INFOGRAPHIC: THE EVOLUTION OF CATENACCIO
There's no better compliment to the beautiful game than beautiful analysis to accompany it, and Look What It Means To Him has delivered that in spades with a look at the famed Italian catenaccio system, inspired by Jonathan Wilson's famous text Inverting the Pyramid.
The graphic examines the evolution of 'door-bolt football' throughout the decades, beginning with Karl Rappan's verrou formation at Servette and continuing with Giuseppe Viani's work at Salernitana, Nereo Rocco's AC Milan, and Helenio Herrera's famous Inter side.
“Perhaps the greatest take-home ... was the volume of online articles that make false or unnecessarily definitive statements about catenaccio”
"I often found it difficult to conceptualise the formations in 'Pyramid' that didn't have a corresponding diagram, so I began sketching them myself to ensure I'd understood; this sparked an idea," LWIMTH's Henry told IBWM. "If other people were interested in tactics but, like me, responded well to a combination of images and text, then a series of infographics about iconic tactical systems, starting with catenaccio, might work well."
"Perhaps the greatest take-home from researching and creating this infographic was the volume of online articles that make false or unnecessarily definitive statements about catenaccio; from its perceived negativity to [the question of] who apparently 'invented' this complex and evolving system.
"As such, I've tried to avoid making any bold statements about catenaccio without having a reliable point of reference while still getting the fundamentals across in an easy-to-digest fashion."
Check out the full graphic at Look What It Means To Him and let Henry know whether he should take on Total Football or Kick & Rush next by tweeting him @LWIMTH.