What image comes to your mind when someone mentions “Sean Dyche’s Burnley”? Take a guess. Let us think about Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea getting the number against Manchester United, during the height of the Wenger-Mourinho-Ferguson rivalry era, building a defensive wall impenetrable even for the likes of Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes.
I think we can make a connection here. Let’s go to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal this season and last season. Maybe Massimiliano Allegri’s title-winning Juventus sides? Marouane Fellaini, elbowing the opponent to finally hit a goal by heading the ball into the net in the most ugliest way possible, to secure three points for Mourinho’s Man United?
These depictions of “anti-football” often clash directly with the free-flowing football games of Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola or Arsene Wenger. Names like “Tucheliban”, a viral meme which depicted Thomas Tuchel in a hilarious photoshop, are often put up on internet meme communities as the antithesis of the attacking football pracrised by the likes of Guardiola.
These styles of park-the-bus, backs-to-the-wall football, which Dyche’s Burnley was especially famous for (it landed them a Europa spot too) has now become synonymous with the phrase, “Haram Football”.
“Haram football”, also known by the names of “anti-football” or “terrorist football” is a funny way to address the grinding, often boring and hard-to-watch football slugfests delivered by coaches like Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho and Sean Dyche, with eleven men behind the ball, setting up defensive low-blocks which make it difficult for the opposing team to make inroads even with 70% possession.
The visuals of the match are often boring and sleep-inducing, but it’s hard to argue that teams often get a positive result out of it, especially in cup-games where survival till the last minute is important.
Recently, a video has been going viral on YouTube, labelled “7 LEVELS OF HARAM FOOTBALL…”, uploaded on a channel named Basic Footy.
The channel, with 34,000 subscribers, seems like a channel aimed to serve hot takes on matters in the world of football, the editing is snazzy, hilarious, and borderline ADHD, with fast transitions and hilarious languages that fall well in line with Urban Dictionary, with frequent usage of memed phrases. His latest video, the one we are going to talk about, has already amassed 100,000 views in 2 days, and views seem to be growing exponentially.
The YouTuber Basic Footy, in the video, compiled a list of 7 levels to depict managers famous for using anti-football or “haram football” tactics.
The video starts with current England manager Thomas Tuchel on Level 1, and notes his Champions League final victory over Pep Guardiola as the best example of terrorist football. On Level 2, we have Antonio Conte, labelling his style as, “It’s Italian, it‘s structured. It’s ruthless“, and mentioning his successful spells at Chelsea, Juventus, Inter Milan and presently Napoli.
He puts Sean Dyche, “The Face of English Haram Football”, on Level 3, mentioning his solid Burnley team that had made Turf Moor their fortress. On Level 4, Mikel Arteta is mentioned, with the YouTuber noticing the irony that Pep’s former right-hand man Arteta’ has his team following the opposite of what Guardiola does, “embracing the dark side of football”.
Then we see Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid’s iconic boss on Level 5, followed by Massimiliano Allegri at Level 6. Jose Mourinho, one of the greatest managers ever, found himself at Level 7, praising him for his resolute tactical awareness and charisma.
However, the YouTuber posted a “Secret Level” at the end of the video, showcasing Getafe manager José Bordalas as the most anti-football manager, mentioning a certain match against fourth-division Pontevdra where his team had a shocking 19% possession, calling his football “unwatchable”.
😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/JcWLLDjK2S
— ARTETA'S REVENGE (@jeffrey_dalyop_) September 12, 2025
What do Fans Have to Say on The Tier List?
Needless to say, the virality of the video made sure that it found itself in football forums and social media like Reddit and Twitter, with fans eager to share their opinions on it.
One fan put Simeone and Arteta on the extreme end of the pyramid, calling the tier list “ridiculous.”
“Simeone at 3 is ridiculous. Him and Artetenyahu should be at level 20 even with only 7 people being ranked“
Fans commented in approval on Youtube, mentioning Jose Mourinho’s threat as a brilliant defense organiser.
“Mourinho threat is understandable dude conceding 15 goals in the Prem is an impossible feat in Prem history“
People commented on the direct impact of Sean Dyche’s football despite the lack of proper attacking sensibilities. A Man City fan commented,
“Dyche Brexit Ball is peak football. Pep telling his players to invert the half spaces while Dyche just tells them to lump it to the big lad upfront.”
A commenter, ironically with the username Harry Maguire-s141m, extended the debate by adding two Manchester United figures in the mix. While Ten Hag has sometimes been mentioned as a proponent of haramball, Amorim’s example seems a bit tongue-in-cheek.
“Level 10 is ten hag ball or amorim ball. Their tactics are so haram that they affect their own team.“
Bordalas has mentioned that he is an admirer of Cruyff. Pointing out the absolute anti-football played by Getafe and the irony in question, a fan commented,
“Getafe would play haram ball even if opposition had 2 red cards. They play to frustrate. And worst of all the coach says he’s an admirer of Cruyff.”
However, a fan stated that we saw the prime example of Mourinhoball when he had a proper team, citing the example of the historic 2011 Real Madrid team that scored 121 goals in La Liga, a line-up that had stalwarts like Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Angel di Maria.
“Jose Mourinho 2011 Madrid 100 points, 121 goals. Still a record in top 5 leagues. Never forget.“
Many fans echoed the same sentiment and engaged in a discussion about Mourinho’s potential.
“Mourinho can play champagne football if he has the players. Just look at Madrid and their goals under him.”
While some Chelsea fans expressed disappointment over the mention of three former Chelsea managers, one fan expressed gratitude and commended the defensive solidity of his club, adding names like Guus Hiddink and Roberto di Matteo into the mix.
“As a Chelsea fan, I really enjoyed the haram football we played with uncles Mou, Conte, Gus, Di Mateo and Tuchel. Being confident that your team is not going to let random balls in, is such a bliss.“
While the video in question is obviously a personal opinion and is subject to the YouTuber’s own biases, fans rallying behind Jose Mourinho showcases the immense popularity that “The Special One” earned through his years as an excellent football manager rivalled by the likes of Pep Guardiola and Alex Ferguson. Sean Dyche’s predicament of dealing with a club like Burnley, who have nowhere near the resources available at a club like Man City or Man United, should be praised, as he made the best of his situation.
Fans have also mentioned how Thomas Tuchel’s counter-attacking style helped his teams win matches despite the critcism and now he is the manager of the england national team.
Regardless, the video in question is an interesting one, and is fun to see fans engage and discuss something different from the Cruyffs and the Fergusons.
