Guardiola-Inzaghi, science against soul | The paper

Difficult to explain the speed and skill with which Manchester City move the ball, perhaps they train with the fluttering ball from the 2010 World Cup. Inter can do it, after all, victory is a state of mind

Once upon a time there was a balloon that flew everywhere, it was called Jabulani, which in the Zulu language means to exult. He was the protagonist of the 2010 World Cup, the ones played in South Africa. The characteristic of him was volatility (figuratively), because when you kicked him to one side he took another direction. Many attributed the responsibility for the few goals scored in that season to him, given that the players did not know how to handle him and above all hit him. Jabulani, the crazy kite, was uncontrollable, influencing the way of playing and consequently the final result of many matches. Seeing City planing Real Madrid, crushing it like a press does with bitumen, I asked myself an extravagant question: What if Guardiola had his team train with Jabulani? A way to train players to face the unexpected, the sudden one centimeter difference that changes the game. Why else can’t the speed and mastery with which City move the ball from one point to another not be explained, remaining compact and above all always perfectly balanced, even defying the laws of dynamics (?) of which the irreproachable Isaac Newton, a well-known Inter fan (it’s not true), was the father. Because against Real Madrid, those of the City always remained standing even when hit by a ball thrown at very high speed (Fab=Fba, those who understand us are good).