The Rise of System Football

Football

Year2026

Duration5m

Watch Now

7.1

Try The Athletic for FREE for 30 days: https://theathletic.com/tifofootball 📗 Tifo's new book, "How to Watch Football" is now available internationally: https://linktr.ee/tifobook Football before the 1960s was won on individualism, moments of magic, and more goals the better. But that changed in 1963 when AC Milan chose to play defensively, and won the European Cup. They had decided to swap a forward for a defender, to create what would become known as catenaccio. As the decade moved on, footballing systems developed, not only be defensive, but attacking as well. This is the story of how football moved from relying on individuals to creating formations and systems that could win games. This is the thirteenth in a series, written by Jonathan Wilson, exploring the entire history of football. Illustrated by Philippe Fenner. Follow Tifo Football by The Athletic: Twitter:   / tifofootball_   Facebook:   / tifofootball   Instagram:   / tifofootball_   TikTok:   / tifofootball_   Listen to the Tifo Football podcast: The Athletic UK: http://bit.ly/TifoPodChannel Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TifoFootPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/06QIGhq... Watch more Tifo: Tifo Football Podcast:    / @tifo-podcast   Tifo Sports by The Athletic:    / @tifosports   About Tifo Football by The Athletic: Tifo loves football. We create In-depth tactical, historical and geopolitical breakdowns of the beautiful game. We know there’s an appetite for thoughtful, intelligent content. For stuff that makes the complicated simple. We provide analysis on the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, World Cup and more. Our podcasts interview some of the game’s leading figures. And our editorial covers football with depth and insight. Founded in 2017 and became a part of The Athletic in 2020. For business inquiries, reach out to tifo@theathletic.com. Additional footage sourced from freestockfootagearchive.com Music provided by APM Music #Football #Soccer #History