Catenaccio, libero, jogo bonito, tiki-taka. And now Gegenpressing. English football has another term taken from a foreign language for us to get our tongues around.
And Albion fans will see one of its exponents in the technical area of the Amex today as their team return home.
Jurgen Klopp has not been short of column inches in the newspapers or minutes on television and radio since taking over at Liverpool this season.
The merits of his Gegenpressing – or just high pressing if you like – style have been well debated.
But his former Borussia Dortmund colleague David Wagner is slowly introducing a taste of the Bundesliga to the Championship.
It has those who follow Huddersfield Town closely confident their club are on the right lines and possibly poised for an encouraging push up the table.
The former Dortmund under-23s boss is believed to have been offered the chance to join Klopp at Anfield when he succeeded Brendan Rodgers in early October.
He plays that link down. But the close football connection he shares with the Kop boss is clear.
Wagner said: “English football is a very exciting place to be – also for us German guys.
“Everybody knows I have a good relationship with Jurgen. He is a good friend of mine.*I wish him all the best in his work and I know he wishes me all the best at Huddersfield.
“I think we have similar ideas and of course when he went to Liverpool we spoke about Liverpool and his staff.*But I was under contract at Dortmund so this was not the plan for me.”
That may have been the case but it did not prevent Wagner moving to Huddersfield a month later with Christoph Buhler, a long-time playing team mate and coaching colleague from Germany, as his No.2.
The Terriers boss added: “I’m sure you have seen some Borussia Dortmund games in the last four years.
“In the first two years especially, the game was very, very good. This is exactly what I like to do.*I prefer passion in the game. I like speed, I like to score goals.
“Everybody knows the full throttle style we try to create. This is exactly what I like to do.
"One of our strong points in Germany is called Gegenpressing. I’m not quite sure of the word in English.
“We like to have speed in our game and work hard because I know to play like this you need great fitness.”
Of course, we no longer need an English word for Gegenpressing. Gegen means ‘against’.
But the ‘pressing’ bit tells you all you need to know and ‘gegen’ just makes it sound German.
It’s a bit like talking about La Liga – a term which goes down well here because it sounds like the English word but foreign at the same time.
But can it translate to English football?
Reports from West Yorkshire suggest the signs are good, just as Wagner expected.
He explained: “We did it at second team level at Dortmund, we did it at first team level.*When Jurgen was at Mainz, he did it at Mainz.
“It always depends on the players you have got but it is possible to create this style.*What you need is an open mind and the right mentality.”
Sources close to Huddersfield admit his appointment came out of the blue.
Wagner is Town’s first foreign boss and first head coach rather than traditional English manager.
Terriers chairman Dean Hoyle believes the last three or four managers have failed to get the best out of the squad at their disposal.
Wagner has helped reignite interest among fans and has created a team who are better to watch than their immediate predecessors.
They will press high and look to pass the ball out from the back.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp
The presence of two holding midfielders is key and wingers will sit back and cover when the full-backs charge forward on the attack.
Changes to the squad are under way with the addition of Algerian international midfielder Karim Matmour, who could be on the bench today.
Harry Bunn, the leading provider of assists in the Championship, is doubtful with an ankle injury.
Wagner’s new methods between matches were in evidence after his side lost 5-2 at Reading in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday.
Rather than dashing back north and arriving in the early hours, they stayed overnight in Berkshire and trained on Wednesday morning before returning home later in the day.
Most unusually, Huddersfield have flown south for today’s game.
Wagner said: “Brighton will be a tough opponent and I have looked at them closely. But they are not the most important thing I have to consider.
“For me the biggest question is which players are available to me and who will be the most fresh.”
Original article
And Albion fans will see one of its exponents in the technical area of the Amex today as their team return home.
Jurgen Klopp has not been short of column inches in the newspapers or minutes on television and radio since taking over at Liverpool this season.
The merits of his Gegenpressing – or just high pressing if you like – style have been well debated.
But his former Borussia Dortmund colleague David Wagner is slowly introducing a taste of the Bundesliga to the Championship.
It has those who follow Huddersfield Town closely confident their club are on the right lines and possibly poised for an encouraging push up the table.
The former Dortmund under-23s boss is believed to have been offered the chance to join Klopp at Anfield when he succeeded Brendan Rodgers in early October.
He plays that link down. But the close football connection he shares with the Kop boss is clear.
Wagner said: “English football is a very exciting place to be – also for us German guys.
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“Everybody knows I have a good relationship with Jurgen. He is a good friend of mine.*I wish him all the best in his work and I know he wishes me all the best at Huddersfield.
“I think we have similar ideas and of course when he went to Liverpool we spoke about Liverpool and his staff.*But I was under contract at Dortmund so this was not the plan for me.”
That may have been the case but it did not prevent Wagner moving to Huddersfield a month later with Christoph Buhler, a long-time playing team mate and coaching colleague from Germany, as his No.2.
The Terriers boss added: “I’m sure you have seen some Borussia Dortmund games in the last four years.
“In the first two years especially, the game was very, very good. This is exactly what I like to do.*I prefer passion in the game. I like speed, I like to score goals.
“Everybody knows the full throttle style we try to create. This is exactly what I like to do.
"One of our strong points in Germany is called Gegenpressing. I’m not quite sure of the word in English.
“We like to have speed in our game and work hard because I know to play like this you need great fitness.”
Of course, we no longer need an English word for Gegenpressing. Gegen means ‘against’.
But the ‘pressing’ bit tells you all you need to know and ‘gegen’ just makes it sound German.
It’s a bit like talking about La Liga – a term which goes down well here because it sounds like the English word but foreign at the same time.
But can it translate to English football?
Reports from West Yorkshire suggest the signs are good, just as Wagner expected.
He explained: “We did it at second team level at Dortmund, we did it at first team level.*When Jurgen was at Mainz, he did it at Mainz.
“It always depends on the players you have got but it is possible to create this style.*What you need is an open mind and the right mentality.”
Sources close to Huddersfield admit his appointment came out of the blue.
Wagner is Town’s first foreign boss and first head coach rather than traditional English manager.
Terriers chairman Dean Hoyle believes the last three or four managers have failed to get the best out of the squad at their disposal.
Wagner has helped reignite interest among fans and has created a team who are better to watch than their immediate predecessors.
They will press high and look to pass the ball out from the back.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp
The presence of two holding midfielders is key and wingers will sit back and cover when the full-backs charge forward on the attack.
Changes to the squad are under way with the addition of Algerian international midfielder Karim Matmour, who could be on the bench today.
Harry Bunn, the leading provider of assists in the Championship, is doubtful with an ankle injury.
Wagner’s new methods between matches were in evidence after his side lost 5-2 at Reading in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday.
Rather than dashing back north and arriving in the early hours, they stayed overnight in Berkshire and trained on Wednesday morning before returning home later in the day.
Most unusually, Huddersfield have flown south for today’s game.
Wagner said: “Brighton will be a tough opponent and I have looked at them closely. But they are not the most important thing I have to consider.
“For me the biggest question is which players are available to me and who will be the most fresh.”
Original article