I’m not sure what it’s called but I find it cool how some players can control the game and set the tempo through the finer details of their passing rather than dribbling. When I think about this I think about Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva & Sergio Busquets. It’s such a minuscule thing but it translates, like if you’re doing a one touch passing drill and someone’s pass is a bit inaccurate/underhit, the next person has to stretch for it, then the ball bobbles, and so on and so forth.
With De Bruyne it’s as if he controls the game by its atmosphere kind of? Like manipulating the body language of the ball if that makes sense. This season he’s played higher and got less touches so we see it slightly less, but the weight/speed of his passes set the whole mood. For example, he can play the exact same pass twice but depending on how he does it the whole game changes. If he passes a certain way, the team take the ball and go and attack, if another way they switch it etc. Similar to how when the home crowd roars in encouragement, the team will go forwards and attack, Kevin does that with the ball.
Bernardo Silva is kind of the opposite even though he’s one of the greatest controllers I’ve ever seen. He gets so many touches and struts around the pitch with such swagger, almost as if the ball is his dog, with the belief that nobody will take it from him because nobody can take it from him, even in the tightest of spaces or under the most intense pressures. I think the way he receives the ball and the way he moves with the ball, sets the tempo. He doesn’t really do long chipped balls but the way he controls the ball either calms it down and slows or speeds up the tempo so much and he knows exactly when it’s suitable because of his incredible IQ. Not the most explosive when facing a defender, but I feel as if the timing of his touches of the ball when beating his man, helps Silva to stay secure in possession while also threatening.
Busquets has a mix of the two, which is so strange to me. Pedri looks like he has it too. I don’t know at all how to explain it because it’s not really a quantifiable attribute it’s a bit more in a player’s nature and you just see it. Rodri (at the time of writing) is the best defensive-midfielder in the world and is often compared to Busquets in terms of playstyle, but watch Rodri play and then watch Busquets (even at this age) play. Busquets just has that little something that Rodri doesn’t when he receives the ball, and also in the way he plays the ball – it’s strange but so fascinating to me.
I do wonder how much thought managers put into this because it seems like fans don’t think twice about it but I do a lot. In summary I guess what I’m saying is that KDB’s pass is never off, Busquets takes the ball so elegantly that he never has to stretch and Bernardo will kill the bobble and bring the passing drill back to where it started. Or actually that even when Busquets is stretching, it doesn’t seem like he’s stretching… incredible player.
I guess you could say KDB sets the the body language/mood of the ball, Silva holds onto it while you figure out your mood or prepare it, and Busquets keeps it going if it’s at risk. That’s the best way I can explain it I think. Cool players, even better controllers. Body language of the ball is just as important as the body language of players, both transmit key messages on the pitch. And these guys are great with it.
DMs are always open, be sure to let me know your thoughts and if there are any other players you feel fit these moulds, feel free to let me know.
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