Latest news with #transitions
Mail & Guardian
09-06-2025
- General
- Mail & Guardian
Do the rite thing: Reflections on the transition to manhood
Rites of passage are funny old things. Whether religious, societal, or based out of another construct within our lives, the human need to mark transitions from one phase of life to the other is nothing short of fascinating to me. Yes, celebrating the birth of a child is simply a must-do. If a child enters the world into a loving family that is enriched by their arrival, of course we would want to give voice to our joy. Yes, gathering to mourn the death of a loved one is also a must-do. Death is the big one, the ultimate of the great divides. A person we once loved and cherished is gone forever, irrecoverable and irreplaceable and we need to give voice to the grief rising from the void they leave in our lives. But, between birth and death, we feel the need to mark various transitional milestones in our lives by various means. Hence the term 'rite of passage'. We are making the passage from some point in our lives or version of ourselves to a different one. And while I am not attacking the belief systems — religious, cultural or otherwise — of anyone at all, when one views everything from a detached, logical point of view, many of these rites of passage do not make a whole lot of sense. But we imbue them with meaning, because we know we are now crossing a great divide, a tipping point in our lives after which there is no going back to the way it was before. I was born into, and brought up in, a faith and underwent its requisite rites of passage. I got married and had two children. I got divorced. All of these are transitory phases in one's life, all of them important, many of them marked by some sort of procedure and/or celebration. And yet, the rite of passage I remember more fondly than all of the above, barring the birth of my wonderful children, happened in 1998, at the age of 19. This was my first year staying at Knockando Men's Residence, established by the now-defunct Johannesburg College of Education for its male students. While I did not attend JCE, I had family ties to Knock, as it is fondly known, and so wound up as a resident while attending Wits. And as with many university residences, one does not simply start living there, one must earn the right in a variety of ridiculous ways. Knock's orientation was a truly mild version of what other student residents underwent. We ran a lot and sang a lot and were deprived of a lot of sleep but, in return, we were fed a lot of alcohol and introduced to a lot of young women. A fair trade, to most of us. The only event that even came remotely close to other residence initiations was Status Night. This was the final night of our two-week orientation, and as the name implied, was the night you earned your status as a true Knockandian. Without going into too much detail, Status Night involves much running, shouting, darkness, water being thrown from great heights, singing to a stuffed goose which everyone insists is a duck, a staggering amount of alcohol and an unfortunate amount of public male nudity. But after that, you were done, and could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with senior members of the residence with nothing distinguishing you from one another. And, while it is in no way equal in importance, it is this event which most frequently popped into my mind while reading Jeffrey Rakabe's debut outing Led by Shepherds. The novel is bookended by Rakabe's experiences during koma, the rite of passage that Pedi men undergo to transition to adulthood. But in-between these slices of his recounting, Rakabe goes into further detail about his experiences during tertiary education and slightly afterwards, and it is in this part of the book that the magic occurs. To be perfectly honest, up until about the halfway mark of this book, there was nothing remarkable about it. Rakabe's language is fluid and descriptive, and he creates similes and metaphors that are enlightening, evocative and in some cases laugh-out-loud funny. His choice of words and writing style definitely stood out. But until he starts ruminating on how his life changed during the Covid-19 lockdown, the book is a standard memoir, a recollection of the events of his life to that point. However, during Rakabe's lockdown recollections, the book emerges from its cocoon. His life is markedly different now from the time when he underwent koma — he has encountered people, places and intellectual concepts that he did not even dream existed as the young boy who went off into the mountains to become a man. And these new introductions into his life, his consciousness, have caused him to re-frame all his previous experiences, including koma which, up until that point, had been the most important and influential event in his life. When we return to koma after Rakabe's intellectual re-framing, we find it to be a markedly different event. The fear and uncertainty of a young boy facing a terrifying, unknown sequence of events remain, but are now viewed through the lens of a grown man who is realising some of the unfortunate downsides to this long-standing tradition. I confess — Rakabe zigged where I thought he would zag. I expected this book to be a loving recollection of a rite many South Africans undergo. Instead, what Rakabe presents us with is a stark revisiting of this rite, of its many implications, spoken and otherwise, and how it shapes those who go through it, for better or for worse. Merely for the way it bucks tradition, this book should receive kudos. But it should also receive kudos for what it is — one man reviewing a pivotal event in his past, now in possession of knowledge that he didn't have at the time, and realising how a rite of passage might echo through one's life with unintended consequences. A worthwhile read.
New York Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Quick build-ups are different to counter-attacks – and are on the rise in the Premier League
When a built-up offensive move slices through an opponent in seconds, there is a tendency to label it a 'counter-attack'. The space the attacking team has once they reach the final third makes it look like a counter, but in reality, it's just a sequence that moves quickly up the pitch. On other occasions, it's labelled as a 'transition', but this occurs when a team wins the ball and attacks an unstructured defence or vice versa — a change from the defensive phase to the attacking one or the other way round. Advertisement These moves start and finish in the attacking phase, which is why putting them under the umbrella of transitions is peculiar. Another term that is used to define them is 'artificial transitions', which is more logical because it gives the feeling of a transition despite not being one. However, when an attack is played out against a structured defence, it is simply known as a 'quick build-up'. In the Premier League era, three Italian managers had teams that were distinctive by their quickly built-up attacks that cut through the opponent's press: Maurizio Sarri with Chelsea, Antonio Conte with Tottenham Hotspur and Roberto De Zerbi with Brighton & Hove Albion. Sarri, Conte and De Zerbi brought the idea to the league as The Athletic'sMichael Cox explains in his book, The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics. Since then, other coaches and teams have been taking note of quick build-ups and have been trying to use them as an attacking tool against the press. In the seven seasons since Sarri's only Premier League campaign, there has been a consistent rise in quick build-ups. These are defined as short goal-kick sequences that reach the height of the opponent's penalty area or end in a shot within 30 seconds. Looking at the rate of quick build-ups per 100 goal kicks in the Premier League, there has been a year-on-year increase, reaching 5.6 this season — double the rate in 2018-19. Interestingly, the passing combinations that are used to cut through the opposition press have varied from one Premier League team to another. Under Unai Emery, Aston Villa's quick build-ups have revolved around finding their attacking midfielders between the lines and allowing them to combine in those spaces. In Villa's 2-1 victory against Manchester City in December, Morgan Rogers' goal started from a goal kick. Here, Rogers drops behind City's midfield to offer a passing option as Emiliano Martinez plays the ball to Pau Torres. When Torres finds Rogers, Youri Tielemans is unmarked on the other side, with Rico Lewis in no man's land. Rogers' position forces Kyle Walker to move up… … and the Villa forward receives the ball with his left foot and dribbles with his right to roll City's right-back. Jhon Duran's movement creates a bigger space for Rogers to dribble into as the centre-forward moves Manuel Akanji away. Meanwhile, Lewis can't mark Tielemans because he has to drop and defend that space. Rogers then plays the ball wide to John McGinn… … and the unmarked Tielemans makes an overlapping run, which attracts Josko Gvardiol and forces Lewis to defend McGinn. With Duran occupying Akanji and Walker, McGinn finds Rogers near the edge of the penalty area… … and the latter strikes the ball into the far bottom corner to double Villa's lead. Bournemouth have played in a more direct approach under Andoni Iraola, and the long balls down the left side have been a feature of their attacking play. However, these long passes from their centre-backs aren't a reaction to the opponent's press, rather a solution to break it, with left-back, Milos Kerkez, and the left-winger synchronising their movements to combine and attack the space. In this example, from Bournemouth's 2-1 victory against City in November, Mark Travers plays the short goal kick to Marcos Senesi and, as the left centre-back plays the ball to Antoine Semenyo, Kerkez dashes forward… … and the left-back's run occupies Walker. This allows Semenyo to freely dribble forward after controlling the ball… … which forces Akanji to step out of the defensive line. Meanwhile, Kerkez is continuing his run, and Semenyo finds him behind City's back four. The speed of the attack and the movement of Kerkez create a four-versus-three situation for Bournemouth, and their left-back finds Evanilson's run into the penalty area… … before the Brazilian slots the ball into the bottom corner. Meanwhile, Liverpool have been using Mohamed Salah as an outlet against the press this season, with different build-up patterns to complement the Egyptian forward. One solution has been to drop the centre-forward towards the touchline when Liverpool are building up down their right side. In this example, Darwin Nunez's off-ball run to the right drags Bournemouth's right centre-back, Illia Zabarnyi, out of position while the other centre-back, Dean Huijsen, marks Salah. Advertisement From the short goal kick, Ibrahima Konate plays a long ball down the right wing towards Nunez. The peculiar positioning of Zabarnyi and Nunez, coupled with the trajectory of Konate's pass, puts Kerkez in a dilemma. If Bournemouth's left-back goes into the aerial duel and Nunez wins the header, Salah is in a one-versus-one situation; if he doesn't, Zabarnyi will be dragged out of position to defend Kerkez's zone. Kerkez has less than two seconds to consider this and his hesitation allows Nunez to flick the ball towards Salah, with Zabarnyi being dragged out of position. Salah then returns the pass to Nunez, who is attacking the space behind Kerkez… … and the striker finishes the attack by curling the ball into the back of the net. One team that has evolved their possession game in 2024-25 is Brentford, and their passing combinations in the wide areas are another variation of the quick build-ups in the Premier League. Their first goal in the Premier League this season, against Crystal Palace in August, is an example of how their wide combinations cut through the opponents' press. Here, Thomas Frank's side are building up in a 4-2 shape, with Christian Norgaard and Vitaly Janelt in front of the defence… … and higher up the pitch, Yoane Wissa is dropping to act as the second attacking midfielder next to Mathias Jensen, while Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade are stretching the defence. Wissa's movement drags Joachim Andersen out of position, and Brentford's right-back, Mads Roerslev, plays the ball into the dropping centre-forward to start the passing sequence. Trying to find the free man before Palace adjust their pressing, Wissa plays a one-touch pass to Norgaard, and the Denmark midfielder quickly finds Janelt in space. Having been dragged up to Brentford's half, Andersen tries to press Janelt but the German dribbles past him while Wissa and Norgaard attack the space the centre-back has vacated. As a result, Adam Wharton is forced to leave Jensen free and defend Wissa… … who receives the ball in space, with Marc Guehi (No 6 below) unable to commit to marking him because of the threat of Mbeumo out wide. Mbeumo starts his run before Wissa receives the ball, which puts him ahead of Guehi when Wissa plays it into his path. Meanwhile, Jensen and Schade are in a two-versus-one situation on the opposite side… … which adds to Mbeumo's options inside the penalty area. However, the Cameroon forward dribbles inside the pitch before curling the ball into the bottom corner. When Sarri, Conte and De Zerbi used vertical passing combinations to play through the opponents' press, it was a distinct feature of their sides. The effectiveness of the quick build-ups made it a lucrative attacking solution, and in 2024-25, it has become an important tool rather than a unique one. To quote Conte's Instagram post about Tottenham's quick build-up goals against Manchester City in 2021-22: 'Counterattacks?!? Maybe not…'
Vogue
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
From the Archives: Before Scarlett Johansson Was a Cannes Film Festival Regular, She Was in Vogue
'Power Starlet: Scarlett Letters,' by Sally Singer, was originally published in the March 2004 issue of Vogue. For more of the best from Vogue's archive, sign up for our Nostalgia newsletter here. Scarlett Johansson is lounging at New York's Soho House and talking about transitions, by way of explaining her penchant for slicked-back hair on the red carpet. 'I had a severe mullet when I was doing Girl with a Pearl Earring. It just kept getting more severe until I was seriously mulletized,' she states, ruffling her Warholesque shock of peroxided hair. 'I rocked the mullet for a while, which I loved, but then I decided that I wanted long hair. And a mullet is seriously painful to grow out.' The metamorphosis from mullet to mane, an awkward business of patience and improvisation (all those layers, all those spikes), would ordinarily serve as an apt metaphor of the growing pains from youth to adulthood. But the case of Johansson is one of smooth and triumphant maturation from child actress to full-fledged star. In the last year, she has earned critical respect and a popular audience with her telling performances in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation and Peter Webber's Girl with a Pearl Earring. In both films she plays lonely, silenced young women who experience awakenings in the company of much older men, themselves in the grip of unfamiliar yearnings. This is perhaps Johansson's greatest cinematic quality: With her oversize lips and growling voice and, most important, her stillness (says Coppola, 'She expresses emotion with very little action'), she renews our sense of mystery about the world. In person, Johansson is no more mysterious than any nineteen-year-old has a right to be. She may have starred in five films since she graduated from high school two years ago—look out for her in The Perfect Score, A Love Song for Bobby Long, and A Good Woman—but certain rites of passage are unavoidable. There's learning to drive, as any New York girl who relocates to the West Coast must do: 'Driving changes your whole life there. Your independence is granted at the DMV.' There's squabbling with her architect dad about the decor of her new L.A. home: 'I'm stuck in the fifties. He's stuck in the sixties. I want a bit of kitsch. He's from Denmark and wants things minimal. I always win because it's my apartment and he says, 'I'll do what you want.' ' And there's struggling with the metaphysics of grownup-ness: 'There's so much pressure on you to change when you get out of high school. . . . It's a harsh reality.'
