The value of the extreme

In the best days of his career as a coach Cesar Luis Menotti He used to say that the magic in football “comes from great extremes”, because of their ability to make games at their most unpredictable. Many coaches share this, giving the two forwards on the wings, with dribbling, intelligence and speed, an important role in their teams. Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and the Italian Enzo Maresca They are three in English football, but there are others who, in their decisions when signing and betting, also defend it. This is the case of the Portuguese Nuno Holy Spirit and Nottingham Forest, surprise winners at Anfield.

Nuno’s tactical lesson at Liverpool and his selection of players increased the importance of beating Nottingham’s ‘tricky trees’. They clearly showed their great improvement, after two turbulent seasons due to financial problems, which brought the club to the brink of relegation.

Forest’s efforts to contain the Reds defensively and how Nuno He prepared his two ‘daggers’ to look for quick counterattacks in the second half, which highlighted that important victory. The effect of entering the field of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga, to take advantage of the spaces Liverpool would leave behind would be decisive in achieving Forest’s first victory at Anfield in 55 years. They are two experienced forwards who have excelled in the youth squads of Chelsea and Manchester United and have found their perfect place in Nottingham.

The East Midlands club’s turnaround comes after a year in which it suffered a drop in points, the sacking of a much-loved coach on the banks of the Trent, as Steve Cooper and a flexible strengthening policy. Things have become normal in this year that gives control to Nuno Holy Spirit.

And the attention is no longer on the explosions of its owner, the Greek millionaire Evangelos Marinakisor its problems complying with Premier’s retention rules. The spotlight shines on its successful hiring management, which has led to the creation of a more efficient workforce.

Nottingham Forest should not suffer this year to maintain themselves and look up. It brought together talents such as Morgan Gibbs-White along with a balanced group, which enhanced the arrival of Elliott Anderson (Newcastle) including transfers of Ward-Prowse (West Ham United) and the Catalan full-back Alex Moreno (Aston Villa). His defensive fragility was also solved by the Serbian central defender Nikola Milkenkovic (Fiorentina), a strong defender who has fully adapted, giving Forest eight points from four games and only two goals conceded.

But if there’s anything different about the new Forest, it’s their commitment to great dribblers. Nuno is spoiled for choice, something he has insisted on since taking up his post on the banks of the Trent. The German boy Da Silva (St Pauli), the Paraguayan Soda (Workshops) and Jota Silva (Guimaraes), called ‘Oily Portuguese’, joined Elanga and Hudson-Odoi in threatening the wings, and taking care of two ‘goal hunters’ like Awoniyi and Chris Wood. The great success at Anfield just confirmed two of Forest’s strengths: knowing how to sign well and trusting experienced wingers.