Tottenham can see themselves in Manchester United

By Ryan Wrenn | May 11, 2017

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 11: Marcus Rashford of Manchester United and Kyle Walker of Tottenham Hotspur compete for the ball during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on December 11, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /

The final match ever to be played at White Hart Lane will feature two teams in Tottenham and Manchester United that might recognize themselves in each other.

No, it wouldn’t be fair to lump Jose Mourinho’s tactics at United with the system Mauricio Pochettino has instilled at Tottenham. These are two different systems that thrive off of different types of players and skillsets.

That said, Spurs’ high-press system is the natural evolution of a brand of soccer Mourinho more or less perfected through the first decade of the 21st century.

Mourinho began his career as part of Bobby Robson’s brief tenure at Barcelona, then stayed on as Louis Van Gaal took over. There he learned the virtures of Johan Cruyff’s brand of possession football — and perhaps most importantly, how that system could be exploited and undermined.

After leaving Barca and managing in Portugal, he finally settled into the position where he would first make his name. He led Porto first to a league title, then topped himself with an unlikely victory on the following season’s Champions League.

It wasn’t a fluid, ball-retention game he was playing though. It was more traditional, relying on robust defending and lightning quick counter-attacks. It was also more structured and modern, leaning heavily on intensely detailed scouting reports and grueling drills.

What’s more, it was a truly team effort. No player was allowed a free pass — everyone contributed to every part of the game, from the striker on back to the goalie. Wingers were expected to drop back, full-backs were expected to overlap and strikers were to harass defenders when out of possession.

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Success as Porto attracted the interest of a newly wealthy Chelsea side, who recruited the young talent to help build their expensively assembled side. Resisting the temptation to let his shiny toys simply play their own game, Mourinho drilled and crafted his team into his idea of footballing perfection.

The results spoke for themselves. Chelsea won two Premier League titles and the FA Cup before Mourinho departed the club on bad terms.

He would subsequently lead an Inter Milan side to a historic treble that featured an epic denial of a peak-Barcelona side led by Pep Guardiola. His next move to Real Madrid would allow Mourinho to further hone his tactics against the modern vogue of possession soccer.

Pochettino’s tactical set might not be as openly antagonistic to the idea of possession as Mourinho’s, but it definitely played into its flaws. Tottenham — and other pressing sides like Borussia Dortmund — bank heavily on other teams attempting to patiently play out of the back via tricky passers in midfield.

The press denies those players time on the ball and, ideally, retrieves possession. A well-drilled attack then drives the ball up field and exploits a defense caught in transition between having possession and not.

At its core, that pressing game relies on the same components that made Mourinho’s teams so great. An organized and physical defense shuts off avenues for the opposition, retrieving the ball and quickly moving it to players molded precisely to score and score quickly.

Pochettino’s favored system differs significantly from Mourinho’s only in the sense that they actively attempt to force mistakes rather than simply waiting for them.

In the modern game, it’s easy to see which is more effective. Tottenham sit second, separated from the top of the table only by injuries, Chelsea’s lack of European commitments and sheer luck.

United, meanwhile, can hardly delight at their record unbeaten run that lasted from October through last weekend. Despite record signings and significant improvements from the past two seasons, United still seem to be out of reach of the Champions League — and certainly never looked like threatening for the title.

Next: Tottenham vs Manchester United: Mourinho needs to stop whining

Mourinho did pull one over on Spurs back in December thanks to a canny defensive effort after Henrikh Mkhitaryan goal in the first half. Pochettino overhauled his team shortly after that defeat however, rejiggering the side to better combat teams that might build a fortress in front of goal. Sunday’s match, then, should be quite the test of two alike — but not too alike — systems.