And finally the long-awaited time arrived, after the whistle of the game began Manchester United continued to press the Newcastle United defense, in the 19th minute a pass from Ronaldo from the right side right towards Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was then sent off, his shot slid to the left side of the net unanticipated the goalkeeper and came in, putting Sir Alex Ferguson's side 0-1 up. Seeing that James cheered happily, even though he already knew the result, but it was more fun watching live with tens of thousands of spectators, the sensation was different.

The match continued with the attack but the score was still on, as it entered the final minutes of the first half, again a pass from Ronaldo came to fruition, his pass right into the head Paul Scholes headed the ball into the near post doubling the lead before halftime. James was back to cheering with the others.

During the game break James spoke to David, "Have you noticed David's second-team formation?"

"While I don't really understand football I still know a little, both teams wear a classic 4-4-2 formation, is there something wrong with that James?" David answered and wondered why James had asked him that question.

4-4-2 in the 1960s. This formation came from the head coach of Ukraine, Viktor Maslov. Even so, there is an important role played by Valeyriy Lobanovskyi in the development of this formation.

In 1961, Lobanovskyi was a young winger who played for Dynamo Kyiv. At that time the position of Dynamo captain chair was held by Viktor Maslov. Lobanovskyi is an agile winger, has a vision of playing well and has a dominant individual technique. But this style of play was slightly restricted because of the tactics applied by Maslov at that time.

Maybe you think that a 4-4-2 formation will rely heavily on the role of a winger. No, this is not a formation with a style of play that is popular in England at the moment. At the beginning applied by Maslov at Dynamo, a 4-4-2 formation does not recognize the role of a winger. This is what makes the role of Lobanovskyi less prominent at that time.

He left Dynamo in 1964 to join Chornomorets Odessa and Shakhtar Donetsk. But he felt really disappointed, because after leaving Dynamo, his career dimmed. Especially in 1968 his former club won three titles in a row but Shakhtar Donetsk even slumped in 14th position.

Believe it or not, it was frustrating and decided to retire early at the age of 29. Even so, he has not given up on football. Lobanovskyi began his coaching career in 1969 with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. It was there that he began his thoughtful formation experiments in his head, including developing Viktor Maslov's 4-4-2 formation.

In 1973, Lobanovskyi returned to Dynamo Kyiv again, but this time as a coach. There he found an answer from his colleagues all along: football needs balance between lines. He also said that the balance between the needs of players on and off the pitch is equally important.

In the end, the balance adapted by Lobanovskyi at Dynamo Kyiv through the formation and the needs of the players makes this club able to compete in the European scene. The proof with a Lobanovskyi-style 4-4-2 formation, Dynamo Kyiv was able to bulldoze Ferencvaros 3-0 in the Cup Winners' final 1975, now the Europa League. Dynamo were also able to defeat Atletico Madrid in the final of the same event in 1986. Meanwhile, they were also able to hold Bayern Munich 3-3 in the first leg of the 1999 Champions League semi-final.

The 4-4-2 formation is recognized as a formation that is easily understood by players. The formation also became popular on British soil in the 1970s. Most English clubs adapt Lobanovskyi-style formations that rely on both sides of the wing. Fullback and winger his role is very dominant here.

James looked at the pitch before speaking, "There is nothing wrong with the formation of the two teams, but the formation is old and mostly relies on wingers on both sides of the field at this point. Just look at the process of the two goals, both of them always rely on the right side of the field. What do you think, David?"

"To be honest I'm confused by that, although the formation is old but many teams in the premier league rely on the formation, even the English national team use it." David was a little confused.

"There is a point as well but in my view as a formation we have to balance both in terms of attacking and defending like the total football typical of the Dutch Team. Although I am not a fanatic of the total style of football, but we can adopt that style and adjust according to the needs of the team, just look at the style of play Barcelona team in Spain that has been handled by Johan Cruyff, who has been playing in Spain, the total style of football in Barcelona was transformed into Tiki Taka. And until now the legacy has remained, and this is what Manchester United do not have" James said.

'James is not a kid who always makes a tantrum again, he has researched a lot about football and looks very serious in this field, I have to help him as much as possible' David said in his heart.

It didn't feel like 15 minutes had passed and the game was about to restart.

After 13 minutes, precisely in the 58th minute of the match due to a mispass from Butt, the ball was obtained by Rooney and immediately launched a quick counter-attack, he made a one-two pass with Scholes and Scholes passing to Van Nistelrooy his shot directly into the goal and the score became 0-3.

After Manchester United's third goal, their defense was a bit of a miss, just one minute after the goal, Ameobi launched a shot through the legs of goalkeeper Tim Howard to reignite the Magpies' hopes as they got a chance from Manchester United's lack of defensive focus. Score becomes 1-3.

Given is still the busier goalkeeper and he brushed aside Van Nistelrooy's chip shot while also thwarting an effort from Rooney.

And Ronaldo's close-range strike in the 76th minute after a pass from an unguarded Van Nistelrooy completed Manchester United's impressive win to 1-4.

Manchester United advanced to the FA Cup Final and will meet Wenger's side, Arsenal who a day earlier beat Blackburn Rovers 3-0.