Entertainment

This tactical analysis of a Mario and Sonic football match is too good to miss

Yoshi, Knuckles, Sonic and Bowser are all involved in the passage of play.
Yoshi, Knuckles, Sonic and Bowser are all involved in the passage of play. Yoshi, Knuckles, Sonic and Bowser are all involved in the passage of play.

Whether it’s Monday Night Football or an online blog, tactical analysis of the beautiful game is as popular as ever right now, but have you ever seen it applied like this?

Twitter user @maximilianhc decided to apply some modern thoughts on counter pressing to a rather different form of the game, namely Nintendo and Sega’s Mario And Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The clip under the microscope is from an advert for the video game, in which the football on offer perhaps most closely resembles the high-pressing nature of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool or Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham.

The analysis begins with a poorly weighted pass, cut out by Shadow the Hedgehog, naturally.

The misplaced pass triggers the press from Team Knuckles, a tactic which dictates players must attempt to win back a lost ball within a few seconds of losing it.

Yoshi’s efforts yield possession, the ball falling to Knuckles…

A diagram illustrates the effectiveness of multiple runners, with Waluigi and Yoshi’s movements occupying two of the back four.

The result? Uncertainty and disaster for the defensive unit as Knuckles takes advantage of the situation.

Someone get the name of their manager – Arsenal may well be interested.