The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast

Jose Mourinho spoke to The Athletic's James Horncastle last week for an exclusive interview looking back at his treble-winning Inter Milan side ten years on, so for this week's pod we got James together with Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell for a deep dive into that famous season looking at the tactics, the players and the stories from one of the great sides of the modern era. Subscribe to The Athlet...

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are joined by our resident Manchester City writer Sam Lee for a look at the tactical reasons behind City's failed title defence this season. Aiming to evaluate how much of an impact has the loss of Sane made, whether other teams have simply got better at playing through City's press, and assessing the pivotal relationship between De Bruyne and Aguero. S...

The Athletic's German football writer Raphael Honigstein joins Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell to look at the teams, coaches, and players to look out for when the Bundesliga returns this weekend. Rafa explains how Hansi Flick has turned Bayern's season around, how this Dortmund side compares to Klopp's famous team, and we look at the strengths & weaknesses of the clutch of sides chasing the top...

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are once again joined by our resident Spanish Football Writer, Dermot Corrigan, this time to give Athletic Bilbao the Zonal Marking treatment... A whole host of familiar names including Marcelo Bielsa, Aymeric Laporte and Inaki Williams, a truly unique recruitment policy and a history inextricably linked to English football. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

Subscribe to The Athletic here for plenty more from Michael Cox, Michael Bailey and the rest of our unrivalled team of football writers and get a 90 day free trial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up to The Athletic here and get a 90 day free trial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are joined by football data analyst Jay Socik - aka Blades Analytic - for an in-depth look at the tactics that Chris Wilder has deployed in getting Sheffield United to 7th in the Premier League, and how they've evolved over time Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox & James Horncastle join Ali Maxwell for a look back at Alberto Zaccheroni's Milan side of the 1998/99 season, featuring players such as George Weah, Zvonimir Boban, Leonardo and of course Paolo Maldini. A campaign which saw them clinch the title in a thrilling race with Lazio & Fiorentina that went right down to the wire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

Earlier this week Michael Cox joined The Athletic's Manchester City podcast 'Why Always Us?' for a chat about his recent written piece where he proposed some potential tactical tweaks Pep Guardiola may choose to experiment with when football returns, and we thought regular Zonal Marking listeners would appreciate hearing Michael explain why he thinks Kevin De Bruyne would make a good right-back or...

The Athletic's Michael Cox & James Horncastle join Ali Maxwell to examine how and why Atalanta have become one of the most exciting teams in Europe over the last year or so, culminating with their recent Champions League victory over Valencia   Sign up to The Athletic today for all of Michael's tactical insights... Get a 40% discount by visiting the athletic.com/zonalmarking Hosted on Acast. S...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Tom Worville join Ali Maxwell to examine why Liverpool's imperious defence has been the driving force behind their outstanding season and not necessarily their glittering front three, uncovering a number of surprising stats along the way Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are joined by Dutch football expert Priya Ramesh to look at how Ajax have adjusted to life after losing two of their star players last summer in Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, looking at their replacements, Ajax's fortunes in Europe, and the future of their much-admired coach Erik Ten Hag   Sign up to The Athletic today for all of Michael's tacti...

Sign up to The Athletic today for all of Michael's tactical insights... Get a 40% discount by visiting the athletic.com/zonalmarking Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are joined by our resident Everton expert Patrick Boyland to look at the tactical changes Carlo Ancelotti has made during his reign at Everton so far, how he has attempted to fix some of the problems he inherited from Marco Silva, while also casting their eye back on Carlo's long and storied career as a top level manager   Sign up to The Athletic now fo...

Was Gary Lineker right when he famously announced that NO goal should be of greater value than another? It's the debate you never knew you felt so strongly about... Should 'Away Goals' be scrapped? Ali Maxwell & Michael Cox are joined by Omar Chaudhuri, Head of Football Intelligence at 21st Club, to present their arguments... Where did the law come from, is it fair, and what if two teams have...

Does it really make sense to play out from the back or are you better off hoofing it down the field? The Athletic's new Football Analytics writer, Tom Worville, joins Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell to explore the impact of the latest changes to the goal-kick rule...The trio assess the risks and the rewards of shorter goal kicks, how the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and even Burnley have exploi...

1. Why do they keep coming up short? - 3:30  2. Tuchel vs Emery - 11:30 3. Neymar and Les 4 Fantastiques! - 15:30 4. Cavani the outcast - 16:30 5. The importance of Idrissa Gueye - 23:40  6. The Dortmund threat - 28:30 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell analyse the key tactical features of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal so far during his first 10 games in charge - looking at the way he's used the players at his disposal, to what extent he's mirrored the approach of Pep Guardiola, and whether what we've seen so far could tell us much about what his team might look like next season. Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Liam Twomey join Ali Maxwell to reflect upon the career of a player so good they named a position after him - Claude Makelele. Why was he so good at playing defensive midfield? Did he have more to his game than just getting it and giving it? And how has his legacy in that position affected those who've played it since? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

The Athletic's Michael Cox, Ali Maxwell and Jack Lang take a closer look at the goalkeepers who  made a career out of doing the business at the other end of the pitch. Not just popping up for the odd corner or accidentally knocking in a long goal-kick but those - and there are quite a few - who have genuinely played an attacking role for their teams.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are joined by our Chelsea writer Liam Twomey to analyse the tactical approach Frank Lampard has taken so far in his inaugural season as a Premier League manager, with a particular focus on how he has tackled the games against the other 'top 6 teams' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Ali Maxwell are joined by our Spurs writer Charlie Eccleshare for an in-depth look at Harry Kane and how his game has changed in the years since his breakthrough in 2014, and we also assess the tactical options at Jose Mourinho's disposal after Kane's torn hamstring looks set to keep him out for a lengthy spell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...

Rafa Benitez once cited the relatively little-known Colombian coach Francisco Maturana as one of his biggest influences, but who is he and what's his story? The Athletic's Michael Cox is joined by Rafa Benitez himself and Colombian football writer Carl Worswick to delve into Maturana's fascinating career. It's a story that takes in triumphs, tragedies, and many colorful characters from Colombia's...

The Athletic's Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell are joined by The Athletic's Brazilian football writer Jack Lang to examine how the 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final affected Brazilian football; breaking down the details of the match itself, how the nation coped with the aftermath, and how the team have rebuilt since.     Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

The Athletic's Michael Cox and Ali Maxwell are joined by The Athletic's resident German football writer Raphael Honigstein for a look at the managerial career of Jurgen Klopp and how his tactics & philosophy have evolved from his days conquering the Bundesliga with Dortmund to his current outstanding Liverpool team. Zonal Marking is a podcast where The Athletic’s Michael Cox & Ali Maxwell...