Sportskeeda's guide to enhance the football viewing experience

#4 Watch the space and try to anticipate the next pass

Pockets of space created by Barcelona. (Photo Credit: Edited from Spirlverlagerung.com)

Thomas Muller once said in an interview when he was asked to describe himself as a footballer, “Ich bin ein Raumdeuter,” which translates to “I’m an interpreter of space”. Space is king in football. When there is space somewhere on the pitch it must be utilised.

For example, Pep Guardiola’s teams thrive on situations where they can create space by their gameplay and possession. Watch the space and try to anticipate where the ball will go. If the striker, winger or full back have acres of space ahead of them and the midfielder ignores it and passes it to a more crowded area of the pitch, there is more reason to be livid with him.

Paul Scholes and Andrea Pirlo were pass masters who never missed the opportunity of playing the ball into the vacant space ahead of their team-mates. Cesc Fabregas, David Silva, Marco Verrati and Andres Iniesta are the few players who do this the best currently.

Interpret the space and try to observe how teams are creating that space.