There's always google translate
The best one in french for me but it's very literary so don't know if Google Translate could properly help you understand the nuances :
http://cahiersdufootball.net/blogs/les-de-managers/
You also have dude's blog whom I linked the YT channel :
http://www.chroniquestactiques.fr/
I should have been more specific. Reading about zone 14 and how you can divide a pitch into zones piqued my interest. I've figured out formations for the most part, zonal marking was very helpful with that. I understand Wenger/Pep's offensive approach from watching it closely the last couple of years. I'm less understanding of things like the best place on the pitch to cross balls in from, the proper way to play direct football, defensive theory. The absolute best way of course is to watch tape over and over to understand movements on the pitch, but I know there's got to be articles out there that explain things as well.
I remember seeing a video about the difference in pitch dimensions and how that can affect offensive and defensive play based on space available to the players. Think it was a Tim Vickery piece posted in this thread. Stuff like that seems simple but the science behind it always makes me go
Well the dude Adin Osmanbasic (the blog I linked in the previous post) really goes in depth about zones. That's where I first read "half-space". Images in spoiler
Plus, he has some long pieces about tactics and supposed new ways. This one (
http://adinosmanbasic.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/new-spaces-to-target-the-evolution-to-protect-them/) is really interesting.
About the main tactics, I guess it's best to read analysis about :
- Dortmund and the gegenpressing (counter-pressing) and how Klopp mastered the art of transitioning between defensive phases and attacking ones
- Heynckes's Bayern and how his 4/2/3/1 was flawless.
- Pep's Bayern and his 4/1/4/1
- Juventus and the Regista role (Pirlo's position) and why their 3/5/2 dominate the Serie A
- Roma and Barça and the false 9 role in their 4/3/3
- False 6 (@
penfield ) in 4/3/3 shapes and how more and more teams (Barça with Busquets, Real with Modric, PSG with Motta, Roma with De Rossi etc) use the defensive midfielders as a third central defender in attacking phases to let both full backs go up
- Simeone's Atletico and their defensive coherence in his 4/4/2
- Pellegrini's City and its 4/2/2/2
You could also read about marking teams of the game and how they played
- 2009/2011 Barça (possession football and Pep's 5s pressing rule)
- 2013 Bayern (their 4/2/3/1 in attacks transforming into 4/4/2 while defending and their "half-court press")
- 2013 Dortmund (same for Bayern but different way of pressing)
- '12 Athletic Bilbao (Bielsa's relentless attacking and movement) and '10 Chile with Bielsa's 3/4/3
- '07 Milan and Ancellotti's Christmas tree formation
- Mourinho's Real (the 100 goals one) and his counter-attack system
- 06 Roma and Spaletti's 4/6/0
- '70s Ajax (Michels' one), '74 Netherlands and '74 Barça (Cruyff's impact)
- '90s Milan (Sacchi's 4/4/2)
- '70 Brazil (the set up to Carlos Alberto's famous goal is really defining of their style)
- '86 Dynamo Kiev and their total football
- '82 Brazil, supposedly the most beautiful Brazil side
- Hungaria's Golden Team (first false 9 apparition) in the 50s
- And so on...
That will just give you and overview of the game and how it evolved. First time I posted in OFT I talked out my ass and @
Kunty McPhuck checked me, so I went back learning and watched the game more carefully trying to understand it in a tactical sense and not in an entertaining one. It's better to know history to better understand how things works now.