Try The Athletic for FREE for 30 days: https://theathletic.com/tifofootball 📗 Tifo's new book, "How to Watch Football" is now available internationally: https://linktr.ee/tifobook You’ve heard members of older generations complain that today’s game has gone soft. They’ll tell you that tackles were more robust, players were tougher and that football was better in their day. But are they right? Well yes. Maybe not about the bit about football being “better” back then, but definitely about today’s game being soft. Let’s explain how we got here… Written by Kaya Kaynak. Illustrated by Marco Bevilacqua. Follow Tifo Football by The Athletic: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TifoFootball_ Facebook: http://facebook.com/TifoFootball Instagram: http://instagram.com/TifoFootball_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tifofootball_ Listen to the Tifo Football podcast: The Athletic UK: http://bit.ly/TifoPodChannel Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TifoFootPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/06QIGhqK31Qw1UvfHzRIDA Watch more Tifo: Tifo Football Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@tifo-podcast Tifo Sports by The Athletic: https://www.youtube.com/@TifoSports About Tifo Football by The Athletic: Tifo loves football. We create In-depth tactical, historical and geopolitical breakdowns of the beautiful game. We know there’s an appetite for thoughtful, intelligent content. For stuff that makes the complicated simple. We provide analysis on the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, World Cup and more. Our podcasts interview some of the game’s leading figures. And our editorial covers football with depth and insight. Founded in 2017 and became a part of The Athletic in 2020. For business inquiries, reach out to tifo@theathletic.com. Additional footage sourced from freestockfootagearchive.com Music provided by APM Music #Football #Soccer #PremierLeague