Football Special Report: Replacing the Irreplaceable – FC Barcelona (Part 1)
Football that is being played today is different from the way it was ten years ago. The coaches can’t rely on the traditional 4-4-2 or even the same old 4-3-3. Teams these days change things round and try to play new formations in order to win games.
We saw how the famous English manager Sir Alex Ferguson totally changed his formation in order to win the European title along with eleven Premier Leagues. While being away from home, Ferguson used to play only a single striker and concentrated more towards
defending and they simply didn’t want to concede.
During the year 2008, Manchester United had to face a very strong Barcelona side in the semi finals. It is true that the Red Devils had a very strong side including Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes but while playing against Barcelona at their
home the Nou Camp, Ferguson played a single striker, Cristiano Ronaldo and five midfielders were played so that the team can defend more and not concede goals.
The theory proved to be totally strong when the game finished. The match was won by the English side Manchester United, as they managed to find the net only once during both the legs. The world was surprised to see all this, not because Barcelona were a
strong side but because Manchester United were playing a defensive role. However, they still managed to find the net before the Catalan giants and even though they had players like Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto’o, they still found
it hard to score a goal and they were always outnumbered in the midfield.
All this did not only happen because Sir Alex Ferguson was playing mind games with his opponents, but also because Barcelona’s manager, Frank Rijkard played a traditional 4-3-3. With only three players in the midfield, Barcelona found it hard to possess
the ball in the midfield. The Red Devils were playing a five players midfield and they always outnumbered the Barcelona men in the centre of the pitch. That was the reason why the Spanish giants could not keep possession and the title was later won by the
Red Devils.
However, in the year 2009, Barcelona introduced a new manager to the team; the former Barcelona man Josep Pep Guardiola. Guardiola had different tactics and a totally different style of play. The players in the Spanish team easily adapted to his style of
play and started to play what they now call the “tiki taka” style of play.
The tactics were to keep the possession of the ball and not letting the ball go. The formation was the same old 4-3-3 but things changed a little for the midfielders. With players like Gerard Pique in the defensive line up of the team, the midfield never
saw itself being outnumbered.
Guardiola started to play a defensive midfielder who used to hold his position right behind the central midfielders. The defensive midfielder’s job was to win the ball in the centre of the pitch and pass it on to the central midfielder or the attacking midfielder.
That year, the defensive midfielder was Yaya Toure and he did a fine job; with the help of his strong footing on the ground, he easily dispossessed the midfielders and helped his team by winning possession of the ball. Yaya Toure was later considered to be
one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. This was not only because he was very talented but also because his role was perfect, he used to win the ball and just pass it on rather than doing the individual skills that most of the midfielders do.
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