Understanding 'bus parking' in football.

Firstly, an unreserved apology to fans of Chelsea football club on my decision to use the picture above. It has absolutely nothing to do with characteristic of their darling club.
The term 'Parking the bus' was coined by then Chelsea and present Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho in 2004 after a Chelsea game against Tottenham Hotspur.

JM used the term to describe Spurs' attitude towards the match. He alleged that Spurs came into the game with absolutely no intention to attack but defend. That was the point at which he coined the term, 'parking the bus. He used it to describe Spurs absolutely defensive play with no intention to  attack. Playing every single player behind the ball. It is a negative approach.

Note however that having superior possession in a game doesn't amount to attacking football. A clear example is Manchester United's style of play under Louis Van Gaal where they literally hold possession through out a game but won't attack. Pinging passes back and forth with no bite. Not having the ball does not necesaarily mean a team is defensive. It means the other team are better ball users. If Manchester United was defensive in the game against Arsenal one week ago they wouldn't have worked out a way to beat Arsenal 1 - 3. They were not. 1 - 3 is by no means a narrow margin.
That said, Manchester United were not defensive against Arsenal and Manchester City.

In Camp Nou 2012, Chelsea was able to hold out for a 2 - 2 draw despite having John Terry sent off and having 17.5% of the possession. In that game, Xavi completed 161 passes; a figure higher than that of the entire Chelsea team.
Chelsea parked bus, won the match.

I abhor negative football. I believe teams should make deliberate efforts to attack because the game is about entertainment which is emphasised more by goals than every other thing. We all want to see an explosive game. However, I understand that not every team can keep ball for long periods. In my opinion, a game is won by the team with fewer errors. The game favours whoever provokes more errors from the opposition; this can be with or without the ball. It can also be said that the team with the ball is more likely to make mistakes.
A team that parks the bus is one with no intention to attack. Players in the team play defensively with the intention to draw or defend a narrow margin.

Photo Credit: quora.com
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