5 Questions with Kristof Bakos

The pursuit of wisdom in any walk of life quickly reveals that what you think you know is not nearly enough to get you to where you want to go. As I'm starting out in my football journey I challenged myself to reach out to those already working in various roles in football to answer a short list of questions. My goal wasn't to get answers but relevant perspectives on the game within the game.

Here is Kristof Bakos:

What is your first memory of football?

My first memories of football come from 2009, when I was 11. The first match I watched in my life was Debreceni VSC beating Levski Sofia in the Champions League play-off. This Debrecen is the last Hungarian side to qualify to UEFA CL group stage even until today. A week later, I attended a football match on the spot for the first time in my life, when Hungary was defeated by Sweden with a 94th minute Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

What is the biggest misconception/cliche you’ve found in this space?

The thing which annoys me the most is probably the ignoration and/or simplification of tactics in the game. Most people think football is simple in the highest level as it was when we played it in our childhood. You should always watch football in its complexity, for example, quality of a given player can't really exist in itself- these things always depend on the context they are working in.
If you could start over what skill would you build on first?

If I started to be interested in football analysis today, I would begin it by analyzing matches by myself. When I started to be interested in this topic, I read a couple of books and articles about coaching as well as tactics, but didn't make so much effort to summarize it in a well-built thinking system. First, I rather concentrated on collecting as much information as possible, but often without realizing the connection between them. 

Then, I started to read Spielverlagerung which gave me a way of thinking which made me able to 'read' the game tactically and understand football in its complexity. Watching football matches shows you the game as it goes in real life, but you also need a complex way of thinking which gives you a correct interpretation of happenings on the pitch.

What three (3) football icons would you want to have a meal with? Why?

Pep Guardiola- the best coach in the world in my opinion whose philosophy impressed me so much

Kevin De Bruyne- one of the tactically most intelligent players I've ever seen, I would be really interested in the way he sees the game

Julian Nagelsmann- probably the most talented young coach, with a very innovative methodology.

What is your favorite quote or saying?

"Technique is not being able to juggle a ball 1000 times. Anyone can do that by practicing. Then you can work in the circus. Technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your team mate." (Johan Cruyff)