Introduction
In the 2008/2009 season, the era of Joseph Guardiola‘s Barcelona began – a coach from the club’s youth team, as well as a former player. Pep Guardiola took over from Frank Rijkaard, who had won the Champions League a few years earlier. That team will make football history together with its coach and the best player of all time (so say the major experts even if everyone has their own preference) Lionel Messi
Ronaldinho‘s departure had thrown blaugrana fans into dismay and the end of that cycle was very scary, because no one believed that the next Barca would do even better. LaLiga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League , thus achieving their first Treble , a feat achieved until then only by Celtic Glasgow, Ajax, PSV, and Manchester United .
The basic system was a 4-3-3 and the style was the innovative Tiki-Taka, with ball possession developed horizontally and positionally. The most representative players of that squad were precisely La Pulce, Henry, Eto’o and two of the strongest midfielders of all time such as Xavi and Iniesta. The last two products of Cantera together with Sergio Busquets who still gave way to Yaya Toure in front of the defense. In defense the historic captain Puyol and the other canterano returning from Manchester Piquè.
In the following years , Barcelona‘s domination continued thanks also to well-targeted additions and the great youth reserve that produced other jewels sent abroad and returned like Fabregas, so much so that they won the Champions League again with Luis Enrique on the bench.
Let’s now discover the tactical analysis and tactical emulation of that Barcelona regardless of the year, given that even if the players changed the philosophy was always the same.
Building Out From the Back
In the possession phase, the team lines up with a 2-3-2-3 or 2-1-4-3 depending on the position of the full-backs. The latter remain on the playmaker’s line initially with the attackers remaining wide. The goalkeeper rarely returns long and relies on the central defenders who then rely centrally on the midfielder or a playmaker.
Development
The development of the game is characterized by dense patterns of low passes with continuous movements of the players. The actions often pass through the feet of Xavi and Iniesta , who act as glue between the defense and the offensive department. Ball possession in general increases as you get closer to the opponent’s area, as does the speed of passing.
A variable of the game involves the support of the full-backs, Abidal and Dani Alves , who exploit the width of the pitch and the space left by the external attackers, Messi on the right and Henry on the left, who centralize. The full-backs Dani Alves and Abidal , when pushing, have different behaviors. The first looks for depth and often prefers 1vs1 to cross or finish, the second can move up to the midfield and look for a deep pass or overlap with it to look for the cross.
In the Final Third
The finalization phase involves continuous movements of the attacking players to be able to receive the ball between the midfield and opposing defense lines, with the midfielder inserting himself centrally to receive the ball from Eto’o , who in the meantime has broken away from the marking.
The quality of the offensive men is exploited a lot, with the three interpreting the roles differently and also exchanging positions. Eto’o is very good at moving between the lines to make room for Henry to take his place, but also at attacking the depth himself.
A separate discussion must be made for Messi. The Argentine champion starts from the left but uses the entire offensive front, often returning to midfield to get the ball to act as an added playmaker, targeting opponents, exchanging with his teammates and closing the action or providing assists for his teammates.
Out of Possession phase
In the out of possession phase, the team lines up with a very short and compact 4-3-3 with staggered lines. Constant pressing and doubling are Guardiola‘s dogma in this phase. The line-up is a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 with Messi staying out of the way preventively together with Eto’o to take advantage of the counterattacks.
Results
In testing the tactics carried out in the dry season without market management, training sessions, set pieces and player unhappiness but only playing the matches, I managed to win all the competitions. Messi finished with 33 goals and 25 assists while Eto’o 39 goals. The team finished with 164 goals for the season.
Download tactics and explanation in the video
In the video below you will find the explanation of the tactic in detail and more in-depth results, In the video there is both an explanation in Italian and English.
