Hillsborough Memorial Silence ruined

This is not the sort of article you'd normally expect on The False 9. However, we felt moved enough by the events at Wembley during the Chelsea vs Spurs FA Cup semi-final to share our views.

Chelsea Football club has vowed to identify and punish any supporters that they identify as being involved in the disrespectful and disgusting chanting that marred the Wembley Cup Semi-Final against Spurs.

Any occurrence of chanting or booing during a memorial silence, be it at a football ground or any public place, invokes a dilemma. In the very majority of cases it is only a small proportion of the crowd that choose to violate the memorial, so the larger proportion of the crowd are faced with a decision whether to react to the disturbance, or wait until the end of the allotted time before showing disapproval. It’s a lose-lose situation; if they try to boo or drown out the dissenters they then effectively become part of the problem and may even be then booed themselves in a ripple effect that then becomes the most humourless of farces; but if they suffer in silence the boo-boys have their moment in the sun, and in most cases will gain confidence and resolve in the face of what they probably think is fearful acceptance.

That’s why a number of sporting memorial silences have been rejuvenated as tributes of applause. Whilst touching when applied with conviction – for example in the case of Gary Speed’s untimely death, they are nevertheless only a clever response to the fact that recently so many silences have been marred. It’s a way of avoiding embarrassment and disrespect - moving the goal-posts so to speak, to prevent the thuggish and moronic sections of the crowd from scoring a horrible goal.

An event calling for people to pay respect to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster is not one that is appropriate for a minutes applause. There is no sense comparing that tragic event with the death of a footballer, there are no heart-warming memories to recollect – it was a dark day for football, and as such must always be respectfully remembered in the traditional way.

Sadly, the traditional way is one that leaves itself open to abuse, and this is what happened at Wembley on 15th April 2012. The chanting of “Murderers” was instantaneous and had the collaboration of one or two hundred people. Still a small percentage of the people present, but it does indicate that this was a pre-meditated show of witless dissent. In addition, the stadium announcer asked for “a moments silence” prompting the more cynical to suggest that the words were carefully chosen to give the referee an option of blowing the whistle before a minute had elapsed – they knew it was coming.

Chelsea FC are working with Wembley and the FA to identify culprits, and have issued a statement promising that if they are “provided with evidence that season-ticket holders or members have been involved we will take the strongest possible action against them.” Since Chelsea football club don’t have the authority to bring criminal charges against people, or to financially penalize people, it is safe to assume that forfeiture of any season ticket and a lifetime ban is the strongest possible action the club could take against people identified.

One would hope that great care is taken with those identifications. Any member of the crowd who opted to react immediately against the repulsive chants will hope that the crucial difference is spotted by those people reviewing CCTV footage.

The club statement also raises the question of free-will. Whilst everyone with a brain and a heart will condemn the vile chants that were heard, no law has actually been broken. If a memorial silence is enforced, it loses some of its poignancy. A crowd will probably better observe the silence with the threat of a lifetime ban hanging over anyone that breaks that silence, but that isn’t the point of it. This is one of those awkward situations where freedom of speech and incitement of hatred clash. Is it right to prevent people from chanting inside a football stadium? In this context, of course – but it isn’t legal to prevent them from doing so.

Football clubs must of course act against hate speech – as evidenced in numerous operations by the Old Firm clubs in fighting sectarianism. But calling someone, who isn’t present, a murderer isn’t a hate crime, whilst morally bereft these Chelsea “supporters” haven’t technically done anything that breaks any rules.

It’s a long and sad journey from having to enforce memorial silences at football stadiums to making public crowds weep at the death of a leader, as has happened in China and North Korea, but our freedom of speech is something that many people have lost their lives to defend and is something we hold very dear in our unwritten constitution.

Of course this is extrapolation in the extreme to prove a point that is more depressing than anything else, and in truth it’s a dreadful shame that anything has to be written at all about this sort of behaviour in our supposedly tolerant and sophisticated society. But it’s that same supposed tolerance and sophistication that demands that another way is found.

Tom Nash @breitnersbeard

 

Pep’s Barcelona vs Sacchi’s Milan – Clash of the titans

Pep Guardiola has re-invented football so much in the past three years that one wonders if the game is still the same that was played in the last two decades. ‘Total Football’ – as some may put it, is slowly becoming the new face of football in the new decade, as specialists find themselves out of the limelight. Defenders who can play anywhere across the backline, midfielders who can play in defense, forwards who play as midfielders, central midfielders who play as wingers, and the best player in the world who can play as a right forward or a false 9 – you name it, they have it all.

The last definitive shift in tactics in football occurred back in the late 80s, when Arrigo Sacchi, the master tactician from Italy decided that a change was required from the five-man backline or the sweeper formation to a four-man backline, which depends more on the offside trap than sheer defensive prowess. While it was Italy’s domination of Europe in the 60s which made the sweeper-formation famous, it was Milan’s domination in the late 80s – early 90s which brought an end to it.

Changing the rules, changing the game

While Josep Guardiola and his star-studded team clearly has a shout at being the greatest club team of all time, Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan stands in their way, paving way for doubts. Hence the need for an in-depth analysis of the two teams, and how they would fare against each other. But is is very important to remember, as Jose Mourinho said,

“To be the ultimate team, you must use your body and your mind. Draw up on the resources of your teammates. Choose your steps wisely and you will win. Remember, only teams succeed.”

Change in football, level of competition and honours

There have been a couple of rule changes in football over the period of time. Hence, it is important to take them into account before we proceed further. The major rule changes are:

• Offside rule: During the time of Sacchi’s Milan, any player behind the defensive line was termed offside, even if he was not interfering with the play. There was no difference between an active offside and a passive offside.
• Ball change: Back in early 90s, the whole match was played with a single ball. So, the teams would have to wait till the ball is fetched back to resume play. This gave teams enough time to regroup, especially if they were coming under waves after waves of attack.
• Material of the ball: The rubber or composition ball was deemed illegal in 1993, and the new material makes for better attacking, and makes it tough for the goalkeeper to judge the trajectory.
• Level of refereeing: The level of refereeing today is more strict compared to Sacchi’s era. It would be hard for the  hard tacklers of Milan to play an entire game against a highly technical side without getting booked.
• Uprights: The uprights were moved back to 18′ 6″, as opposed to 23′ 4″.
• Substitutions: If a player is bleeding, he is to come off the field till his return is approved by a medical practitioner, which wasn’t the case before 1993.
• Finally, back in the early 90s, the game in itself was very physical and demanded a lot of strength and stamina to work through the entire 90 minutes. Today’s game is dependent more on technical aspects of the game.

Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team won La Liga thrice and the European Cup twice in three seasons – quite an astounding feat. They also won the domestic cup once and the Club World Cup twice, apart from two UEFA Super Cups and two Spanish Supercopas. In comparison, Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan won back-to-back European Cups, but have won the Serie A just once, finishing runners-up twice. They also managed to win two UEFA Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups.

Comparing the teams based on the level of competition, it has to be said that Sacchi’s Milan played in the most competitive era of Serie A. They had to compete with Maradona’s Napoli, Inter with Brehme, Matthaus, Bergomi and Klinsmann, Roma with Rudi Voller, Gianluca Vialli’s Sampdoria and Juventus coached by Dino Zoff amongst others. Barcelona, in comparison has only Real Madrid to give them any real competition in La Liga.

Teams on paper – Player to player comparison

Before we start discussing tactics, it is important to see how the players of both the teams compare against each other in their respective areas. Though this has little bearing on the final results, it helps one identify if a team would dominate a particular area on the field, thus making further analyses easier. The complete teams and formations are as given below:

AC Milan and Barca formations (Click to enlarge)

 AC Milan : Giovanni Galli, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti, Angelo Colombo, Frank Rijkaard, Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Donadoni, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten

Barcelona : Victor Valdes, Eric Abidal, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Daniel Alves, Sergi Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Pedro, Lionel Messi, David Villa.

(It should be noted that Alexis Sanchez plays in the position of Pedro or Villa and/or Fabregas plays on the right, if and when they play).

The only player who isn’t mentioned repeatedly in the Milan side, and rightly so is the Italian goalkeeper Giovanni Galli. While he was reasonably solid and reliable at the back, he does not compare well with Victor Valdes, who has been phenomenal for Los Cules. Valdes also has the advantage of being good on the ball, and is well capable of starting attacks from the back, much like a sweeper-keeper.

There is no real comparison in the defense, as the legendary Milan back four of Maldini – Costacurta – Baresi – Tassotti is one of the greatest and the most balanced back line of all times. In comparison, Abidal – Pique – Puyol – Alves comes a step down, if not two. Maldini, Baresi and Costacurta are better than their counterparts in almost all aspects of the game, and while Alves is great going forward, Tassotti is a better all-round full back.

The game changes on its head in the midfield, as Busquets – Xavi – Iniesta form an enviable trio which controls the game at will and pulls all the strings. As good as Rijkaard and Ancelotti were, they will find it difficult to subdue the highly technical Barca midfield, even with Colombo tucked in from the left to support the Milan midfield.

Roberto Donandoni can only be compared to Pedro, who is the only genuine width-provider in the Barca front-line, and it can be arguably said that Donadoni is the better player in comparison. There isn’t much to choose in attack, as Marco van Basten and Gullit form a deadly pair up front for Milan, while the front three of Villa – Messi – Pedro/Sanchez is one of the best forward line of their generation. Subjectively speaking, though, it can be argued that since van Basten and Gullit had to face much tougher defenses during their times, they were better. But one cannot simply rule out a forward line that produces close to 100 goals season after season.

The masters of the game

Talking Tactics

One cannot help but marvel at how the two teams are so similar in essence yet so different in execution. Arrigo Sacchi and Pep Guardiola – both gave a lot of importance to team work and movement off the ball. Both Milan and Barcelona attack as a team, and defend as a team. They do not rely on a few players to win them games, though both the teams have a trio on whom their game is based. In case of Milan, the game flows through the Dutch trio of Rijkaard – Gullit – van Basten, and in case of Barcelona, it is the homegrown trinity of Xavi – Iniesta – Messi. Both the teams build up their attack from the back, and both the teams have an inspirational, legendary figure at the back marshalling their defenses.

While Barcelona thrives on exploiting spaces on the field, Milan worked by creating them. While Pep Guardiola has advocated ‘Total Football’ – one where every player can fill in for another, and the game progresses by constant interchange of positions, Sacchi’s teams almost always finished the game the way they started. It is, in essence, a match between two teams – one fluid and expressive, and the other, quite rigid in comparison. While Barcelona prefers to play it narrow, with only their full backs providing width on most occasions, Milan are a side that mastered the classic 4-4-2, playing it wide and working the ball in. Barca prefers to keep the ball on the ground, thus negating their height disadvantage, while Milan could easily play an aerial game, with Gullit, van Basten and Rijkaard winning most of the headers they attempt.

Ever since Cesc Fabregas has joined Barcelona, they have added a new dimension to their tactics, as shown below. It allows for greater interchange between the midfielders, as Cesc is capable of playing on the right, and so is Iniesta on the left.

Total Football (Click to enlarge)

It should be noted how Busquets drops deep to play as an auxiliary CB, while Alves acts as a winger, with Puyol back to his early role as a right back. The following picture shows the heat maps of various FC Barcelona players during the Champions League 2010-11 Final against Manchester United.

Heat maps of Messi, Pedro, Villa and Iniesta (Click to enlarge)

It can be seen how the wing forwards interchange and Lionel Messi acts as a False 9 – in essence, a forward playmaker in addition to being a striker.

In comparison, it is worth noting how Milan played their link up game. Ruud Gullit drops deep and links up with Rijkaard and Ancelotti creating a negative space, wherein he draws the defenders to himself, opening up large spaces for Donadoni and Marco van Basten to glide into. Colombo, on his part, moves inside, enticing the defender marking him to show him on to his weaker side. The move finds Ancelotti on the inside left position ready to bomb forward, while Colombo moves into the midfield. But the most important aspect of the Milan game play is that, in spite of all the player movement, they always return to their respective positions. And that is exactly what makes their game so effective – that the players could shift between the fluid and the rigid in the blink of an eye.

Walking the talk

Finally, it boils down to the match, and all the tactics and player comparison would be of little importance if not put into good use. It is not simple to bring up rule changes and style of play, as the managers and the players involved are tactically very aware and possess a high degree of adaptability. The match, in itself, will be fought in two regions – Barca forward line vs Milan’s defense and the midfield battle.

The key battle will be between Messi and Baresi. Messi, in his illustrious career, has never come across a man marker quite like Franco Baresi. Add to the fact that Barca have always struggled against disciplined quality defenses, the battle may well swing in favour of the Italian. If anything, it is only fair to assume that the Milan defense would do a better job compared to Jose Mourinho’s Inter against Barcelona. Baresi would also call out for the defense to push forward and work the offside trap whenever a player got behind them. This would push the Barca front line back into the midfield, which in turn, adds more numbers to the Barca midfield.

Barcelona will dominate the midfield, even with the ever-present pair of Rijkaard and Ancelotti. The technical finesse of Xavi and Iniesta, with the highly underrated Busquets to support them, will see a lot of chances being created for the forwards. But the Milan defense, being made of the stalwarts that they are, will snuff out most of them. On the contrary, Milan will depend on their wide players to create most of their chances, catching Barcelona off-guard with their pace and aerial advantage. Donadoni and Colombo are more than capable of switching flanks at will, confusing the opposition defenders. Gullit’s physicality will come into play against the sturdy centre backs of Catalunya, and van Basten’s precision will be a huge test for Victor Valdes. But the pace and recovery rate of Carles Puyol and the game-reading abilities of Gerard Pique will ensure that the Dutch duo do not get as many chances as usual.

The average positions of the players at the end of the match, would be as given below.

Average positions (Click to enlarge)

In the end, it will come down to the few magical moments that will change the game on its head, as both teams are almost evenly matched. And what Barca lacks in terms of player quality, they make up for it in terms of their movement and passing. While Messi and Iniesta will decide the final goal tally for Barcelona, Gullit, van Basten and the industrious midfield behind them will ensure that Milan are an equal match, if not the better side. While Barcelona will dominate the play for most of the match, Milan will look to play on the counter, and make the most of whatever chances they create. Milan will win the match narrowly, only by virtue of having a better defense.

Final score: AC Milan 2-1 FC Barcelona

-This Post originally appeared on SportsKeeda

-Kiran Vr

Sir Alex Ferguson said : Manchester United was lucky << Man Utd News

Manchester United Football Club | Man Utd Football Team | Man United FC | Manchester United News | Manchester United News Now | Manchester United Latest News | Latest Manchester United News | Sir Alex Ferguson Manchester United Manager | Manchester United vs QPR | Man Utd Squad and Player | Season 2011-2012

Sir Alex Ferguson said : Manchester United was lucky

Sir Alex Ferguson News | Sir Alex Ferguson Latest News | Sir Alex Ferguson News Now | Sir Alex Ferguson Pictures and Wallpaper | Sir Alex Ferguson Photos | 2011-2012

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson feels Manchester United got lucky as to meet QPR at the weekend.

With the victory, the Reds Devil further increase your chance to win premier league this season. moreover, the main rivals Manchester City defeated Arsenal 1-0.

In this game, Manchester United success to beat QPR, 2-0. By Wayne Rooney's first goal at minute 15' and Paul Scholes at minute 68'.

Now the difference in points between Manchester United and Manchester City is 8 points in the premier league table.

Next week Manchester United will face Manchester City at the Ethihad stadium.

How do you think about Sir Alex Ferguson : Manchester United was lucky?

More : Manchester United News | Man Utd Transfer News

Rough Diamonds #9-Stephan El Shaarawy (AC Milan)

Most of us tend to associate Italian football with quality defenders and a dearth of attackers. Attacking talents are considered a rarity in Italy. In more recent times, Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Filippo Inzaghi would come to peoples’ minds when asked about Italian attackers. Under the last three coaches, Cesare Prandelli, Marcelo Lippi and Roberto Donadoni, the Italian national team has struggled to find a true attacking talent. Many strikers have managed to impress in the Serie A, but at the international level, both for club and country, they have failed. Antonio Di Natale, Alberto Gilardino, Antonio Cassano, Giuseppe Rossi and Giampaolo Pazzini are just a few among the long list of big stage failures.




Surprisingly, Italy has witnessed the sudden rise of a number of fairly talented young strikers over the last couple of years. Fabio Borini, Mario Balotelli, Sebastian Giovinco and Alberto Paloschi are the household names amongst this rare attacking generation, but one wacky haired teenage sensation has recently caught the eye of fans all across Europe.

I’m talking about Milan’s Stephan El Shaarawy. The Italian U-21 international, partly of Egyptian descent, started his career at Genoa. He was a part of the youth system till the age of 16 and made his Serie A debut in 2008, becoming the fourth youngest player to play in the Serie A. Staying at Genoa didn’t seem like the best option for the promising youngster, and he was sent to Serie B side Padova, on loan.

Not many would have expected an 18 year old to have been a key figure in Padova’s push for promotion, but El Shaarawy was keen to impress. The skinny striker showed Italy’s second division just how talented he was, managing to score nine goals for the Biancoscudati. El Shaarawy tantalized defenders all season long with his incredible pace and eye catching skill. He was rightly awarded for his performances in the summer of 2011 when Serie A champions, Milan, decided to sign him.

There was no doubt that the jump from Padova to Milan would be extremely tough for an inexperienced kid like El Shaarawy. Also, it was fairly obvious that he was going to be deep down the pecking order at Milan. He would have to fight for a spot against the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato and Antonio Cassano. Luckily for El Shaarawy, the Rossoneri have had innumerable injury problems all season long, allowing the youngster to make his fair share of appearances.

His first moment to shine came against Udinese, earlier this season. Given a whole seventy minutes to play, El Shaarawy scored Milan’s solitary goal, thus helping them earn an extremely important point. In the reverse fixture, El Shaarawy returned to haunt Udinese by scoring a goal in the dying minutes of the game, helping Milan steal a late victory. The 19-year-old put in commendable performances against Juventus, the side with the best defensive record in Italy, in both legs of the Coppa Italia.

On numerous occasions, El Shaarawy has shown that he is still far from being considered a dangerous striker in world football. Poor decisions, childlike selfishness and the inability to shine at the top level are most characteristic of teenage football sensations. Also, El Shaarawy is growing in an environment - alongside Ibrahimovic - that many would consider fairly detrimental to a young striker. The dominant Swede could harm El Shaarawy’s growth. But there is a good possibility that the two could form a lethal partnership, thus allowing the youngster to blossom.

What lies in store for El Shaarawy is hard to predict. Someone with such raw talent can stray into the wrong path and end his career. It is up to the likes of Cesare Prandelli and Massimilano Allegri to ensure that this rough diamond does shine someday.


-Aditya Balaram
 Milan And Me
 Footie Magic

If you are interested in contributing to this series,then click here.

Guardiola's Barcelona-Reinventing Total Football

Arrigo Sachi, the mastermind of the Milan side of the 80′s, had once staked a claim that the next tactical revolution in the game, would be the conversion of the whole pitch into a midfield area. What does it imply? The teams in the forefront of this revolution would have the luxury of having defensive midfielders playing as defenders, and attacking midfielders playing as strikers. Having said this, they would still function as midfielders  i.e – passing the ball around quickly, closing down spaces and playing a high tempo game.

“It’s become all about specialists. Is football a collective and harmonious game? Or is it a question of putting x amount of talented players in and balancing them out with y amount of specialists?” – Arrigo Sachi.

By this, Sacchi primarily pointed out the ‘cost’ incurred in having the ‘luxury’ of an attacker. For instance, a classic Trequartista like Kaka needs an enforcer like Makelele.

Further, Sacchi hoped for the elimination of specialists, in order to uphold the motto that - ”Football is a team game.”

Well, two decades on, and Sacchi may have finally seen his saying come true. Pep Guardiola has certainly upheld Sacchi’s sayings and put his words into practice.
Till last season, we all were aware of the prototype Barcelona which would pass their way to victory. A four Man defence, and a three man midfield – which was led by a three man attack.

With the acquisition of Cesc Fabregas, Guardiola has ushered in a new era, a new beginning at the Nou Camp. So, without much ado, let us divulge into the details of this revolution.

1) CONVERSION OF DEFENCE AND ATTACK INTO MIDFIELD

With the signing of Cesc Fabregas, many were of the assumption that Fabregas would soon replace Xavi in the starting XI. But, Guardiola had other plans. The signing of Cesc Fabregas signaled the start of the Guardiola revolution.

The ageing of Carles Puyol meant that Pep could not rely on him week in, week out. Many quarters of the press thus linked Barcelona to an array of Center Backs, but Pep instead chose Mascherano. This signing was first met with contempt, but instead of playing the Argentinian as a holding midfielder, Guardiola  has successfully re-invented Mascherano in the Center Back role, and he has definitely made a good fist out of it!

This season, with the arrival of Fabregas, there were presumptions that he would initially benched since Xavi is an immovable figure in the XI. But , Guardiola, pulled off yet another rabbit out of the hat. Who would have thought!

Fabregas was consequently transformed into the ‘False 9′ role.

 “We wanted to try Cesc in that position because he gets into good positions in and around the area. He did well and it gives us another option,”  cited Guardiola, for making a No. 4 into a No. 9.

Mascherano's heat map.

Fabregas' heat map.

The above heat maps shows us the positions taken up by Mascherano and Fabregas, respectively. For starters, it is worth mentioning their respective starting positions in the respective games. Whereas, Mascherano started as the Center back in the SuperCopa  against Madrid, Fabregas started up front alongside Messi and Sanchez in the ‘False 9′ role.

Notice the Starting and the Average position of the No 4 – Cesc Fabregas.

Putting under the microscope, Cesc Fabregas’ off the ball movements and on it, we come to the conclusion that though Cesc Fabregas started off up front, he  ended up playing in midfield. Eventually, this created a 4 vs 2 in the middle of the park, and consequently, Barcelona gained control of the game. Also, Fabregas popped up to score the 3rd goal for his side in the 77th minute.

2) REJUVENATION OF THE FALSE 9 :

The Center Forward role at the Nou Camp has been subject to much scrutiny and debate over the past three seasons. In his first season, Guardiola had Eto’o at his disposal. In the summer transfer market, the Catalan club made it’s most expensive buy in history in the form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. But for the towering Swede, his Camp Nou spell was nothing short of a nightmare.

Consequently, he was shipped to AC Milan, and Laporta brought Villa to the Nou Camp. After playing centrally for the first  few weeks, Villa was moved to the left flank to accommodate Messi in the ‘False 9′ role.

But what exactly is the False 9?

A unconventional lone striker, who drops deep into midfield. 

This tactical tinkering by Pep ultimately paid dividends as Barcelona won the double in that season – a season which saw Lionel Messi gather a record 53 goals.

The heat map below of Lionel Messi(given below) shows us the function and the movements of a False 9.

Lio Messi – genius redefined.

The long term injury to David Villa and the arrival of Sanchez signaled the beginning of a revolution. Sanchez, an attacking midfielder was deployed as the forward on the left flank. Messi was stationed on the right wing, with Fabregas now playing as the False 9. In fact, Messi and Fabregas interchange positions during the course of the 90 minutes in a game.

Barcelona, with the false 9(right) and without the False 9(left)

3) 3-4-3 with a Twist

Until the last season, the wall of Barcelona remained untouched – the back four picked themselves.  Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal laid the cornerstone of the success of the Blaugrana.

The Fab 4.

But due to the health problems concerning  Abidal and the frequent injury problems to Puyol,  the wall of this team had to be re-constructed. It was surely not an easy job to replace one of the most consistent yet the most non-prolific of left-backs, and to find an alternative to the Caveman.

Many expected Pep to take a dip into the inflated market and go all guns blazing for a top notch center back. Thiago Silva’s comments on his apparent desire to play in the Blue and Red added much needed fuel to the fire. But instead of using his transfer kitty for a defender, Pep decided to tinker with the system and he consequently moved to the 3-4-3, with a twist!

In this, the Holding midfielder in Sergio Busquets drops back and functions like a libero, and the center backs radiate to the flanks from their positions. It is probably one of the most complicated defensive structures, which makes able use of each defender’s forte. As the commentator pointed out in one of the El Clasicos:

“Just when Mourinho thought he had all the answers, Guardiola changed the questions!” 

Putting the Holding Midfielder – Sergio Busquets under the microscope :

Left – Starting formation of FCB. Right – Heatmap showing the positions taken up by Busquets.

The heatmap reveals to us, that though Sergio Busquets started as a central midfielder, he dropped back during the course of the 90, with the Center Backs moving wide, thereby becoming full backs. To simplify matters, I shall use the following formation diagram :

On Left – The starting position of the Barcelona team. On right – Formation after player interchange.

Thus, we notice that as Busquets drops back, Barcelona revert to the 4-3-3 and the default system is restored.

Though, such is the fluidity of this team that, if the opposition seem to have found a way through, Guardiola can easily tinker the system and revert back to the 3-4-3 in a jiffy.

(The above team lined up in the 2-0 victory against Mallorca.)

The roots of Total Football are ingrained deep within the setup at La Masia. The golden generation of Barcelona and arguably, the Golden Team of world football has its logistics based on the codecs of this simple yet so confusing style of play, and it is fitting that the mastermind – Pep Guardiola – is making apt use of the ‘user-friendly- and ‘use how you want’ nature of these players!


This post first appeared on Sportskeeda

-Dhruv Saraf