Intro to Octo-Football: the Ideology
Jacques Lacan, The Game, and The Problem With Tacticos
Football, for me, has always been about relations.
Relations between players.
Between players and managers.
Between players and fans.
Between players and the club.
And principally, relations between a player and the ball.
At this core, football is irreducible.
The most intuitively fundamental notion — universal to football fans — is that the experience of football cannot be grasped with mere numbers, narratives, or ill-fitted theory.
Football, like love, lies in the ‘real.’
In psychoanalysis, Jacques Lacan’s ‘real’ refers to a register beyond the symbolic and imaginary — a realm that defies complete comprehension — a domain of pure, unarticulated experience that eludes rationalization.
It is an encounter with the sublime, a moment that transcends the mundane and becomes inexpressible.
The essence of football is not something that can be fully articulated or symbolized; it is fleeting, spontaneous, and often superhuman, resisting any attempt to confine it within strict analytical boundaries.
Thus, the crucial problem with modern ‘tacticos’ in the online analysis space is their machinic desire to narrow football to a science – fitting it into a predictive framework that can generate results.
I disagree.
That removes the essence of the task.
In my writings, my hope is not to arrive at some profound, obscure, or mystical truth. Indeed, I do not believe that is possible with an art that exists beyond the symbolic and the imaginary.
My project is simply to identify, explain, and discuss the ideologies and principles from which the experience of football arises. To explore and analyze relations.
“I always speak the truth. Not the whole truth, because there's no way, to say it all. Saying it all is literally impossible: words fail. Yet it's through this very impossibility that the truth holds onto the real.”
- Jacques Lacan
I must confess, however, that my origins are not far removed from many of these tacticos.
My central influence is the great Johan Cruyff.
Yet, my appreciation is not rooted in a dogmatic allegiance to the evolution of ‘Juego de Posición.’ It stems from a love of the base principle — the all-encompassing Totaalvoetbal.
Characterized by fluidity and interchangeability, total football is not a strategy, but a paradigm for understanding human potential.
It’s not just about where a player is on the pitch, but about how they connect with their surroundings, react to the ebb and flow of the game, and contribute to the collective music.
This approach aligns with the nature of football’s existence in the ‘real,’ where it becomes a living, breathing entity that transcends the symbolic confines of formation and tactics — a hyperexpression of human subjectivity.
Real analysis must consider the interplay of emotions, the symbiotic connections between players, and the unspoken understanding between a manager and his squad. It’s these subtleties that give football its profound resonance.
We witness the culmination of countless relational dynamics when we observe moments of brilliance – a lightning-struck goal, a passage of toco y me voy, a forming tabela.
These moments are imbued with meaning not because they fit neatly into a tactical framework, but because they resonate with the human experience.
They speak to our innate understanding of creativity, struggle, and triumph. Each moment on the pitch is a reflection of the struggle inherent in the human condition, a microcosm of our battles for meaning and significance.
As my writings journey through football, I will reflect on how the game, much like philosophy, encourages us to question, understand, and connect. Octo-Football will challenge the reductionist views that seek to confine football within rigid parameters and instead embrace the fluid, dynamic nature of the sport.
In the coming weeks, we’ll take a closer look at the tactical intricacies of teams like Arsenal, Fluminense, and Real Madrid. We'll redefine the concept of ‘player profiling,’ exploring standout players such as ‘O Fenômeno’ Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, and examine the innovative approaches of managers like Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola. We'll also discuss cultural shifts in football tactics, evolving storylines around the Euros, the significance of football heritage, and the debates over the sport’s greatest and current talents.
The full article queue will be released over on twitter.
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t. Doctor Octopus
PS: I promise that the rest of my writings will feel less self-indulgent and grandiose. I just figured the introduction of my ideology ought to be delineated clearly.