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How Chelsea Can Win, By The Experts

Sat, 19 May 2012 16:54:42 GMT

To some, the idea of going to the Allianz Stadium to face Bayern Munich can be a bit too much (look at Carlos Tevez who in September, didn’t even want to leave the dug-out)) and this year’s Champions League final is being dubbed Mission: Impossible for Roberto Di Matteo and his Chelsea side. Not so, says a panel of experts. Pundits, former players, journalists, and a celebrity fan tell us why this is far from a forgone conclusion and what needs to be done if it is to be the Londoners who are swigging Bavarian beer come late Saturday night…Daily Telegraph's Football Correspondent"It’s going to be a fascinating game because both teams would prefer to play on the counter-attack. Bayern will see a lot of the ball but like to shift through the gears quickly and Chelsea have to stop that and frustrate them. Key for me is the fact that David Luiz and Gary Cahill are fit at centre-back. I watched them train this week and they both looked strong and ready and that is vital. If I had to put money on it I would have to back the Germans…but, I do have a little feeling for Chelsea and I think Didier Drogba could have a massive say in the result. If he can terrorise the Bayern defence then this could get very interesting. The guy looks like he is on a mission. It’s like watching a Rolling Stones farewell tour! He kissed the Wembley turf the other day as if to say goodbye, he waved to the crowd at Stamford Bridge and it seems that he is on a quest to rock the football world. This could well be his last game in Europe and I think he is going to really go for it. It sounds obvious but if Drogba has a good game, Chelsea will win. Peter Cech will also be key. He has suddenly come into great form and looks the keeper he did 5 years ago. Chelsea of course will want to win it in normal time, because should it go to penalties against a German side we all know the outcome. Who would take Chelsea’s? Lampard, Ashley Cole? Who else? My heart says that I’d love Frank Lampard to hit a last minute screamer from 30 yards that hits the bar, bounces over the line, it isn’t given by the linesman but it spins back on, hits Manuel Neuer on the head and goes over the line. Talk about justice!"

Part of the Liverpool team that beat Roma in Rome to win the 1984 European Cup"Back then we knew our strengths and we knew our weaknesses so weren’t too bothered about who we played in the final. Actually scrap that: as the game arrived and we realised this was going to be played in their massive stadium, we became nervously apprehensive. They were at home and we couldn’t help but think in terms of refereeing decisions they were going to benefit. What we did (and Chelsea must do the same) is start to look at the situation positively and managed to convince ourselves that this was unhealthy for them and we realised just how much pressure they’d be under in front of their own fans. You need characters. We had plenty but none was bigger than Graeme Souness who took us all out before we got changed to ‘Walk around the stadium, right in front of their fans. That’ll shock em!” They hated us for it but it showed them that we weren’t intimidated. It wasn’t pleasant but Souey loved it and it worked."

Played 193 games for Chelsea between 1983 and 1988"Munich have lost players but their attack is such a potent unit. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Gomez, Frank Ribéry, Arjen Robben, these are fantastic players who will hurt you so the defence has to once again have an amazing night. The team mustn’t sit and defend to the extremity that they did at the Nou Camp but I wouldn’t be surprised if they played the two centre-midfielders sitting in front of the back four; probably Michael Essien and Jon Obi Mikel. That would free Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Juan Mata and another to really get at a Bayern defence who are lacking players and are susceptible. Drogba has to be looking at the Bayern defence and thinking: "I am going to get chances here". Chelsea will be happy to treat it like an away game because that quite suits their personnel and style. One thing I would do if I were Roberto Di Matteo is start Fernando Torres on the right of a three behind Drogba. Bayern’s left-back berth is weak and Torres’ pace will cause problems out there."Author, comedian and lifelong Chelsea fan. David's new novel, The Death of Eli Gold (published by Fourth Estate) is out in paperback on June 7th"My natural inclination as a CFC fan is always quite pessimistic. By which I mean, in the Champions League final, I find it hard to believe that our present, somewhat extraordinary, run of luck can continue. Especially against Germans, who don't seem to engage much with luck. Plus I think about half of the Chelsea team are either injured or suspended: I'm kind of hoping for a call-up. Having said all that, I thought there was no way we were going to beat Barcelona, and we did, and although luck was a big part of that, it was also a brilliant team effort. So if we pull that out again - and if Didier Drogba has what could be an amazing last hurrah - and maybe Fernando Torres can come on and repeat the Nou Camp moment -- then of course -- of course, we're going to win."Contributing Editor of Champions: The Official UEFA Champions League Magazine"Most people expect Chelsea to sit back, let Bayern play and try to hit them on the break. However, this is exactly - and rather inexplicably - how Real Madrid lost the semis and a berth in the final. By comparison, German champions Borussia Dortmund have now won five games against Bayern in a row by moving forward, pressing far upfield and putting pressure on Bayern. This approach has stood them in good stead, because Bayern are fearsome in attack, but very vulnerable at the back, especially since Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben don't like to track back. Bayern normally have the biggest problems on the wing not defended by Philipp Lahm. For the final, this is most likely going to be Bayern's left flank, where we expect the by and large untried Diego Contento in place of the suspended David Alaba. Incidentally, Bayern's suspensions hurt the team much more than people think, because they concern three of the four defensive players who have been consistent and solid this year (the fourth is Lahm) and who cannot be properly replaced. In fact, I think coach Jupp Heynckes would gladly do without a star like Robben if he could have any of the three suspended players back."Former club captain, winning four major trophies in his 11 years at Stamford Bridge

"It will be tough and of course they need to stop Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry and Mario Gomez. It’s important that they are very disciplined in their play, as catching Bayern Munich on the counter-attack is what will win them the game. Didier Drogba is too powerful for the two Munich centre-halves, and if Florent Malouda & Salomon Kalou play they will have too much pace. As soon as they regain possession, they need to look over the top for Drogba and make sure Frank Lampard and Juan Mata support him early, while the defence and Jon Obi Mikel are aware of what position their main threats are, so they can close them asap. It is important that whoever plays on the wings they double up on Ribéry and Robben, they can't leave Ashley Cole and José Bosingwa isolated as they will have major problems defensively if they do. Set-plays are also important as Chelsea have better height than Bayern and are more dominant, so the ball in has to have a lot of quality, and fortunately Lampard and Mata can produce that. After all that you need to have a thing called lady-luck on your side to get you over that finish line. I truly believe Chelsea can win this game as the pressure is on Bayern. It’s at their stadium and they are the favourites, so if Chelsea go in 0-0 at half time, they will go on to win. Good Luck Robbie!"

New Study: Turns Out Soda Doesn't Just Make You Obese

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:55:44 GMT

We already know soda can make you fat. But turns out that high-fructose corn syrup can also make you dumb. A new study on rats found that after just six weeks on a high-fructose diet, the rats’ brain synaptic activity had been so affected that they had trouble recalling a maze route they had learned. So, yes, not only does sugar contribute to obesity, but sugar makes you dumb. Good news from the study is that a second group of rats had also received omega-3 fatty acids and was able to navigate the maze much faster after six weeks, suggesting that might be one way to protect yourself against the damages of high fructose.The media has done a great job of publicizing the link between soft drinks and obesity, so more and more people are turning to alternative beverages -- such as energy drinks, juices or coffees -- in the hopes of eliminating some extra calories. But those can be just as bad (if not worse) than their bubbly counterpartsRead on for some of the worst commercial beverages in the most popular drink categories: soft drinks, alcohol, coffee, and everything else (juice, sports drinks, etc).

bad beverages

Soft Drinks

The can of cola has become a staple of American living. Children recognize and crave soda more than water, and until recently, school-age children were given free range to guzzle soda all day long during school hours.As Americans have gotten fatter in recent years, nutrition groups and health advocates have been studying the link between soda and weight gain, and they have found that soft drinks are the biggest source of calories in the average American’s diet. Soft drink companies know this too -- in fact, they manufacture enough of their products each year to provide nearly 53 gallons to each American.Studies show that people who consume soft drinks regularly are more likely to be overweight and develop diabetes than those who do not drink the sugary beverages. Although drinking any soft drink regularly is not exactly good for you, here’s a list of some of the worst culprits in the lineup:Welch’s Grape Soda (12-oz can)• 190 calories• 51 g carbohydrates• 55 mg sodium• 51 g sugarMountain Dew (12-oz can)• 165 calories• 47 g carbohydrates• 75 mg sodium• 47 g sugarCherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper (12-oz can)• 150 calories• 39 g carbohydrates• 60 mg sodium• 38 g sugarHow about that Frappuccino you love so much? Is it the devil too?

Relax: A Healthy Lifestyle Is Simpler Than You Think

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:55:44 GMT

Recently a friend asked me what I recommend for a post-exercise recovery drink. “Recovery drink?” I said. “Who cares about that?”The reason why is because I don’t hyper-schedule my workouts, track every run down to the yard or every lift down to the rep. And I don’t obsess over my diet, either. A lot of times, I just kind of wing it, and it works.To explain why I take this approach, let me ask you some questions: Did you kick butt with exercise today? Did you eat healthfully today? Did you not overeat today? Answer “yes” to those three and the micro issue of things like recovery drinks pale.Unless you’re a competitor.Permit me an additional query: Do you endeavour to shave narrow margins off race times, lift infinitesimal amounts more weight or pose on stage waxed, tanned, oily and Speedoed?If you answered “yes” to the first set of questions but “no” to the above, then welcome to the club: You’re an average, healthful and physically active person. Congratulations -- it’s still an exclusive club.Certainly, there are nuanced training and nutritional methods that apply to competitive athletes. Such details can make the difference between the podium and the middle of the pack.But are you questing for the podium?Humans aren’t so good at being excellent at a lot of things. We can specialise at a few activities, but not that many. Healthful living requires motivational focus; it takes so much just to be determined to push hard and eat well that for most of us, that’s all we can do in addition to job, family and TiVo.Overcomplicating fitness with behaviour that borders on an obsessive-compulsive disorder with micro-management of sets, reps, miles, times, speeds, calories, nutrient-timing, supplements, carbs and tanning appointments overwhelms the mind and can take all the fun out of it.There is merit in simplifying exercise: Go hard but not too hard. Go long but not too long. Go frequently but not too frequently. Have fun, then have more fun. In regard to food, just follow what that Michael Pollan guy said.We’re inundated with marketing on the best ways to optimise fat loss, muscle gain, energy, time, youthfulness, toning “trouble spots” and [insert something about glowing skin here]. The information may or may not be science-based, but it’s all complicated.I am a diet-conscious workout warrior, over 18 years running, and part of my extended success at healthful living is not sweating the small stuff. Busted. My wife gave me that sweating book a long time ago.For the average person, this lifestyle is something you just need to feel.No wonder regular activity and healthful eating is rare. The media, the marketroids and the product purveyors have made it downright stressful. Some of what you’re exposed to is common sense over-complicated, while some is harmful (and over-complicated). It can be tough to tell the difference.Does this mean you should just wing it? Although you don’t want your focus to be diluted with inconsequential matters, the self-efficacy theory of behavior change teaches us that developing competence and confidence for your chosen exercise builds passionate adherence. In other words: continuing education is a good thing. Quest to get good at something and feel as though you are in harmony with it.This isn’t me being all new age-y. There is something called the dualistic model of passion in sport developed by researchers from the department of psychology at the University of Quebec. Examining studies of more than 900 athletes, the authors published their findings in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2003.The model states that there are two types of passion in sport: harmonious and obsessive. Those who are in harmony are more autonomous in their physical pursuits. To a certain extent, they do what they feel like. The obsessive ones are more rigid and controlled. Those with harmonious passion adapt to the sport in a healthful way; the obsessive ones enjoy it less and have greater risk of burnout.You don’t always have to maximize, optimize or synergize. Just push within reason, consistently, learning as you go, and you’ll achieve awesome. You don’t need some £5 protein shake to get there.I did prevaricate about one thing. I do have a post-exercise recovery drink that I love for its simplicity.It’s called milk.

Why Cheating On Your Diet Always Counts

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:55:44 GMT

You’d figure that with the occasional dietary indulgence, like a nice piece of cheesecake, there would at least be a grace period before the caloric sentencing, but a new study says otherwise. Researchers from Oxford University determined that fat from a meal does not pass go, does not collect £200 and goes directly to your waistline -- as quickly as three hours after consumption.The study examines how long it takes the body to convert the meal into fatty tissue, and the conclusion was that the average person can add up to three teaspoons of fat to their waistline within hours, which would easily double Kate Middletone’s size.The good news is that the fat is placed in short-term storage and can be used for energy during exercise. The only problem is that if you aren’t planning to be active, then the fat is moved to your butt, hips and thighs for longer-term placement.It’s something to keep in mind if you’re thinking about ordering a meat ‘n potatoes dish on a date.

Why This Year's F1 Is The Most Surprising In History

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:55:44 GMT

Pastor Maldonado’s incredible victory in the Spanish Grand Prix means we’ve seen five different winners in five different cars in five races in what has arguably been the most unpredictable start to a Formula 1 season in the history of this fascinating sport.

A new winner every race

It began in Australia with one of the preseason favorites, Jenson Button, managing his tire wear beautifully to win for a third time in one of his favorite venues. No real surprise there. A lottery of a race followed in Malaysia where Fernando Alonso kept his head best in monsoon-like conditions when many of his rivals slithered off the circuit. Mercedes dominated in China, where the circuit’s long straights played to the strengths of its clever new DRS system. Reigning champ Sebastian Vettel got back to winning ways in Bahrain, benefiting from the best setup on the dusty desert track.

The luck of the underdog

Maldonado’s unlikely victory in Spain, however, shook the roots of the F1 fraternity. The famous Williams team had for so long been the forgotten men of Formula 1, without a victory since 2004 and struggling to compete financially with the big car manufacturer-backed teams. With millions of dollars spent on car development and engines, it is usually only one or perhaps two big car manufacturer-backed teams that dominate any given season. And with success comes reward -- those winning teams attracting the biggest sponsors and, therefore, more money for design and development.So how on earth did Maldonado’s victory happen? Of course, as in all sports you do need that element of luck, be it a kindly kick back into the fairway in golf or a net cord in tennis on a big point. And Maldonado did get that lucky break in qualifying when McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton found himself demoted to the back of the grid. Hamilton was stripped of pole position when his team told him to stop out on the track after he set his final qualifying time, which had put him in the lead by more than 0.5 seconds.

The fuel rule

Running with little fuel on board, of course, gives a pace advantage and Formula 1 regulations stipulate that a team must provide one liter of fuel for a post-qualifying sample. But there was not enough fuel in Hamilton’s car to return with the one liter required by the rules, and so the former champion was demoted to the back of the grid. One less rival for the Venezuelan to worry about.Crucially, his win owed much to pit strategy. Maldonado found himself behind Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari, which beat him off the line and into the first corner, building a lead of three and a half seconds after the first pit stop. Maldonado drove his socks off to narrow the gap and then the Williams crew played their trump card, bringing him in early. Alonso crucially stayed out a lap too long on wearing tires (also held up by back-marker Charles Pic), which cost him further time. It gave Maldonado a big enough margin to maintain his lead after the final stop, and although Alonso closed the gap, the Williams man hung on for his maiden win.The rule changes for the season may go some way to explaining the unpredictable results thrown up, not least because of Pirelli’s new tire compounds that have been designed to wear slightly faster than last season, much to the annoyance of a certain Mr. Schumacher. It means there will be more pit stops at many venues this season, meaning a greater reliance on pit strategy and when to bring drivers in.

The bar has been raised

Not only have the tire regulations brought the cars closer together, but the pool of driver talent is bigger and better than ever. There are no fewer than six former world champions on the grid in Schumacher, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Button, Alonso and Vettel. And in GP2, the feeder series for F1, the racing is as intense and closely fought as in F1 and created future champions in its previous incarnation as F3000. Maldonado himself won the GP2 championship in 2010 before joining the Williams team last season.But however good the driver is, in this most technical of all sports, drivers are often going to be at the mercy of their machines and car setup. Both Vettel and teammate Mark Webber suffered from front-wing problems that cost them extra pit stops, and Jenson Button confessed himself perplexed as to why he struggled with a lack of grip all weekend.Next up it’s the glitz and glamour of the famous Monaco Grand Prix where the racing is just a part of all the razzmatazz that goes with it. Traditionally, it’s been the most predictable race on the calendar. With passing practically impossible around its tight and twisty confines, whoever qualifies on pole normally wins. But with tire wear and pit stops playing such an important factor in this most intriguing of starts, who knows!I’m going to stick my neck out and say that someone is going to win! OK then, someone driving a Lotus...

The Most Intense 15-Minute Workout Ever

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:55:44 GMT

Modifications Based On Training Age

Beginners (anyone with less than one year training experience who insists on trying this) will do two giant sets for a 10-minute workout per body part. Intermediates (anyone with 1-4 years training experience) will start with three giant sets for a 15-minute workout per body part. After a few weeks you can try to do a fourth giant set. Advanced lifters can take a shot at four or five giant sets providing a 20 to 25-minute workout per body part. Don’t be surprised if you need to stop after three giant sets. This is normal if you choose your loads correctly.Here is the four-day program.Day One: Shoulders & AbsExercise 1: 6 reps: Standing Military PressRest 10 secondsExercise 2: 12 reps: Seated Dumbbell Presses (elbows facing forward)Rest 10 secondsExercise 3: 25 reps: Prone Dumbbell Lateral Raises on 45 Degree Incline BenchRest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.Exercise 1: 6 reps: Weighted Hanging Leg RaisesRest 10 secondsExercise 2: 12 reps: Weighted Cable CrunchesRest 10 secondsExercise 3: 25 reps: Floor CrunchesRest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.Day Two: Biceps & TricepsExercise 1: 6 reps: Standing Dumbbell CurlsRest 10 secondsExercise 2: 12 reps: Incline Cable CurlsRest 10 secondsExercise 3: 25 reps: High Cable CurlsRest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.Exercise 1: 6 reps: Weighted DipsRest 10 secondsExercise 2: 12 reps: Lying Dumbbell ExtensionRest 10 secondsExercise 3: 25 reps: Overhead Rope ExtensionRest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.Day Three: OffDay Four: Quads & HipsExercise 1: 6 reps: Medium Stance SquatsRest 10 secondsExercise 2: 12 reps: Bulgarian Split Squats with WeightRest 10 secondsExercise 3: 25 reps: Leg ExtensionsRest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.Exercise 1: 6 reps: Medium Stance Deadlifts Rest 10 secondsExercise 2: 12 reps: Leg CurlsRest 10 secondsExercise 3: 25 reps: Back ExtensionsRest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.Day Five: OffDay Six: Chest & Back Exercise 1: 6 reps: Incline Bench Press Rest 10 secondsExercise 2: 12 reps: Flat Dumbbell PressRest 10 secondsExercise 3: 25 reps: Cable FlysRest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.Exercise 1: 6 reps: Bent Over Rows Rest 10 secondsExercise 2: 12 reps: Neutral Grip Chin UpsRest 10 secondsExercise 3: 25 reps: Rope RowsRest 120 seconds. Repeat 2-5 times.To learn more about how to build muscle in less time, visit Vince Del Monte’s free website for more no-nonsense info.

Win Tickets To The UEFA Euro 2012 Final With Coke

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:53:41 GMT

Fancy tickets to the UEFA Euro 2012 final? Well, Coke Zero have some spare! Handy, eh?The Coca-Cola Zero Challenge is your chance to enter the competition for a trip for two to Kiev, plus tickets to see the final. Plus, not only is the grand prize up for grabs, but a trip for two to the EA Sports studio in Vancouver, Canada - where the FIFA franchise gets developed, no less - is also on offer for a lucky secondary winner. You've got until 5 June 2012 to pick a Coke challenge here and describe why you're so passionate about it in 300 characters. Alternatively, you can dream up your own challenge and get creative with why you'd be so passionate about that. The best entrants will win these incredible prizes. Enter here!

Vote For AskMen's Football Manager Award

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:54:27 GMT

So, as one half of Manchester struggles to understand exactly what has happened and the other, well, does exactly the same, it's time to sit back, breathe slowly and reflect on the most outrageous, entertaining and utterly ridiculous of football seasons. Perfect time, then, for the annual Football Manager Awards 2011/12. Tipping its cap to managerial achievement across the board, it's the football aficionado's awards. Much like the award winning, social time-devouring game, then. And this year, AskMen is proud to be sponsoring one of the hallowed gongs. We're bringing you the 'Fashion Icon' award, saluting the managers that add a touch of sartorial sharpness to the touchline. You can vote by clicking here, but before you do, check out the nominees below. Oh, and apologies to Tony Pulis. We're told "PE teacher chic" might be come back next season...Roberto ManciniNot since Jose Mourinho has one man done more to spruce up the style sensibilities of British managers. Also showed sartorial shrewdness in appointing melty-faced tracksuit-dweller David Platt as assistant and touchline buddy. Antonio ConteJust completed an unbeaten league season in charge of his beloved Bianconeri to guide them to their first Serie 'A' title since the murky match fixing scandal of 2006. Ultra preened, never out of an impeccably tailored suit and still boats a remarkable head of hair. Pep GuardiolaProvided all balding men with two key lessons: grow some right-side-of-bedraggled stubble and get trendy. The very sadly departed Barcelona hero won absolutely everything at the Nou Camp and pioneered the new wave of fashion-forward coaches. Quique FloresThe annoyingly sauve Spaniard exited European football with his departure from Atletico Madrid last year, before surfacing at oil-rich Saudi outfit Al-Ahli last November. Life outside the glare of football's top table has not dimmed his fashion flair. Paul TisdaleThe sole Brit on our shortlist might be currently smarting from his Exeter City side's League One relegation, but anyone confident enough to sport a cravat in the third tier surely has the confidence to bounce back. The 39-year-old is the true dandy of the English game. - The voting for the Football Manager Awards 2011/12 is now open. Click here to vote.

A New Anti-Aging Pill Could Really Exist

Sat, 05 May 2012 16:52:17 GMT

Have you ever heard of resveratrol? Neither had we. It's the plant compound found in red wine, said to help prevent cancer and diabetes. Now it may even prolong your life. New research from the US National Institutes of Health and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research has come out contradicting a 2010 claim by the National Institutes for Aging that resveratrol does not extend lifespan. Doubts had caused the pharmaceutical company Sirtris to stop its clinical trials of resveratrol last year in an effort to develop an anti-aging pill, but this natural compound found in grapes, blueberries and red wine is now back on the map, due to a new study that appeared in the May issue of Cell Metabolism. The NIH and the Glenn Foundation discovered something new that the NIA research did not: resveratrol's anti-aging effects only works when a specific gene is present, namely SIRT1. In other words, no SIRT1, no anti-aging effects -- which means that resveratrol's influence on the gene is significant. One new piece of evidence, and suddenly it might be possible to live forever -- or at least for research to continue into the development of an anti-aging pill.

The Ultimate Glute Workout For Guys

Wed, 02 May 2012 16:51:53 GMT

5) GLUTE-HAM RAISEI don’t know why I even bother to include the GHR, other than the fact that if I don’t, other fitness pros will lambast me for leaving it out. Don’t get me wrong: It’s an awesome exercise, if you’re part of the small 2% of people who don’t f*ck it up. Since I’ll assume that all of my readers are in that group, we can discuss. There are two ways to perform the glute-ham raise: on a machine and without one, which is called a natural glute-ham raise. The machine version is generally easier for setup -- at least in the sense that you don’t need a partner for it -- but executing it is murderously difficult.

A few companies make decent GHRs, but the best one by far is produced by EliteFTS. If you’re considering picking one up, that’s the model I’d go with. Most gyms don’t have a GHR machine, so let’s talk about some modifications. The first of these is to use a friend. I don’t do this version that often because I don’t have any friends. It’s somewhat difficult to manage, though. To perform, kneel down on some padding and have your partner secure your feet behind you. Keep your trunk upright (your back straight and in line with your hamstrings) and lower yourself to the ground as slowly as possible. If you can pull yourself back up, do so. If you cannot, simply use your hands to work back into the starting position and perform another negative. It looks like this: If you don’t have a partner, there is another variation that makes use of the lat pulldown. Essentially, you’ll be using the knee rollers to hold your ankles in place and perform the GHR. This is the first version that I ever tried, and in most gyms, it's the one I do when traveling. Here’s a lil’ snippy-snippet: Looks easy? Nope.All variations of this exercise are murderously difficult. And pretty easy to screw up.Now, here’s how it’s awesome: While in many ways this is a hamstring exercise, it still works the glutes, oddviously. Specifically, this will work what we in the biz call “the gluteal fold,” or the glute-ham tie-in, the often-saggy flap where your butt meets your leg. Meaning that the GHR is going to help your ass look awesome when you’re naked more than almost any other exercise. Making it exceptionally important.

You’re welcome.Bonus: Hill Sprints! Yeah, hill sprints. These are pretty much the most awesome form of cardio you can do. How do I know this?Here’s my rating system:Impact: 7Efficacy: 9Convenience: 10Equipment Needed: hill, legsDifficulty: varies (6-8)Impressiveness: 9So, basically, hill sprints are convenient, effective and make you look awesome. They’re hard but worth it. Also, because of the incline, they work the gluteal fold and make you bootylicious.Walter Payton, the greatest running back of all time, did these religiously. Whenever I’m home on Long Island for long stretches of time, I go to my old high school and sprint the same hill my coach made us run when we were late for practice. We stopped being late partly because hill sprints make you faster. (See what I did there?)All right, folks -- time to sound off. What are your favorite glute exercises? Let’s get a list going. The goal is 50 comments! References:1) Caterisano A, et al. "The effect of back squat depth on the EMG activity of 4 superficial hip and thigh muscles." Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. August 2002, 16(3):428-32.2) Vakos JP, et al. "Electromyographic activity of selected trunk and hip muscles during a squat lift. Effect of varying the lumbar posture." Spine. Mar 1994, 15;19(6):687-95.

Meet Sport's Coolest New Team

Wed, 02 May 2012 16:51:53 GMT

Warning: this article will rankle with Wimbledon fans. For everyone: prepare to take on an NBA side, or jilt your existing one (although as a hardcore New York Knicks fan, I will refuse to buckle). The Nets, formerly of thoroughly untrendy New Jersey have upped sticks after 35 years and headed to hipster paradise Brooklyn. For those unfamiliar with the "franchise" nature of US sports, this isn't entirely uncommon. For example, the Seattle SuperSonics magically became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008, with the team's existing staff and roster upping sticks and heading East after an arena dispute. Anyway, the Nets move has received a few more column inches due to the involvement of a certain rap mogul. Yep, Mr Beyonce, Jay-Z -- who paid $4.5m for a minority share in the Nets back in 2004 -- was instrumental in the team's migration and has clearly been instrumental in their intending remodeling as the hipster's sports team of choice. This week, the fledgling team unveiled its new logo and colourway. And amongst the NBA's gaudy gallery of uniforms, it's a real departure. Rather predictably, Jay-Z is credited with the design work (we fancy he probably received a significant assist from some high-end graphic designers), which ups the cool factor and instantly marks them out as the team to adopt for any NBA virgins. With Jay-Z's typically subtle approach to self-promotion, we imagine we'll be seeing rather a lot of the Nets on this side of the Atlantic before the new NBA season tips off this autumn. See more about the Nets' new look here. And watch the arty propaganda, sorry, promotional video below...

The Game That Could Revolutionise Fitness

Tue, 01 May 2012 16:54:51 GMT

Until now, console sports games have been limited to frantic waving of arms to propel cartoon people with oddly oversized heads forward and wildly successful dancing games. But now, the entire way we approach fitness could be about to change with news adidas are entering the fray with their MiCoach console debut.How does it work? Well, adidas are using their rather smart MiCoach tech technology in conjunction with Xbox Kinect/Sony Move connectivity to provide an all-encompassing fitness regime. The MiCoach chip tracks your progress, providing comprehensive statistics on distances traveled, the velocity of your movement and repetitions of those movements. Together with the 400 available exercises within the game, you'll be able to piece together an entirely bespoke and personalised exercise regime, with thorough sharable statistics to provide genuinely useful information on how you're progressing. We can already feel the competitive juices of British men surging... Even better, there are no more cartoon folk. Instead, adidas has recruited an initial roster of its finest talent, including Kaka, Jessica Ennis, Jose Mourinho, NBA All-Star Dwight Howard and tennis star Ana Ivanovic to provide master classes in their areas of fitness expertise. The AskMen office is already prepping its MiCoach Fitness League Table... - adidas miCoach will be released worldwide in summer 2012. For more information on miCoach visit www.micoach.com

Why Spain Is Still The Best Football Nation On Earth

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:55:41 GMT

Any old team can win the European Championship. The Danes did it in 1992 with a glorified pub team hastily recalled from beach holidays. Greece won in 2004 with a bunch of journeymen playing a man-to-man defense that had gone out of fashion in the 1970s, and with a goalscorer, Angelos Charisteas, who had been a reserve for most of his club career. There’s a randomness to the Euros, because they are the shortest international football competition. A couple of fluky results or good days, and a no-hoper makes history. Euro 2012 will last just over three weeks, and as Arsène Wenger has noted, any team in a league can be top of the table after three weeks.Despite the wide-open nature of this tournament, there’s no doubt about the three best teams going into the tournament: Spain, Holland and Germany. In fact they might be even stronger than when they finished first, second and third in the last World Cup. If they all hit the form they have occasionally shown since South Africa, this could be an extraordinary tournament -- much better than the 2012 Cup.Vicente del Bosque, the Spanish coach who, though now carrying the title of Marques still manages to look like the average moustachioed Spanish tapas-bar owner, faces one overriding problem: personnel management. Del Bosque indisputably possesses the world’s best team. Unfortunately, since lifting the trophy that chilly Johannesburg night almost two years ago, his key players have spent much of the time squabbling. When Real Madrid’s players returned to the club that summer, they found Jose Mourinho installed as coach, and he has injected the Barcelona-Madrid Clasico with a venom not seen since General Franco’s day. The kicking, squabbling and eye-gouging have left marks. In the tunnel after one of the countless recent Clasicos, Barcelona’s Gerard Piqué allegedly taunted some of Madrid’s players as “espanolitos,” cocky little Spaniards. Piqué later denied it, but Iker Casillas, captain of Spain and Madrid, intoned darkly, “Piqué knows what he said.”And Barcelona’s Xavi was caught once, when he didn’t know a microphone was on, calling Madrid’s players “animals who paw at you” and “bad losers.”Casillas has occasionally phoned Barça’s Spaniards after matches to repair damage, but Mourinho doesn’t like that. At Barcelona, they whisper that Mourinho won’t even let Madrid’s players call old mates at Barça to wish them happy birthday. Del Bosque must be hoping that this season’s Champions League final doesn’t feature Barcelona beating Madrid with a disputed 89th-minute penalty.Still, nobody is better at cooling people down than this downbeat avuncular figure, a veritable anti-Mourinho. In South Africa, writes Jimmy Burns in his new book La Roja: A Journey Through Spanish Football, Del Bosque “conducted himself like an ordinary family man, taking souvenir snapshots of some of the players or getting his sons a signed shirt.” And Burns adds: “A key axis linking the Real Madrid and Barça players was the long-term friendship and mutual professional respect between Casillas and Xavi, who had played together representing Spain since they were teenagers.” Old love should carry the Spaniards through.On the field, Del Bosque does face one or two issues. Above all, he’s lost both his main strikers, Fernando Torres to generally horrendous form (and, at 28, to the early decline that hits nippy injury-prone strikers -- one recalls Michael Owen), while David Villa has been out for months with a broken leg. Del Bosque hopes Villa will be back for Spain’s group matches in Gdansk.Otherwise, though, so rich is Spain in talent that Valencia’s Roberto Soldado or Fernando Llorente of Athletic Bilbao could fill in just fine. Alternatively, Spain could field Cesc Fabregas, one of their identikit little passers, up front as a “false nine” in the role that Lionel Messi plays for Barcelona. That option might sit best in Spain’s passing culture anyway. Torres in front of the little men always looked a bit odd, like a mustang attached to a wind-up clock.Yes, Spain might be better now than they were when they became world champions. Remember that they were below par almost every game in South Africa except the semifinal against Germany. If they hit their best at Euro 2008, they should complete an unprecedented trio of prizes.Holland, runners-up in 2010, entered a brief psychological crisis after that tournament. Many in Dutch soccer felt ashamed by Oranje’s mafia-style violence in the Johannesburg final. Johan Cruijff himself, the father of Dutch football, said:I thought my country would never dare to play like this and would never give up its own way of playing. Even without great players like in the past, a team has its own style. I had the wrong end of the stick... This nasty, vulgar, hard, closed game that wasn’t watchable and was barely soccer anymore -- yes, with that they could trouble Spain. They played anti-soccer.

(The Original) Ronaldo Speaks To AskMen

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:54:56 GMT

AM: You played at Old Trafford in 2003 with Real Madrid (see picture below), scored a hat-trick and were given a standing ovation. What do you recall about playing in front of British crowds?R: That was so amazing. A highlight of my career. It was unique. To play well and score goals was one thing but then to be recognised by the fans in England as I left the pitch was incredible and I think would have been impossible in Italy, Spain or even Brazil. To get that recognition proved that English fans appreciate talent and love the game so much.

AM: How is British football viewed in Brazil?R: I guess it used to be seen as very, Boom-Boom [Ronaldo punches his fists together], but that is in the past. The idea that the British play an aerial game is no longer viable and in the last ten years the teams playing in Europe have done so well and proved that it is not just physicality that wins them games but skill too.AM: Tell us about the Brazil team? Are there any future stars coming?R: Neymar and Ganso. Both are at Santos and both have huge futures. These are the guys to look out for.AM: Neymar is already a big star. What is your advice to him?R: It’s not for me to advise Neymar but it is my opinion that he should come to Europe as soon as possible. The talent he has got, he shouldn’t restrict it to Brazil.

AM: Could he prosper in the English Premier League?R: Why not? Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City with their finances could have him but it is up to him. Big clubs all over Europe would have him so he has a choice to make.AM: Do you envy him that he may play for a gold in this stadium?R: It’s a healthy envy! I d have loved to have played at this stadium. It is incredible and a worthy place to host any final. Would I have like to have played and scored here? Of course!

AM: Now you’re retired, is it nice to see the city rather than just hotel rooms? R: I adore London. The culture, the restaurants, the fun, it is all here and I really love it. I’d actually planned to move here for a couple of years but my role as an ambassador for the 2014 World Cup back home made that impossible but one day I will.

Why Humans Are Not Meant To Be Runners

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:55:37 GMT

It’s a fascinating time to own a body, and a perplexing one.But, really, we shouldn’t be surprised that our understanding of the moving body is in flux. The body is an astonishingly complicated contraption. The machinations required just to lift your finger are boggling. Muscles interlace with nerves, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Collagen stretches against sarcomeres. Cartilage softens the rubbing of bones. The brain, initiating movement, is flooded with spidery feedback from muscles, eyes, skin, various of its own lobes, and other systems. Fluids move in and out of cells. Biochemical processes flare. The liver gets drawn in.For many years, the specifics of this process were baffling. Scientists simply didn’t have the tools to determine some aspects of how the exercising body worked. Organs and bodily systems were inaccessible or inconvenient for study purposes.But now, with the rapid advancements in microscopy, neurology, radiology, surgery, 3-D biomechanical imaging, and other fields, we can see into and measure the human body as never before. Consider what we’ve learned just about the brain in recent years.Sitting behind a dense, bony, protective skull, it didn’t, with standard imaging equipment, seem to be doing much, no matter how hard someone was thinking or how elaborately he was moving. But with the advent of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines, scientists can view, from outside, the brain’s operations -- which portions are firing with electrical impulses during movement and which portions are remodeled by movement. Because, make no mistake, as the latest science absolutely assures us, no part of your body is static. If you move enough, your muscles change and grow. So does your mind. The brain initiates movement. But it is, in its turn, remade by movement. New cells are born; new vessels sprout. The same process operates body-wide. No cell in your body is unaffected by motion. Your very DNA is changed.So, move. The state-of-the-art exercise science also points out, with increasing urgency, that inactivity is, for the human body, unnatural and unwise. Death rates rise when societies sit. Waistlines grow. Unhappiness spreads. By one recent calculation, life expectancy in the United States and Europe will drop in the coming decade, for the first time in modern history, in large part because people do not exercise enough (but also because we smoke and overeat).So, if this book is partly an overview of what’s known right now about physical performance, it’s also— and perhaps even more accurately— a user’s manual. I hope it will allow you to take what’s being learned about the human body and put it into action, whether your aim is to break 3:30 in a marathon or to walk more briskly around the block. We all have questions about exercise, whether we’ve been working out for years or hope to start tomorrow. Do you have to follow a specific diet? Can you get fit with only a few minutes of exercise on any given day? What is an interval? Science is, with exhausting regularity, supplying new, tested, evidence-based answers to these and hundreds of other questions.We don’t, after all, have to be athletes to want to know how best to move. We need only to listen to the voice bred deep into our blood and bones that says, "Hey, let’s go for a walk. The antelope herds are moving." (You can ignore that last part.) The body wants to move. Go with it.Reprinted by arrangement with Hudson Street Press, a member of Penguin Group [USA] Inc., from The First 20 Minutes by Gretchen Reynolds. Copyright 2012 by Gretchen Reynolds.

The Crazy Secret Behind Formula 1's Fastest Cars

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:53:09 GMT

"I had to drive at a pace to manage the tires to finish with tires left over," said Schumacher afterward. "We should question whether that should be the case. It's unsatisfying and not what a Formula One event should be."Conversely, Red Bull arrived in Bahrain with a revised aero package that perfectly complemented the tires. “You need to have the right tires, you need to treat them right, you need to find the right setup through the course of the weekend so [there’s] a lot of things to look out for,” said race winner Vettel. "I'm very happy we made it here, we were not quite sure how competitive we would be; I think China was a very good lesson for us to understand the weakness of the car a little bit more. Here we focused on the new package and pushing that forwards.”Lotus was the big beneficiary, securing second and third on the podium, a result made possible due to wise tire strategy with the team choosing to have Kimi Raikkonen deliberately miss out on a top 10 grid slot to have more fresh rubber for the race.There is now a long three week-break in the F1 calendar until the circus moves on to Europe and the Spanish Grand Prix. And with more pre-season testing done at the Circuit de Catalunya than any other venue, teams know the circuit like the back of their hands. Teams will be working like crazy to have a number of new and interesting upgrades ready for Spain, and the team with the best aero package usually wins.I expect a straight fight between McLaren and Red Bull, but don’t rule out Mercedes or Lotus, the new boys in the mix.A four-way fight? Bring it on!

Our Fitness Guru Reveals His Motivation Secrets

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:54:16 GMT

We're trying to start our very own AskMen wiki, and we need your help. The AskMen wiki is a space where you, our readers, can be the experts and dole out your own advice to each other. After all, you probably know best from your own experiences. You can edit other people's additions and add your own. We are entirely hands-off. Start by checking out the page for your fitness tips and add your own.We asked our fitness expert James Fell to inspire us by sharing some of his own secrets. Time to put the “interactive” in internet. Motivation to exercise is a struggle for many, what with couches, big screen TVs, bed, work and more bed. Still, some of us find the time. Some of us kick our own asses out the door to work out. Some of us are good at developing secret tips and tricks and even playing mind games with ourselves to push ourselves not just to go work out, but to do it harder and longer than we really want to. I’ve got a few personal tips I’d like to share to get you started, but then I want you to check out AskMen's new wiki and share your own fitness tips.Here are some that have served me well: Just get dressed. I’ll be hammering away on the computer or suffering inertia on the couch and not really want go for a run, but if I take just a few minutes to get changed into the appropriate gear, then that run is going to happen. Eventually. It may take an hour of staring at those dorky and not terribly comfortable running socks on my feet, but once they’re on, the shoes are going to follow and I’ll be out the door. Do it first thing. The day piles stress upon stress that gives you excuses not to work out. When I had a crappy job, I was more likely to hit the pub than the gym after a rough day of listening to the sniveling of a boss with a double-digit IQ. First thing in the morning, the day has not yet provided you with any excuses not to work out, and research shows that morning exercisers have the highest adherence rates. Go when it’s busy. Now I know some people hate crowded gyms, but I find there is a kind of energy you can feed off of. When it’s a little crowded and there are a lot of people around you working hard (especially if some of them are nice to look at), then there is an added motivation to push. Put it in your calendar. I used to lift weights at lunch time and actually had a calendar reminder to help prevent people from booking me for lunch meetings. It also helped skipping out on the high-calorie lunch and forced me to bring something healthy from home instead. Go outside. When you’re on a stationary bike or a treadmill, you can hit “stop” at any time. Go outside to run or ride, and not only will you enjoy it more, but you only have to be motivated for the first half. Once you decide to turn around, you need to get back home somehow. OK, brain trust, it’s your turn. Let’s hear your best fitness tips.

How Mercedes Finally Figured Out How To Dominate F1

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:54:32 GMT

Formula 1 is a sport that relies on technology. And as with all technology, there's always room for improvement. F1 teams must constantly innovate to stay ahead of their rivals, and when hundredths of a second matter, it truly is the little things that count. Over the course of the season, F1 journalist Fraser Masefield will evaluate the innovations that make the difference between success and failure at each race.The last time Mercedes won a Formula 1 Grand Prix before Nico Rosberg’s dominant pole to flag victory at the Chinese Grand Prix was the same year that Hollywood icon James Dean was killed in a car crash. It was the same year that motorsport suffered its biggest tragedy when 84 people lost their lives at Le Mans after Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes left the track and somersaulted into the crowd.The year was 1955, and 57 years later, Mercedes has hit the motorsports headlines again for all the right reasons. It is widely acknowledged that Rosberg’s victory, in no small part, was made possible by a neat technical innovation that some rival teams say could be worth as much as half a second a lap -- light years in Formula 1.Every year, teams vie to exploit loopholes in the regulations or bend the rules in their favor to engineer an advantage over the competition. Last year it was Red Bull and their blown rear diffuser to aid traction, the year before, McLaren’s ingenious driver-operated F-Duct that stalled airflow over the rear wing, increasing straight line speed. And this year, Mercedes has stolen an early march in the tech stakes with a neat innovation that enhances the effect of the drag reduction system (DRS).The DRS system was introduced last season to aid overtaking and increase the spectacle for the fans. It operates by the driver pushing a switch that opens the rear wing, reducing drag to allow the car to travel faster in a straight line. It is allowed at any stage during qualifying but only at designated sectors during a grand prix.What Mercedes has done is to use the DRS overtaking device to also affect the front wing, further boosting straight line speed. The device is ingenious in that it combines the DRS flap on the rear wing with the front wing, so when the driver operates the device, ducts on the inside of the rear wing end plate suck air through channels inside the car to slot gaps on the underside of the front wing. It has the effect of reducing the front wing’s effectiveness and increases straight line speed and stability through fast corners. It is particularly effective on circuits with long straights, and Shanghai boasts one of the longest on the calendar, roughly the length of 11 football pitches.Even before the Chinese Grand Prix, both Mercedes drivers had shown impressive pace, inciting some rivals, notably Lotus, to appeal the legality of the device. Lotus believes the wing falls foul of article 3.15 of the technical regulation that states "any car system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited." But Mercedes successfully countered that because the device is part of the DRS, it should be allowed. Because Mercedes designed its 2012 car with the system as an integral part, rival teams may now find it hard to integrate without a radical redesign, and that may take several races."It's a great idea,” said McLaren’s Jenson Button, who drove for Brawn GP before Mercedes bought the team. “That team is well known for great ideas. We had many in the past when I was there. But I don't think it's a great idea that a lot of people are going to spend a lot of time or money in trying to copy because I don't think they think it's as big as it's made out to be." Button finished second behind Rosberg in China and thinks he could have chased hard for the victory were it not for a slow final pit stop. But for now it looks like Mercedes is the team to catch, and with their clever use of tech, they will be favorite to continue their revival when the F1 circus moves on to Bahrain.

Meet The Man Who Could Beat Usain Bolt At The Olympics

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:54:32 GMT

Usain Bolt hasn’t lost many races in his professional career, but American sprinter Tyson Gay is one of the select few to beat him. With the 2012 Summer Olympics only 100 days away, Gay is expected to be one of the chief competitors of the fastest man in the world at the 100-meter race.Gay is not only training hard to beat Bolt, but he’s also getting back in shape after a hip injury that cost him most of the 2011 season. With the help of EAS Sports Nutrition, his diet and regimen have been perfected with the aim of bringing him to London in peak shape.We caught up with the fastest man in America and the second-fastest man in the world to chat about his training, Bolt and a potential Olympic gold medal in 2012.AskMen: You’re one of the few guys to have beaten Usain Bolt in a 100-meter race. Do you believe you can do it at the 2012 London Games?Tyson Gay: Yeah, I really do. Right now it’s all about me getting healthy, improving my training, my nutrition, as well as my recovery.Do you feel you’ll be healthy and in shape in time?I think so. I have to be ready by June, but at the same time, as long as I start training by next week, I really believe I’ll be fit enough to put up a great challenge.How does EAS help you prepare?Working with the EAS team is really helping me prepare because they provide me with a lot of supplements as far as my protein that I take before and after practice, as well as some creatine products. Me being a spokesperson for drug-free athletes, this company is 100% certified. They have no banned stimulants or substances in their product, so we’re on the same page. I can go into a Vitamin Shop or get products from the company directly, and I can take them and there’s nothing that’s going to show up positive on any test.On the topic of positive tests, BALCO mastermind Victor Conte once told us the same thing in a previous interview -- that he believes Usain Bolt is doping because the testing in Jamaica isn’t as stringent as it is for sprinters like you in the United States. Can you comment on that?I’m very closely monitored. I can’t really speak on how often Usain Bolt or any other guy in Jamaica gets tested, but I can tell you I was tested last week. I can tell you that I was also tested a couple of weeks before that -- blood and urine.But being a guy who is entrenched in the sport, is there any credence to Conte’s point? Do sprinters just assume that testing isn’t the same everywhere? Or is the general thought just to trust the system and deal with what’s under your control?Yeah, we deal with what’s under our control. I think within the last year or two, Jamaica has established their own doping committee within Jamaica, but besides that, I’ve been running against Asafa Powell, and I’ve won some and I’ve lost some. I’ve been running against Usain Bolt, and I’ve won some and lost some. So, I don’t really get the whole gossip about the Jamaica drug-testing thing because I’ve beat those guys. There could be people gossiping about me as well, and it still doesn’t matter. I’m going to go out there and do my best regardless of what anyone else is doing.Being a professional athlete, you’re around lots of medical experts who guide you through the steps of how best to recover from an injury. Can you share some insights? What’s a good piece of advice you can share with the common guy who suffers an injury and is trying to recover?It’s all about training smart. I believe some of my injuries have come because my body is just not strong enough to handle the pounding, and some of my injuries come from just freak accidents.

The Real Reason Why Spain Is So Dominant At Football

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:53:47 GMT

When you think of Spain’s brilliance at football, you don’t immediately think of Bilbao. But even Spanish provincial towns have a lot to celebrate nowadays. Wandering around the rainy northern port city last month, I was struck by all the red and white Athletic Bilbao flags hanging from windows. The local club had just knocked Manchester United out of the Europa League with surprising ease. That was quite a feat. Whereas United has “fan stores” around the planet, Athletic seems to be run entirely out of the quiet, glorious former ship-owner’s mansion a five-minute walk along the river from Bilbao’s Guggenheim museum. And Athletic doesn’t recruit like United. Not only does the club shun foreign players, but it hardly even recruits from the rest of Spain. Athletic only fields men born and raised in Spain’s Basque country or expatriate Basques. There’s no logical reason why Athletic should be one of five Spanish clubs to have made the semifinals of the Europa League and Champions League, especially during a terrible Spanish recession. Nor is there much logic to this country of just 46 million people being both reigning world and European champions. And should you think it’s just the fluke of a few geniuses being born in the same generation, Spain’s under-21 and under-19 national teams are reigning European champions, too. Spain is also about to knock much richer England off the top of the ranking for club teams compiled by UEFA, the European soccer association. Something remarkable is going on here. Spain doesn’t just have the world’s best players; it also has the best system. What has happened is that the passing style introduced by the Dutchman Johan Cruyff at Barcelona in the 1970s and 1980s has gradually become a national style. This began in the 1990s, when other Spanish clubs started looking to Cruyff’s “Dream Team” for ideas. If Spain had a national style of play before then, it was the “furia roja” (the “red fury”), a game that was all passion and willpower. Gradually, instead of treating soccer as a battle, the Spaniards came to treat it as a sort of chess. Their style became known as “tiki-taka,” a game of short passes. Today, even Real Madrid’s academy churns out tiki-taka players, and in youth soccer, they are a match for Barcelona -- though getting into Real’s first team is a different matter.By the 2006 World Cup, Spain’s coach Luis Aragones -- for much of his career a merchant of counterattack -- made short passing the style of the national team. It was during that tournament that the late Spanish TV commentator Andrés Montes popularized the phrase “tiki-taka.” No longer did Spain charge around senselessly; now it controlled games. The Anglo-Spanish writer Jimmy Burns, in his excellent new book La Roja, reaches for a bullfighting metaphor: Spain’s change of style was “a change of identity from bull to torero.” The embodiment of tiki-taka is, of course, the little man. Albert Capellas, then youth coordinator of the Masia, told me in 2009: “If he’s small or if he’s tall, for us that is not important.” Just how revolutionary that simple statement is becomes clear when you compare Spain to a country that still thinks size matters: England. Leon Britton was for years a moustachioed journeyman midfielder with Swansea in the English lower divisions. He passed nicely, but at 1.68 meters, and slight with it, he was considered too small for the top. This season, aged 29, in Swansea’s first year in the Premier League, Britton has finally been discovered. In one game he completed all 67 passes he attempted, and midway through the season he had the highest pass completion rate in Europe, just ahead of Xavi. Had Britton been Spanish, he would never have spent those years in the wastelands.Tiki-taka percolated from Barcelona first to Spain’s national team and gradually to most Spanish clubs. Even in Spain’s second division you can now see defenders weaving intricate passes from their own penalty areas while their coaches try not to have heart attacks on the bench. Last summer Athletic Bilbao went the whole hog and imported one of the fathers of tiki-taka, the Argentine Marcelo Bielsa.