This also required a very hard-working central striker and Eto’o did just that, sometimes falling back to receive the ball and actually allowing Henry and Messi to work as a front two. The tiki-taka style has been very relevant in today’s football tactic. But wait, how can a team defend with the ball? Don’t believe a word of it! This fluidity in changing positions is the key to unlocking defenses and scoring goals all while also taking into account the capacity of the opponent to hit the team on counters. The iconic 4-3-3 was used by Pep that changes to 3-4-3 and the 3-3-4 sometimes, depending on the phases of the game, yet bear in mind that for him, numbers are of least importance. He also covered for Busquets and Pique in their respective roles whenever Barca were in pursuit of a goal and pushed more bodies forward. Opposition bad control of the ball, bad touch, or bad pass. Xavi is the controller who sets the team’s tempo as required and recycles possession towards areas with less opposition pressure. Best images from El Clasico as Real Madrid beat Barcelona. This was even explained very well by Thierry Henry in one of his Sky Sports interviews, wherein he explained Guardiola’s system. 18. Barcelona started in a bad way, losing to Hercules at the Camp Nou and trailing behind Mourinho’s Real Madrid, who seemed set on breaking Barcelona’s dominance in Spain. Basically the moves carried out in the middle third enable the attackers to get a clear chance on goal, so that’s where the extended buildup happens. The system also helps for the cover of Kroos with Alonso now playing Lahm’s role from last year allowing the captain to operate further up the pitch in the right side of a diamond with Alonso bottom, Alaba left and Götze at the tip. Tactically, Barca generally stuck to a 4-3-3 shape throughout the season, playing high up the pitch and pressing from the front. The image below shows the team’s formation: For each player in the lineup above there’s a specific role to be carried out on the field: Barcelona’s engine is its midfield, and when such an awe-inspiring trio in Busquets-Xavi-Iniesta is in the team, it is hard not to depend on them. From now to the end of the season, we may yet see more new tactics and formations from the Spaniard’s box. Carrière de joueur Carrière de joueur au Barça. A brilliant switch of play as Xavi found Villa isolated on the opposite wing, Villa beats Ramos with a dribble and squares it to the rushing Pedro who scores the second goal of the match. When used ineffectively the overload of playmakers in the centre muddled the midfield and made their attack look toothless and the build-up slow. Alves was key in the attacking areas of the right flank. That’s why Pep went out and bought Thiago Alcantara, not for old time’s sake. The opposing team is closing down Valdes, Piqué, Mascherano, Alves, Abidal, and Busquets. That is decent, though still below par for a coach of … - Ogden: Barca vs. PSG pick of Champions League last-16 Defensively, the question marks are still there -- in fact, when Levante did break through, it … ... the hallowed 4-3-3 that carried on through to Pep Guardiola … To ensure positional superiority and compact structure, the team must play a minimum of 15 passes and progress up the field along those passes. Throughout his time at Barca, there were two players outside of Messi that were of utmost importance to make the formation work and make it dynamic – Alves and Abidal. Rewinding the events to the summer preceding the 2010/2011 season; Spain had just lifted their first World Cup ever boasting the most talented Spaniards their fans had witnessed in years. It will get even better when Thiago returns from injury for he brings with him an added dimension where he can play double-pivot with Lahm (as Kroos did last year). Guardiola had a plan and a reason for putting in each of the players that he inserted regularly into his line-ups. Under Pep Guardiola the club still play 4-3-3 even though before the start of his reign many thought a diamond formation to accommodate … Sat, 19 Dec. 2020 / Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Sponsored Links. Boateng would often pull wide and operate almost as a full-back in support of Lahm and Müller ahead of him. Isn’t that attacking with the ball? This formation like the 4-1-4-1 last year can also seamlessly morph into a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, a 3-5-2, or even a 3-2-2-3 (as against Manchester United in the Champions League last year) as the situation demands. So utilizing the pace and power of Henry and Eto’o, while relying on Messi’s ability to dribble and draw defenders, was essential. PEDRI. Furthermore, triangles and rhombuses all over the pitch are extremely necessary meaning that the players must be in their peak mental awareness to be able to connect with each other and ensure passing lanes are available at all times. For the vast majority of the time, his formations and their underlying ethos have served his teams brilliantly. Ribery and Robben were forced to make the unnatural shift to receiving the ball and quickly giving it back, instead of venturing forward to take on the defenders which took the destructive nature out of Bayern’s attacks. That’s not all; Guardiola has thrown in another new tweak in the Bavarian giants’ strategy, which has been quite fascinating. Guardiola has played 20 games against Premier League opponents, winning nine and losing five. 2010-2011 proved to be the season Barcelona reached its peak level in terms of perfecting the Positional Play model under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola. FC Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman already has his starting XI and formation for the upcoming 2020/2021 season. Therefore, Pep’s team became famous for being “possession kings” but people understood it the wrong way therefore labelling the style as “Tiki-taka”. Man City : Messi au Barça, Guardiola reconnaît son double jeu. Barcelona formation [ system ] 14. There is no doubt Pep Guardiola changed the way we look at football. But his 4-1-4-1 formation, despite offering much flexibility, had a soft underbelly and was exposed as last season wore on and this year, in recognition of that, he has made another alteration. “I felt truly satisfied with the performance and I’m sure the players did too because they played a great game and enjoyed themselves. Abidal was hugely important in compensating for Alves. The wing-backs' overlapping capabilities overwhelmed oppositions as the formation essentially became 5 up front with threats from every angle. Bayern coach could tweak formation against Barça Guardiola considering fielding 3 centre-backs. Barcelona. Another signature move from Barcelona was the diagonal cross from Busquets/Xavi to Alves who’s running behind the opposition’s defense. ... a posé les fondations de cette formation historique. mis à jour le 21 novembre 2020 à 20h34 FM18 Tiki-Taka Tactic: A Different Version with the 4-3-3 Formation, Inspired by Pep Guardiola. Pep Guardiola – Tactical evolution from Barca B to Manchester City. His versatility in either tucking inside or staying wide made him a flexible player able to fit in all phases of the game. My main purpose was to recreate Pep's all around philosophy based on players' movement rather than a particular formation or single roles. On the rare occasion, they have been trumped by strong teams with tactically astute managers and players built to tackle a Guardiola team. He finally has the dynamic possession-based striker he's always wanted. to change formation. And it was that versatility that got them off to such a flying start last season, eventually helping them win the Bundesliga at a canter. As explained, everything happens in relation to the ball and teammates. Mercato - Barcelone : Pep Guardiola devrait jouer deux sales tours au Barça ! To clarify more, I’ll be splitting the defensive side into two sections that can be found below: You read that right, with the ball. I really like playing the tiki-taka, possession-based and passing game in FUT. Pique’s forays forward also meant a covering job for Busquets to drop back and aid Puyol and Abidal. As a manager Pep Guardiola has won 27 trophies – winning eight league titles in 11 years as a coach in La Liga, Bundesliga and the Premier League – he is considered by many as the greatest coach of his generation. But, the uncompromising perfection by the gaffer for his style of play led him to immediate success. The main key here that allowed Barcelona to score is the central overload that was created, a 3 vs 2 with Xavi-Iniesta-Messi having an edge over Park and Carrick. At Barcelona, they were at times too one-dimensional and teams would ‘park the bus’ to snuff them out and hit them on the counter to emerge victorious. Tiki taka of Pep's Barca - formation and tactics. Behind that trio was Sergio Busquets, promoted from the B team, in the holding role, with Xavi and Andres Iniesta to his right and left respectively. And hence the dynamic fluidity of the wingbacks will be something to look forward to this season. The overlying emphasis of this formation was to always have three central midfielders on the pitch at any point of time. Also, unlike at Barca, this Guardiola team played a good number of good long balls because – a. their defenders weren’t the dribbly kind like Pique and b. the presence of aerially gifted players such as Müller and Mario Mandzukic. September 17, 2012. The priority during the building up process is maintaining the possession and widening up the pitch too. Philip Lahm, possibly the best right-back in the world was given a new role by Guardiola as a holding midfielder breaking up the erstwhile duo of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez that his predecessor used to telling effect. The picture above shows us a scenario where the opposition shifted their midfield line towards one side which allowed Iniesta to easily exploit the big amount of space now available to him on the other side. 5. "I give you my word that we will put in an effort. Iniesta would venture further forward as the advanced playmaker, either going central to support the forward trio or taking up the space out wide vacated by Henry or Messi. Pedro as the traditional winger who hugs the touchline and gets in behind the defense. So even one slip-up can be costly. The tactic that made Barcelona look like packs of wolves chasing a prey, at first sight you’d think that the team consists of school students playing during their recess, giving it their all without a pinch of egoism. Götze and Müller augmenting the Pole makes for a very creative frontline. What aids in this tactic is the positional superiority of the team during the attacking phase, compact and proximate to each other, that will help in performing the pressing scheme in a swift and effective way. Then Valdes passes to Pique who lays it off to Xavi and Xavi releases Alves into space. In his all-conquering first season, when Barcelona won the treble, Guardiola operated predominantly with a 4-3-3 formation. Preventing the opposition’s defense from being horizontally compact which would affect the fluidity of Barcelona’s midfield. Instead, Font will make a new deal for Messi his No 1 priority if he takes power. Since Pep Guardiola let Barca play tiki-taka en high pressing football I fell in love with his gameplay. The home side played a 2-2-6 formation, while the visitors went with an even more ambitious 1-2-7. All of this came to a head in their semi-final tie against Real Madrid in last year’s UEFA Champions League. Madrid were a side perfectly built to expose each and every flaw of this system and it was a matchup nightmare for the German side. Defenders fell into a dilemma when playing against Barcelona with Messi as a false nine: Playing out from the back is the strategy followed by Barcelona in the first phase of the game, the build-up. The 3-man backline sacrifices width for numerical superiority in dealing with opposing attackers while providing a man advantage in midfield. goalkeeper): Messi stays between the two centerbacks, Villa and Pedro each with the opposition’s full back, Xavi and Iniesta  stepping up to protect passes into the half space, Busquets protects the area in front of the central defenders, Alves and Abidal with freedom to either press the opposition’s wingers  or push forward to overload the midfield, finally Pique and Mascherano/Puyol stay back to sweep any long passes behind them, with an exception being Mascherano having the authority to venture into midfield to block any passes to the midfield line. 8 months ago, Victoria Myznikova. Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Broma018 ----- DISCLAIMER: THIS VIDEO IS MADE FOR AND TARGETED AT ADULTS. I don't know if we'll win, but we'll persist. One point worth noting is the diagonal positioning between each other. Compact. As always, Guardiola is thinking, scheming and looking to constantly adjust his team so that they don’t become predictable. Also, the long balls were sparingly employed by Pep’s Barca sides as they lacked the height and physicality up front and also because their defenders were more comfortable playing the ball out on the ground as Pique continuously did. Lahm would play a box-to-box role, another feather in the career of this remarkable footballer. There must be a guideline which the players base their decisions on regarding when to press and when to hold back. Josep Guardiola has described his playing principle like this; ... Barca didn’t do tiki-taka! Guardiola didn’t change the formation of the starting team that he inherited, electing to keep a 4-3-3 going. The pinnacle of the 2010/11 season was the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United, a match which many considered a testimony of awe-inspiring display from a club at the highest footballing level featuring 8 players from the famous La Masia. After bypassing the first line of pressure, the team will push its lines forward and dominate the midfield by congesting as many players in that area as discussed before. Mehdi Benatia’s arrival has also bolstered the defensive ranks. David Villa would take up Henry’s role out wide on the left after the Frenchman’s departure, and Pedro would take up the wide right position. Josep Guardiola i Sala: Date of Birth: Jan 18, 1971: Place of Birth: Santpedor : Age: 49: Citizenship: Spain Avg. This was when the triangle offense really came into its own, as Barca’s players would move forward with the ball, triangulating their passing with almost geometric precision to unseat teams. While at Barca, Guardiola had players of short stature at his disposal who were very good in possession; at Bayern he had more direct players in the likes of Thomas Müller, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery and he tried to cater to their strengths by banking on the influential Kroos. R foot. He also drops in as auxiliary centre-back for Jerome Boateng whenever necessary. Well, that’s the trick that Barcelona thrived in performing. Two trophy-less seasons had passed at the Nou Camp when ‘Pep’ Guardiola was appointed manager of FC Barcelona ahead of the 2008/09 season; the above were his words during his presentation to the fans. Whether you love his tactics or hate them, there is no disputing the fact that ‘talking tactics’ and ‘formation fiddling’ just went up to a whole new level with his coaching in play. The two withdrawn strikers or attacking mids play a critical role as they alternate between shifting wide or tucking in behind the main striker. The ability of scoring, creating, dribbling, influencing the game without even touching the ball due to the intensive marking that is used on him, thus creating space for his teammates, a player with such ability shouldn’t be on the wings, he should be in the center of play, the main catalyst for the team’s style; that’s what Pep saw in Messi, and boy did Messi repay his coach’s faith in him. Being able to play football in a such stylish way and win trophies. He was also the added cover for the backline, slotting in for one of the centre-backs, notably Gerard Pique, whenever he ventured forward. Ronnie Dog Media Comm. To top that, you have Lahm, who can play any of those positions on either side. The mobility the Pole brings into that frontline allows Pep to use different combinations of attacking midfielders behind him. This scenario allowed for dangerous chances to be created using the wings in case the midfield was having a bad day; that’s why Alves was such a vital piece in that period. Isolating each winger with his respective marker, gaining an advantage in terms of quality. Busquets, the midfield pivot who fits Barcelona’s system perfectly with his composure and brilliance in possession and when without it, his interceptions and reading of the game. The forward line played according to the movements of Müller. However, the 3-man backline does provide an extra target against teams whose forwards press hard, like Dortmund. In the typical fashion of a side led by Pep Guardiola, Barça completely dictated the tempo of the match. ... Inverting The Pyramid-Barcelona’s 1-2-3-4 formation. Due to only one striker up top and a lack of wingers, the role of the wingbacks becomes more important. With it’s natural triangles and diamonds, as well as it’s three-man midfield, it was perfect for the possession football Guardiola set out to create. This is the exact reason why Guardiola hates the word “tiki-taka”; it means passing the ball for the sake of passing. That would result in Abidal falling back into the left side of a back three, with Pique and Puyol. This early version though played slightly quicker, largely due to the presence of forwards Thierry Henry, who played wide left, Samuel Eto’o, who played through the middle, and Lionel Messi, who started wide right. Guardiola, who also claimed that “Barca didn’t do tiki-taka! The opposition presses with 5 players, 2 covering Alves & Abidal, 2 covering Piqué & Mascherano, and 1 covering Busquets. The formation worked against Villareal, because they were attacking by pushing numbers forward, leaving spaces for Barça’s front three. Bernat played as a left winger almost when in possession, but would drop back in front of Badstuber and alongside Alonso when defending. They had the ball much more than Real Madrid, and were far more efficient with it. The problem most teams have, … If yes, then Villa, Pedro, Iniesta, or Xavi can exploit the space left behind and make a run towards goal. Abidal was the guy who made the formation tick at the back with his amazing ability to play left-back, centre-back and defensive midfield to perfection. Opposing teams simply could not handle the many different attacking formations in the form of an attacking double-pivot of either Götze/Robben, Götze/Müller or Müller/Robben. term as coach: 3.12 Years: Coaching Licence: UEFA Pro Licence Preferred formation: 4-3-3 Attacking: History. However, the way Guardiola’s team used to defend proved to be the foundation on which teams built their defensive strategy on. This formation was another continuation in the triangle system of Guardiola, except that instead of widening the pitch to stretch the defence like at Barca, here the system was about overloading the centre of the park with triangles formed all around the centremost midfielder, usually either Kroos, Lahm or Schweinsteiger. Every masterpiece needs a canvas; and Guardiola’s canvas was Positional Play – a football philosophy assimilated by the Catalan during his football journey around the world. The 3-4-2-1 has been the one that Bayern have gone with more often and it is a very demanding formation. On top of them stood Bernat, Alonso and Lahm. The acquisition of Xabi Alonso has also greatly aided this formation as he acts as a defensive cover, partnering Lahm and due to his long-ball ability can support the attack without ceding his position from deep. As soon as the pass is made, the team attacks the passing lane and intercepts the ball. Avid reader of football articles with a special focus on possession-based teams. Loves Pep Guardiola. His philosophy is the total opposite, it implies that possession acts as “means to an end” with the end being to move the opposition and disorganize their defensive shape for his team to attack the opposite side. In case the press failed, the team would fall back with the wingers tracking back leaving Messi as furthest player in the Catalan’s formation. Xavi played behind the front three as the deep-lying playmaker and Busquets played the roles of anchor-man and Xavi’s wingman, always moving with him, protecting him from opposing defenders and acting as a foil to receive and spray passes. This rule, implemented by none other than Guardiola himself, states that pressure should be applied for a maximum of 6 seconds with the utmost intensity to win the ball back. Add Messi to this trio, who drops into midfield, you get the diamond that managed to dominate European teams with their exquisite passing and intelligent positioning. The classic Barca 4-3-3 was most used, but there were occasional changes to 3-4-3 and even 3-3-4 if the game allowed. This move was followed by a one-touch cross from Alves to either Messi or Villa for an easy tap-in. When faced with difficulty in circulating the ball, Messi joins into midfield and the triangle transforms into a Rhombus; Xavi & Busquets on the defensive side and Iniesta & Messi on the offensive side between the defense and midfield. Barcelona mostly came up against teams playing with a 4-4-2 defensive formation, when it happened, Dani Alves would push up on the wing along with Xavi shifting towards him also, creating a 2vs1 situation with the opposition’s ball-side winger; the fullback wouldn’t be able to help because Pedro would be pinning him wide and back. The creative midfield players are chosen by Pep to play in Zones 6 and 8, and, 13 and 15; the reasoning behind it being that they are the popular “half-spaces” that most opponents’ formations can’t cover. In defence, it relies on the 3-man backline and the 4-man midfield, which includes the two wingbacks. The 4-1-4-1 for all its tactical nuances had some weaknesses. Often considered as the tactical tweak that revolutionized Barcelona’s playing style, shifting Messi to False Nine not only benefitted the team, but also brought huge success upon the Argentinian. In my attempt to emulate Pep Guardiola's philosophy I eventually settled on this asymmetric 4-4-2/4-4-1-1, with an aggressive AMC supporting the striker. Another alternative that was seen here, depending on the opposition, was to push Alves higher up the pitch and create space for Xavi to drop beside Busquets. We notice the use of cover shadows by the center forward and midfield players to intercept in case any passes were made towards the center. In the 1980s Cruyff returned as coach, gave Barça its "dream team", instilled his ideas into every level of the club, and made his disciple Guardiola captain. Publié le 10 décembre 2020 à 23h00 par D.M. Henry stayed wide on the left, with Messi having more license to come in off the right wing, knowing that the energetic Dani Alves would be providing width. Here the opposition commits 6 players and decides to press Valdes. FC Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman already has his starting XI and formation for the upcoming 2020/2021 season. Guardiola has deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation more than any other this season, including his first match in charge against Sunderland. But little did the Portuguese know what Guardiola had in store for the rest of the season. He was tasked with resurrecting the fortunes of one of the most famous European clubs in football and bringing back the glory days to Catalonia.